Vixen 03

Cussler, C. (1978). Vixen 03. New York: Viking Press.


Annotation: A mysterious 1954 plane crash leads an American salvage operations expert to South Africa where some of the plane's contents have fallen into terrorist hands.



Summary: Dirk Pitt is a man who doesn't shy away from adventure. While on vacation with his girlfriend at her family's Colorado cabin Dirk discovers some interesting looking plane parts and decides to investigate them. He finds out that they came from a plane that crashed in 1954 and was never found. As a salvage expert he has the knowledge and resources necessary to find the plane and when he does is surprised to find that it contains a body that was not part of the original crew. He locates the admiral who ordered the secret flight in 1954 finds out that the plane was carrying 16 battleship shells containing a virus strain that's so deadly that just five ounces would kill 98% of life in Manhattan if dropped over the city. Eight of the 36 shells are missing and Dirk discovers that two of them have been sold to a South African terrorist group who plan to overthrow the white government. It's up to Pitt thwart their plan to unleash the deadly virus on Washington and to see to it that all the shells are destroyed.



Review: If not for the fact that this book was written in the 70s I would have sworn that Dirk Pitt character was modeled after "The Most Interesting Man in the World." He has Congresswoman Loren Smith head over heels for him, is able to find a missing ship that the Navy and Coast Guard couldn't find during their four month long investigation, and the terrorist? Only Pitt can stop them! All of this makes it a fast paced and fun read loaded with action and adventure. This is the fifth book in the series and I had read that it wasn't necessary to read them in order. This book definitely can stand alone, but I think I would have understood some of the characters better if I'd read them in order.



Possible Recommendations: Books by Dale Brown, W.E.B. Griffin, David Balducci, James Patterson. There are 21 "Dirk Pitt" adventures.



Rating:3P, 4Q