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Clive Cussler seems to be working exclusively with collaborators at this point in his brilliant career, yet his most interesting novels continue the adventures of Dirk Pitt. Cussler is now working with his son Dirk on this series, which has seen the introduction of Dirk Jr. and Summer Pitt, the children who Pitt never knew he had. Cussler seems ready to hand the franchise off to the next generation, and BLACK WIND is one of those transition novels in which the father and children take separate actions to save the world --- or at least a major portion of it --- from the same malevolent force.
BLACK WIND is the name given to a Japanese military operation, a last-ditch action against the United States in the closing days of World War II. The idea was to unleash a deadly smallpox virus upon the population of the West Coast of the United States. The operation failed, but the payload, carried in two submarines, lays in watery graves in the Pacific Ocean. It is about to be put to nefarious use once again by a South Korean industrialist who is actually an agent for the North Korean government. His aim is to disrupt the United States on the eve of a vote to expel U.S. troops from South Korea, so that an invasion from the North can take place unimpeded.
But that's only part of his plan. Pitt the Younger begins to get wind of the plot, and does his level best to get in the way. Dad jumps in to help, and there is even an assist, as always, from a deus ex machina named Clive Cussler. Cussler has made a practice of interjecting himself, however momentarily, into the Pitt novels, and while such a practice would be irritating or contrived when carried out by lesser hands, it's always a pleasure here.
Actually the entirety of BLACK WIND is great fun, especially considering that with two (occasionally three) Pitts in action, the villain and the threat du jour must be two or three times as dangerous as when there is only one Pitt doing battle. Senior and Junior Cussler demonstrate that they are more than up to the challenge.
BLACK WIND is as current as tomorrow morning's headlines. The Cusslers paint a plausible scenario and run with it, resulting in a work that will keep you reading and wondering. And worrying. Don't miss this one.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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