PLAGUE SHIP
A Novel of the Oregon Files
Clive Cussler, with Jack DuBrul
Putnam Adult
Fiction/Action & Adventure
ISBN: 9780399154973

Leave it to Clive Cussler and Jack DuBrul to create a story involving maritime exploration and a cult. PLAGUE SHIP has all the exciting intrigue and fast-paced escapades of the crew of the Oregon. Juan Cabrillo, the ship’s captain, leads the way as Cussler’s hero, in one of the most interesting plots yet conceived.

Looking like the oldest, most battered ship on the ocean, the Oregon actually has the most sophisticated technology and weaponry known to man. Additionally, it has a world-class chef and a highly trained staff, all working for NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency). Always with an international flavor, the book starts out in the port of Barnar Abbas, Iran. Soon they would venture forth on a mission to research the cause of a disaster on the cruise ship Golden Dawn. “There had to be 100 corpses on the deck, sprawled in twisted shapes of agony.”

When the Golden Dawn set off on its voyage, the hundreds of passengers onboard had two things in common: they were free from virus, and they were believers in the works of Dr. Lydell Cooper. His book is titled WE’RE BREEDING OURSELVES TO DEATH, and the organization founded on his beliefs is the Responsivists, those who are responsible. They have been working on a plan to intentionally sterilize three billion people on Earth! “This isn’t about preventing a few thousand passengers and a crew from having children. It’s about stopping half the world.”

It is the overwhelming task of Cabrillo and his Oregon crew to find out the cause of the tragedy on the Golden Dawn and prevent further incidents from taking place in the future. Is this the challenge that will stop NUMA in its tracks? Will this be their greatest victory, or their demise? We can immediately relate to the terror felt by the NUMA crew as they quite literally attempt to save the world from destruction.

Written with their usual panache and fervor, Cussler and DuBrul have produced a book that challenges readers to face real biological terrorism at the gut level. Beyond the cataclysmic possibilities of such an event, every adult on earth has an opinion on human rights and reproduction. Most countries in the world have human rights policies, which include the rights of their citizens to reproduce. Consider also the religious significance. Christians believe that Noah loaded animals two by two, to go forth and multiply, in an effort to save God’s creatures from extinction. This was his task in life, his responsibility. Responsivists believe that it is their responsibility to stop the human race from populating a future generation.

Even more frightening is Dr. Cooper’s tome on overpopulation: “Arguably the greatest transfer of wealth in human history occurred when the Plague swept through Europe and killed a third of its population. Lands were consolidated, allowing for a greater standard of living, not only for the owners but also for those who worked them. This event was the single greatest contributor to the Renaissance and gave rise to Europe’s eventual domination of the world.”

I invite you to join the NUMA crew as they work their magic.

    --- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher

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