Clive Cussler's Hellburner (Oregon Files)

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He snatched up a satellite phone from his command station, then turned toward Santos as he pulled his pistol from its holster. Calvera keyed his radio mic. "Soto, this is Captain Calvera, over. Do you need assistance? We saw three explosions-"

Please don't waste your time with this book. If you're someone who's reading it simple because it's the newest Oregon File, don't. That was me and I really regret it.Valentin hit the remote trigger. Three towering geysers erupted harmlessly to the Sungu Barat's starboard as it veered away. Very disappointed, it seems like the last couple of books have just been going through the motions. From the start it seemed like I was in a Star Trek story, bring on a new character just to kill them off. I once again felt like this was just an assembly of past stories, very disjointed. The journalist character seemed out of place and coincidences were over the top. The decision to let her go by herself when her father was released so out of place and an obviously stupid decision it just left me wondering WTF. I understand it is fiction but if you are going to use everyday items make sure you get their uses correct or at least believable. Not sure why the author used "The Dragon" as a reference to hardship and that it is blood-soaked pavement, I guess they have never been to Deal's Gap. The final climactic scene was ridiculous, the books in the past have always made the characters more capable than the average human being, however this time it was so far in left field they felt more like superhero's than people. This felt more like a plodding series of events instead of the rip roaring, fast paced adventures of the Oregon Crew. It gave the impression that the author wasn't familiar with the previous books in this series. First, the camaraderie between the crew was not consistent with previous installments. One example is that Stonie and Murph are supposed to be best buds, solving problems together and feeding off each other. None of their interactions portrayed that. Linda Ross, Doc Huxley, Mac D, Eddie, Raven and Overholt also were not consistent from previous books. Juan was closer to being consistent but some scenes and lines were out of character for him.

I don't know what Maden was trying to do but the Corporation in this book are really not it. The whole spirit of the team is just gone, all the characters felt so boring to me when usually I absolutely love reading about them. The amazing team spirit that makes the Corporation just wasn't there. I don't know what happened. Also, where were the gundogs? Eddie and MacD were hardly mentioned in this book and Raven and Linc were pretty scarce too. The characters just felt really "dead" to me, there was no spirit and Juan and the others just sort of annoyed me. Because the Oregon's crew have just stumbled on the Pipeline - a vast criminal network stretching across the globe. Smuggling weapons and drugs, this ruthless syndicate has been passed down the line from father to son. Now greed and a haunting, generations-old grudge means they are embarking on their most dangerous scheme yet. If they can get hold of a devastating weapon, they will enact a terrible revenge - and millions will die.The weapons officer slapped a button. Three mines were released beneath El Valiente's hull, deployed directly in the path of the Sungu Barat. With millions of innocent lives hanging in the balance, the Oregon's crew must unravel a tangle of drug-smuggling routes and international conspiracies spanning from the Aegean Sea to the Indian Ocean. But to do so means putting their lives on the line to find the weapon - before its countdown hits zero... Cabrillo’s Corporation of mercenaries may have finally met its match in The Pipeline—a criminal syndicate passed down from father to son across generations. A group that sits with its finger on the trigger of a torpedo so deadly it could level entire cities. With millions of innocent civilians hanging in the balance, the Oregon’s crew must unravel a tangle of drug-smuggling routes and international conspiracies spanning from the Aegean Sea to the Indian Ocean, putting their lives on the line to find the weapon before its countdown hits zero. Calvera laughed as the Sungu Barat’s bridge windows shattered instantly, and chunks of the rusted bridgework pulverized beneath the hammering shellfire. I want to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and giver my honest review of this book

Entiendo." Calvera spat out the word like a curse and shoved the mic into Santos' hand. He shouted at Rico, "Kill the engines!" Oh, how I love the disguised fighter and intel-gathering ship, The Oregon. It marvels me that this state of art technology ship has an outer shell of an old, rusty, filthy, and SMELLY tramp steamer. The inside though is equipped with just about everything you can imagine; a weapons room, a garage for their cutting-edge vehicles, a tiltrotor, a pool, five stars kitchen & chef, a meeting room that mirrors the WH situation room, a trauma center, and a science lab. They adorn their interior walls with priceless original paintings for crying out loud! The crew is mostly former military/intelligence except for a Hollywood guy who lends his special effects, makeup, and wardrobe talent. In other words, you have no authority, Capitan Soto. That means you are a pirate, and piracy is a violation of international law. We will not allow you to board us."

Clive Cussler's Hellburner

But before the laugh had escaped his mouth, the two six-barreled rotary canons of a Russian-made Kashtan close-in weapons system opened up from the top of the cargo ship’s forward mast. The canons delivered ten thousand rounds per minute but it only took one brief, earsplitting second for the Kashtan to deliver enough 30mm explosive tungsten-tipped ammo to utterly destroy Calvera’s smaller weapon. The Sungu Barat came to a full stop three hundred meters directly to port. Calvera adjusted the focus ring on his binoculars, and zoomed in on the bridge. His eyes fixed on the occluded windows, caked with salt and grime. He couldn’t see into the bridge but he knew that bastardo Soto was standing up there grinning down at him. A vein throbbed on Calvera's forehead. He had a young wife and several children. So did Santos and the other officers. It was one of the reasons they had been recruited into the organization. If they were boarded and their cargo seized, not only would they be killed but their entire families would be wiped out.