Medusa by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos is an enjoyable, easy reading action novel. It is a typical Clive Cussler formula that is very difficult to put down even though completely over the top.
Medusa is a Kurt Austin adventure. Kurt Austin is leader of the NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency) special assignments team. His sidekick is Joe Zavala, a marine engineer. Also on the team are a husband and wife team, Paul and Gamay Trout.
The plot revolves around a virulent virus that has been quarantined in China. The Chinese government knows that it is a matter of time until the virus breaks the quarantine so they have their medical agencies work with the U.S. CDC to develop a vaccine. The fear is that this virus will be much worse than the 1918 flu pandemic. This novel is copyrighted in 2009, but only refers to SARS and the 1918 flu pandemic so it is possible that it was written before the current swine flu epidemic. If the case, it was a very timely coincidence.
The final research into the vaccine is being done in a top secret underwater habitat in the Pacific. Unfortunately somebody has stolen the habitat and kidnapped the scientists. Kurt and his team lead the investigation into finding the perpetrators and stopping the pandemic.
Medusa was a good read that keep me up a few times later that I would have liked. One issue is that Mr. Cussler could have better clarified that Akula was the Russian designation for the NATO designated Typhoon submarine class and that NATO designated the Project 971 fast attack submarines as Akula. Anyone who has read Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy or seen the movie knows that an Akula and Typhoon classes are completely different classes. I had to go to Wikipedia to understand the designation confusion.
