coolreads # Retro Books # Treasure of Khan

Treasure of Khan
Authors: Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
Publisher: Berkley Books
ISBN: 9780425216224
Year Published: 2007

Dirk Pitt's 19th adventure, Treasure of Khan, is a second collaborative effort between father and son team, Clive and Dirk Cussler (after 2004's Black Wind). It offers a plot that is as credible as it is outrageous and the kind that entails the exotic aquatic detail that amazes, educates and entertains.

And there's plenty of action in the thriller, ranging from Siberia's Lake Baikal and the wilds of Mongolia to the Hawaiian islands.

The treasure in question is that of Genghis and Kublai Khan, the great Mongolian conqueror and his grandson who founded the Yuan dynasty and ruled in what is today Mongolia and China. The villain in this story is a modern-day Mongol with dreams of restoring national power and pride. The heroes are Pitt, his sidekick Al Giordino and Pitt's son and daughter, Dirk Jr. and Summer, and they are all associated with Pitt's National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA).

The exploits of Pitt and his NUMA members, particularly their narrow escapes, tend to be larger-than-life and nerve-wrecking, but these are nicely balanced by down-to-earth explanations of such phenomena as seiche waves and oil seeps.

Genghis Khan's grave site is one of the most sought after by archaeologists the world over. On Aug 4,1937 in Shang-Tu, China, Leigh Hunt discovered an ancient silk painting of a diagram of the hidden burial site of Genghis Khan. However, it does not remain in his possession for long.

Then, on June 2, 2007, on Lake Baikal, Siberia, a team of geophysicists engaged in a project to survey a section of the lake for oil seepage came upon several anomalies, including a massive earthquake. Apparently. Avarga Oil Company owns all mining and oil rights on Lake Baikal's eastern territories.

Pitt and his NUMA colleagues are tracking the lake's currents when the earthquake hits.

Meanwhile, another massive earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale rattled the east coast of Saudi Arabia, and in the process, wiped out nearly a third of the country's oil exporting capabilities overnight. Over 90% of Ras Tanura's export infrastructure has also been damaged or destroyed. China which imports oil from Saudi Arabia is badly affected.

Mongolia, a country with virtually no oil, then offers to supply China with a million barrels a day of high-quality crude oil. The Chinese Minister of Commerce wants to know who exactly is behind the deal and what they have to give in return. It turns out that the Avarga Oil Company is the interested party, and they demand strategic oil pipeline rights in exchange.

Pitt, together with Giordino, and Ivan Corsov, special attaché to the Russian embassy, are investigating the oil company. There are also questionable oil tankers built in the Gobi Desert near the borders with China, where there are no known oil reserves but all owned by Tolgoi Borjin, head of Avarga Oil Company, who has no known political ties or financial backing. The Borjin family are members of the Golden Clan who were direct descendants of Chinggis, accomplished tactician, conqueror, and perhaps the greatest leader of the mediaeval age, better known as Genghis Khan.

After rescuing a survey team from a freak wave on Russia's Lake Baikal, Pitt and Giordino later find out that their ship is being sabotaged and the survey team has vanished overnight. Pitt is forced to get to the bottom of a mystery with far-reaching consequences. Soon he's on his way to Mongolia where he and Giordino have several encounters with Borjin's army of trained horsemen and warriors. In typical Cussler fashion, Pitt manages to outwit his opponents, both physically and mentally.

From the frigid lakes of Siberia to the hot wastes of the Gobi desert, Pitt has to fight off a powerful and ruthless business tycoon holding an astonishing secret about Genghis Khan and is hoping to emulate the legend's greatest conquests - but on a global scale in modern time.

And with the legacy of Khan and the lost treasures of Xanadu as the prize and the future security of the world at stake, there is no stopping Dirk Pitt from taking on the mission to solve one of the great mysteries confronting him and his team.

Readers are taken on a roller coaster ride before the journey ends with an exciting climax.
Treasure of Khan is an enjoyable read.