http://pro-libertate.net/20160101/284-read-medusa ( )

En las islas de Micronesia, un laboratorio submarino de alto secreto patrocinado por el gobierno de los EEUU lleva a cabo investigaciones biomédicas vitales sobre una medusa rara conocida como Blue Medusa. De repente... desaparece.
Al mismo tiempo, frente a las Bermudas, un vehículo submarino ataca una batisfera y la deja indefensa a media milla debajo de la superficie, y sus pasajeros, incluido Zavala, mueren. Solo las heroicas medidas de Kurt Austin los salvan de una tumba de agua, pero, al sospechar una conexión, Austin pone al equipo de la NUMA en el caso. No tiene idea de en qué los ha metido a todos. Una horrible serie de experimentos médicos... una organización criminal extraordinariamente ambiciosa... un nuevo virus secreto que amenaza con desencadenar una pandemia mundial...

SPOILERS

Kurt Austin is the head of the special assignments team for NUMA. This is the same job that Dirk and his mate Al Giordino were doing for many years before Dirk got married to Lori and his kids showed up. (Valhalla Rising) But I guess it was inevitable - that things had to change.

Dirk Pitt now has a non-active role as the Director of NUMA and Admiral Sandecker is now the Vice President of the USA.

In this book Kurt and his team (Joe Zavala, Paul & Gamay Trout) are investigating the cause of a new flu outbreak in China. Then Kurt learns that one Chinese Triad gang developed the flu and released it. They intended to destabilise the Chinese government and bring the Triads into power.

This triad has 3 leaders - a set of triplets. Each is in charge of a different area of the business. One triplet is in Shanghai, another is in Hong Kong and the third is in USA.

The triad has hijacked a private laboratory that was hidden underwater in the Melanesian area of the Pacific Ocean, nor far from the island of Pohnpei.

Kurt and Joe are charged with finding out what happened to the laboratory and to do anything they can to rescue the scientists being held there. Paul and Gamay must do whatever they can to trace the origin of this new strain of flu, and find a vaccine for it. Part of the vaccine is derived from the toxic venoms of jellyfish - hence the title name Medusa.

The action runs from DC to Florida to Boston to the Caribbean, to Pohnpei to Shanghai. This is another excellent adventure. It is also entirely appropriate to have an adventure story about a flu of unknown origin at the exact same time as the world is also battling a flu of "supposedly" unknown origin.

Posted on 12 March 2020 - one day after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the W.H.O. ( )

Owls Head 2021 - #2 Continuing my bizarre tradition of reading a Cussler novel on every vacation, up next in the NUMA Files series - MEDUSA! Creepily appropriate as, believe it or not, this 2010 novel is about a race for a cure for a Chinese-based ......yup......CORONAVIRUS!!!! The typical scrapes and near-death experiences of Austin, Zavala & Trouts abound......(making me certain i'd never want to be friends with this crew - not wise!). Lots of excitement.....learned some about jellyfish.....an underwater laboratory.....and of course the occasionally sappy sexual tension moments between our swashbuckling heroes and the attractive scientists they work to save. All in all a nice fun ride. No regrets! ( )

The plot looks predictable in the beginning but surprises you in the end. Story line is the type of thing you could read in the newspaper. I have always loved Clive Cussler's books and this one is no exception. ( )