I grew up reading Alistar McLean and then went to the Dirk Pitt series. However after about 10 of them they sort of crashed and burned and I quit them. Then Cussler start the Oregon FIles and then I came back and back again with each novel. I truly believe that Du Brul is the reason they are so good along with the point that they come out slowly and not every other month like the rest of Cussler's series.
The story is great. Let's be real here, these stories are escapist fiction and believability is not that important, nor should stand in the way of a rousing yarn. So Tesla and his inventions once again are used to frame this story. We have the Chairman seeking revenge for the death of a friend and ending up with a syfi problem with flying ships and Russian rouge navy admiral. The action is good and fast paced.
Okay now for the three stars: I believe that books should be consistant in story line. Any time an author "zags" in the middle of a story and goes off to another story and back, that there should be a purpose for it, if not, then 3 stars for story line.
For some reason, toward the end of the novel, Cussler takes off on a wild pirate chase concering missing money from the Iraq war. Just out of the blue we fight pirates and then back to the Russian. All for no reason. Don't get me wrong this little "zag" is well written and entertaining but ......what the heck?