Shadow Tyrants

By: Clive Cussler, Boyd Craven III

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

Only Juan Cabrillo and the crew of the Oregon stand between two warring moguls and global havoc in this thrilling suspense novel in Clive Cussler's number one New York Times best-selling series. 

Nearly 2,000 years ago, an Eastern emperor charged a small group with safeguarding secrets powerful enough to change the history of mankind. They went down in legend as the Nine Unknown Men - and now two rival factions of their descendants are fighting a mighty battle. Both sides think they are saving the world, but their tactics could very well bring about the end of humankind. Soon, Juan Cabrillo and his team of expert operatives aboard the Oregon find themselves trapped between two power-hungry adversaries, both of whom are willing to use shocking means to accomplish their goals.  

Cabrillo and the team must divide and conquer as they fight dual threats, which include a supercomputer at sea and satellites that can wipe out technology across the globe - including the high-tech weapons on the Oregon. The crew must rely on their unique skills to stop the tyrants in their tracks and save the Earth from a dynasty of terror.

©2018 Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"Cussler and action-adventure fans will love this… the sheer insanity of the story line will keep readers guessing about what’s going on until the last page of the book." (Associated Press)

“Plenty of action.” (Publishers Weekly) 

Overall, this was a pretty average book.

Unfortunately the quality of all the Cussler series, with the sole exception of the Isaac Bell series, has been steadily dropping off. From the first book in the series I have loved The Oregon Files books. They were always more action packed, more exciting, more edge of you seat, can't put it down. Even when the Dirk Pitt books stopped being good (exactly when Dirk Cussler started writing them) and when the Kurt Austin books got really bad, this series was still very good. This one, and the previous book, were both just merely average. Same with the Fargo books. They were good for a while, but the last one was a snooze fest. Looks like at this point the only series left worth buying is Isaac Bell. Very disappointing. Scott Brick was great as always, but he just didn't have a lot to work with here.

Action packed

I have read many of the Cussler books over the years and have sampled all the various series. I have settled on following the series: “The Oregon Files”. This is book thirteen in the series. I particularly enjoy how Cussler always opens with a storyline for ancient times then moves something about the ancient story into the present time. In this book it starts 2000 years ago as an emperor avoids a coup and entrusts nine scrolls to nine people. In modern time Juan Cabrillo and crew have to deal with the descendants of the nine individuals.

The book is well written and is non-stop action. The plot twists and turns and the suspense at times is almost unbearable. The characters are interesting even the bad guys. As always, the book is hard to put down. I think this story is one of his better storylines. It was great to visit the crew of the Oregon; can hardly wait for the next episode.

The book is ten and a half hours. Scott Brick does an excellent job narrating the book. Brick is an actor and a well-known audiobook narrator. Brick has won twenty Earphone Awards and the 2003 Audie Award in the Best Science Fiction category. I always enjoy listening to his pleasant voice.

Getting too formulaic

I have always loved the Oregon Files books, however they are just getting a bit too formulaic. Scott Brick is great as the narrator, as usual. And I love the actual Oregon crew characters. But the story was boring to me because I felt I was listening to the same old story with only different evil geniuses and locations. I got bored about half way through and am going. to return it.

Fun Adventure

Scott Brick delivers another excellent performance with this one. The plot is nothing to write home about, but it is a fun book, filled with action and funny exchanges.

It was nice to connect once again with the crew of The Oregon in this latest adventure from Clive Cussler.

It's the same old thing from Cussler

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Cussler fan, but its become the same story over and again. The seemingly easy mission that uncovers a major plot for world domination. The last minute escape from a submarine. The rescue of hostages without a scratch. Some more last minute computer hacking to save the day. It's time to find something new.

Lots of skips in the audio

Never had an audio book with such dropouts that I stopped trying to!listen. Poor!
Dropouts in the audio made it impossible to listen to this!

Over the top........a bit

The Oregon Files Series are my favorite by Clive Cussler and co-writer.

The story is a bit over the top, even by past Oregon standards.

If it wasn't for the always great Scott Brick I would not have liked the listen as much.

Overworked

The plot was too complex to be believable. A new character was introduced to the Oregon's compliment, but it wasn't enough to carry the story. Scott Brick was great as usual, but the story was not Cussler's best.

Not the best of the series.

This was the first time I considered ending a Cussler book early. Not his best work.

MacGyver > Mission Impossible > Ace Ventura

Clive's formula is fail-proof. Each book in The Oregon Files series begins with a fascinating historical abstract, which subsequently provides a background for the plot line—read publisher's summary.
IMO, five star ratings should be reserved for those truly exceptional novels, e.g. War and Peace, Ready Player One, Void, Mistborn, Hobbit, etc. Going by that logic, four stars equals an excellent and enjoyable listen. Scott Brick earns five stars for exceptional narration. Highly recommend. Enjoy!