Treasure of Khan

Inhoud

A mysterious Mongolian mogul is conducting covert deals for supplying oil to the Chinese while wreaking havoc on global oil markets. The Mongolian harbors a dream of restoring the conquests of his ancestors, and holds a dark secret about Genghis Khan that just might give him the wealth and power to make that dream come true. Unabridged. 13 CDs.

Bespreking

Being boring

Oil has always been one of the great motivators for battle and corruption. In a world where oil is getting more and more scarce, newly discovered oil fields are worth more than a small oil company can bargain for. That is why Borjin, the head of such a small Mongolian venture, has concocted a plan to safeguard the discovery of an immense oil reserve in Chinese province of Inner Mongolia. Not only is he negotiating with the Chinese government to re-unite this area with Mongolia, he also has a secret weapon up his sleeve. With that weapon he is able to control the oil reserves of all the world powers, including the Chinese. It’s exactly at one of the trial runs of this weapon that Dirk Pitt gets involved. And that might be the end of Borjin’s plans for world domination.

If being boring would be an art form, Treasure of Khan would definitely be hanging in The Louvre. Not that there is technically something wrong with this Clive and Dirk Cussler novel. On the contrary, it is neatly plotted and well-balanced in the amount of action the reader gets. A bit too well balanced, I might say. With the regularity of a clock, our heroes are submitted to life-threatening situations out of which they miraculously escape... in the nick of time. As this sequence progresses they learn more of the evil plans at hand and get prepared for the final action sequence out of which our heroes will come as the ultimate winners. Surprise! Someone who is not familiar with the works of the Cussler-family, might find this story fresh and exciting, but the more experienced fan will begin to see the formulaic structure. And if there is one killer for a good thriller, then predictability must certainly be it.

So if you do not get annoyed by being able to predict the outcome of the story, then this is your book. If not, then you could do worse than skip this one. Believe me!