Charon's Landing

Philip Mercer #2

by Jack Du Brul

Paid millions of dollars by a rogue Arab oil minister to sabotage the Alaska pipeline, Russian mastermind Ivan Kerikov accidentally crosses paths with geologist Philip Mercer, who begins to unravel a tangled web of ecological and economic terrorism. 75,000 first printing.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Adventure, Action, Mystery, Suspense, Audiobook

384 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Jack DuBrul is a New York Times Best-Selling Author from Vermont who writes techno thrillers. Recently, he has been co-authoring "The Oregon Files" novels with Clive Cussler, taking over from Craig Dirgo with the third novel.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Druga część serii o Mercerze. Lektura bardzo zbliżona do powieści Cusslera, pewnie dlatego, że autorzy współpracowali ze sobą przy paru książkach.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another cheap potboiler du Brul has apparently written to a formula. There are so many action scenes in this one, it makes the reader weary. How a geologist can survive that many attempts on his life, with bullets, blows and every other type of assault du Brul could imagine, is way beyond reality. The premise itself is so implausible it is almost laughable. And a SEAL team that would let him join them in an operation???

du Brul, who has written for Cussler, uses the same old formula again: constant action and violence, lots of weapons, exotic machinery, and many types of vehicles and locations. Back and forth between the locations. But I had to force myself to try to finish the book, and even then I only skimmed the last pages. Ug...

Although the book is very well proofed for typos, apparently du Brul did not feel a need for a technical consultant to review it. There are so many technical errors, exaggerations, fantasies and stretches that it is obvious that the author thinks his readers are technically ignorant action junkies who will be satisfied by reading one action scene after the next, regardless of imaginary physics or reality.
Examples are the explosive ANFO being called AMFO, a tunnel boring machine employing a cutting head with a matrix of buckminsterfullerine because it is so hard (!), and the rotating grinding head spinning at 15,000 rpm!
Du Brul, your lack of attention to detail and accuracy is an affront to the intelligence of your readers, and I cannot take any more of these.

[Meredith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I probably should have stopped at the first Mercer story. But the second was right at my finger tips, and so I went ahead.

But early on we get animal torture.

We get Mercer, who drinks to excess all the time, yet is completely in control of his drinking.

Then Du Brul sets up a straw man arguments and through Mercer goes on a "more righteous than thou" anti-environmental rant that would have been questionable in 1999 when the book was written and most certainly sound foolish with 17 years of further data.

I don't mind a good, rigorous exchange of ideas about how to balance environmental needs and business needs, but at the moment I started having flashbacks to the ranting, one dimensional professor of God's Not Dead, I had to stop reading.

[James Yaklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what Jack Du Brul's evolution as an author is. But I honestly believe he experience some kind of evolution between the writing of Vulcan's Forge and this book.

Honestly, about halfway into the story I began thinking it was really just kind of a rehash of Vulcan's Forge. And then the story got interesting.

Mr. Du Brul managed to pull together a multi-theatre conspiracy that literally spanned the globe and had no shortage of intrigue and action. Further, Mr. Du Brul certainly took an opportunity to develop his characters fully. I did enjoy the reintroduction of several characters from Vulcan's Forge; albeit, at least one of them was a little too coincidental. But no matter, it was enjoyable.

Philip Mercer becomes more developed and starts evolving into a pretty bad ass civilian operative. More than capable of going up against some pretty calculating terrorists - including his archnemesis.

Mr. Du Brul mixes in a fair amount of adventure, action, humor, and romance. Oh, about the romance part. I'm not sure where Mr. Du Brul's mind was when he came up with the character of Aggie Johnstone but my gracious I felt like I needed a cold shower after a few of her scenes.

All in all I find the Mercer series to be developing quite well.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was a gift - a quick read. It maybe ranks 3 stars because of the fast pace and suspense. None of the constructs in the plot made any sense to me - even the geography seemed off. BUT the big thing was the premise of the bad guys (there were a bunch of these with different motives, some of which did not wash). The US announces it will stop importing oil in ten years. Not sure why. But this story was written in the 90s - hardly anyone had a cell phone! This is well before Tesla, major advances in renewables and really, the dawn of the fracking revolution. It was hard for me to get by these things that just did not fit. 2 stars.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a follow up to Du Brul's Vulcan's Forge. I enjoy Mercer's character and his relationship with Harry White. For someone that loves and gobbles up FBI, CIA, espionage, USA saving the day kind of books, this is right up my alley. I downloaded and started book #3 after turning the last page, so I apparently enjoy them!

[Michael J. Monahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mercer surpasses Cusler

This is the second Mercer book that I've read and although book 1 was a great story but the writing was just awkward enough for a first book.
Book 2 was gigantic leap forward! It kept me pinned to my seat. Book 1 was the intro to Mercer but book 2 brought him alive! A definite must read!

[Keith Kindle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional!

A really great read with a fast pace that manages to keep the tension high. A remarkable degree of plots within plots all driven by greed. Mercer just knows there is trouble, but like the blind man and the elephant, the scope of the amount of trouble was not easily discerned. Excellent writing and story!

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not even good trash, it is just trash. The characters are cartoonish. The story is implausible. And the ranting goes on and on. I felt like I was reading some MAGA trash. Making the environmentalist the terrorists is ridiculous. The story is not even told very well. Maybe because it was so absurd and nonsensical. What a waste of time in reading this trash.

[Mike Finton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good adventures

Mercer must have more scars than any other human ever! He's Superman but not indestructible. Bullets fly around him, other people die but he just keeps going like the bunny. What a a hero. And he always gets the girl!

[Gary Stoltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing tale

This story was told with such attention to detail that it makes the feasibility of such a thing happening scary to contemplate. The imagination required to put all of the various scenarios together is incredible and Jack Du Brul does it masterfully.

[William Viergever · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK I’m hooked

Decided to delve into Du Brul b/c of Clive Cussler (RIP)… and all I can say is in the Subject line. This Mercer series is off the hook. I’m a binge reader so still have few to go; can’t wait.

[Piet · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great read.

My wife like to read fantasy novels but not like this one.

Unbelievable but plausible.

How Mercer survives everything, misadventure after misadventure.

I didn't want to put it down, extending my 15 minute breaks more times than I would like to admit.

[Addam · Rating 5 out of 5]

found this series because he ghost wrote fro another series i liked and have started following this series too. great writing and just enough twists and turns to keep you coming back for more!

[Abhinav Joshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fictional story with many plots and twists. Suggest this for those who enjoy espionage.

[Jeff Fambrough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying this Philip Mercer guy and Jack does a good job making the adventure his own!

[Dusty Schlecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storytelling

Makes you feel like you are part of the action, Jack Du Brul really knows how to paint a picture.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and love the Mercer character. Sometimes long winded and maybe dated a little. Enjoyable all the same.

[Gene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predictable,but enjoyable

Typical techno thriller but we'll written. Third solo authored one of his I've read. Love his co-authored Oregon Files. Enjoyable reading.

[Tim Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hard to put down, exciting from beginning to end. I am loosing sleep!

[Donald Bogert · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite of the series.

[Marcus Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bit of a “rocky” start but explosive action from the halfway point until the end

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining adventure hero.

[Marianna Girello · Rating 5 out of 5]

È stata una bellissima avventura! Ricca di scene inverosimili ma che fanno bene all'immaginazione! Mercer il mio preferito come sempre ovviamente!
Saga che sicuramente continuerò!

[KerryO · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non-stop action for a geologist forced into action to prevent an international environmental disaster. So glad that Philip Mercer survives for another adventure!

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just could NOT get into this books. The plot and characters were so formulaic that it did not hold my interest no matter how much I tried.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: there are a couple of very disturbing scenes in this book that are not for the faint of heart. Especially if you’re an animal lover.

For a geologist, Mercer is very knowledgeable in a lot of subject. Plus he’s a bit of a MacGyver.

While this is a very exciting and complex story I wish there weren’t so many innocent people dying and other gruesome things. In detracts from my being able to dig in and enjoy the story.

I’m falling in love with Mercer especially his house. Though he needs to settle down and stop drinking so much. But the interaction between Mercer and Aggie is wonderful.

BTW: you don’t have to cross the Atigun Pass to get to pump station 5 so don’t know why it was a problem. There are a couple of small towns beyond station 5 that would be blocked if closed off.

Footnote: 1) I think part of ‘Guardian’s Mate’ by Jennifer Ashley also takes place in Homer, Alaska. Not sure since it’s been several months since I read it, but I usually follow the routes and locations in books on Google maps and the saloon location sounds familiar.

2) Interesting that Google maps show the Richardson Highway going a long ways east (instead of north) from Valdez before looping back around north to Highway 1 and heading way back west (the really long haul) to Anchorage. You’d think they’d be an easier way to get there.

Fave scenes: Mercer’s lecture confrontation, Mercer shooting Harry, Khalid’s escape from London and the oil rig escape pod.

[Ty · Rating 3 out of 5]

i have really enjoyed other books in the Mercer series by Du Brul, but it really felt like the author mailed this one in. "Charon's Landing" is set up as a sequel to "Vulcan's Forge" (which was pretty good), with the return of the bad Russian and everything. however, the nature of the plot against America and humanity was so convoluted, i found it hard to get into the story. the addition of the gratuitous most-beautiful-woman-in-the-world, who happens to be an evil billionaire's daughter and immediately falls in love with Mercer is Bondesque in the extreme. in any case, lots of things go boom, which is good, but the book is about 100 pages too long as it tries to tie up the loose ends of the globe spanning plot. not one of Du Brul's good ones...skip it.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philip Mercer, DuBrul's hero, returns to fight KGB assassin Ivan Kerilkov in this densely written but action-packed thriller. People double- and triple-cross each other in the convoluted plot. Mercer works with the US government, who want to open the Arctic Wildlife Refuge for offshore drilling, much to the consternation of eco-terrorist group PEAL.

The book suffers from overkill (in some cases, literally). There are too many characters to realistically keep track of. The science is sound, to the author's credit. However, on page 420 he uses the absolute worst simile I've ever read: a person is "screaming like a rape victim in a deserted parking lot." How unbelievably tasteless of you, Mr. DuBrul. Hopefully, your writing gets better from here on out.

[Anna Mari · Rating 3 out of 5]

An older book, we find a Russia with a vendetta against Mercer and a thirst to sabotage the US even though the cold war is over. Charon's Landing is a cold war era plan to destroy the Alaska Pipeline with modern elements added by the evil mind of Ivan Kerkikov. Mercer stumbles onto the plot after finding a fishing boat adrift in the seas around Alaska that had been burned. Enter pretty environmentalist Aggie Johnson and there is enough tension to cut with a knife. Big fight scenes, adventure and the forever bachelor Mercer and we have an adventure on our hands.

I found parts tedious as the same information was repeated often with the same metaphors. However, a good action book without much need for thought is good for the beach!

Adult language and themes.