Calvera keyed his radio mic. "Soto, this is Captain Calvera, over. Do you need assistance? We saw three explosions-" Only Cabrillo and the Oregon crew stand between the Pipeline and huge destruction. But this is the place they work best . . . He snatched up a satellite phone from his command station, then turned toward Santos as he pulled his pistol from its holster. This is Capitan Calvera of El Valiente. We are a flagged ship of the sovereign nation of Argentina sailing lawfully in international waters. Who are you and why are you pursuing us with the intention of harm?"

A few quibbles, first, the pace in the middle because of the details that almost turn this adventure into a geopolitical thriller. Second, Juan is on the verge of being a superhero towards the ending- a little OTT, and third, PLEASE, no romance, don't turn The Oregon into the Love Boat.

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Captain Calvera heard the tension in his first officer's voice. They were both hovering over a military-grade electronics suite-something his commercial fishing trawler El Valiente shouldn't have but did. Santos saw the flashing comms light. He pulled on his earphones and tapped a button. A moment later, he glanced up at Calvera. Mike Maden takes over writing the Oregon Files in this 16th installment of the long running series and succeeds wonderfully with probably the most bonkers Cusslerverse book in a long-while. Cussler books can often fill like you've read the same one multiple times and they work best when you feel that they've landed on something novel. Mike Maden has done this with Hellburner. Calvera swore violently. He'd butchered men for lesser insults. But he swallowed his pride-a tactical necessity.

When the Oregon team uncover a ship full of contraband, smuggling turns out to be the tip of a very deep (and dark) iceberg. But before the laugh had escaped his mouth, the two six-barreled rotary canons of a Russian-made Kashtan close-in weapons system opened up from the top of the cargo ship’s forward mast. The canons delivered ten thousand rounds per minute but it only took one brief, earsplitting second for the Kashtan to deliver enough 30mm explosive tungsten-tipped ammo to utterly destroy Calvera’s smaller weapon. Calvera crossed over to Rico and clapped a hand on his shoulder. The young helmsman was grinning ear to ear with pride in his vessel and his captain. They would put plenty of distance between themselves and the old junker within minutes. Calvera laughed as the Sungu Barat’s bridge windows shattered instantly, and chunks of the rusted bridgework pulverized beneath the hammering shellfire.Blue-eyed, sandy-haired Juan Cabrillo—posing as Captain Soto—held on tight. The rigid-hull inflatable boat bounced beneath him as it raced across the dark blue water. The four-man team was kitted out in body armor, flash-bang grenades and silenced H&K MP5 submachine guns strapped to their chests. With millions of innocent lives hanging in the balance, the Oregon's crew must unravel a tangle of drug-smuggling routes and international conspiracies spanning from the Aegean Sea to the Indian Ocean. But to do so means putting their lives on the line to find the weapon - before its countdown hits zero... Eddie Seng, a lean and wiry Chinese-American, sat near the bow. The ex-CIA operative held the pneumatic telescoping boarding pole. It featured a grappling hook and a wireless video camera so that he could see what they were up against before climbing up the rope ladder. He wore augmented reality glasses synced to the camera. A series of twists keeps the book racing ahead. Cussler fans won’t be disappointed.” — Publishers Weekly Cabrillo’s Corporation of mercenaries may have finally met its match in The Pipeline—a criminal syndicate passed down from father to son across generations. A group that sits with its finger on the trigger of a torpedo so deadly it could level entire cities. With millions of innocent civilians hanging in the balance, the Oregon’s crew must unravel a tangle of drug-smuggling routes and international conspiracies spanning from the Aegean Sea to the Indian Ocean, putting their lives on the line to find the weapon before its countdown hits zero.