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Summary: An outstanding mix of techno-adventure!
Review: Mr. Du Brul has created a character that appeals to everyone. Mercer is sensitive and a man of action when neccessary. After the first page, you find yourself drawn into what is happening to his characters. The reader is never bored with down scenes, but you are not bombarded with only action ither. There is a well thought out plot and the book moves along at a very nice pace. When I finished I had to immediately order Mr. Du Brul's second book, Charon's Landing. I found that I had to know what was Mercer going to do next? All in all, this book is the best mix of Clive Cussler and Tom Clancey. You might think that this is too much praise for a first book, but it isn't. You will really enjoy getting into this book. I would recommend buying hardcover because you will find yourself wanting to collect these!!!
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Summary: Good reading but too many Anti Asian propaganda.
Review: Ok book with obvious plots. Good for light reading
Rating: 
Summary: It had its ups and downs...
Review: Overall this was a good book. The humor was refreshing and timely, the action was decent, and the characters were interesting. But the book wasn't very balanced. Some parts were much better than others. But it nonetheless, kept my interest 'till the end. Because I think the author has promise, and because the sequel has received higher ratings than this book, I do plan to read it as well. I would recommend the book but only if you're checking it out from the library.
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Summary: If You Like Dirk Pitt, Consider This Geology Adventure
Review: Philip Mercer, mining engineer, is a worthy addition to the pantheon of adventure heroes who rove the globe to save the world for democracy. He is as tough, well connected, smart, and fearless as any of them. If you haven't read a good adventure yarn about the good guys versus the bad guys in a while, this book may be a good choice for you. It is the first of a series that now includes three books (the next two are Charon's Landing and The Medusa Stone), and gets better with each one. The main mystery here involves an underwater volcano, so the story could just have easily involved Dirk Pitt, which is why I used the headline above. Du Brul's strength as a writer is an ability to create really intricate plots that keep your attention from wandering. This book clearly has a five star plot, with double, triple, and quadruple crosses abounding. There's a surprise ending that you will appreciate. The book has lots of action, and more than a little violence. So if you like shoot 'em ups, you will like this one. If you like a more subtle story, you'll probably find this a little crude. Think of this as being on the masculine end of the masculine adventure story. The book's main weakness is that Du Brul is still developing as a novelist in this one. His transitions are not always smooth, and sometimes it is possible to get lost for a minute or two. As a new novelist, he doesn't always take full advantage of developing the characters as much as he could. On the other hand, he builds interesting characteristics to keep you thinking into the characters he does establish. Since this is not a deep book (despite being based in part in a deep part of the ocean), Du Brul has the wit to be a little ironic with himself and his dialogue. Just when you think the formula will go one way for the plot, he will twist it just enough and add a pun in the dialogue to make you laugh at the normal plot conventions. I found the book to be very entertaining, fast-paced, and with a constantly-evolving plot. That made it a good quick read for me. I think you may find it to be similarly enjoyable. If you dislike Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, and Ian Fleming, then skip this one. It is just the lastest incarnation of books in the same genre, with a geologic twist. If you like those authors, Du Brul emulates them, but is not yet in their league. He does show high poential, though.
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Summary: A nifty evi-scientist gimmick jumps starts thriller debut ..
Review: Publishers' Weekly 12/8/97 "A nifty evil-scientist gimmick jump-starts Du Brul's thriller debut. Du Brul's well-calculated debts to Fleming, Cussler, Easterman and Lustbader, his technological, political and ecological research and his natural gift for storytelling bode well for a more seasoned sequel." But don't wait for CHARON'S LANDING. Read VULCAN'S FORGE now!
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Summary: what a disappointment
Review: Sorry everyone, Dubrul's good research can't save his heavy-handed writing and shallow, cliche characters. I found it hard to care what happened to anyone, even our ridiculous hero. Must Mercer hit on the ladies the very moment he saves them from the bad guys? I'll stay with the terrorists, thanks! Dubrul needs to fire his editor, who allowed too many mistakes, such as run-on sentences, unbelievably bad dialogue, and awkward punctuations. I will not bother with the sequel.
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Summary: GREAT DEBUT FOR "DU BRUL"
Review: This book follows the road of Clive Cussler stories. Cussler is still tops in adventure stories, but DuBrul does shine through here. The story does capture the reader's attention from the word go. I beleive DuBrul does have a future in writing. The main character is Phllip Mercer, a geologist, who got the skills to fight villians, the brain of a detective, and a body to hold liquor. Oh, by the way, he seems to be able to get the girl in the end as most heroes do. One of the lines in the book is when Mercer is talking to a damsel in distress is, "WHAT'S YOUR NAME... SHE ASK MERCER. MOST DAMSELS CALL ME LANCE A. LOT, BUT YOU CAN CALL ME MERCER. MERCER SMILED AND THE GIRL REWARDED MERCER WITH ONE OF HER SMILES RIGHT BACK! Good times for Mercer at the end of the story. In most stories of adventure the villian is always captured, but in VF, the villian is ........ I can't give it away, but go get the book. The second novel, featuring Mercer, is Charon's Landing. Come back next month for my next review.
On this being Dubrul's first time out,I was impressed. Charon's Landing has my dollar
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Summary: Du Brul's First Book!
Review: this book needed an editor's attention. In fact, in some places it is just plain sloppy. That said, on to the story: great plot for this kind of book. In fact, Hawaii did have a secession movement some years ago, and who knows what a nuclear device could do if detonated near an emerging undersea volcano. Gotta give DuBrul at least two stars for thinking up the plot and developing a few interesting characters. And, as we say when reviewing what is essentially a commuter book, this is not the Higher Criticism. Disbelief is suspended and the reader gets a good ride. Unfortunately all those printing and syntax errors are just a few too many speedbumps along the way.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad for a start but...
Review: this book needed an editor's attention. In fact, in some places it is just plain sloppy. That said, on to the story: great plot for this kind of book. In fact, Hawaii did have a secession movement some years ago, and who knows what a nuclear device could do if detonated near an emerging undersea volcano. Gotta give DuBrul at least two stars for thinking up the plot and developing a few interesting characters. And, as we say when reviewing what is essentially a commuter book, this is not the Higher Criticism. Disbelief is suspended and the reader gets a good ride. Unfortunately all those printing and syntax errors are just a few too many speedbumps along the way.
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Summary: FIRST BOOK HAS TOO MANY PLOTS
Review: This book was on a list of promising new authors for 1998 soI bought it and tried reading it.There are so many characters andplots that you will need a programto figure it all out. Especiallyif you have to put it aside for aday or two.That's not hard to dobecause it is not a page turner.Several countries are scheming toclaim a new volcano before itcomes to the surface. It must beoutside the 200 mile limit of Hawaii for another country toclaim it for themselves. Riotsare staged in the Islands to keepAmerica distracted. The need is to claim the volcano for miningrights to the new metal formed bya nuclear blast in the volcano.There are so many nationals fighting to be first that dead andmutilated bodies abound ad nauseam. An American geologist gets involved and naturally defeats all the evil men but onewho disappears but he's sure toturn up in a future book. I thinkMr. DuBrul tried too hard to comeout of this as an equal to TomClancy on his first trip out of the gate. A little less wouldmake a good story for his nextbook. If you want good actionread Dead Reckoning by Robert Furlani to get your money's worth.
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