The Sea

Rating:
Summary: The Search For Nazi Gold
Review: Author Elliot Wages is looking for some time off on his boat in Florida when a friend puts him in contact with a salvage operation that needs help. The goal is a Nazi submarine packed to the gills with stolen gold. The search has the crew in the middle of the Sargasso Sea in the Bermuda Triangle.

Things begin to go from bad to worse. A ninety-foot barge goes missing in eighty-feet of water. Two divers and necessary equipment went missing with it. Then things start breaking and people start dying. Is it the Triangle at work? Or is it giant megalodon sharks and giant manta rays? There seems evidence for both.

But Elliot manages to wade through all of the troubles and setbacks and put the puzzle pieces together. Action, intrigue, and danger flow quickly as things spiral toward disaster. Can Wages save the day and save the apparently doomed expedition? You will have to read to find out.

This was an entertaining book with a nice mix of human and natural danger. I really liked the character of Elliot Wages and wish that we might see more of him in other books although plot-wise that is not very likely. Still, it was a very enjoyable bit of escapist reading.

Rating:
Summary: Crucial Setting
Review: R. Karl Largent's title refers to the Sargasso, a patch of the Atlantic famous for its floating weed. This setting has unusually high significance to the events of this "techno-thriller". It is beneath the surface amid the sargassum and "swarm quakes" as well as the above-surface fog that the villains perpetrate their deceit. The protagonist, Elliott Wages, is a thoughtful and, as we discover, vulnerable sort that relates the action in the first person. A salvage expedition (treasure hunt) is being sabotaged and Elliott assumes the task of peeling the onion. The reader is privy to his suspicions and discoveries, making for a very quick read. I enjoyed this story and consider it reminiscent of the best classic mysteries, if not a little too formula. In spite of the occasional credibility stretch the premise is not all that far-fetched. Very entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Crucial Setting
Review: R. Karl Largent's title refers to the Sargasso, a patch of the Atlantic famous for its floating weed. This setting has unusually high significance to the events of this "techno-thriller". It is beneath the surface amid the sargassum and "swarm quakes" as well as the above-surface fog that the villains perpetrate their deceit. The protagonist, Elliott Wages, is a thoughtful and, as we discover, vulnerable sort that relates the action in the first person. A salvage expedition (treasure hunt) is being sabotaged and Elliott assumes the task of peeling the onion. The reader is privy to his suspicions and discoveries, making for a very quick read. I enjoyed this story and consider it reminiscent of the best classic mysteries, if not a little too formula. In spite of the occasional credibility stretch the premise is not all that far-fetched. Very entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Readable
Review: The author could have done more with the story. There are numerous technical errors that take away from the story and after a few I found myself looking for more. Overall, the story isn't too bad, with an interesting look at the Sargasso Sea which seems to be rarely mentioned in fiction except for vague references to lost ships or airplanes. More character development would have been nice (and made the book thicker). Worth a look.