Dirgo, coauthor of Clive Cussler's Oregon Files
series (Sacred Stone
; Golden Buddha
) follows his solo effort, The Einstein Papers
, featuring National Intelligence Agency senior special agent John Taft, with this lackluster thriller of international blackmail and intrigue. In 1899 legendary scientist Nikola Tesla performs a series of successful experiments designed to send huge surges of electricity through the earth. In the present, after a series of tremors is felt in several European cities, an ultimatum is sent to the government of the Netherlands: free imprisoned Serbian war criminal Radko Ilic or your country will be destroyed by a massive earthquake. Agent Taft has been dispatched to Belgrade to hunt for the earthquake-maker, but after a series of promising leads, he's taken off the case and returned to Washington. The villain doesn't perpetuate much villainy, the threat remains vague and it's difficult keeping all the Serbians straight. Taft is amiable and lethal, but as soon as he begins making headway, Dirgo removes him from the central action until near the end. Most importantly, the author swaps a treasure trove of fascinating Tesla material for a quick and easy doomsday machine. Tack on a tearjerker epilogue, and you end up with a disappointing novel from a writer capable of far better work. (Jan. 3)
