Traffic on Mopac in Austin is a special kind of hell. It's the only place where I miss the organized chaos of a convoy in Baghdad. At least there, people moved with purpose. Here, I need something to keep my blood pressure from blowing a gasket. Enter Clive Cussler. Or rather, Graham Brown writing in Cussler's sandbox.
I picked up Rising Sea because I needed a mission that didn't involve spreadsheets or client emails about firewall protocols. Kurt Austin is usually good company. My wife Linda calls these "boy books." She's not wrong—things go boom, the tech is borderline magic, and the good guys always have the right tool for the job. Sometimes you just want the mission to go right.
When the Science Goes Rogue
Here's the sitrep: Sea levels are rising fast. Not the slow-burn climate change stuff we hear about on the news, but a rapid, catastrophic surge. The cause? Some rare alloy in the East China Sea. (Because of course it is.)
The plot is absolutely bonkers. We're talking about a plan to displace a billion people to shift the balance of power in the Pacific. As a security consultant, if a client brought me this scenario, I'd laugh them out of the room. But in the NUMA universe? It works.
Brown keeps the pacing tight. We bounce from shark-filled waters off Asia to Tokyo streets to secret islands. That same breakneck momentum shows up in Lost World, another Brick performance where the action doesn't let you catch your breath. Feels like a deployment where the intel changes every six hours. The action scenes are crisp—Cussler's brand always nails the mechanics of a fight, even if the physics are a little... creative. There's a Yakuza assassin in the mix who adds serious heat. Realistic? Hell no. Entertaining while I'm idling next to a Tesla? Absolutely.
The Voice in the Humvee
Let's talk about Scott Brick. I know, I know. He's polarizing. I've heard guys say he sounds like he's reading a eulogy for a hamster. Or that he's too melodramatic.
But here's the thing—and maybe this is the old officer in me talking—I value consistency over flash. Brick is consistent. His voice is clear, precise, and cuts through the road noise. He brought that same clarity to Jurassic Park, where the technical jargon could've been a mess in lesser hands. He doesn't do those ridiculous high-pitched voices for female characters that make me want to drive off a bridge. He plays it straight.
That said, I have to run him at 1.25x speed. At normal speed, he drags. Pauses too much for effect. Crank him up a notch, and suddenly he sounds like a briefing officer giving you the rundown before a tactical insertion. Tightens up the performance significantly. Leave him at 1.0x, you might zone out. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Mission Debrief
Is this literature? No. It's a tactical extraction from reality. The kind of book where you know the good guys will win, the bad guys will get what's coming to them, and the gear will be cool. After a long week of dealing with corporate paranoia, that's exactly what I need.
Who's this for? If you want a no-stakes commute companion with globe-trotting action and zero emotional complexity, you're in. If you need character depth or plausible science, keep scrolling.
Ranger slept through the whole thing in the back seat, waking up only when I cursed at a lane merger. He's a tough critic, but he didn't whine once. I'll call that a win. If you need a co-pilot for a long haul, Kurt Austin and Scott Brick (at 1.25x) are a solid choice.
