This was a pretty good spy/action thriller. I never did comprehend how the crystals used as a "superweapon" in the story, somehow graduated to usage in a Supercomputer-- but I wrote it down to my own lack of comprehension.Sadly, there are times when the Team figures out stuff that they absolutely could not really know and do stuff that is above and beyond normal human endurance. Things like hoping around because the bad guys have your prosthetic leg-- or somehow enduring water boarding--- I liked the way the bad guy get his towards the end.. the most realistic element in the book. Decent pulp adventure fiction, but nothing spectacular by any means. Better than most of the Cussler stuff. {SPOILER ALERT} The Jungle, written by Clive Cussler, takes place deep inside the Jungle, near the Great Wall of China, when Marco Polo witnesses an ancient ruler named Khan, defeat an army by using gunpowder and crystals. Cussler then fast forwards to near present day time on board the Oregon ship- a ship that on the outside looks like a nasty, old, freight ship, but is really one of the most advanced ships on the water, fully capable of defending itself. This is the headquarters for Juan Cabrillo's team. Working with the Corporation, Juan and his team put their lives on the line to help people, while saving America from disaster. When they save a young child who was kidnapped and taken to Afghanistan to become a suicide bomber, the elite team meets MacD Lawless - a southern soldier who then joins the team. Then they take on another mission to save a rich finacer's daughter from the Burmese Jungle, but know something isn't right when the finacer insists his man- John Smith comes along. When the team travels through the dense jungle and Mr. Smith secretly takes down an old bridge with most of the team on the other side, they realize that Mr. Smith has doubled crossed them- and is holding a female team member hostage. Other members aboard the Oregon manage to save Cabrillo and MacD (members who were stuck, when the bridge gave), and track down their friend aboard an old Oil Rig just in time, along with the finacer's daughter (who they were supposed to find in the jungle). Cabrillo and the team find out that this mission was a cover-up for the father of young almost suicide bomber-Gunawan Bahar. He had eluded team for two missions, to set the stage for his plan to defeat America and force the country to convert to Islam, by creating a quantum computer. When he sends the president his own launch codes, the president realizes America is at its knees, but before Bahar can execute his plan, Cabrillo leads the team to pay a visit at Bahar's little secret fortress, thus killing him and his brother-in-crime Mr. Smith. The Corporation's team represent a large portion of America, from America's culture to its way of life. The members showed nationalism when they went out on the line, knowing they weren't getting paid, to save their home country from a cyber attack. The love and affection for a child is shown when MacD goes to extremes to save his little daughter. Although the team uses expensive equipment, they do not follow the "money can buy happiness" as can be seen by how they don't live really rich lives, yet out their lives on the line to save others. Although not American, nationalism is see throughout the extreme nationalist-Gunawan Bahar, when he devotes his life to following through his beliefs to expand Islam. The writing style is very American, and the audience best suited for this story is probably because of the most of the story is about an American group working together, fighting for their country's safety. Although they beat the 'bad' Islam extremist, this could also increase the pride of many Islamists, probably islam extremists. This is similar to how the soldiers "Lone Survivor" didn't make it (except for one), yet the book greatly increased American pride. Cussler does a great job of keeping the story exciting, and his method of telling many completely seperate stories and then linking them all together at the end is very interesting. It's nice to see a story come together from other sources. He also makes the text interesting by using literary devices, that really add to the content of the story. I was slightly dissapointed in the ending, every part of the story logically made sense, except for the end, which wasn't his way of writing. However, I find Cussler's writing very interesting to read, and enjoyed the exciting story of The Jungle thoroughly.
What do You think about The Jungle (2011)?
I avidly read Clive Cussler books. This one disappointed because it became predictable.
—Sylvia
Loys of things going on but well worth keeping track.
—pol
Fans of David Baldacci will love this one!
—charlie20
