Zen Garden > Book Review - The Treasure of Khan by Clive Cussler

The Treasure of Khan is the second Clive Cussler novel that I have read of late. The first was "Black Wind," a novel that I found mildly entertaining. So, I guess what I was doing here was either confirming my opinion of Mr Cussler or giving him a second chance. Find out which one it was and what I thought of this book here...

Yes. I was giving Mr Cussler a second chance to hook me with his leading character Dirk Pitt. I don't know how others feel but for me, it's the characters rather than the actual story itself - though it is a bonus when the story is a ripping yarn too.

The Treasure of Khan starts in Hakata Bay, Japan in 1281 AD. From there, pretty much it goes like a James Bond novel - all over the place. We get to visit Siberia, Russia, China, Hawaii, Mongolia and even the mythical Xanadu. Most of the action is in Mongolia - a place where all the names have as many vowels as consonants. For example, the capital Ulaanbaatar. Is that a mouthful, or what?

In Mongolia we meet the evil descendant of Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan. Through a means that I will not discuss so I don't spoil it for intending readers this bad guy (like - what else could he be with an ancestry like that?) is using priceless treasures from Great, Great, Great (add ten more "Greats") Grand-pappy Genghis to fund a method of oil exploration. He hits the jackpot and expects to make an even bigger fortune by selling the oil to the Chinese who are desperate for it - thanks to a few other things that he organizes along the way.

I noticed in the previous novel that Clive Cussler gave his own name a little cameo appearance. He does so again in this novel. I actually like this idea. It's nothing much more than a fleeting mention but it is cleverly done. It's a bit Hitchcockish.

One other thing that I couldn't help but notice was several references to AK-74 assault rifles. I don't know who proof-reads Mr Cussler's drafts but I think they missed that. Surely, he meant AK-47 assault rifles - every half-decent terrorist's weapon of choice. There are other errors as well, such as:

"Like an oasis nourishing a heard of thirsty camels..."

You won't get a prize off me for picking the obvious error in the nine words quoted verbatim above. Hmm, maybe I am just way too picky!

Then there was the incredibly UN-believable fight scene between the 20 year-old bikini clad Summer Pitt (our hero Dirk's daughter) and a mean, heavyweight, evil thug more than twice her age and twice her weight. Cussler's description of the so-called techniques used in that encounter made me cringe (Side bar: I have 36 years' experience in these matters). There is just NO WAY on God's green earth that it could happen. Utterly ridiculous.

All in all I found the story limped along, the characters were fairly ordinary and the situations rather extra-ordinary. I don't think I will bother reading any more of Clive's books. The characters are just too woody for me. And Cussler gallops from country to country more often than I make visits to the corner shop.

The Treasure of Khan gets a pass mark but only just - 5.5 out of 10. I was going to mark it a 5.0 but I did learn a few interesting things about seismology, specifically the term seiche wave. For anyone interested it is the freshwater lake equivalent of the ocean's tsunami and it is smaller in size.

See? You can still learn things from books that you don't particularly like.

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Gary Simpson is the author of nine books covering a diverse range of subjects such as motivation, self esteem, affirmations, self defense, wealth creation and much more. His many motivation and success articles appear all over the web.

Gary Simpson is a 7th Dan karate master who teaches self defense, motivation, self help and wealth building to students around the world through home study courses. You may reprint this article as you include this author credit and an active link to his web site. Finance - Self Help - Motivation - Self Defense - Personal Growth MotivationSelfEsteem.com