The Medusa Stone [Audiobook] [Unabridged] (Audio Cassette)

I don't want to give out too many more plot details, because this is a thriller where much of what the hero is told, or deduces, in the first hundred pages turns out to be not quite the truth. It's not a kimberlite pipe Mercer is supposed to find; the villains of the piece aren't who Mercer thinks; the strange ally Mercer finds in beautiful Eritrean Selome has affiliations Mercer can't quite fathom; there are more groups interested in Mercer's ultimate prize than he knows, and they are all working at cross-purposes without being aware of each others' interference; and, to top it off, what Mercer is after in the so-called kimberlite pipe, which isn't just a kimberlite pipe, is an ultimate prize located not far from the REAL ultimate prize of which Mercer is completely unaware.

Either your appetite is whetted, or you're too confused to care. But as Mercer hunts for clues to what's really going on, and who is manipulating him, the action starts to erupt. In truth, though, this thriller doesn't have the most exciting first hundred pages known to the genre, and I started out a bit worried. The early mayhem mainly consists of multiple airport shoot-outs, and it is only when the story shifts to Eritrea, after all the false info has been established and all the airports can be allowed to calm down, that this book pans gold out in the desert. Or rather, not gold, but...never mind. By the time Mercer is trapped, alone, in a tunnel seeping toxic mercury and only wide enough for a child to squeeze through, much action has livened things up, and much more is to come.

Besides the action and the revelations about what's really in Eritrea waiting to be dug up, the book features political intrigue threatening to become incendiary, romance (albeit of the standard thriller variety, with quick sex and instant passion), wonderful supporting characters for Mercer to: meet and greet, like Habke and the troubled monks of Debre Amrak; or slash and bash, like sly Mahdi, or despicable Hofmyer, who answer to...well, never mind.

In short--enough pyrotechnics, technobabble, history and geography, and all-out action, to keep you busy.

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"The Medusa Stone" is as well written as "Vulcan's Forge", has a very good plot, and moves like a good novel should. While this adventure does not take you to every corner of the globe the way "Vulcan's Forge" does, it is full of intricate little plot twists that kept me turning the pages. The characters that have survived from Du Brul's earlier novels have grown to the point that I can almost see their features and hear the inflections in their voices. Not many novelist have been able to bring me to that point.

For what it's worth, I would recommend this book. I would also recomend reading the first two books from this author (yes, even "Charon's Landing") before reading this one just to get the total historical perspective.

(As an afterthought - I hope Du Brul will see fit to write a "pre-squel" to give us a better picture of Mercer's involvement in the Iranian situation.)

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