Critics and fans everywhere have welcomed the enormously entertaining new series from Clive Cussler: the adventures of Kurt Austin, taken from the NUMA(r) Files. Hailed as a hero for the new millennium, Austin is the leader of NUMA(r)'s Special Assignments Team-and the threat before him now is definitely special. A confrontation between a radical environmentalist group and a Danish cruiser has forced Austin and colleague Joe Zavala to come to the rescue of a shipful of trapped men; but when the two of them investigate further, they discover that something far more sinister is at work. A shadowy multinational corporation is attempting to wrest control of the very seas themselves-no matter what havoc results-and is killing anyone who attempts to stop them. When Austin's boat blows up and he just barely survives, it seems certain he is the next in line to die-but he cannot stop now. For the environmental disaster has already begun, and only he and NUMA(r) stand in the way. . . . Rich with all the hair-raising adventure and endless imagination unique to Cussler, White Death is an exceptional thriller from the grand master of adventure fiction. Adult/High School-Kurt Austin and his partner, Joe Zavala, of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, receive a frantic call about a crew trapped inside a sunken ship off the Faroe Islands. Using cutting-edge technology, they pull off the rescue with a new submersible, only to find themselves involved with members of an environmental group and, at the same time, up against the mysterious Oceanus Corporation. After several attempts by Austin at industrial espionage to gain information about Oceanus, he and Zavala, other members of NUMA, and select individuals from the environmental group unite in their attempts to prevent the corporation from unleashing hundreds of genetically altered, large white fish into the oceans. Starting with historical background, the authors smoothly move the story into the contemporary plot. The information about genetically altered fish provides enough detail for understanding events without overwhelming readers. Myriad secondary plots supplement the main one, and lots of action keeps the story moving at a swift pace. Cussler and Kemprecos have a gift for fitting history, science, and action into an interesting story, and this book is an example of their best efforts. Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. Cussler's fourth book written with Kemprecos chronicles the exploits of Kurt Austin, leader and hero of NUMA's Special Assignments Team. The plot involves Austin and his partner, Joe Zavala, who are investigating a feud between a radical environmentalist group and a Danish cruiser. Austin and Zavala must come to the rescue of men trapped on the ship. They find that a giant multinational corporation is seeking to kill anyone who attempts to stop its efforts to control the seas. There's lots of action, as always; Austin dodges a hand-grenade attack by plunging into frigid water and is saved at the last minute, he fights off attackers with a trash-can lid, and--on a number of occasions--the two "face certain death." "Imagine what it feels like to be torn apart by razor-sharp teeth and scattered over the ocean," one of the bad guys tells them. So it goes, more than 400 pages of action and high jinks that Cussler's fans will relish. George Cohen Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Clive Cussler is the author of many New York Times bestsellers, most recently The Spy and Lost Empire . He lives in Arizona. Paul Kemprecos has coauthored all five previous NUMA Files novels with Cussler and is a Shamus Award-winning author of six underwater detective thrillers.