cover image Plague Ship

Plague Ship

Clive Cussler, Jack B. Du Brul, with Jack Du Brul, read by Jason Culp. . Penguin Audio, $29.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-14-314309-3

Two different narrators tackle abridged and unabridged versions of Plague Ship —with strikingly different results.

Plague Ship Clive Cussler with Jack Du Brul, read by Jason Culp. Penguin Audio , abridged, five CDs, 6.5 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 978-0-14-314309-3

The fifth installment of Cussler's Oregon series is a thrilling and wildly entertaining adventure in which the top-secret ship comes across a cruise ship in the Atlantic with a cargo of dead passengers littering its deck. Jason Culp reads with a gritty, darker tone geared toward the more mysterious aspects of the tale. The result is a truly involving experience in which the characters are realistic and well played, the atmosphere is dark and brooding, and the story itself unfolds steadily. The only downside here is that crucial plot points tossed overboard for this abridgement take away from the story as a whole. Nevertheless, Culp manages to command his audience and successfully guides them through the treacherous waters. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 14). (June)