Kurt Austin is the dashing leader of the National Underwater & Marine Agency, an exploration team that has a knack for saving the world from global disasters and ruthless megalomaniacs. The dastardly villain is Boris Razov, a potentially insane Russian millionaire who thinks he's the second coming of Ivan the Terrible and has plans to destroy the East Coast with an enormous tidal wave. The premise may sound silly-would-be czars, giant tsunamis-but the authors skillfully make it all come together. This intriguing, high-tech adventure has thrills, wit and a dose of testosterone. Especially clever is Austin's post-Cold War relationship with his Russian black operative doppelgänger known only as Ivan. While Tom Clancy's books may have gotten bogged down in incomprehensible techno-speak, Cussler knows how to keep a story surging ahead. Gadgetry never gets in the way of 007 flair.