The sixth Philip Mercer book was not Du Brul's best, but it was entertaining. The series is very similar to Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt books, with the primary difference being that the main character is a mining engineer rather than an underwater expert. Deep Fire Rising was a bit more fantastic than the last few Du Brul works. I do like that Du Brul is willing to allow his bad guys and natural disasters actually be bad; that is, when bad people do bad things, good people may actually be hurt or even die. Too many writers (one of my criticisms with Clive Cussler) will give a huge buildup for the calamity of an event, but then pull their punch and find a way for innocent bystanders to miraculously survive unscathed. This book has several episodes where innocent people die, which gives the story (as fantastic as it may be), a sense of reality. ( )