Vulcan's Forge

Philip Mercer #1

by Jack Du Brul

The dramatic eruption of a volcano in the Pacific Ocean results in a world-wide battle for domination when it becomes obvious that Vulcan's Forge can provide a limitless supply of clean, nuclear energy. A first novel. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Adventure, Action, Mystery, Suspense, Audiobook

348 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Jack DuBrul is a New York Times Best-Selling Author from Vermont who writes techno thrillers. Recently, he has been co-authoring "The Oregon Files" novels with Clive Cussler, taking over from Craig Dirgo with the third novel.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and excellent.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Imagine a story much worse than anything Clive Cussler has written and you have Vulcan's Forge. The main character is a geologist, I mean, the best-most-awesome-smartest-best looking-military trained geologist who can do anything/kill anyone/screw anyone with a look from his deep blue gray eyes at a moments notice. The plot is that he must stop an evil Japanese genius from taking over Hawaii in a military coup AND from getting control of a big ass volcano with special properties that the Russians planted 50 years prior and is now about to sprout out of the ocean. I knew that it was garbage going in, but I was desperate for a book to read and this one was on top of a pile right next to me. It probably could have been decent, but the main character is like a God and everytime he gets himself out a jam he chugs a few beers and wants to bone the hot chick he just saved. If I had to guess, I'd say that the author is fantasizing about himself as an action hero.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Total grudgeread. Quintessence: "Vulcan's Forge" is a giant pile of predictable infantile crap. Period.

The novel's main protagonist Phil Mercer is basically a hybrid of James Bond and Albert Einstein pressed into David Beckham's body. An American geologist with a rebel heart outsmarting the world's brightest minds and taking on hordes of special forces and secret agents on the way while taking nothing but a scratch here and there. Shooting and driving, deep sea diving, infiltration behind enemy lines? No problemo. He even got some time to spare to make the ladies lusting for him happy while saving the world. Oh, did I mention that the guy is a studied geologist and not with the Mossad?

But even if you can stomach this abomination of a main character, the book's dialogue is for the most part part downright stupid, character development is non-existent and the plot is littered with clichés and embarrassing stereotypes. Du Brul's writing is so by the numbers that you can see every twist and turn coming from miles away as the story gets more and more ridiculous with each consecutive page. Just think of the most illogical thing that could happen and you are pretty much on Du Brul's track.

Anyway, to make a long story short: This is an insult to everyone with an IQ above room temperature and not worth the paper printed upon (or the bytes used on your e-reader). Avoid!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vulcan's Forge was the first book in the Phillip Mercer series by Jack Du Brul. It was first published in 1998. I have read the Oregon Files series of novels by Jack Du Brul and Clive Cussler and had been eager to find out what Du Brul's initial solo effort was like. Not only am I eager to read the second book in the series, but I'm actually very excited that there are 5 more books in this series after that.

Vulcan's Forge introduces the lead character, Phillip Mercer, a creative and high energy Geologist with a knack for getting into trouble. The story actually starts in 1954 when a then state of the art transport ship is scuttled on its maiden voyage. The plan behind the destruction of the ship turns out to be a Soviet plot that will be decades in the making.

Jump forward to present day and Phillip Mercer receives a telegram from an old friend that once saved his life. The telegram explains that the recent sinking of a Navy vessel 200 miles off the coast of Hawaii was no accident and that the only survivor of that tragedy is in danger. The survivor of that ship happens to be none other than his old friends daughter. But the mystery thickens for Mercer given that his old friend actually died several years ago.

On top of that, political problems in Hawaii increase the tension as the United States approaches a possible civil war. As North Korea and ex-KGB operatives manipulate the politics of the United States, a new chemical compound is discover to be the result of early underwater detonation of an atomic bomb. This compound could lead to breakthroughs in modern superconductor technology and is exactly the type of technological breakthrough that any nation would kill to acquire.

All of this boils down to a compelling and riveting story that makes the book very difficult to put down. The protagonist, Phillip Mercer, proves to be just the kind of character that readers relate to and want to read more about. Vulcan's Forge is the first book in what I anticipate to be a very exciting series.

[Eli - Bookworm & Vine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this because Jack Du Brul co-writes for Clive Cussler. It was good, definitely not Dirk Pitt.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is possibly the worst book I've ever read. You could make a parlor game out of the unbelievably bad lines. It's not enough he had to make everything a superlative; he had to take a simple sentence, get out a thesaurus, and make it ridiculously stupid.

This book also made me hate adverbs.

Upside, it made me actually laugh out loud several times.

[The Girl with the Sagittarius Tattoo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah, I just can't. Laughably dreadful.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

An overly plotted Clive Cussler clone.

There sure is a lot going on in this one. We've got undersea attempts to secure a neverending power source through forced volcanic eruptions, former KGB agents doing former KGB-ish things, shady Japanese billionaires trying to foment a pro-Japanese racist uprising and secession in Hawaii, there are beautiful women, high-level Presidential involvement, and more!

And our hero? A geologist -- Philip Mercer. (See the Clive Cussler overtones?) As a first novel, 1998's Vulcan's Forge isn't bad. It suffers from "adjective-itis" at times and some of the descriptions are more needlessly florid than they are literary or evocative. Otherwise, Mercer doesn't come across as a credible world-saver. His discovery of the various plots and sub-plots are fine but he's thrust far too quickly into the upper echelons of power and we having him give a personal briefing to the President and Joint Chiefs of Staff (even going so far as to borrow the President's phone and make a call while sitting on the corner of the Resolute Desk beggars belief).

Additionally, the concept of a racist Japanese billionaire plotting the secession of Hawaii by its Japanese population is mildly interesting but the way the players go about responding to it is an example of the "Stupid Protagonist" syndrome.

The fact that Du Brul has since taken over co-writing one of Cussler's multiple series was a fact I was completely unsurprised by. That being said, as a first novel, it's not bad. But while Cussler spent years developing his Dirk Pitt character into one that could credibly sit on the President's desk, Vulcan's Forge tries too hard to push Philip Mercer into the big leagues when he probably could use some time in the minor leagues first to hone his skills.

[Kym Gamble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hadn't read this author before but picked it up because it has a storyline of a volcano being created in the Pacific close to the Hawaiian Islands. While the book did have a storyline that centered on this volcano, it was more of a good mystery and while not a 5 star, 4 is good. I had put it down to read a few audiobooks but picked up right back where I had left off without feeling that I didn't know what was going on.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like my geologist action books :)

[Dan Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally liked this book. I do have a few problems with it. The first problem is that the author thought it was necessary to have a 14 year old girl get raped in this book. Had nothing to do with the actual story, was given way too much detail.

The second problem is that the main character is a borderline alcoholic. This guy never misses a chance to get buzzed. Again, doesn't really do anything other than make me start to doubt the guy's ability to do all of the physically challenging stuff he sets off to do.

Third, although the story itself was really cool, I didn't really believe the character. Here is a geologist who seems to be a master of covert ops. Not just in skill, but in the mindset and tactical knowledge required to be better than many of the professionals he faces. His self-sufficiency needed to be dialed back a bit.

Deal with those issues and this could have been a 5 star book. Heck, get rid of the child raping and I would have given this a 4. That part was just sick and pointless.

Also, this author seems to depict Navy SEALS as people without souls. I know some SEALS and they are far from that. I was more than a little disappointed by that characterization.

[Dee Haddrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this one as I've known Jack DuBrul as an author through his work with Clive Cussler on the Oregon series, which is my favourite of all Cussler's series. This one was really hard to get through. The lead character (Philip Mercer) was a geologist but he's not just any geologist, he's "Super" Geologist!! Seriously, is there nothing this guy can't do??? At least there was eventually a small comment made that he had undergone some training with elite forces (and I stress the 'some'), but he can kill people without a backwards glance, fights like a superhero, oh, and he has a genius level mind and can out think anyone on the planet apparently!! In one part he goes into battle with a troop of SEALs and only he and the the SEAL commander survive - ergo, he's tougher than a whole troop of hardened warriors! Yeah, I don't think so! Oh, and he meets a girl for a matter of minutes and all of a sudden, he's kissing her and treating her like they've known each other for much longer.

I am willing to try the next book though because this was Mr DuBrul's first novel and, if the Oregon books are any indication, he gets a lot better with his characters. And Philip Mercer isn't a bad character; (he's pretty damn likable in fact) it's just that he is too perfect!

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry everyone, Dubrul's good research can't save his heavy-handed writing and shallow, cliche characters. I found it hard to care what happened to anyone, even our ridiculous hero. Must the protagonist hit on the ladies the very moment he saves them from the bad guys? I'll stay with the terrorists, thanks! Dubrul needs to fire his editor, who allowed too many mistakes, such as run-on sentences, unbelievably bad dialogue, and awkward punctuations. Since this is his first I will give him another chance. Besides, the used books store has some for a dollar. My time is worth nothing and I can always use the paper in the gerbil cage. (I don’t have a gerbil, I was just looking for an insult.)

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Loved the way it all tied together. All details mattered. Action from page one!

[Already Overbooked · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not CIA; I am a Geologist

[Rebecca Katus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty standard suspense-action novel. A good book to eat up time on a flight. One thing which seriously disappointed me was how the main character was portrayed. He's supposed to be a geologist, and, as I'm a geology nut, volcanology in particular, I thought this would be very interesting. There is very little true geology shown or discussed at all, and the volcanology discussed is so unrealistic is almost laughable. It's clear the author did not do his homework.

Aside from that, it's not too bad, and it's a fun book if you don't get hung up on inaccuracies.

[Glen Stripling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleased to find Jack B. Du Brul's main character in his action thriller is a geologist, as I am one too. I was intrigued that his novel could have a bit of sci-fi, which would be a genre mix that would appeal to me. But I was astonished that VULCAN'S FORGE would have so many features of realism. Du Brul's writing keeps you on your toes with a spiderweb of various plots that all get resolved in their own time.

The story opens in the summer of 1954 with Captain Linc, commanding the "Grandam Phoenix," an ore ship 200 miles off the coast of Hawaii. Linc is instructed to wreck the ship so his company can collect insurance. When he does, his crew is murdered by men on a "rescue ship," just when an underwater atomic bomb goes off.

About 40 years later, we are taken to the Oval Office, where we find Du Brul's President of the United States is advised a NOAA ship called the "Ocean Seeker" is lost 200 miles north of Hawaii, (and near the point where the "Phoenix" was lost).

Meanwhile, we are introduced to Philip Mercer, (perhaps a play on the word "mercenary?"), a geologist with commando experience in Iraq. He gets a message from someone claiming to be Jack Talbot, and old friend he met in Alaska. The message says Talbot's daughter Tish, is in danger and Mercer finds her in a hospital where there are indeed men trying to kill her. He gets her out and finds men trying to kill him in a car chase in Washington D.C. and a shootout in a subway.

Mercer gives Tish refuge in his apartment while he tries to learn what all is going on.

He soon learns that Tish is being hunted because she was aboard the "Ocean Seeker" that went down near the "Phoenix" site. The site is of interest to an eccentric business mogol named Takahiro Ohnishi a Hawaii resident with an obsession with his Japanese heritage.

Ohnishi feels he has more in common with all ethnic Japanese than American citizens and the people of Hawaii should not have to bear the consequences of America's financial blunders. And it is clear he has an interest in secession where Hawaii could be an independent nation run by himself via his puppet mayor of Honolulu, David Takamora. With money and political power, Ohnishi is able to control Hawaiian society by inducing riots and social upheaval to resist federal control.

The only person who stands in Ohnishi's way is Jill Tzu, a determined journalist, who refuses to cooperate with his increasingly facist propaganda machine. She disappears.

The "Phoenix" wreck site is also of interest to Colonel Ivan Kerikov, a KGB veteran who took part in an old Soviet project called Vulcan's Forge, after a newly discovered alloy was formed from the Bikini bomb test in 1946. The plan was to use a nuclear bomb at a volcanic site north of the Hawaiian islands, sink the "Phoenix" and make this new alloy called "bikinium."

Mercer learns this was done through a KGB front organization called Ocean Front and Cargo, with headquarters in New York and the Soviets were using Ohnishi to disrupt American interests. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kerikov sees that Vulcan's Forge is no longer needed to undermine American interests but it could still be used to make himself wealthy and prosperous.

The President of the United States, frustrated by the possibility of civil war, which could bring a lot of bloodshed to Hawaii, tends to believe that Mercer is doing a better job of investigating all of this than his cabinet, the CIA or the FBI, who tend to get in one another's way.

Towards the end Mercer goes on a commando raid to Hawaii, where he is helped by a double cross on Ohnishi's side and we are given a great final suprise at the end of the novel.

Since I am often interested in action-adventure drama, I found VULCAN'S FORGE to be a page turner. I did find some of the killing scenes and forced sex on a young girl a bit harsh but I realize they are presented in the context of showing Ohnishi's cruelty.

All and all I consider VULCAN'S FORGE a great novel and it leaves the reader left with food for thought on how men who claim to be liberators can by tyrants as well.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly cannot go more than three stars on this book, and that may be stretching it just a little. Say about two and three quarters and I would feel better. Just rounding off to get three stars. Not a bad story really, just seems a tad far fetched. Oh, and wait till you meet the characters. No problems telling the good guys from the bad. The good guys are all real hunks with the chiseled chins and wind swept hair, penetrating gaze and all that bullshit. The bad guys you can almost picture them as evil little trolls, cackling madly through yellow stained teeth while rubbing their dirty little hands, with chipped fingernails crusted with filth. You get the idea. As I said earlier though, the story is fun and the action is fast paced. So not that bad, just figure it as kind of a fluffy piece of cotton candy to rot your brain with.

[Wes · Rating 4 out of 5]

After listening to "Medusa Stone", I decided to go back to the beginning of the series. This story is simply put, more interesting than Medusa and deals with circumstances you can actually relate to. Thankfully, it doesn't linger too long in wrapping up the action after the ah-ha moment of what the mystery is all about. A good, well-paced, fun story with a fairly clean-cut, lone-wolf, slightly-smarter-than-the-braintrust-he-deals-with kind of hero. One of the better "popcorn" reads I've enjoyed.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very undecided on my rating for this novel. The hero, Mercer, is reminded me a bit of the Bond in Flemings novels- kinda of a jackass. He is handsome, commanding, good at almost everything and, for me, really smug. There was just something about him that I just don't like which is a little refreshing.

I'm not sure if I'm going to make the full commitment to reading this series, but there was some good action in this one even if most of the characters seemed like cardboard cutouts. Onto the next one.

[Dan C · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise was a bit interesting. However, in my opinion after the semi-intriguing premise of a new element etc. was exhausted, the book fell flatter and flatter. I couldn't finish it which is rare for me.
Disclaimer: I don't read this type of techno-fantasy book often, I bought it second hand to support charity. So, I am a bit biased as it is not my cup of tea.
If I make the mental effort to try to be objective and impartial... I still think it wasn't good.

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bravo! A good fast read! now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.

The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.

i would highly recommend this author and this book.

[Dave Edlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm rounding up from 2.5 to 3 stars for this one. The title and book cover are the best part, unfortunately. I had high expectations, but the plot was a confusing tangle that left me feeling cheated--just when I was expecting the thrill-level to ramp up, Mr. Du Brul simply ended each thread in the plot. The tension and suspense fizzled.

[Steve Rourk · Rating 2 out of 5]

You have to give Du Brul some credit for doing everything he can to make Mercer the Indiana Jones of the geology world...unfortunately, geology doesn't conjure the same romantic imagery as lost cities and buried treasure.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and easy read and some decent action. Scads of copy-editing errors, unrealistic fights & survival, a plot that was over complicated & unrealistic, and a smattering of misogyny made for a sub par book.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The hero drinks too much for my comfort, but the story was intertaning enough. The pseudo science could be a bit much, I skimmed over some of it.

[Jay Fusco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of Jack Du Brul. I think he is tremendously under-rated. His stories are excellent, sweep you along and totally entertain. I like his characters and the plots.

[Jordan Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Mix together a drunk wannabe Dirk Pitt, a convoluted plot, and writing that’s fair but nothing special, and you have an idea of what Jack Du Brul’s debut novel, Vulcan’s Forge is like.

For a debut work, Forge isn’t terrible. Du Brul has moments of greatness, in which his penchant for constructing non stop action is on full display. There’s a few times in this book that are actually a lot of fun, and would translate well to the big screen. And somewhere within this story, the plot is moderately enjoyable, even if it’s not exactly original.

The problem with Forge is that Du Brul really wants to be a more edgy Clive Cussler (who he did go on to coauthor like 10 books with), and in doing so, he hurts his reputation. Mercer, Du Brul’s knock off Dirk Pitt, is one of the most unbelievable and unlikable protagonists in recent memory. A mine engineer with CIA training, the badassness of a marine, the brains of Einstein, and the sex appeal of Bond, who somehow has the ear of the President and the entire US government in his pocket, and somehow manages to not be an alcoholic despite downing 4 Heinekens in the morning? Pitt was almost invincible in Cussler’s novels but at least he was a likeable character who made sense. Mercer is more of a jerk with a blank check to run around acting like a hero.

The other huge issue I had with this one was the totally random and absolutely unnecessary graphic rape scene of a minor. It did literally nothing to further the plot and rather than be titillating, it came off as gross and predatory. Trying to make the antagonist look evil can be done in far more effective ways that don’t make you, the author, look like a pedophile.

The good news is that Du Brul did go on to much bigger and better things. Teaming up with his obvious idol seemed to be a huge step in the right direction for both Du Brul and Cussler; since taking over coauthor responsibilities for Cussler’s Oregon series, and the most recent Isaac Bell book Du Brul definitely righted a lot of his wrongs and improved tremendously from Vulcan’s Forge. I guess that’s why I am willing to be a little less harsh on this novel than it probably deserves.

[Tim Lowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book kept me interested, but with so many dirty deals
and double-crosses (and a triple-cross),
I had a hard time keeping track of what was going on.
And the more that I read, the more I doubted the entire plot!
And it is hard to discuss this without giving anything away, so :

*** SPOILER ALERT! ***

If someone set off a nuclear bomb near the Hawaiian Islands
in the 1950's, wouldn't someone have noticed??
Even if it was 200 miles offshore in 7000 feet of water,
wouldn't there have been some effects?

And if you are running out of time (10 minutes?),
trying to reach an enemy ship on a helicopter,
then when you are 1 mile away, why would you decide
to swim from there?
(A 1-mile swim in full scuba gear at 2-3 miles per hour (?)
would certainly take longer than you have!)
And at 1-mile, the ship would already see the helicopter!
And if a ship is under way, there is no way that you can
swim to it.
And if you accidentally get run over by it (?!),
you will be crushed by it,
you will not then be able to just swim up into it.

And this may seem trivial, but:
Is it an SR-71 Wraith or an SR-1 Wraith?
And is it really reasonable to bring a submarine up
to periscope depth without changing ballast?

Also, it really bugged me to read of the
"jarring explosion" that they heard on the jet fighter
when it when it broke the "sound barrier".
(The "sonic boom" that can sometimes be heard on the
ground when an airplane exceeds the speed of sound,
is NOT heard on that airplane.)

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the blurb: “Beneath the Pacific Ocean the earth writhes, spewing lava, churning water to steam, rolling the surface of the sea. A volcano surges upward, carrying in its fiery heart a mineral more precious than gold, thousands of times stronger than steel, and more powerful than uranium. Soon the volcano will break the ocean’s surface. When it does, all he’ll will break loose.” The back jacket compares to Clive Cussler and Ian Fleming.
Definitely a story that falls within the thriller category. Philip Mercer is an interesting character, and the background given about him explains some of how he becomes involved in the situations presented. And this genre often requires a willingness to suspend belief in the credibility of circumstances. While I enjoyed the action of the story, it would occasionally stretch beyond that ability to suspend belief. And the copy I read had just enough editing issues to prevent me from getting into a long, uninterrupted stretch of reading, which probably aggravated those more implausible sections.
Overall, fun and quick read. I won’t rule out following Philip Mercer on more adventures, but he probably won’t be in the top tier of my choices.