Rating: 
Summary: Top notch action-thriller
Review: Take a dash of Robert Ludlum, throw in a heaping tablespoon of Clyde Cussler and you have Jack DuBrul's latest techno/spy/thriller, River of Ruin. The action is nonstop and the plot, while far-fetched, is close enough to reality to make you think "this could actually happen".One aspect of DuBrul's writing that I appreciate is his attention to detail without getting bogged down in technology or arcane acronymic references. Unlike the many Clancy-clones, DuBrul's works ring with authenticity without reading like an internal memo from the DoD. If Chinese spies, buried treasure, endless intrigue and amazing escapes from death sound like fun to you, get this book!
Rating:
Summary: Mercer Moves Mountains, Maintains Mayhem
Review: The newpaper headline aside I really liked this book. After reading the tedious Red Rabbit by Clancy, this book was refreshing. The Clancy book took forever to read and was more suited for insominacs, this book moved along at a rapid pace from the first page.
It starts with a bang when he goes to Paris to buy an old diary written by the first person who tried to build a Panama canal. After he buys the diary the book takes off on a wild journey through and under Paris to Panama.
Whereever Mercer goes the body count mounts as he always seems to find the wrong people in search of the truth.
I like the book because of some of the honest statements about people and guns, like at more than 50 yards shooting a pistol with accuracy is only seen in the movies, or words to that effect.
Best of all is the cast of characters and the parts they play in this book, one of the heros is his best friend Harry who at 80 comes to the rescue. All in all this was a great read, I work weekends and still found time to use every non working minute to read a few pages until I was finished.
One last thing, there of course is the evil villian and his henchman and the femme fatale, but it would not be a Mercer book without them. Some books like Cusslers who have similar plots in each of his book I found tedious, but these I seem to find refreshing as duBrul seems to find new ways to keep my interest.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a very good novel
Review: This is a book full of mistakes. The research is very poor, even unacceptable at times. For example, the author said you cannot be French to become part of the Legion Etrangere, this is completely incorrect. Another aspect very annoying is the tentative to put French sentences here and there. Nothing wrong with the idea, but then write in correct French, "Combien du soldats?", "Bon idee", and many other sentences are absolutely wrong. More than two third of the French text is full of errors. Visibly DuBrul didn't bother to ask a basic French speaker to check his translation. This carelessness makes me wonder about the rest of the techno-mumbo-jumbo... DuBrul's characters are uselly very black and white, but this time it's not even funny: The perfect american superman, against the nasty (and ugly) chineses, with the arrogant French spy. It's shallow and often very pathetique. Overall I was very desappointed. I put one star because anyone who manage to write a book deserve that at least, but it's probably the last time I will bother to read a DuBrul.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Character Development
Review: This was the first novel by Jack DuBrul I read and was impressed. I generally like good character development and that the main character has associations and friends and to learn something about the character. DuBrul does this with his Phillip Mercer character. He is not overly macho, has foibles, has expertise in something other than law enforcement, which I feel is over loaded in the market. There is a sense of humor throughout the book and subject matter is very timely. I have always been a big fan of Clive Cussler and his Dirk Pitt character, Dubrul DOES provide me with another enjoyable and interesting character to follow through his future.
Rating:
Summary: Best Book yet!
Review: What happens when you combine Dirk Pitt and James Bond? You get Phillip Mercer. Jack Du Brul has plunged geologist Phillip Mercer in the middle of a plot to gain control of the Panama Canal. Drawn to Panama to help an old friend, Mercer finds himself neck deep in murder, conspiracy, and a plot to shift power to an elite branch of the Chinese military. With the help of Harry White, a US Army Captain, and several members of the French Foreign Legion, Mercer makes the connection between an old journal and lost Inca treasure. This is Jack Du Brul's best book yet!! His characters are well developed, the action is fast, and the plot is believable with enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.
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