I read this in an environment that was as stressful as it was completely boring, and with pretty much no choice of books to read. That said, I do like the Dirk Pitt series -- I trust it to be some mindless fun action-adventure type reading. And this book delivered. It was fun, I liked the story, and it cheered me up while I was reading it. That said, this book, and the series in general, never really leaves me reeling or clamoring for more. I read this books one or two at a time, and I like it like that.