Dirk Pitt has sidekick Al Giordino; Kurt Austin has Joe Zavala. (Dirk, Al, Kurt, Joe -- can’t guys with names of more than one syllable be heroes?) Dirk Pitt collects classic automobiles; Kurt Austin collects antique dueling pistols. Dirk Pitt lives in a converted airplane hangar; Kurt Austin lives in a Victorian-style boathouse. Dirk Pitt works for NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency); Kurt does, too. And all the usual suspects are still in place: Admiral James Sandecker, Commander Rudi Gunn, St. Julien Perlmutter, computer-wizard Hiram Yaeger.

The book’s format is classic Cussler: a prologue with some deadly historical incident, then on to the main plot set in the near future with lots of underwater derring-do, amazing technology, cool thinking and nonchalance under fire, an irreverent attitude towards authority mixed with ardent patriotism, at least one tall lissome babe to prove our hero has his sexual orientation on straight, despicable villains with no redeeming social value, and a life-threatening climax that will require our hero to accomplish super-human deeds.

It all raises a reasonable question. With virtually no modifications to the formula, why has Cussler bothered to embark on a new series?

Trust me, Kurt Austin takes over from Dirk Pitt with scarcely a ripple.

In 1956, off the coast of Nantucket Island, a crew member of the Stockholm causes the collision with the Andrea Doria then disappears. After the collision, a waiter aboard the Andrea Doria witnesses the murder of several men beside an armored vehicle in the hold of the ship.

Years later, Marine archaeologist Nina Kirov is exploring underwater ruins off an isolated stretch of the coast of Morocco. The structures she discovers seems to attest to an ancient Phoenician port. She also observes a large stone head which intrigues her. Via computer she contacts a friend, another archaeologist at the University of Pennsylvania, who confirms that nearly identical stone heads have been viewed in the Yucatan.

Soon afterwards Nina, unable to sleep, slips out of camp. Returning to camp, she witnesses an armed force execute all the team members still in the camp. The assassins sight Nina and give chase. She eventually literally swims for her life, but a hovercraft pursues her with the obvious intention of killing her. A hand on her ankle yanks her beneath the surface of the sea. Kurt Austin, a diver from an offshore NUMA ship shares his auxiliary oxygen tank and saves her from certain death.

Returning with Moroccan authorities, Nina discovers that all evidence of the camp and its residents has been obliterated. The stone head has been destroyed. There is yet more bad news: her friend at Penn has been killed.

A later attack by the armed force on the ship imperils the lives of all aboard, but Kurt, his friend Joe Zavala, and the captain of the ship manage to outwit and defeat the would-be assassins.

Back in the USA, a meeting which includes Kurt, Joe, and Nina investigates the surprising number of archaeological teams that have disappeared. The sole connection of all the incidents seems to be a non-profit volunteer organization called Time-Quest, a part of Halcon Industries.

Meanwhile, another NUMA operative Gamay Trout is investigating some unusual Mayan ruins. She meets scientist/archaeologist Dr. Chi in the Yucatan, but they are confronted by chicleros, lawless men who steal Mayan artifacts. Her husband goes searching for her when she disappears. Through amazing feats Gamay and Dr Chi barely escape and meet up with her husband.

All these events seem connected and point to a fiendish plot by Halcon. Secrets in the long-distant past hold the key.

Readers of adventure mysteries won’t be disappointed by Serpent. There’s lots of action, loads of seemingly unrelated clues, good guys and bad guys. There’s a kind of paint-by-the-numbers feel to it, however; the reader may be in for a fast ride but won’t become very emotionally involved. It’s a measure of the lack of depth of the main plot that the subplot involving Gamay and Dr. Chi is more engrossing than all the fancy exploits of Kurt and pals.

The writing is sometimes awkward and overdramatic -- even melodramatic -- to the point of interfering with the story’s pacing.

With the butt of the dueling pistol sticking out of his blood-soaked sling, the silver-haired Austin could have passed for a Hollywood buccaneer in an Errol Flynn movie.

There are frequent descriptions of the male characters’ clothing. Add camera angles, and this is a made-for-TV film script.

Readers who want a mystery/adventure thriller and who won’t miss meaningful character development will likely enjoy Serpent. Readers who prefer more emotional depth may be disappointed.

--Lesley Dunlap