covediver
Contributor
As I have noted in this forum previously, I like reading vintage dive- or ocean-themed adventure novels. I recently finished reading Scuba! by Joan and Clay Blair. Published in the late 1970s, the novel tells the story of a three-man crew of a live-aboard dive-sailboat in the Bahamas. The skipper of the vessel takes his crew of mostly newbie divers to a remote location in the Bahamas convinced that destiny is going to bless him by finding a treasure ship. The authors have good character development and one cannot help but sympathize with the crew. Treasure is found, but not as expected, and the curse of treasure soon divides the crew and passengers with a few twists. The book is a product of its time, an obsession with the fear that divers have of sharks and a mildly interesting subplot about one of the passengers plan to make a "soft porn" underwater movie. Compared to what one sees on broadcast TV today, the plan seems tame and PG by comparison. An entertaining read, the book's only real literary fault is the abruptness with which the story comes to a conclusion. One expects that it may have exceeded the standard paper-back length that publishers of day required and the authors had to trim a lot off the end of the story.
