Throw in a band of mixed terrorists, Roman artefacts, with delusions of dynasty by deranged siblings and the irrefutable physical evidence that Jesus of Nazareth lived, then include water - from the Mediterranean Sea - and from this exotic mixture, you get another aquatic adventure starring Dirk Pitt and his colleagues at NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency). This is Clive Cussler's 21st effort with Pitt and the National Underwater and Marine Agency. This Pitt novel, co-written with his son, Dirk, elevates skilled adventure to yet another level. The story kicks off from the Aegean Sea to Israel to England and then, back to Turkey. Incidents mentioned are far removed from one another - a pirate attack on a Roman galley in 327 AD, an explosion of a British warship in 1916, and present-day bombings in Egypt and Turkey - these are, however, the common threads in an international web of terror confronting Pitt and his crew.
It starts off with Pitt and his NUMA crew working for the Turkish government in the Aegean Sea, mapping contours of the ocean floor for scientific research. While busy doing their job, Pitt observes a Greek fisherman having trouble with his fishing net not far from their work site. With his snagged nets lost in the deep, the disappointed fisherman leaves the area. Pitt along with assistant Al Giordino then launches their underwater Zodiak explorer vessel and anchor near the site where the fisherman encounters problems with his net.
Both men dive deep and locate the mangled nets, snagged on an anchor and keel of an ancient shipwreck. As usual, Pitt’s bold curiosity has set him on a course of discovery that leads to international intrigue. Together with clay pots and dishes among their finds, they also carry away a rectangular ceramic box, emblazoned with a floral motif from the shipwreck.
When Pitt pries open the lid, he finds a heavy solid gold crown with Roman inscriptions and miscellaneous silver and gold coins inside. Initial identification puts the origin in the time frame of the Arabic Ottoman Empire period. Curious about the Roman artefacts found in an Arabic ship, Pitt contacts his friend Dr Rey Ruppé at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum for an answer. He then flies to Athen for a short holiday with his wife, Lauren and the nonstop action begins.
At Topkapi, the Ottoman palace where the museum is housed, Rupee examines the artefacts, confirming their Ottoman origin. But before the Pitts leave his office, an attack on the palace takes place. In the midst of the chaos and confusion, Lauren is kidnapped by the intruders.
Meanwhile, Dirk Pitt Jr works for NUMA in Caesarea, as a marine engineer helping local authorities reconstruct original port facilities. There, he meets Israeli Antiquities Agent Sophie Elkin who is on an official visit to the site. His crew has earlier uncovered various artefacts from the excavation site, including a papyrus sample with handwritten symbols. Dirk also discovers a watertight box containing additional papyrus rolls with Coptic Greek writing that may trace back to a contemporary of the Emperor Constantine.
Dirk and Sophie quickly develop a friendship that blooms into romance. However, the evil winds that lurk in their future, also threaten the stability in the Middle East.
Cussler has included the entire Pitt family in Crescent Dawn, including Dirk’s younger twin sister Summer. Her NUMA activities take her to England where she and Julie Goodyear investigate the 1916 war correspondence of First Earl Kitchner, who perished when HMS Hampshire sank. A mysterious Manifest links him to a discovery that may rock the modern world.
Pitt pushes the NUMA underwater vessels, like Zodiak and the high-speed Bullet, to new limits when he chases and is being chased by rogues who seek to kill him.
The woman who kidnaps Lauren, Maria Celik, and her brother, Ozden, are the sinister players in an international plot to destabilise the entire Middle East, pitting Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Iran and Israel to war.
Will a new Ottoman Empire emerge in Turkey? Pitt, his son and daughter, and the NUMA crew members find themselves become unwilling pawns in the drama unfolding before them.
Readers will also meet an assorted allied Arab terrorists, traders in purloined antiquities, including a rogue trader and archaeologist named Ridley Bannister.
Crescent Dawn offers the suspense and adventure of previous Dirk Pitt novels, taking the readers on another exciting journey filled with the thrills of the NUMA endeavours.
