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Treasure

Author: Clive Cussler

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN: 0007205597

Year Published: 2005

The story starts off in the past when the great Library of Alexandria which housed the knowledge of the Egyptian, Greek and Roman empires as well as those little known civilisations that rose and fell far beyond the shores of the Mediterranean, was ransacked, burned and destroyed by some fanatics after being ordered by the Christian Emperor Theodosius in 391 AD.

However, much of the collection was believed to have been secretly saved and spirited away.

Could some of these fabulous art treasures and volumes from its magnificent library be carted away somewhere for safe keeping? Like across the Atlantic?

That’s an improbable if intriguing notion and it is this idea that this adventurous novel is based on. It features the greatest treasure hunt of all time some 1600 years after the fabulous wealth of knowledge had disappeared.

The story also covers the bloody attempts of two supposedly religious fanatics (who turn out to be brothers in a criminal dynasty) to seize power in Egypt and Mexico, respectively as well as the kidnapping of the legitimate presidents of these two countries aboard a cruise ship.

The story then switches back to 1991, when a United Nations plane carrying the Secretary-General on board crashes in the icy water of Greenland. Apparently, it has been brought down by a cunning terrorist.

Caught up in this dazzling mystery is Dirk Pitt, a major of the Air Force Academy who's been seconded to the National Underwater & Marine Agency or NUMA as their Special Project Director. He happens to be in the area on an undercover search mission for a crippled Soviet submarine. He suddenly finds himself involved in an even more dangerous mission as he fights the bad guys with his brand of moral justice.

The exploits include tracking the cruise ship in which the conspirators secretly remove the most precious items and ship them to Tierra del Fuego.  With the aid of some Special Forces agents,  Pitt then defeats these hordes of Arab and Mexican terrorists in several brutal encounters, before locating and saving the treasure.

As usual, Cussler takes the readers on a highly enjoyable and exciting adventure that is filled with thrills, fear and violence.

Dirk Pitt’s quest to recover the Alexandrian treasure combined with his battle against the forces of murderous international terrorism is a story that is filled with razor-edged suspense and it will surely keep the readers glued till the end.