Clive Cussler introduces Sam and Remi Fargo in Spartan Gold, which is the first book in the Fargo Adventures series. Husband and wife, Sam and Remi Fargo are treasure hunters with a team of three researchers helping them along the way.
In Spartan Gold, Sam and Remi are on the hunt for Chesapeake Bay criminal’s loot, from the 1820s, thought to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
While searching for this loot, Sam and Remi accidentally chance upon a World War II German U-boat grounded on shore and in it, a very old bottle of French wine that they learn is from “Napoleon’s Lost Cellar”. Apparently, the clue on the bottle leads to another bottle which reveals another clue. These bottles then lead Fargos on an adventure across Europe to eventually uncover a thousand-year-old treasure of two solid gold pillars that Napoleon discovered 200 years ago. This is Napoleon’s lost treasure of gold, the Spartan Gold.
Unfortunately, they are not the only ones looking for this treasure though. An unfriendly half-Russian, half-Persian millionaire, Hadeon Bondaruk, is also on the hunt for the same treasure. And he believes himself to be a direct descendant of the Persian King, Xerxes the Great, who is said to have raided the Treasury at Delphi, carrying away two gold pillars as tribute. Bondaruk is more than willing to kill anyone who gets in his way.
There are a few things to like about this book. The history is interesting, the discoveries are exciting, the riddles fun, and the bad guy is really bad.
Sam and Remi’s relationship is appealing to the readers, too. They are a sweet and endearing couple. They appreciate each other, can count on each other, and are romantic, even when facing lIfe-threatening situations.
Sometimes, Cussler’s descriptions can get a little wordy, but his writing style really gets you into the story.
The plot of Spartan Gold dips and swirls around Napoleon Bonaparte, one of Western history’s most interesting and controversial figures. The story begins in 1800 with Bonaparte and his army making a daring and dangerous traverse across the Pennine Alps. During the course of their journey, one of Napoleon’s soldiers stumbled across a fabulous treasure trove. The prize consists of two gold pillars that, as legend has it, were taken by Xerxes the Great of Persia when his army raided the treasury at Delphi. Unfortunately for Napoleon, he is unable to transport the treasure. Instead, he creates a map to the treasure, cuts it up into 12 pieces, and conceals each piece as a part of a wine label.
Although he had every intention of coming back to retrieve the treasure, later events prohibited him from doing so. And when Napoleon died, the 12 bottles disappeared, until now.
Bondaruk combines a canny intelligence with a wicked brutality, and while he respects the Fargos’ ability, he also sees them as obstacles to be used and removed as quickly as possible. The Fargos rely more on their encyclopaedic knowledge in their pursuit of the treasure, using violence as a last resort. The husband and wife team pursue the treasure as they themselves are pursued by Bondaruk, and the opposing sides race across the world to a climax that is played out against a tableau with a rich and bloody history.
