Adrenaline Genre: Adventure

Author: Clive Cussler
Title: Atlantis Found
Genre: Adventure
Publication Date: 2000
Number of Pages: 530 pgs.
Geographical Setting: Antartica, Telluride, Colorado, St. Paul’s Island, Metro Washington D.C.
Time Period: With background stories from 7120 B.C. and 1858, the main action takes place in early 2001.
Series: Dirk Pitt, #15

Annotation:

This action-packed, Dirk Pitt adventure features the breakneck pacing, exotic locations, technical background and oceanographic and archeological exploration typical of Cussler’s works. Starting with background tales from a 7,000 B.C. comet strike and resultant civilization loss and planet-wide climate and geologic alterations, to mid 19th century whaler locked in Antartic ice Cussler evolves an entertaining page turning yarn replete with Nazi descendants sparking a world endangering plot. Of course they have Dirk Pitt, sidekick Al Giordano and the ubiquitous National Underwater and Marine Agency to contend with first.


Subject Headings: Atlantis, Dirk Pitt, Geographic Myths (from Evergreen Indiana catalog)
 
Appeal: Breakneck Pace, Exotic Locations, Artifact Hunting
 
Three terms that best describe this book:  Action-oriented, Plot-driven, Heroic

Similar Authors from NoveList:

•    Fleming, Ian, 1908-1964   
•    Will Adams, 1963-
•    Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child
•    Ted Bell
•    Matthew Reilly

Relevant Non-Fiction or Ancient Works and Authors

•    Santos, Arysio. (2011). Atlantis: the lost continent finally found. Lynwood, MA: Atlantis Publications.
•    Plato. (2000) The Atlantis Dialogue. Shephard, Aaron, Ed. Shephard Publications.
•    Rink, P. (2006). Admiral Richard Byrd: Alone in the Antartic. Sterling Publishing.

Plot Summary [spoiler-laden]:

The story begins with some decently worded prose describing a large comet strike around 7120 B.C. in the Hudson Bay area. The impact causes cataclysmic events including wiping out most of the world’s civilizations and shifting continents around the globe. The story moves on to describe how the highly advanced Amenes culture predicted the event and left behind sophisticated predictions of a similar event. Nearly 9,000 years later a mid-19th century whaler discovers an 18th century ship frozen in Antarctic ice. In the older ship’s hold are artifacts from this ancient culture. As the ice field suddenly begins to break up, the captain’s wife manages to escape from the derelict ship caring an unusual black obsidian skull. Over 140 years later, a Colorado miner invites archeologists to the odd room he discovers off an old mine shaft which contains another skull. When attempts to-bury the mine explorers alive bring in a scuba-diving rescuer, we finally meet the multi-talented Dirk Pitt. Pitt and his partner, Al Giordino, work for the National Underwater and Marine Agency. Their agents seem to turn up wherever needed in the nick of time. The artifacts and archeologist, Dr. O’Connell, move to Washington only for the group to learn that another obsidian skull was found much earlier in Antarctica. The two skulls and the cave inscriptions are deciphered with the aid of the stereotypical computer geek and his A.I. supercomputer. As more clues become available, Giordano heads to the remote St. Paul Island near Australia while Pitt heads to the Antarctic. Both teams are attacked by the New Destiny group. New Destiny’s Wolf family, the clone-like, genetically engineered descendants of a Nazi officer, use their WWII U-boats and multi-national corporation to fund a maniacal plot to usher in the “Fourth Reicht” by explosively separating the Antarctic ice shelf from the continent. They hope to upset the balance of the earth in a cataclysm equal to the prehistoric comet-created one. This villainous family is worthy of a Bond megalomaniac. Lovers of technology and conspiracy theory will find much to geek over. Worth mentioning is the re-engineering of Admiral Bird’s failed Snow Cruiser. Pitt and buddy Giordino are on their way to assist the combined U.S. special ops forces in disrupting the explosion plan. They drive the Snow Cruiser through the ancient city of Atlantis, magnificent even though locked in a layer of ice. The pair save the world as usual. The book closes with exploration of the ancient city beginning.