Synopses & Reviews
"Clive Cussler has no equal," writes
Publishers Weekly, and he
proved it again with the intricate plotting and astonishing set
pieces of his number-one bestselling
Atlantis Found. Fans wanted
to know how he could possibly top it and the answer is
Valhalla
Rising.
It is July 2003. In the middle of its maiden voyage, the luxury cruise
ship Emerald Dolphin suddenly catches fire and sinks. What
caused it? Why didn't the alarms go off? What was its connection
to the revolutionary new engines powering the ship? NUMA special
projects director Dirk Pitt races to rescue the passengers and
investigate the disaster, but he has no idea of the bizarre events that are about to engulf
him.
Before the next few weeks are over, Pitt will find himself confronted by an extraordinary
series of monsters, both human and mechanical, modern and ancient. He will tread
upon territory previously known only to legend. And, at the end of it all, though many lives
will be lost, and many saved, it is Pitt's own life that will be changed forever...
Filled with dazzling suspense and breathtaking action, Valhalla Rising is Cussler at the
height of his storytelling powers.
Review
"The master of action/adventure fiction strikes oil with this nonstop thriller, which
tangles ancient Viking runes, Captain Nemo's Nautilus, the Red Baron, water
propulsion engines, murderous oil magnates, undersea catastrophes and cruise ship
explosions into a knot that only Dirk Pitt and his laconic sidekick Al Giordino can
unravel....Cussler speeds and twists through the
complex plot and hairbreadth escapes, giving the thriller the intensity and suspense of
a NASCAR race. Historical asides of submarine lore, Jules Verne minutiae and
references to Viking runes in America add touches of real-life oddity to the mix, and
nothing will prepare even longtime Cussler fans for the major surprise he drops at the
end." Publisher's Weekly
Review
"In a world of uncertainty and change, it's comforting to have a constant to rely on,
and Cussler, along with his hero, Dirk Pitt, supplies that constant....This novel is great fun to read and will prove to be as popular as the rest of the
series." Booklist
Review
"No one will ever mistake Cussler's works for
great literature, but they are great fun."Library Journal
Synopsis
"Lean, speedy and packing a wallop of a plot twist" was
Publishers Weekly's verdict of Steve Martini's
The Jury. Now Martini crafts yet another legal nail-biter featuring perennial favorite attorney Paul Madriani.
After a lawyer friend is killed along with his client in a hail of gunfire outside the federal courthouse in San Diego, Madriani takes on another client who he believes is involved at the edges of the double murder. He takes the case not to defend the man, but to find out who killed his friend and why. Madriani is tortured by questions of conflict, his duty to a client who may have killed his friend, and the need to know the truth, wondering whether he himself had been marked for death only to have a friend die in his place. Soon he is drawn into a vortex of crime that spans the Americas.
As he searches for the killer, Madriani rides the crest of a dangerous wave of international drug deals and people who murder for money. Suddenly he realizes it is not heroin or cocaine that resulted in the murder of his friend, but a priceless piece of pre-Columbian art-something so dazzling in the information it holds as to be one of the treasures of the ages.
In a quest that takes Madriani from California to Mexico and the Guatemalan border, he discovers that while the motive to kill may be driven by distant, exotic, and ancient artifacts, the killer, like a serpent, lies much closer at hand.
About the Author
Clive Cussler is the author of many New York Times bestsellers, most recently The Thief, The Storm, and The Tombs. He lives in Arizona.