Serpent by Clive Cussler
From the classic novel Raise the Titanic to Flood Tide, Clive Cussler and his fictional alter ego Dirk Pitt(R) have earned legions of fans worldwide. Now, the author of numerous consecutive bestsellers unleashes a hero for the next millennium in an electrifying new series of unrelenting action and edge-of-your-seat thrills. On the bottom of the icy sea off Nantucket lies the battered remains of the Italian luxury liner, Andrea Doria. But few know that within its bowels rests a priceless pre-Columbian antiquity -- a treasure that now holds the key to a puzzle that is costing people their lives. For Kurt Austin, the leader of a courageous National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) exploration team, the killing begins when he makes a daring rescue of a beautiful marine archaeologist. The target of a powerful Texas industrialist named Halcon, Nina Kirov was attacked off the coast of Morocco after her discovery of a carved stone head that may prove Christopher Columbus was not the first European to discover America. Soon Kurt and Nina embark on a deadly mission to uncover Halcon's masterful plan -- an insidious scheme that would have him carve out a new nation from the southwest United States and Mexico, and ride to power on a wave of death and destruction. With Austin's elite NUMA crew attacking the murderous conspiracy from different sides, an extraordinary truth emerges: that Columbus may have made a fifth, unknown voyage to America in search of a magnificent treasure. And that the silent, steel hull of the Andrea Doria not only holds the answer to what the explorer may have found -- but the fate of the United States itself.My career as a fiction writer began thanks to an 18th-century pirate's poor navigation. And it was in 1717 when the Whydah, a ship transporting a treasure, ran aground. In the 1980s, three salvage companies competed for the opportunity to find the wreck. The salvage debate heated up at times, and I wondered if their narrative could be turned into a book. Aristotle Soc Socarides, an ex-cop, diver, fisherman, and private investigator, was created by myself.
He was more enlightened than ruthless. Cool Blue Tomb was his debut appearance, and the book earned the Shamus Award for Best Paperback Novel. After many years in the newspaper industry, I decided to try my hand at fiction writing and completed five more books in the series. Paul Kemprecos is the best mystery writer in America, according to Clive Cussler.
Despite the praise, the Soc series remained stuck in the middle of the pack. By the time I finished my most recent novel, I was considering a different job, such as working in a 7-11. Clive called a few months after the release of Bluefin Blues to say that a Dirk Pitt spin-off was in the works. It'd be called the NUMA Files, and he wanted to know if I'd be interested in working on it.
My wife sealed the deal by saying, What else do you have to do? Austin had some nautical experience, and another team member, Paul Trout, was a Cape Cod native. Every one of the seven NUMA Files that followed, including Polar Shift, which beat out The DaVinci Code for first place, made The New York Times bestseller list. I'm still writing and working on the Soc series' e-book publication.
Christi and I currently reside on Cape Cod, where she runs her own financial services firm. We have two kitties and live in an 1865 farmhouse. We have three granddaughters and three children. Visit Paul Kemprecos' website at http://www.paulkemprecos.com/ to learn more about him.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781451627107 |
| ISBN 10 | 1451627106 |
| Title | Serpent |
| Author | Clive Cussler |
| Series | Numa Files |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year published | 2011-05-31 |
| Number of pages | 564 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |