Date first published	2004
ISBN Number	0 718 14723 5
Page Count	437 p/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

The story appetizer starts at just before the outbreak of World War 1. A pilot is shot down over the French Alps wearing a 200 hundred year old steel helmet. Shoot forward to the current day, and a group of people starring in reality show are attacked and killed by strange mutant creatures, and th matter hushed up. Meanwhile Kurt is in the Alps at the bottom of a deep lake with a beautiful archaeologist, when she is summoned back to the surface to give advice on a man wearing a peculiar helmet. As news of the discovery gets around, an attack is made to recover the helmet and its owner. Kurt is dragged into the murky world of international arms dealers. At the centre a family who live for the next generation weapon, but also something else - immortality.

Whilst Kurt is tackling the mysterious and murderous family, the Trouts investigating a new type of seaweed are also dragged into the mystery when they are kidnapped at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. What is the secret of the Lost City, and who is trying to keep it's secrets so permanently.

Review

The franchise is definitely getting into the swing of things. The characters are now more assured, as is the writing. The formula is much the same as the Dirk Pitt novels, with several story strands all combining at some point to lead to a particular person or organization that is behind the problems.

The story cracks along at quite a pace, although I have to say that the Trout characters come across as much more interesting than does Kurt and Joe. At first appearing to be just a harmless couple, they certainly are a couple with attitude, and are quite happy to see their opponents crushed by whatever means. The Fauchards come across as a suitably evil opponent, although I did think that Emile and his mother were disposed of rather too easily. The Fauchards were very well planned, and what a family to live in, where husbands, wives and siblings could all mysteriously die simply for becoming a threat! It was quite amusing to see Emile plotting his mothers downfall, whilst she had come to a similar conclusion about her son.

Other subsidiary characters, whilst slightly typecast were interesting and helped the story along, building the tension where necessary. One interesting point was the American assassins. By the end of the story as far as I can recollect, they are still running around, so may appear in the future. However they are nowhere in the league of Foss Gly from the Dirk Pitt series. Cussler has yet to come up with a criminal half as dangerous Gly.

The stories early rescue, has a whole new dimension. I had never thought that people might actually live and work at the bottom of a glacier, but there you are. A reasonably good story, good villains, some interesting twists and turns, although I think the ending was a little bit to easy, and Emile Fauchard certainly should have been a tougher adversary.

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