Date first published	11 November 2010
ISBN Number	0 71815 740 0
Page Count	550 h/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

In A.D. 327, a Roman galley with an extraordinary cargo barely escapes a pirate attack. In 1916, a British warship mysteriously explodes in the middle of the North Sea. In the present day, a cluster of important mosques in Turkey and Egypt are wracked by explosions.

What ties them all together? NUMA director Dirk Pitt and his team are about to find out, as Roman artifacts discovered in Turkey and Israel unnervingly connect to the rise of a fundamentalist movement determined to restore the glory of the Ottoman Empire. From Washington to London to the treacherous shores of the Near East, dangerous men and desperate acts fill their path, and at the end of it, the most dangerous thing of all: the rumoured existence of a mysterious “manifest,” lost long ago, which if discovered again . . . just might change the history of the world as we know it.

Review

The Last few stories involving Dirk have had him mostly desk bound, with his two children making all the running. This story actually finds Dirk (Snr) out and about on the water. Initially doing some simple research, but getting dragged into something far more sinister, purely by accident. We also have a very brief appearance from Loren, who has been rather quiet in the last few books, and no appearance of Yeager and his super computer 'Max'.

All of these factors give the story a refreshing air. The past few books have relied on Pitt being in Washington champing at the bit, getting involved in something then relying on Yeager and Perlmutter to find the evidence that cracks the mystery. Perhaps the only downside is the bit part played by Giordino, who is very much in the background, and at times you miss his laid back attitude to life and anything that gets in the way of a nap!

In the past we would have Pitt hunt down the perpetrator, and sort him out, in the last few stories, and this one is no different the reckoning is dealt out by a third party, it never has quite the same fascination or release of Dirk confronting the bad guy and giving him what's due to him. Although Pitt on this occasion does deal out justice to the evil sidekick.

So what is the book all about? Well to put it simply a story of power greed and stolen antiquities. Ozden Celik wants power, he believes himself the last of the Ottomans, and wants what he rightly believes is his returned to him the whole of the old Ottoman Empire. He and his sister set about creating Religious tensions by attacking important Muslim centres, and stealing sacred artifacts. As the atrocities increase he hopes the Turks will vote in his puppet leader, from which he can then take control. Unfortunately Pitt is caught up on a raid on a museum, and instead of letting the matter go Celik decides on revenge, and in doing so destroys his whole operation.

In Israel Dirk Junior has found love, in the comely shape of an antiquities investigator. While on a stake out they discover the plot to destroy the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Unfortunately Sophie is killed whilst trying to defuse one of the bombs, leaving DIrk to seek out the people behind her death, and ultimately joining forces with his father as they realise they are all fighting one foe.

Summer has been fighting her own battles with a mysterious academic, whose loyalty is to no one but himself, not even those that pay him. He soon turns to the forces of good when an antiquities collector decides that he has paid enough, and simply decides to steal what he wants.

What of the Manifest, well I'll leave you to find out!

I liked this story, it had several strands, which in the end all point to one direction ultimately, but this time are much better organised, and Dirk and his two offspring actually have something meaningful to do. It just needs to drag Giordino back to the front of things to make the stories more complete.

As you will have noticed Sandecker barely rates a mention. He does appear albeit briefly, and to some extent he is sidelined. Hopefully his term as Vice President will end shortly, and he can help Pitt back out into the thick of the action.

The book also eases off on the issues of Global warming, and the ecology of the seas. This has been done to death and it is nice to get back to a pure adventure both on and off the sea. The story is still not up to the likes of Inca Gold or Treasure, but it is a measure better than the last couple of stories.

I still think that for the series to grow it would be better to go back into Dirk's past, and have a series of adventures in between the stories we already have, when he and Giordino were younger and fitter, and ready to take on anyone. By Cussler's own admission the timeline of the Pitt adventures is already slightly shot so it really makes no difference. By going back slightly, we lose Dirk (Jnr), and Summer, leaving it to Dirk and Giordino to sort out which de clutters the story. remember we have a host of other bit characters to help if needs be. Having 4 lead characters is two much and I think it stretches the story too much by trying to give them all something to do. This story has been the exception, but it must be hard to create scenarios which cater for all of the leads.

To sum up, a good solid story set around geopolitics rather than environmental issues.

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