"exciting seafaring adventure"

In 1515, a Basque caravel sinks two Spanish war galleys. In 1935 a German zeppelin soars northward on a top-secret flight to reach the North Pole, but in the Arctic the Germans see a ship stranded on the ice. He goes to help. In the present off the Faroe Islands, whale rescuers try to stop Islanders from killing whales, but lose control of the ship to an overhead helicopter that sends the vessel crashing into and sinking a Danish cruiser with several crew men still aboard.

In the Berents Sea, the search-and-survey NUMA ship William Beebe led by Kurt Austin tests a new device able to attach to a sunken ship's hull and cut a hole in the frame so salvagers can easily enter. With this new device, Kurt and crew might save the lives of the trapped Danes whose air is running out, but they need rapid transport to go twelve hundred miles. Even with Russian help, Kurt will soon realize that the helicopter crowd has a different message in mind.

The forth "novel from the NUMA files" is an exciting seafaring adventure that never slows down until the final dinner date is arranged. Kurt retains his hero status as he and his crew desperately work to save lives reminiscent of the Russian submarine tragedy. Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos provide fans with an adrenaline-pumping thriller starring a likable champion though the villains' message seems garbled in comparison.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted June 8, 2003