"A thrill a minute"

In 2003, the cruise ship Emerald Dolphin sails on its maiden voyage from Sidney to Tahiti when a fire breaks out. The alarms, sprinklers, and idiot lights fail to alert the crew. When a crewman discovers the blaze and reports it, human error and disbelief quickly compound the problems leaving two thousand and five hundred people facing death as the inferno spreads at an uncanny rate of speed.

National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) engineer Dirk Pitt notices the red glow through binoculars from on board the oceanographic survey vessel Deep Encounter. He notifies Captain Burch and they sail at full speed towards the fire twelve miles away. Though many die, the NUMA crew rescues about two thousand survivors. One of them Kelly Egan watched two men kill her father and try to steal his attachÈ case. She barely survives thanks to Dirk's intervention, but the case is empty. Her father invented a magnetichydrodynamic engine that uses saltwater as its source. When the Emerald Dolphin sinks into the Pacific, Dirk leads the investigation into what caused the disaster, but remains unaware of the ancient and modern sea monsters that have marked him for death.

VALHALLA RISING is a fantastic thriller that runs a full speed ahead story line and never decelerates on its knots until the tale is finished. Dirk remains fresh and his watery escapades make for first rate reading. The remaining characters round out a great action-paced sea adventure that shows Clive Cussler is still the Great Admiral of the seven seas.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 1, 2001