[.ca] The Navigator: A Novel from the Numa Files (ISBN 1597224839)

Plenty of Action Built Around Locating Ancient Objects:
The Navigator is a beach read . . . and a pretty entertaining one. Mix in a little history, add a few Biblical references, season with a maniac villain, fold in a little sexual byplay, and tilt the odds in unexpected ways and you've got The Navigator. The ancient Phoenicians had a valuable secret that they decided to hide away, far from where anyone would find it. Later, Thomas Jefferson caught a whiff of the secret and decided to track it down. Both the Phoenicians and Jefferson left behind coded clues. Into this labyrinth enter Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala of NUMA when they encounter a high seas hijacking aimed at stealing a statue called the Navigator that had earlier been taken from the Baghdad museum during American invasion in 2003. In the process of foiling the theft (and other, more major, harms), Austin makes the acquaintance of the bewitching Carina Mechadi, an Italian expert in recovering stolen art works. At the same time, an assistant librarian in the archives for the American Philosophical Society, finds misfiled some papers that seem to have been written by Thomas Jefferson. Before long, others are riveted by this find. Austin and Mechadi take on the challenge of tracking down the Navigator after it is stolen again. At the same time, they sense the deeper riddle involving the Phoenicians and work on that puzzle as well. Before the book's end, both will be severely tested and unexpected secrets will be revealed. The ancient sea-going references make this book unmistakably a Clive Cussler creation. The NUMA technology and experience double that certainty. The presence of Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala convince you this is a Clive Cussler plot. From there, the book has a strong seasoning of tongue-in-cheek as the villain shows his preferences for jousting and ancient religions. I felt at times like this was "The Wild Wild West" meets the 21st century. Although not as good as the earliest Dirk Pitt books, The Navigator is a book worthy of your time if you are looking for some light action-based reading with an occasional "what if?" thought injected. As I read the book, I was concerned for some time that it was going to end up with some anti-Christian plot development or message. But the resolution of the story seemed to me to fall within the real of what is possible and still fit in with mainline Christianity. I only mention that point because some fiction these days chooses to plot out stories that are anti-Christian. Have fun!

A Nice Seafood Stew:
How much is Cussler and how much is Kemprecos? Who knows but this book is very similar to the older Cussler Dirk Pitt books. Austin and his winger Zavala are Pitt and Giordano redux with a brainy beautiful babe in the thick of things. A nice action thriller type story, the authors throw subtle mentions to James Bond, Indiana Jones and Da Vinci Code, the story borrows from all and one could say as a point of reference a "National Treasure" type mystery. You can read this and Wiki along with the facts to figure out what is real and what is what if? Not too farfetched and as written elsewhere, it was a good way to while away the beach