The Navigator

Excellent book. In keeping with Clive Cussler's typically intriguing writing style. Definitely recommended for Clive's fans.

The Navigator is full of historical what ifs and plenty of action. It was a great read as is all of Cussler's books.

A fine read, Phonecians, Gold, Jousting, Thomas Jefferson, ... What more could you want!?

Typical NUMA Files fare, which means a GREAT read. Typical plot elements, such as rescuing a BEAUTIFUL Damsel in Distress from a possible Kidnapping. This is the ultimate Summer Read. Ending is quite preposterous, but Hey this is a NUMA Files book. Relax, Read and Enjoy.

The Phoenician Empire was at its peak in 850 B.C. Around that time, a dark green statue, nearly six feet in height, was intricately carved. It was known as the Navigator, and it would have an incredible history. It would be stolen several times in its long life and hold many mysteries in its carvings. Originally taken from a Scythian vessel on the high seas around 900 B.C. (only to be found many years later), it would be featured in the Baghdad Museum, along with hundreds of other valuable and rare artifacts. Thomas Jefferson is featured early in THE NAVIGATOR. A noted inventor, Jefferson had written a detailed treatise on the cultivation of artichokes to be delivered to Meriweather Lewis, of Lewis and Clark fame. This document was actually a cipher, which Lewis could read with the aid of a perforated sheet of heavy paper --- a list of Indian words that Jefferson had encrypted. Were this document to be intercepted by the wrong people, deciphered and made public, the new nation could be in grave danger. The centuries that pass from the Navigator's creation through its eventual recoveries is the focus of this newest Clive Cussler novel. Only Cussler could capture the exotic themes, incredible scenarios and plots thick with intrigue. The artifacts from the Bagdad Museum are slated to be shown in a special exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Navigator was to be the centerpiece of this fine exhibit. The hunt is on to retrieve it yet again. "Anthony Saxon was a true adventurer. Several years before, Saxon had launched what could have been his greatest adventure. He intended to sail a replica of a Phoenician ship from the Red Sea to the coast of North America. The Pacific Ocean crossing would have proven his theory that Ophis, the fabled site of King Solomon's Mines, was in the America's. However, the ship burned to the waterline one night under mysterious circumstances." Disaster seems to follow the Navigator and the people attempting to secure this fabled statue. Again, Clive Cussler and co-author Paul Kemprecos have created a unique tale of high-seas adventure, with a complex but not an overwhelming plot. NUMA followers will rejoice at the reappearance of Kurt Austin, who picks right up where Dirk Pitt (now a Director and Austin's boss) left off. To me, the tie-in with Thomas Jefferson and the Indian ciphers was the most interesting aspect of this novel, but the Navigator's history followed closely behind. This is surely another great read by one of America's favorite and, in my opinion, premiere adventure writers. --- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher