September 19, 2016
All the familiar elements are in place in bestseller Cussler’s eighth Sam and Remi Fargo adventure (after 2015’s Solomon’s Curse), coauthored with Burcell: a king’s treasure lost in the mists of time; an ancient book that hints at the location of the treasure; and a wealthy evildoer, Charles Avery, who will stop at nothing to find it. The handsome Sam and the beautiful Remi engage in their trademark comic banter, but the action comes across as labored and the quest something of a grind. The scene shifts from 1216 Norfolk, England, to present-day San Francisco, where Remi acquires the ancient tome from a bookseller who ends up dead shortly after the transaction. The Fargos jet to Nova Scotia, a Brazilian island, and Jamaica; they are almost constantly in deadly danger from Avery’s minions, who are one step ahead in the treasure search. Good guys and bad guys end up in a cavern beneath Nottingham Castle for a grand shoot-out. Along with the Fargos, readers will heave a sigh of relief that the end has finally arrived. Agent: Peter Lampack, Peter Lampack Agency.