Lost Empire

From Publishers Weekly While scuba-diving on the Tanzania coast, Sam and Remi Fargo find a U.S. Civil War ship's bell engraved with Aztec hieroglyphs. Recovering it and discovering its provenance becomes irresistible--especially when they realize someone is desperate to conceal its secrets. From Africa through North America to Asia, the Fargos race to stay ahead of their ruthless pursuers. Narrator Scott Brick continues to keep Cussler's escapades light entertainment; having narrated the previous books in the series, Brick is now part and parcel of the Cussler audiobook fan's continued enjoyment--and essential in ratcheting up the tension and excitement as needed. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Aug. 2). (Sept.) (c) Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist This is the second installment (after Spartan Gold, 2009) of Cusslers action-packed new series featuring husband-and-wife treasure-hunters Sam and Remi Fargo, a spunky Nick and Nora for the twenty-first century. Scuba diving off the coast of East Africa, the couple discovers a bell, covered in cryptic carvings, from a long-lost Confederate warship. While they struggle to decode the clues found on the bell, a sinister faction is shadowing them in hopes of also discovering the secret to which the clues lead. Unlike the Fargos, this group does not want the secret uncovered and will kill to keep it hidden, as the discovery would result in a rewrite of the history books. In his inimitable way, Cussler throws everything into the pot: Confederate warships, the Aztecs, the Krakatoa explosion of 1883, pirates, and, in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock, Cussler himself in a cameo appearance. Blackwood, the coauthor, seems to have brought a breath of fresh air to Cusslers usual testosterone-laced style by toning down the traces of xenophobia and misogyny that often permeate the long-in-the-tooth Dirk Pitt series. HIGH DEMAND BACKSTORY: Fans of Mathew Reilly and James Rollins will revel in this treasure-hunting adventure. --Michael Gannon