Part of Dirk Pitt®, book 16
First published 2004
A luxury cruise ship erupts in flames during its first voyage. The new engines fail, alarms stay quiet, and sprinkler systems never activate. NUMA special projects director Dirk Pitt spots the smoke and speeds toward the disaster. He arrives too late to rescue the engineer who designed the ship's technology, but he saves the man's daughter, Kelly Egan. She clutches a leather briefcase containing her father's work. Maritime insurers hire Pitt to examine the wreckage while Egan searches for the secrets hidden in her father's inventions. Their investigation uncovers mechanical wonders that seem impossible, machines that belong in Viking sagas or Jules Verne novels. An oil tycoon with political ambitions emerges as their enemy. Pitt must use Verne's nautical knowledge to stop this ruthless baron. The quest leads Pitt into Captain Nemo's domain and forces him to confront truths about his own history.
Genres: science-fiction, historical-fiction, adventure, mystery, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Captain Nemo's Domain, Valhalla
Period: 19th-Century, 20th-Century
712 pages · Paperback · Penguin Publishing Group