From Publishers Weekly
A chance rescue of two divers trapped in a Peruvian sinkhole leads series hero Dirk Pitt ( Raise the Titanic! ; Deep Six ) into a search for lost treasure that involves grave robbers, art thieves and ancient curses. Cussler's latest adventure novel features terrorists who aren ' t really terrorists and a respected archeologist who is not what he seems; it all boils down to a race between Pitt and some unscrupulous crooks for a cache of Inca gold hidden away from the Spanish and lost since the 16th century. The villains, a society of art and antiquity smugglers called the Solpemachaco , want to get their hands on the Golden Body Suit of Tiapollo, which contains in its hieroglyphics a description of the Inca treasure's hidden burial place. Pitt ends up searching for a jade box containing a quipu , an Inca silver-and-gold metalwork map to the treasure. The box was stolen from the Indians by the Spanish, stolen from the Spanish by Francis Drake and then lost in the South American jungle, but readers who know Pitt know that that a 400-year-old missing clue is only a minor obstacle. Master storyteller Cussler keeps the action spinning as he weaves a number of incredible plotlines and coincidences into a believable and gripping story. It's pure escapist adventure, with a wry touch of humor and a certain self-referential glee (Cussler himself makes a cameo appearance), but the entertainment value meets the gold standard. 550,000 first printing; Literary Guild super release and Doubleday Book Club super release. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Dirk Pitt is back in fine form as he rescues two archaeologists from certain death in a Peruvian sinkhole. Before Pitt climbs out of the hole he runs afoul of the Solpemachace, a group of three brothers who steal and sell Indian artifacts. Pitt finds a rope sculpture, a quipu, that points the way to a huge Inca treasure. Meanwhile, the Solpemachace steal the Golden Body Suit of Tiapollo, which leads them to the same treasure inside a mountain in Baja, Mexico. As both sides race to the treasure, the Solpemachace capture Pitt's girlfriend, Congresswoman Loren Smith. With his lifelong, wisecracking friend, Al Giordino, Pitt braves an uncharted underground river to rescue Loren and stop the Solpemachace. Cussler weaves Inca legends and lore in a spellbinding tale featuring enduring hero Pitt, a skin-diving Indiana Jones with a James Bond attitude. Cussler fans will demand this one. For all fiction collections.Grant A. Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., MetamoraCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Dirk Pitt can be counted on to sneer at danger and, with vast powers of deduction as well as impressive physical prowess, find whatever treasure he seeks. Inca Gold finds Pitt in Peru in a race to locate the priceless treasures of the last Inca king (occasionally thwarted by members of the Shining Path and a wicked family of ancient artifact smugglers). Aided by a strong abridgment, McGillin easily navigates the myriad plots and subplots. Male and female characterizations and accents are numerous, and McGillin effectively portrays them all. Although Pitt sounds suspiciously like the sardonic Clint Eastwood, his portrayal reinforces his rugged manliness. This is a skilled, entertaining reading of a typical action-packed Cussler novel. H.B.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Cussler's latest novel sends his intrepid superhero Dirk Pitt on another action-filled chase, this time through the jungles of the Amazon and up an underground river in Mexico. Pitt is joined, as usual, by his buddy, Al Giordino; his girlfriend, Congresswoman Loren Smith (who doesn't show up until the book is halfway over); and the usual gang of good-guy government officials. This time, the bad guys are an international ancient-artifact smuggling ring, all of whom are ruthless, greedy, and in pursuit of the "golden chain of Huascar," a huge treasure hidden by Incas, the clues for which were once in the hands of a close associate of Sir Francis Drake. Cussler loads the book with action (an earthquake and a tsunami, a rescue dive into an Andean sinkhole, lots of gunplay and hand-to-hand combat, and a final breathtaking, whitewater rafting trip on an underground river) as well as anthropological stuff about the Incas and their treasures. (Cussler is one of those writers who gleans tons of information and then feels obligated to include all of it.) Cussler fans are already familiar with his gift for hyperbole, and readers discovering the author for the first time should take his breathless approach with a grain of salt and just relax and enjoy the adventures of Pitt and company. Joe Collins


Review

Atlanta Journal and Constitution

"Lovers of undersea adventure... should get to know DIRK PITT"


Book Description
Dirk Pitt® is the world's greatest adventure hero -- a man of action who lives by his wits and daring. As Special Projects Director for the U.S. National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), he is cool and courageous, with a love of fast cars and extreme danger. A death-defying rescue of two drowning scientists plunges Dirk Pitt into a whirlpool of corruption and betrayal. Sinister criminals have traced a long-lost treasure -- worth almost a billion dollars -- from the Andes Mountains to a chamber on the banks of a hidden river that flows beneath a desert. Driven by burning greed, the criminals are racing to seize a golden prize...and to terminate the one man who can stop them: Dirk Pitt!


Simon & Schuster

Nearly five centuries ago a fleet of boats landed mysteriously on an island in an inland sea. There, an ancient Andean people hid a golden hoard greater than that of any pharaoh, then they and their treasure vanished into history -- until now.

1998, the Andes Mountains of Peru. DIRK PITT dives into an ancient sacrificial pool, saving two American archaeologists from certain drowning. But his death-defying rescue is only the beginning, as it draws the intrepid Pitt into a vortex of darkness and danger, corruption and betrayal. A sinister crime syndicate has traced the long-lost treasure -- worth almost a billion dollars -- from the Andes to the banks of a hidden underground river flowing beneath a Mexican desert. Driven by burning greed and a ruthless bloodlust, the syndicate is racing to seize the golden prize...and to terminate the one man who can stop them.


About the Author
Clive Cussler's life nearly parallels that of his hero, Dirk Pitt®. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he has had amazing success. With his NUMA crew of volunteers, Cussler has discovered more than sixty lost ships of historic importance, including the long-lost Confederate submarine Hunley. Like Pitt, Cussler collects classic automobiles. His collection features eighty examples of custom coachwork and is one of the finest to be found anywhere. Cussler divides his time between the deserts of Arizona and the mountains of Colorado.


Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1 October 10, 2005 Andes Mountains of Peru The skeleton reclined in the sediment of the deep pool as if resting on a soft mattress, the cold unwinking eye sockets of the skull staring upward through the liquid gloom toward the surface 36 meters (120 feet) away. One arm was held in an upright position, the bony fingers of the hand as if beckoning the unwary. From the bottom of the pool to the sun above, the water gradually lightened from a dismal gray-brown to a pea-soup green from the pond scum that flourished under the tropical heat. The circular rim stretched 30 meters (98 feet) across and the sheer walls dropped 15 meters (49 feet) to the water. Once in, there was no way a human or animal could escape without help from above. The place was more than a sacred well where men, women, and children had been thrown alive into the dark waters as sacrifices during times of drought and harsh storms. Ancient legends and myths called it a house of evil gods where strange and unspeakable events occurred. There were also tales of rare artifacts, handcrafted and sculpted, along with jade, gold, and precious that were said to have been cast into the pool to appease the evil gods who were ad weather. In 1964 two divers entered the depths of the sinkhole and never returned. No attempt had been made to recover their bodies. A great deal of unresolved controversy had surrounded the sacred pool since then, and now archaeologists had finally gathered to dive and retrieve artifacts from its enigmatic depths. The ancient site was located on a western slope beneath a high ridge of the Peruvian Andes near a great ruined city. The nearby stone structures had been part of a vast confederation of city-states, known as the Chachapoyas, that was conquered by the renowned Inca empire around A.D. 1480. As she stared down at the stagnant water through big, wide, hazel eyes under raised dark brows, Dr. Shannon Kelsey was too excited to feel the cold touch of fear. Her hair was straight and soft blond and tied in a ponytail by a red bandanna, and the skin that showed on her face, arms, and legs was richly tanned. Dr. Kelsey had enjoyed a ten-year fascination with the Chachapoyan cultures. To work where an enigmatic and obscure people had flourished and died was a dream made possible by a grant from the Archaeology Department of Arizona State University. "Useless to carry a video camera unless the visibility opens up below the first two meters," said Miles Rodgers, the photographer who was filming the project. "Then shoot stills," Shannon said firmly. "I want every dive recorded whether we can see past our noses or not." Rodgers was an old pro at underwater photography. He was in demand by all the major science and travel publications to shoot below-the-sea photos of fish and coral reefs. His extraordinary pictures of World War II shipwrecks in the South Pacific and ancient submerged seaports throughout the Mediterranean had won him numerous awards and the respect of his peers. A tall, slender man in his sixties, with a silver gray beard that covered half his face, held up Shannon's air tank so she could slip her arms through the straps of the backpack. "I wish you'd put a hold on this until we've finished constructing the dive raft."...Shannon smiled at her colleague, Dr. Steve Miller from the University of Pennsylvania. "That's two days away. By doing a preliminary survey now we can get a head start." "Then at least wait for the rest of the dive team to arrive from the university. If you and Miles get into trouble, we have no backup." "Not to worry," Shannon said. "Miles and I will only do a bounce dive to test depth and water conditions. We won't run our dive time past thirty minutes." Shannon spit into her face mask, smearing the saliva around the inside of the lens to keep it from misting. Next she rinsed the mask from a canteen of water. After adjusting her buoyancy compensator and cinching her weight belt, she and Rodgers made a final check of each other's equipment. Satisfied everything was in place and their digital dive computers properly programmed, Shannon smiled at Miller. "See you soon, Doc!" The anthropologist looped under their arms a wide strap that was attached to long nylon lines, gripped tightly by a team of ten Peruvian graduate students of the university's archaeology program, who had volunteered to join the project. "Lower away, kids," Miller ordered. Hand over hand the lines were paid out as the divers began their descent into the ominous pool below. Shannon and Rodgers extended their legs and used the tips of their dive fins as bumpers to keep from scraping against the rough limestone walls. They could clearly see the coating of slime covering the surface of the water. The aroma of decay and stagnation was overwhelming. To Shannon the thrill of the unknown abruptly changed to a feeling of deep apprehension. When they were within 1 meter (about 3 feet) of the surface, they both inserted their air regulator mouthpieces between their teeth and signaled to the anxious faces staring from above. Then Shannon and Miles slipped out of their harnesses and dropped out of sight into the odious slime. Miller nervously paced the rim of the sinkhole, glancing at his watch every other minute while the students peered in fascination at the green slime below. Fifteen minutes passed with no sign of the divers. Suddenly, the exhaust bubbles from their air regulators disappeared. Frantically Miller ran along the edge of the well. Had they found a cave and entered it? He waited ten minutes, then ran over to a nearby tent and rushed inside. Almost feverishly he picked up a portable radio and began hailing the project's headquarters and supply unit in the small town of Chachapoyas, 90 kilometers (56 miles) to the south. The voice of Juan Chaco, inspector general of Peruvian archaeology and director of the Museo de la Nación in Lima, answered almost immediately. "Juan here. That you, Doc? What can I do for you?" "Dr. Kelsey and Miles Rodgers insisted on making a preliminary dive into the sacrificial well," replied Miller. "I think we may have an emergency." "They went into that cesspool without waiting for the dive team from the university?" Chaco asked in a strangely indifferent tone. "I tried to talk them out of it." "When did they enter the water?" Miller checked his watch again. "Twenty-seven minutes ago." "How long did they plan to stay down?" "They planned to resurface after thirty minutes." "It's still early." Chaco sighed. "So what"s the problem?" "We've seen no sign of their air bubbles for the last ten minutes." Chaco caught his breath, closed his eyes for a second. "Doesn't sound good, my friend. This is not what we planned." "Can you send the dive team ahead by helicopter?" asked Miller. "Not possible," Chaco replied helplessly. "They're still in transit from Miami. Their plane isn't scheduled to land in Lima for another four hours." "We can't afford government meddling. Certainly not now. Can you arrange to have a dive rescue team rushed to the sinkhole?" "The nearest naval facility is at Trujillo. I'll alert the base commander and go from there." "Good luck to you, Juan. I'll stand by the radio at this end." "Keep me informed of any new developments." "I will, I promise you," Miller said grimly. In Chachapoyas, Chaco pulled out a handkerchief and mopped his face. He was a man of order. Unforeseen obstacles or problems irritated him. If the two stupid Americans drowned themselves, there would be a govemment inquiry. Despite Chaco's influence, the Peruvian news media were bound to make an overblown incident out of it. The consequences might very well prove to be nothing less than disastrous. "All we need now," he muttered to himself, "are two dead archaeologists in the pool." Then with shaking hands he gripped the radio transmitter and began sending out an urgent call for help. Copyright © 1998 by Clive Cussler

FROM OUR EDITORS

Dirk Pitt is back in the most inventive, exciting adventure of his career--a classic treasure hunt involving an ancient hoard of gold, the secrets of a lost civilization, and an international ring of smugglers.

ANNOTATION

Dirk Pitt returns in an subterranean adventure that is perhaps the most inventive and most enthralling of his career--one that involves a classic treasure hunt for an ancient hoard of Incan gold off the coast of an island, the secrets of a lost civilization, and an international family syndicate that deals in stolen works of art and smuggled artifacts. Pitt engages in a battle of wits in a race against time to find the gold, immersed in a battle between art theives, the FBI and the Customs Service, and a tribe of local Indians. 537pp.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dirk Pitt is back, in an adventure that is perhaps the most inventive and most exciting of his career - a classic treasure hunt involving an ancient hoard of gold, the secrets of a lost civilization, and an international ring of smugglers, all brought together in a plot that only Clive Cussler could devise. Inca Gold begins in 1532, when a fleet of ships sails in secret to an island in the middle of an inland sea. There they hide a magnificent treasure more vast than that of any pharaoh. Then they disappear, leaving only a great stone demon to guard their hoard. In 1578 the legendary Sir Francis Drake captures a Spanish galleon filled with Inca gold and silver and the key to the lost treasure, which included a gigantic chain of gold that belonged to the last Inca king, a masterpiece of ancient technology so huge that it requires two hundred men to lift it. As the galleon is sailed by Drake's crew back to England, an underwater earthquake causes a massive tidal wave that sweeps it into the jungle. Only one man survives to tell the tale.... In 1998 a group of archaeologists is nearly drowned while diving into the depths of a sacrificial pool high in the Andes of Peru. They are saved by the timely arrival of Dirk Pitt, who is in the area on a marine expedition. Pitt soon finds out that his life has been placed in jeopardy as well by smugglers intent on uncovering the lost ancient Incan treasure. Soon, he, his faithful companions, and Dr. Shannon Kelsey, a beautiful young archaeologist, are plunged into a vicious, no-holds-barred struggle to survive. From then on it becomes a battle of wits in a race against time and danger to find the golden chain, as Pitt finds himself caught up in a struggle with a sinister international family syndicate that deals in stolen works of art, the smuggling of ancient artifacts, and art forgery worth many hundreds of millions of dollars. The clash between the art thieves, the FBI and the Customs Service, a tribe of local Indians, and

SYNOPSIS

A death-defying rescue of two drowning scientists plunges Dirk Pitt into a whirlpool of corruption and betrayal. Sinister criminals have traced a long-lost treasure -- worth almost a billion dollars -- from the Andes to a chamber on the banks of a hidden river that flows beneath a desert. Driven by burning greed, the criminals are racing to seize a golden prize...and to terminate the one man who can stop them: Dirk Pitt!

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

A chance rescue of two divers trapped in a Peruvian sinkhole leads series hero Dirk Pitt ( Raise the Titanic! ; Deep Six ) into a search for lost treasure that involves grave robbers, art thieves and ancient curses. Cussler's latest adventure novel features terrorists who aren ' t really terrorists and a respected archeologist who is not what he seems; it all boils down to a race between Pitt and some unscrupulous crooks for a cache of Inca gold hidden away from the Spanish and lost since the 16th century. The villains, a society of art and antiquity smugglers called the Solpemachaco , want to get their hands on the Golden Body Suit of Tiapollo, which contains in its hieroglyphics a description of the Inca treasure's hidden burial place. Pitt ends up searching for a jade box containing a quipu , an Inca silver-and-gold metalwork map to the treasure. The box was stolen from the Indians by the Spanish, stolen from the Spanish by Francis Drake and then lost in the South American jungle, but readers who know Pitt know that that a 400-year-old missing clue is only a minor obstacle. Master storyteller Cussler keeps the action spinning as he weaves a number of incredible plotlines and coincidences into a believable and gripping story. It's pure escapist adventure, with a wry touch of humor and a certain self-referential glee (Cussler himself makes a cameo appearance), but the entertainment value meets the gold standard. 550,000 first printing; Literary Guild super release and Doubleday Book Club super release. (June)

VOYA - Susan Allen

Dirk Pitt, employed by NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency), finds himself and his sidekick Al Giordino embroiled yet again in a mysterious and dangerous adventure in Inca Gold. Al and Dirk are sent to find two scientists who took a dive into a sacrificial well dating from the times of the Incas, but did not return. Dirk finds the scientists in an unexpected place and on the way discovers old and new dead bodies. The rest of the story revolves around the strange nature of the underground well, the identity and cause of death of the new dead body, and the location of a long-lost treasure. Dirk and Al are in the thick of all of this, saving ladies in distress and foiling the bad guys. Take a diamond mine, a mysterious island, a beautiful woman, and legends of a sea serpent and one has the makings of another fast-paced Dirk Pitt adventure in Shock Wave. Dirk and Al are investigating a mysterious force off the coast of Australia that is killing thousands of marine creatures and nearly two hundred people aboard a cruise ship. They seek the help of a zoologist, but later learn she is the daughter of the prime suspect of all the trouble, and that this suspect has kidnapped her twin boys. Is Maeve helping, or not? Readers will hold their breath as shipwrecked Dirk, Al, and Maeve try to reach land on a raft that is splitting from stem to stem. They will follow step-by-step the investigation into the mysterious force, reaching the surprising answer with Dirk and Al. But will readers believe the legends about the sea serpent-and do the heroes? The action is fast and the reader's interest will be keen in both of these masterfully-done adaptations for young adults of previously published Dirk Pitt adventures. The writing flows well, as does the action. The removal of some long descriptive sections and the tightening of the pace matches most younger readers' desire for high-speed action. Both stories remain the same, and are not hurt by the adaptation. The vocabulary is reachable-but by no means have the vocabulary, sentence structure, or complexity of the story line been simplified. These adaptations will serve young adults well, especially those who would find the adult versions too long. Note: This review was written and published to address two titles-Inca Gold and Shock Wave. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Broad general YA appeal, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8 and Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9).

Library Journal

Dirk Pitt is back in fine form as he rescues two archaeologists from certain death in a Peruvian sinkhole. Before Pitt climbs out of the hole he runs afoul of the Solpemachace, a group of three brothers who steal and sell Indian artifacts. Pitt finds a rope sculpture, a quipu, that points the way to a huge Inca treasure. Meanwhile, the Solpemachace steal the Golden Body Suit of Tiapollo, which leads them to the same treasure inside a mountain in Baja, Mexico. As both sides race to the treasure, the Solpemachace capture Pitt's girlfriend, Congresswoman Loren Smith. With his lifelong, wisecracking friend, Al Giordino, Pitt braves an uncharted underground river to rescue Loren and stop the Solpemachace. Cussler weaves Inca legends and lore in a spellbinding tale featuring enduring hero Pitt, a skin-diving Indiana Jones with a James Bond attitude. Cussler fans will demand this one. For all fiction collections.-Grant A. Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., Metamora

AudioFile - Holly B. Koelling

Dirk Pitt can be counted on to sneer at danger and, with vast powers of deduction as well as impressive physical prowess, find whatever treasure he seeks. Inca Gold finds Pitt in Peru in a race to locate the priceless treasures of the last Inca king (occasionally thwarted by members of the Shining Path and a wicked family of ancient artifact smugglers). Aided by a strong abridgment, McGillin easily navigates the myriad plots and subplots. Male and female characterizations and accents are numerous, and McGillin effectively portrays them all. Although Pitt sounds suspiciously like the sardonic Clint Eastwood, his portrayal reinforces his rugged manliness. This is a skilled, entertaining reading of a typical action-packed Cussler novel. H.B.K. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

Bill Bell