The Navigator (The Numa Files) (Hardcover)

by Clive Cussler (Author), Paul Kemprecos (Author) "THE EXECUTIVE MANSION ON Pennsylvania Avenue was dark except for the study, where a crackling fire in the hearth kept the winter chill at bay..." (more)
Key Phrases: stolen antiquities, ice patrol, motor cruiser, Miss Mechadi, North America, Meriwether Lewis (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Fans of action-hero Kurt Austin of the National Underwater and Maritime Agency expect imaginative plotting, but it never comes down the chute in this seventh NUMA Files novel from bestseller Cussler and Shamus-winner Kemprecos (after Polar Shift). Austin and his team are hunting icebergs when they chance upon a pirate raid aimed at stealing a priceless Phoenician antiquity launched by a stereotypical megalomaniacal villain, Viktor Baltazar, who believes he's a descendant of King Solomon. Baltazar and Austin joust continually (once, literally!) over the antique, which may be connected to the lost ark of the covenant, Thomas Jefferson and the suspicious death of Meriwether Lewis. Sequences including the attempted human sacrifice of the requisite gorgeous female U.N. investigator are all too predictable, and the writing ("The Filipino's lips curved like slices of liverwurst in a frying pan") is often less than Cussler's best. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Calculations seem to point to this being popular adventure novelist Cussler's thirty-fourth book, the seventh one written in collaboration with Kemprecos and the seventh one to chronicle the adventures of the NUMA Special Assignments Team. In his latest romp, Cussler is concerned with an ancient Phoenician statue called the Navigator, which was stolen from a Baghdad museum in 900 BCE. The compelling, well-organized plot--taken from a template that works--includes such disparate but ultimately workable elements as a foiled hijacking, a secret scientific project, pirates, a beautiful woman ("Her gown's scooped neckline displayed a decolletage that hovered between proper and sexy"), and the heroic machinations of the NUMA sleuths. Without exactly revealing the ending, suffice it to say--or, actually, suffice it to pose the question, Has the NUMA team ever failed in its quest for justice? Read it to make certain you've answered the question correctly. Cussler's multitude of fans will undoubtedly eat up this new novel just as they have previous ones. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (June 5, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399154191
• ISBN-13: 978-0399154195
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #177,071 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 7 in The NUMA Files Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice escape into an action-adventure tale as only Cussler can tell it..., September 1, 2007

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Seems like a number of my library "recreational reads" came in at once, so I've had some down time from my normal fare of reading material. I finally made it to the top of the hold list for The Navigator by Clive Cussler with Paul Kemprecos. If you're in the mood for a fast-moving action adventure novel, it works pretty well...

The main story revolves around a statue called The Navigator. It was stolen from the Iraqi national museum but was recovered with the aid of a UN official named Carina Mechadi. While on a ship bound for the US with the other recovered items, the statue is once again the center of attention when an armed group invades the ship, attempts to transport the statue off by helicopter, and sets the ship to collide with an oil drilling platform to hide the evidence. But Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala of NUMA are able to pull off a dramatic rescue, saving the ship, the statue, *and* Ms. Mechadi. The mystery of why someone would want the statue deepens as a tie is discovered between the statue, Thomas Jefferson, and the ancient Phoenicians. When the statue is once again stolen and Carina once again kidnapped, Austin's full attention is focused on saving the damsel in distress one more time, as well as putting an end to the person behind it all.

Compared to Cussler's Dirk Pitt series, the Austin novel is much more sedate and comfortable. There's definitely enough action to keep you turning pages, but every chapter doesn't end with someone about to die and/or pull off a miraculous MacGyver-esque escape. The idea of Phoenicians being the first to visit North America isn't new in a Cussler novel (Serpent in 1999), but he does a nice job in putting together a Da Vinci-type mystery where people are willing to die to keep a secret.

If you're ready to kill off a few hours with a mental escape from reality, The Navigator should fit your needs well...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thwarting the latest wealthy megalomaniac, October 7, 2007

By	Cory D. Slipman (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos follow a previously successful formula twisting around history to create a fast based action adventure tale surrounding the actions of members of the fictitious National Underwater and Maritme Agency(NUMA).

Special Projects director Kurt Austin and his sidekick Joe Zavala find themselves in the midst of a mid oceanic hijacking. The booty is a bronze Phoenician statue known as The Navigator being transported under the guardianship of the alluring Carina Mechadi working for UNESCO. The statue was looted along with other antiquities from the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad during the U.S. invasion. Mechadi's mission was to recovered the purloined artifacts.

The Navigator happened to be the object of desire of industrialist Viktor Baltazar head of a large private mercenary cartel and mining empire. Baltazar who traced his roots back to the days of King Solomon believed that the statue gave clues to details of a pre-Columbian visit to the New World by the Phoenicians.

Tied in with these historical events were a recently and accidently discovered encrypted letter penned by Thomas Jefferson under the guise of the secretive Artichoke society. Analysis of the Jefferson papers detailed a letter from Meriweather Lewis of the famous Lewis & Clark expedition. The correspondence hinted at the existence of a Phoenician landing in the New World with a mission to hide a precious and sensitive item whose existence could change the fabric of society as postulated by King Solomon.

Baltazar desired the information that The Navigator contained to advance his own nefarious plans. Meanwhile Austin, Zavala and their minions along his Austin love interest Mechadi team up to deter Baltazar in a rollicking adventure that strains the boundaries of credulity. The plot was standard fare for Cussler and his ghost writers but the ending was a bit of a cop out. For stress free reading requiring very little mentation, "The Navigator" is right up your alley.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 star fun!, July 17, 2007

By	Joe Grundig "Analyst" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had given up on Cussler a few years back as the stories all began to run together. My son though left "The Navigator" at the house the other day and little did I know I was in for an adventure/thriller filled weekend. By Sunday night I had finished the book, but still wanted more! Not much depth here but Austin and Zavala keep the buddy action going and there is never a dull moment. Fans know what to expect, but if your new to Cussler I highly recommend you start with his early Dirk Pitt books.