As with all Clive Cussleras dazzling Dirk Pitt novels, critics said Treasure of Khan aamazes, informs and entertainsa ("Publishers Weekly"), athe action zipping along until a final powerhouse showdowna ("Entertainment Weekly"). aWhatas not to like?a proclaimed the "Los Angeles Times"aand hundreds of thousands of readers agreed. In his new novel, howeverathe twentieth Dirk Pitt adventurea Cussler may have topped even himself. A potential breakthrough discovery to reverse global warming . . . a series of unexplained sudden deaths in British Columbia . . . a rash of international incidents between the United States and one of its closest allies that threatens to erupt into an actual shooting war . . . NUMA director Dirk Pitt and his children, Dirk. Jr. and Summer, have reason to believe thereas a connection here somewhere, but they also know they have very little time to find it before events escalate out of control. Their only real clue might just be a mysterious silvery mineral traced to a long-ago expedition in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. But no one survived from that doomed mission, captain and crew perished to a manaand if Pitt and his colleague Al Giordino arenat careful, the very same fate may await them. Filled with the breathtaking suspense and audacious imagination that have become his hallmarks, this is a tour de forcea further proof that when it comes to adventure writing, nobody beats Clive Cussler.