Crescent Dawn, A Dirk Pitt Adventure

Crescent Dawn

The thrilling new adventure, from the number one New York Times Bestselling Author...

The Fertile Crescent. A region of Western Asia, encompassing Mesopotamia and the Levant, that saw the dawn of mankind's rise to civilization, the birthplace of writing and the wheel, a place where ancient wisdom and wonder is overshadowed by bloodshed and turmoil. Until now...

Persepolis 465 BC- The great Persian king Xerxes, having conquered most of the western world until being thwarted by the hated Greeks, returns home to finish building his empire at Persepolis. His great city is near completion when he is murdered by his trusted subject Artabanus, commander of the royal body guard, and his eunuch servant Aspamitres. With his last breath, Xerxes whispers to the servant a chilling prophecy;
'From my blood flows a curse upon these lands, one that will only be undone if found is the Treasure of Heracles'

Umm Qasr Naval Base, Iraq Present Day- NUMA Director Dirk Pitt is grateful to be out of his Washington office and back in the field. A major find, that of an ancient sunken city located where the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border meets the Persian Gulf, is being excavated by a joint project between NUMA and the Archaeolgical Institute of Iraq. When what looks to be an ancient map carved in bronze is uncovered and just as quickly stolen, Dirk and his longtime colleague Al Giordino must immerse themselves in the dark underbelly of the illegal antiquities trade. While Dirk's Children Dirk Jr. and Summer struggle to make sense of the ever increasingly confusing finds at the site, the two intrepid heroes start to realize this conspiracy goes much deeper than anyone could have ever conceived.

From the waters of Iraq and Syria clues from an ancient religion known as Zoroastrianism will lead the two marine engineers on an epic quest, through war torn cities and villages, to the mountains of Afghanistan where they will come face to face with an ancient evil kept secret from the world, and a map that will eventually take them to a tiny beach in Greece, where a small band of Spartans led by a king rumored to be descended from Hercules himself, once stood against a vast enemy to protect far more than their humble homeland. Their sacrifice protected a treasure, not of gold or riches, but of a knowledge kept secret due to its awesome potential for destruction.

Filled with breathtaking suspense and audacious imagination that have become his hallmarks, this is a tour de force, further proof that when it comes to adventure writing, nobody beats Clive Cussler. Nobody.

This post has been edited by householdrob on Apr 14 2010, 10:46 PM

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

So obviously this cover and post aren't real. I thought other people might be inclined to post ideas or thoughts about the next Pitt novel, seeing as how the forum has tapered off a bit in conversation since the last time I was engaged a few years ago. Where is everyone anyway? It seems as if a small band of die-hards have taken over and everyone else has fallen by the wayside. I remember when there used to be conversations here on the daily. Can anyone explain this dilemma to me or are people just losing interest in Clive? Anyone?

This happens to the best of forums where only the die hard members are the most frequent or as creative in certain categories.

I can tell you that I have known for over a month that the tentative title for the next Pitt adventure is Crescent Dawn. So......I wouldn't jump to conclusions that this isn't real.

Actually I'm saying it's not real because I made it up. Plot line would make a great Pitt novel though eh? Dirk Pitt discovering the battlefield of Thermopylae, which by the way has never been pinpointed by archaeologists. Anyone else have any ideas for the Crescent Dawn cover? I just used paint to make it, only took about 20 minutes. For those unfamiliar with it, the battle of Thermopylae was what inspired the movie 300. In ancient myth, it is said that Leonidas was a descendant of Hercules, who himself was a demi-god, like the character of Perseus for those of you who have seen Clash of the Titans. To my recollection Dirk has never delved into greek mythology or lore, the closest being the maze from the Med caper which is based off a real place. But with a title like Crescent Dawn I have a feeling we may be treading into Islamic territory. Any thoughts?

This post has been edited by householdrob on Apr 17 2010, 05:27 PM

Attached Image (Click thumbnail to expand)

That's a pretty cool idea for a cover. nice

To be honest I think the plot idea is a bit too similar to quite a few books and movies that have been released of late. Having said that, I like the way you've provided the links to the 'journey'. Certainly requires good knowledge to do that.

Based on the pic and description, I'd buy the book!

Very crafty!

As long as the current war against terrorism is left out of the plot it is a most intriguing plot that would make Dr. C proud and he should be informed of this great tale. Congratulations householdrob!!! My hat is off to you!!! You should write a rough draft and send it to the Master so that he can edit it for publication.

Actually I'm a little disappointed to learn this isn't the plot, Rob. The cover, admittedly, did look a liitle sketchy, but the plot was Pittish enough, and my interest was piqued by the mention of Zoroastrianism--the original monotheistic faith. I actually met an honest to goodness believer when I was in Afghanistan (he was actually an Iranian-American working for KBR, not an Afghan).

I'm kind of with tonym5 on not wanting Pitt to wade into the terror war. It's just not really a very interesting topic, and certainly nothing that hasn't been done over and over again.

Besides the great Dr. C, Frederick Forsyth is another one of my favorite authors and I could not read his most recent novel because it does involve the war on Terrorism which is a first for me because it is too soon for me apparently because it still stirs feelings against the people who are responsible for 9/11. Maybe some day in the future I can read that book. Without speaking for other Americans that subject is still too raw for myself whether its in fiction or non-fiction.

Pitt should deal with some megalomanica-types of men/women... thats my opinion. leave the religion and politics behind... Give us the joy of some Suma-Wolf-Dorsett-Massard-maniac... "Hit me hard!"