Treasure (Clive Cussler novel)

Infobox Book |
name = Treasure


image_caption = Hardcover 1st Edition
author = Clive Cussler
cover_artist = Paul Bacon
country = United States
language = English
series = Dirk Pitt Novels
genre = Adventure, Techno-thriller novel
publisher = Simon & Schuster
release_date = 1988
media_type = Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
pages = 539 pp (Hardcover edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-671-62613-2
preceded_by = Cyclops
followed_by = Dragon

"Treasure" is an action-adventure novel by Clive Cussler. This is the ninth book featuring the author’s primary protagonist, Dirk Pitt.

Plot summary

The book starts with a historical prologue in which Julius Venator a Roman along with a group of Roman soldiers and slaves, sail in a fleet of ships ferrying the treasures from the Library of Alexandria before its destruction to a secret location to be buried in underground caverns. After the treasures are buried the people, the Roman soldiers, and slaves are all slaughtered by the natives. While one small ship manages to get away, they never reach land and the secret of the treasure is lost.

The story then shifts to a envoy of the US President having a secret meeting with a would be Aztec dictator Toplitzin. He kills the envoy, and sends his skin and heart back to the President.

The plot then shifts to a Middle Eastern terrorist secretly hijacking a plane carrying Hala Kamil, the new United Nations Secretary-General, the hijacker bails out of the plane after ensuring that the plane crash lands in Greenland, where Dirk Pitt, Al Giordino, and Rudi Gunn are trying to locate a sunken Soviet submarine. Also in the area is Lily Sharp, who discovers an ancient coin. They rescue Hala from the plane wreck. As the plot unfolds, several more attempts are made on Hala’s life, since she is trying to stop would-be dictator Akhmad Yazid from taking over Egypt. Dirk is distracted by the promise of treasure, however. Locating a shipwreck in Greenland, they soon find a tablet detailing a mission to hide the treasure of the library at Alexandria. As Dirk, Al, and the Special Operations Forces rescue Hala Kamil from a hijacked ship in the Straits of Magellan, Hiram Yaeger locates the treasure—in Texas. The final stretch of the novel involves Dirk trying to hide the treasure from Yazid and his brother, Toplitzin, a would-be Aztec dictator. Eventually, the treasure is discovered and Yazid, Toplitzin and their henchmen are killed.

Characters in "Treasure"

*Dirk Pitt—Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA)
*Admiral James Sandecker—Chief Director of NUMA
*Al Giordino—Assistant Special Projects Director for NUMA.
*Rudi Gunn—Director of Logistics for NUMA.
*Hala Kamil—UN Secretary General
*Dr. Lily Sharp—researcher who finds Roman coin
*Robert Capesterre—aka Akhmad Yazid, son of a criminal family and would-be dictator of Egypt
*Charles Capesterre—aka Topiltzin (brother of Robert) would be dictator of Mexico

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

No film, television or theatrical adaptations have yet been produced from this novel.

Release Details

*1988, United States, Simon & Schuster ISBN 0-671-62613-2, 1988, Hardcover
*1988, United States, Pocket Books, ISBN 99930-4-807-0, November 1988, Paperback.
*1989, United States, Pocket Books Reissue, ISBN 0-671-70465-6, October 15, 1989, Paperback.
*1991, United States, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-7924-4679-8, May 1991, Hardcover.