It takes a bold author to suggest that “Hitler was right” in anything, but in this avidly conspiracy-theoretic novel, that’s precisely what Clive Cussler suggests regarding Hitler’s fanciful idea that Antarctica holds the secrets of humanity’s past. Here, the Germans are found to have truly discovered the lost continent of Atlantis, and Clive Cussler takes his world and characters in strange new directions that test the bounds of plausibility.

What else should I expect after fourteen straight hit novels? By now, Cussler’s scraping the bottom of the barrel with his heroes, Dirk and Al, which is why their long-standing run as his only protagonists will soon be over.

Atlantis Found, the fifteenth installment in the Dirk Pitt Adventures, is one that I recall not having enjoyed all that much when I first read it, and now I remember why. As exciting as the tale appears, its ridiculous nature and whimsical romances leave it better suited for the science-fiction genre than the straight adventure genre, which is a route that Cussler doesn’t generally take. Of course, the Russians colonized the moon in Cyclops, and readers have witnessed a number of other-worldly inventions in other installments that have very nearly destroyed the world, so maybe I’m wrong in that assessment.

In this story, Adolph Hitler’s literal clones have formed themselves into an army that—having utilized the Atlantis colony long ago discovered by the Germans hidden snugly beneath Antarctica’s ice sheets—plans to tilt the earth’s rotation, destroy most of humanity, and wait out the devastation on large pre-packed ships that will help these super-folk to recolonize the planet as the Atlantis survivors had once done themselves, yet this time with their own superior technologies.

Enter Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino, men who have never sat idly by while corrupt families seek to destroy the planet. These men go to the greatest lengths to ensure that humanity is not killed off, but if you listen close enough, you can hear the creaking of these old men’s bones each step of the way.

One great scene not to be missed by history buffs is Pitt’s little butt-kick to Hitler in the end. Having discovered Hiteler’s ashes in a finely decorated urn and, among other things, the fabled Nazi Lance (which supposedly had been used to stab the side of Christ and thus gave power to anyone who held it—another piece of science fiction), Dirk Pitt makes a choice I think many a human would like to make. Rather than handing the ashes off to the proper authorities, he instead chooses to dump the full contents of Hitler’s urn down a toilet, flushing the despot into oblivion. Ha! Good one, Clive.

Al’s sudden romance and engagement at the end of the book is so out-of-the-blue, it’s unbelievable. However, as love goes, it’s also entirely plausible. In fact, Al’s “I can’t explain it” explanation sums up one-and-only true love better and more succinctly than any sappy character in a romance novel ever could. I found it terribly silly for Cussler to toss in Dirk’s remark, that he thought of Al’s fiancé as “more than a friend,” since he barely knew her, but what else is new? This only highlights Pitt’s whimsical attitude toward faithfulness, even when he himself is minutes away from again discussing marriage with Congresswoman Lauren Smith.

All-in-all, this was an entertaining but unbelievable book. It’s the first in a long line of worthless Dirk Pitt novels to which I plan to subject myself a second time, merely so I can evaluate them honestly. I especially don’t look forward to the next novel and the entrance of Dirk and Summer Pitt in Valhalla Rising or the virtual exit of Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino in succeeding novels.

Oh well! I do it for you.

©2018 E.T.

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