NUMA Files

A Novel from the NUMA Files Earth is a paradox - a fertile world three-quarters covered with water, yet in danger of running dry. Overuse and pollution have drained most of its fresh water, and scientist Francesca Carval's brilliant formula for desalination has vanished with her plane over South America. But when Kurt Austin and his NUMA team come across a pod of dead whales, their investigation takes them to the Venezuelan jungle where a cadre is bent on controlling the world's supply of fresh water. For National Underwater & Marine Agency crew leader Kurt Austin, an investigation into the sudden deaths of rare whales leads him to the Mexican coast, where someone tries to put him and his mini-sub permanently out of commission. Meanwhile, in South America's lush hills, a specially assigned NUMA crew turns up the white-goddess legend -- and a murderous cadre of bio-pirates intent on stealing medicinal secrets worth millions. Soon Austin and his crew realize they're working the opposite ends of the same grand scheme. A billionaire California tycoon is poised to rise to power by monopolizing the earth's vastly depleted freshwater reserves and ultimately dominate the world. From deep within the Venezuelan rain forest emanates the legend of a white goddess and a mysterious tribe with startling technical accomplishments. Few believe the tribe exists -- and even fewer suspect its deity may hold knowledge that can change the course of history. Austin has a hunch Venezuela's mythical tribal goddess has some real roots in science, and may be the key to locating a secret formula that could turn vast amounts of seawater into fresh. But with each step into the bush, he and his NUMA team feel like fish out of water -- and must fight a deadly, twisting trail of enemies through a dense jungle of treachery, blackmail, and murder.

In the last few years, Cussler's Numa Files novels, written with Paul Kemprecos, have only grown more popular-and more eagerly anticipated. "Cussler's multitude of fans arrive at the table expecting a roiling stew of seafaring adventure, exotic travel destinations, cutting-edge science and a splash of romance. In White Death, they will find their expectations extravagantly fulfilled" (Publishers Weekly). And they will find them fulfilled again in Lost City. An enzyme that will dramatically prolong life has been discovered two thousand feet down in the North Atlantic, in an area known as Lost City. But why are the people attempting to harvest it getting killed? Why are the scientists in a remote Greek laboratory disappearing one by one? What does this all have to do with a body found frozen in the ice high up in the Alps? To Kurt Austin, leader of Numa's Special Assignments Team, and his colleague Joe Zavala, it's clear they have their work cut out for them, but it may be even bigger than they think-in fact, it may be their greatest challenge of all. Rich with all the hair-raising action and endless imagination that have become Cussler's hallmarks, Lost City is an exceptional thriller.

Years ago, an ancient Phoenician statue known as the Navigator was stolen from the Baghdad Museum, and there are men who would do anything to get their hands on it. Their first victim is a crooked antiquities dealer, murdered in cold blood. Their second very nearly is a UN investigator who, were it not for the timely assistance of Austin and Zavala, would now be at the bottom of a watery grave.What's so special about this statue? Austin wonders. The search for answers will take the NUMA team on an astonishing odyssey through time and space, one that encompasses no less than the lost treasures of King Solomon, a mysterious packet of documents personally encoded by Thomas Jefferson, and a top secret scientific project that could change the world forever.And that's before the surprises really begin . . .Rich with all the hair-raising action and endless invention that have become Cussler's hallmarks, The Navigator is Clive's best yet.

"After an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico destroys three oil rigs trying to revive a dying field, Kurt Austin and the NUMA Special Projects Team are tapped by the President of the United States to find out what's gone wrong. The trail leads them to a brilliant billionaire in the alternative energy field. Her goal is the end of the oil age; her company has spent billions developing the worlds' most advanced fuel-cell systems. But is she an environmental hero...or a rogue genetic engineer?"--

A weapon of unspeakable power... A madman holds the world hostage... Only Kurt Austin and the NUMA team can stop him. NUMA Special Assignment Team leader Kurt Austin, and his right-hand man, Joe Zavala, are looking forward to a submersible race to test out their prototype Barracuda, in an effort to enjoy their own special brand of rest and relaxation. But then a Japanese cargo ship cruising the eastern Atlantic near the Azores bursts into flames. When a gang of pirates try to take advantage of the disaster, their own boat explodes. And Austin and Zavala find they’ve got no choice but to investigate. The discovery of ships and planes littered across the sea floor in an underwater graveyard lead the NUMA team to the research of a top scientist, who recently disappeared off the streets of Geneva. Somehow connected to the decades-old defection of a mysterious citizen of the USSR, the scientist’s studies on magnetics may offer answers. But Austin and Zavala will have to seek help from another Russian operative if they are going to find out the truth.