This sedate yarn of sunken treasure and political intrigue is classified as a thriller, but only under the loosest of definitions for that genre. What little action there is mostly happens off-screen, with the exception of the shortest and least exciting car chase ever.

Ostensibly, this is the story of treasure hunters finding a treasure trove of gold and silver coins that has been on the ocean floor for centuries. But we skip the search and discovery and jump right to the legal wrangling of who actually owns the treasure. The tale is told from the perspective of a low-level Spanish cultural ministry official who becomes involved in the legal filing and paperwork to stake Spain's claim, and -- in an unexpected twist for the genre -- he never really does anything but paperwork and administrative tasks. Mostly, he serves as an audience for anyone in the story who needs to make an exposition dump.

This is a roman à clef by a former Spanish diplomat who was involved in similar circumstances during his career. If he had written this as nonfiction, I think I would have been interested in the details, but as a work of fiction it's just too dull to win me over. ( )

I love archaeology and I love legal battles and this was the best of both but in a graphic novel form. Based on true events, The Treasure of the Black Swan chronicles the plunder of a centuries old treasure ship and the legal battle to give the gold back to Spain and out of the hands of the modern day "pirates" who are no more than looters. The treasure hunting company, Ithaca and Spanish diplomats will go head to head battling out who legally owns the treasure. Fast paced, informative, and fun - this is a must for fans of underwater archaeology, ethics, and more. ( )