On This Page
Description
Marine explorer Dirk Pitt faces off against an elite army from an era gone-by in order to uncover the secrets of an ancient civilization in this #1 New York Times-bestselling series.A group of anthropologists uncover strange inscriptions on the wall of a Colorado mine just as an explosion traps them deep within the earth. But their work won’t stay buried long. Dirk Pitt is on hand during the blast and quick to initiate a rescue operation. He is then tapped to lead a research crew on show more behalf of the U.S. National Underwater and Marine Agency to further study these uncanny artifacts. And that’s when his ship is set upon and nearly sunk by an impossibility—a vessel that should have died 56 years before.
Clearly, another group knows about the relics of this long-forgotten but highly-advanced seafaring culture. And they’ll stop at nothing to keep the rest of the world in the dark. show less
Tags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Bjoernelv Humorous actionthrillers, both the Myron Bolitar-series and the Dirk Pitt-series are extremely exciting and fun readings! :-)
Member Reviews
OMG! Holiday reading. Pure nonsense but this really is five star nonsense - an adventure with world-destroying comets, Nazis in Antarctica, ancient civilisations with messages to be deciphered, battles on the ice - what is not to love about it.
But, seriously, Cussler is not only a page-turner (something dramatic and usually unexpected happens in every short chapter) but his notionally cardboard characters are actually likeable or (in the case of the bad guys) interesting if not truly believable.
For a died-in-the-wool anarcho-cynic who thinks Washington is the dark centre of imperialist crime, it is quite an achievement to get me rooting for Dirk Pitt and his sidekick Giordano as they fight under the ground, on tropical islands, at home show more and on the ice for the survival of humanity.
If this really was American conduct overseas, I think I would join up. Sadly it is a fantasy - but I hope the big-wigs in Washington realise what a soft power asset they have in the man, far more useful in the struggle for hearts and minds than funding a bunch of European intellectuals.
I really do recommend this book as a fun read for a holiday or long train journeys or flights. The man keeps his writing simple but clean and he never ever patronises his audience. He clearly enjoys life and wants us to enjoy it too. That strikes me as a pretty decent attitude to have. show less
But, seriously, Cussler is not only a page-turner (something dramatic and usually unexpected happens in every short chapter) but his notionally cardboard characters are actually likeable or (in the case of the bad guys) interesting if not truly believable.
For a died-in-the-wool anarcho-cynic who thinks Washington is the dark centre of imperialist crime, it is quite an achievement to get me rooting for Dirk Pitt and his sidekick Giordano as they fight under the ground, on tropical islands, at home show more and on the ice for the survival of humanity.
If this really was American conduct overseas, I think I would join up. Sadly it is a fantasy - but I hope the big-wigs in Washington realise what a soft power asset they have in the man, far more useful in the struggle for hearts and minds than funding a bunch of European intellectuals.
I really do recommend this book as a fun read for a holiday or long train journeys or flights. The man keeps his writing simple but clean and he never ever patronises his audience. He clearly enjoys life and wants us to enjoy it too. That strikes me as a pretty decent attitude to have. show less
One of the things Clive Cussler does really well is take some bit of knowledge or lore and turn it up to eleven and see where that takes the world. [b:Raise the Titanic!|41706|Raise the Titanic! (Dirk Pitt, #4)|Clive Cussler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439783780l/41706._SY75_.jpg|81973] A treaty that sold Canada to the US. Lincoln kidnapped and shipped to Africa.
It doesn't necessarily have to be that accurate to what actually happened, but almost all of the stories make a good 'well it would be cool if it was true'. [b:Atlantis Found|41707|Atlantis Found (Dirk Pitt, #15)|Clive Cussler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389418438l/41707._SY75_.jpg|255727] is show more exactly that sort of book. You have a lost advanced civilization well before the earliest known examples that eventually became the story of Atlantis with a reasonable enough reason why we haven't found any examples of them in modern day (until now!). The science isn't perfect, but it's close enough to make a good story. Add in some neo-Nazis and a doomsday plot? And you have classic Dirk Pitt.
Overall, among my favorite Dirk Pitt stories thus far. Well worth the listen.
Random quote of the book:
He's not even wrong.
It's also interesting how these books are set slightly in the future. Cussler has to guess. We saw this in Raise the Titanic (the Titanic actually split in half, which would have made their job much more difficult). This time around:
More than 15 years after Atlantis Found was published and she's still kicking and on the throne...
And of course, Cussler shows up. It's ridiculous, but I've come to look forward to it. How early can you guess who Cussler is this time.
(Minor spoilers)
The odd man being Cussler of course. Good fun. show less
It doesn't necessarily have to be that accurate to what actually happened, but almost all of the stories make a good 'well it would be cool if it was true'. [b:Atlantis Found|41707|Atlantis Found (Dirk Pitt, #15)|Clive Cussler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389418438l/41707._SY75_.jpg|255727] is show more exactly that sort of book. You have a lost advanced civilization well before the earliest known examples that eventually became the story of Atlantis with a reasonable enough reason why we haven't found any examples of them in modern day (until now!). The science isn't perfect, but it's close enough to make a good story. Add in some neo-Nazis and a doomsday plot? And you have classic Dirk Pitt.
Overall, among my favorite Dirk Pitt stories thus far. Well worth the listen.
Random quote of the book:
Curious, Pat asked, "What else did the admiral have to say?"
"He said, among other things," Eagan spoke slowly, "that if Mr. Pitt claimed the South won the Civil War, I was to believe him."
He's not even wrong.
It's also interesting how these books are set slightly in the future. Cussler has to guess. We saw this in Raise the Titanic (the Titanic actually split in half, which would have made their job much more difficult). This time around:
The social event of the year was a celebration in honor of Prince Charles's elevation to the throne, finally abdicated by his mother, Queen Elizabeth.
More than 15 years after Atlantis Found was published and she's still kicking and on the throne...
And of course, Cussler shows up. It's ridiculous, but I've come to look forward to it. How early can you guess who Cussler is this time.
(Minor spoilers)
"You and I aren't seeing the same thing," said Cussler. "You see a pile of junk. I see a magnificent machine that will one day be admired by millions of people at the Smithsonian." His blue-green eyes gleamed as he spoke. "What you don't realize is that you took a mechanical failure and turned it into an astonishing success. Before, the Snow Cruiser's only distinction was that it was a fiasco and didn't come close to achieving what it was designed to do. And that was to carry a crew in comfort five thousand miles over the ice of the Antarctic. It floundered almost immediately after coming off the boat in 1930 and lay buried for seventy years. You two not only proved her a triumph of early-twentieth-century engineering by driving her sixty miles across the ice shelf in the middle of a blizzard, but you used her brute size and power to prevent a worldwide cataclysm. Now, thanks to you, she's a priceless and treasured piece of history."
Pitt gazed at the huge mutilated vehicle as if it were a wounded animal. "But for her, none of us would be standing here."
"Someday, I hope you'll tell me the entire story."
Giordino looked at the old man oddly. "Somehow, I think you already know it."
The odd man being Cussler of course. Good fun. show less
WTF happened to Cussler? Did he go senile & lose his touch or has he always been this crappy a writer? I LIKED "Sarhara", but "Atlantis Found" just SUCKS. After plodding through this book on audio for days, I started to listen today & his hero uses a string to tie 3 rifles together. Then he ties the string to the triggers, runs out of a cave filled with smoke & fire, makes a head shot & then shoots down a helicopter. There is a limit to my suspension of belief & this was just way beyond ridiculous.
The book is completely inane, not just the basic plot, but all the little things that make up a decent story. Characters constantly have conversations to explain what is going on about things that should have been decided long before the show more action started. For instance, as Pitt is getting ready to scuba dive into a wreck, he & Cox have a conversation about how he should take another diver with him. This is not what you talk about as the man is getting into the water. Such details are discussed well before you even get to the water.
The characters are all one dimensional. The good guys are so good they can judge how hard to hit a man in the back of the head to get within a pound of a killing blow - seriously, Cussler writes that at one point. The bad guys are so bad that they're always right on the spot, no matter how secretly or fast our heroes move, but they're inept enough to plant a bomb on a plane that blows up after the heroes have landed , but just before they get back into the plane. Why not during the 3 hour flight out? A while later, the heroes are outnumbered 7 to 2, armed with just rocks, while the bad guys have automatic weapons, pistols, body armor, radio headsets & a helicopter with a machine gun & missiles. The bad guys manage to lose. Yuck.
Oh, & no one uses a pistol or any other piece of equipment. No they use a 'model xyz limited edition by So&So company'. Please! If the hero just whacks someone over the head with a pistol, what difference does the model number, laser sight or caliber make? A rock could have been swapped in with absolutely no problem. I think it's supposed to sound cool, but it just sounds like extraneous crap.
I could go on, but I've wasted enough time on this book. I spent 500 minutes listening to it, trying hard to forgive the inanities, & I can't deal with another 700 minutes, so I quit. Cussler owes me 500 minutes of my life back. show less
The book is completely inane, not just the basic plot, but all the little things that make up a decent story. Characters constantly have conversations to explain what is going on about things that should have been decided long before the show more action started. For instance, as Pitt is getting ready to scuba dive into a wreck, he & Cox have a conversation about how he should take another diver with him. This is not what you talk about as the man is getting into the water. Such details are discussed well before you even get to the water.
The characters are all one dimensional. The good guys are so good they can judge how hard to hit a man in the back of the head to get within a pound of a killing blow - seriously, Cussler writes that at one point. The bad guys are so bad that they're always right on the spot, no matter how secretly or fast our heroes move, but they're inept enough to plant a bomb on a plane that blows up after the heroes have landed , but just before they get back into the plane. Why not during the 3 hour flight out? A while later, the heroes are outnumbered 7 to 2, armed with just rocks, while the bad guys have automatic weapons, pistols, body armor, radio headsets & a helicopter with a machine gun & missiles. The bad guys manage to lose. Yuck.
Oh, & no one uses a pistol or any other piece of equipment. No they use a 'model xyz limited edition by So&So company'. Please! If the hero just whacks someone over the head with a pistol, what difference does the model number, laser sight or caliber make? A rock could have been swapped in with absolutely no problem. I think it's supposed to sound cool, but it just sounds like extraneous crap.
I could go on, but I've wasted enough time on this book. I spent 500 minutes listening to it, trying hard to forgive the inanities, & I can't deal with another 700 minutes, so I quit. Cussler owes me 500 minutes of my life back. show less
Ok I admit it. I adore a good adventure -- even the cheesy, over the top, omg end-of-the-world ramifications, mary-sue/gary-stu inducing kind - as long as the plot is exciting and it is well written. Think of it as cotton candy for the mind. Never good in huge doses but a delight to enjoy. I'm always willing to take on the most recent pile of Cussler novels an old housemate passes along to me to enjoy.
In this Dirk Pitt adventure we off into another historical mystery. I don't wish to spoil any of the fun so I won't type out any of the plot. It is a good fun ride.
In this Dirk Pitt adventure we off into another historical mystery. I don't wish to spoil any of the fun so I won't type out any of the plot. It is a good fun ride.
Dangers from the ancient past and the 20th Centuries come together to bring humanity on the verge of doomsday. Atlantis Found is the fifteenth book of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series that finds Dirk and his friends and associates at NUMA stumbling upon a 60-year old plan inspired by hatred and an ancient catastrophe just months from challenging the world.
In 7120 BC, a comet hit North America, abruptly ending an advanced civilization. In AD 1858, a whaling vessel discovers a 1770s merchant ship frozen in Antarctic ice; included on this ship is a polished obsidian skull. In the present (2001), a group of U.S. scientists discover a mysterious underground chamber in a Colorado mine, including a polished obsidian skull. They are attacked show more with a deliberate avalanche and cave-in resulting in the mine flooding, but Dirk Pitt arrives from diving in another mine as part of an emergency rescue though the group is almost killed again by the saboteurs. Pitt obtains the Antarctic skull from a descendant of the whaling ship’s captain along with a copy of the merchant’s logbook. The information amassed and analyzed by NUMA leads Pitt to Antarctica to look for the merchant ship in the ice while Al Giordino and Rudi Gunn head to a remote island where the merchant ship found the skull. Both expeditions succeed—Giordino and Gunn finding a chamber and well-preserved mummies—only for each to be attacked by the same group that attacked the scientists in Colorado as Pitt’s group narrowly escapes being destroyed by a German U-boat missing since 1945 while Al and Rudi take out a commando team. Diving into the U-boat, Pitt finds a female officer and brings her to the surface. Upon Pitt’s return to Washington D.C., he stumbles upon a report from Admiral Sandecker’s office and is able to apprehend the woman who appears to be identical to the sub officer Pitt recovered, but is later genetically proven to be a cousin though modified and mostly inbred though known as members of the Nazi escapee Wolf family that owns the Argentinean corporation, Destiny Enterprises a legal front for the Fourth Empire Holdings from Nazi Germany. After examining the skulls, inscriptions from them and the chambers which they work to translate, and various artifacts that show a different geographical look to the Earth the NUMA results are startling. The chambers turn out to be the work of a civilization calling themselves the Amenes, a nation of seafarers and wise men who discovered and traded with most of the world. The comet from the beginning of the book caused a worldwide disaster that wiped out most of their civilization. It also had a twin, which returned to space. The few Amenes that survived built the chambers to pass on information of the twin comets return and the catastrophe. This information is given to an observatory to be checked but it turns out to be incorrect but the Wolfs appear to either be planning it or took inspiration from the catastrophe to bring about a re-creating of civilization in the Nazi image. Pitt and Giordino infiltrate a Destiny Enterprises facility that harbors four superships not only to scout but rescue one of the scientists from Colorado. They then meet Destiny CEO Karl Wolf who implies that the disaster will happen in days, which makes NUMA and the military scramble to figure out how when they realize that Destiny has a sea mining facility in Antarctica next to the Ross Ice Shelf that uses nanotechnology. Computer projections show that if the Shelf breaks off it will unbalance the planet—as the comet did—wiping out nearly all of humanity that is unprepared. The U.S. military task force of special forces from all branches attack the facility, but it’s Pitt and Giordino’s unplanned intervention that is able to turn the tide in battle resulting in the holding off of doomsday and the deaths of Karl and his relatives.
Unlike Flood Tide, the whole treasure story arc and main story arc were intertwined throughout the book allowing both to be settled in the final pages instead at two different points. Yet, it felt that Cussler was mixing and matching previous plot elements from earlier installments in creating this particular book with a family running a underground criminal empire with tentacles in governments around the world (Treasure and Inca Gold) being the most prominent. One of the biggest narrative miscues was the sole reliance of a special forces assault in Antarctica to stop the Wolf’s designs when an airstrike against the four superships should have been done as well—regardless of the risk to women and children due to the fact that Wolf wanted to kill 7 billion people that included women and children—thus forcing the Wolfs into a zero-sum game. Dirk was a little less superhuman in this book unlike the previous installment and while interested in the main female lead this book, got stunned in the end when she suddenly hooked up with Al out of nowhere but somewhat forced Dirk to consider once against marriage to his on-and-off girlfriend Loren Smith. The inclusion of the comet strike and the catastrophic tectonic plate shifts as the result are among the first “fringe” theories that Cussler would include in his book, although the comet/asteroid strike theory in Canada during the last Ice Age now does have more evidence backing it up in reality it had the opposite affect of prolonging the Ice Age instead of ending it like in the book while the global tectonic plate shift as a result of the comet and or the Ross Ice Shelf unbalancing the Earth are too farfetched for even some daring geologists to accept.
Atlantis Found is a good book narratively that has some unfortunately underwhelming supporting features that downgrades its quality. While one of the better books of the series, some of the choices Clive Cussler are a bit worrying for future installments. show less
In 7120 BC, a comet hit North America, abruptly ending an advanced civilization. In AD 1858, a whaling vessel discovers a 1770s merchant ship frozen in Antarctic ice; included on this ship is a polished obsidian skull. In the present (2001), a group of U.S. scientists discover a mysterious underground chamber in a Colorado mine, including a polished obsidian skull. They are attacked show more with a deliberate avalanche and cave-in resulting in the mine flooding, but Dirk Pitt arrives from diving in another mine as part of an emergency rescue though the group is almost killed again by the saboteurs. Pitt obtains the Antarctic skull from a descendant of the whaling ship’s captain along with a copy of the merchant’s logbook. The information amassed and analyzed by NUMA leads Pitt to Antarctica to look for the merchant ship in the ice while Al Giordino and Rudi Gunn head to a remote island where the merchant ship found the skull. Both expeditions succeed—Giordino and Gunn finding a chamber and well-preserved mummies—only for each to be attacked by the same group that attacked the scientists in Colorado as Pitt’s group narrowly escapes being destroyed by a German U-boat missing since 1945 while Al and Rudi take out a commando team. Diving into the U-boat, Pitt finds a female officer and brings her to the surface. Upon Pitt’s return to Washington D.C., he stumbles upon a report from Admiral Sandecker’s office and is able to apprehend the woman who appears to be identical to the sub officer Pitt recovered, but is later genetically proven to be a cousin though modified and mostly inbred though known as members of the Nazi escapee Wolf family that owns the Argentinean corporation, Destiny Enterprises a legal front for the Fourth Empire Holdings from Nazi Germany. After examining the skulls, inscriptions from them and the chambers which they work to translate, and various artifacts that show a different geographical look to the Earth the NUMA results are startling. The chambers turn out to be the work of a civilization calling themselves the Amenes, a nation of seafarers and wise men who discovered and traded with most of the world. The comet from the beginning of the book caused a worldwide disaster that wiped out most of their civilization. It also had a twin, which returned to space. The few Amenes that survived built the chambers to pass on information of the twin comets return and the catastrophe. This information is given to an observatory to be checked but it turns out to be incorrect but the Wolfs appear to either be planning it or took inspiration from the catastrophe to bring about a re-creating of civilization in the Nazi image. Pitt and Giordino infiltrate a Destiny Enterprises facility that harbors four superships not only to scout but rescue one of the scientists from Colorado. They then meet Destiny CEO Karl Wolf who implies that the disaster will happen in days, which makes NUMA and the military scramble to figure out how when they realize that Destiny has a sea mining facility in Antarctica next to the Ross Ice Shelf that uses nanotechnology. Computer projections show that if the Shelf breaks off it will unbalance the planet—as the comet did—wiping out nearly all of humanity that is unprepared. The U.S. military task force of special forces from all branches attack the facility, but it’s Pitt and Giordino’s unplanned intervention that is able to turn the tide in battle resulting in the holding off of doomsday and the deaths of Karl and his relatives.
Unlike Flood Tide, the whole treasure story arc and main story arc were intertwined throughout the book allowing both to be settled in the final pages instead at two different points. Yet, it felt that Cussler was mixing and matching previous plot elements from earlier installments in creating this particular book with a family running a underground criminal empire with tentacles in governments around the world (Treasure and Inca Gold) being the most prominent. One of the biggest narrative miscues was the sole reliance of a special forces assault in Antarctica to stop the Wolf’s designs when an airstrike against the four superships should have been done as well—regardless of the risk to women and children due to the fact that Wolf wanted to kill 7 billion people that included women and children—thus forcing the Wolfs into a zero-sum game. Dirk was a little less superhuman in this book unlike the previous installment and while interested in the main female lead this book, got stunned in the end when she suddenly hooked up with Al out of nowhere but somewhat forced Dirk to consider once against marriage to his on-and-off girlfriend Loren Smith. The inclusion of the comet strike and the catastrophic tectonic plate shifts as the result are among the first “fringe” theories that Cussler would include in his book, although the comet/asteroid strike theory in Canada during the last Ice Age now does have more evidence backing it up in reality it had the opposite affect of prolonging the Ice Age instead of ending it like in the book while the global tectonic plate shift as a result of the comet and or the Ross Ice Shelf unbalancing the Earth are too farfetched for even some daring geologists to accept.
Atlantis Found is a good book narratively that has some unfortunately underwhelming supporting features that downgrades its quality. While one of the better books of the series, some of the choices Clive Cussler are a bit worrying for future installments. show less
I haven't read a Pitt novel in many years. This one is ludicrously plotted, but fun- good airplane read for me but not exactly an award-winner.
This was the second Dirk Pitt novel I ever read, and a rather enjoyable one. Having read several of these books now, I noticed a pattern, though it's not a bad one. Cussler does a lot of research and it shows in his books, though the details might bog down some readers. There's some nice historical fiction here as setup for Dirk Pitt's adventures, and a bit of alternative history as well. Overall a solid read as long as you're prepared for a bit of self-indulgence.
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Kindle Action/Adventure - Junior and Teenage
178 works; 1 member
Author Information
198+ Works 141,657 Members
Clive Cussler was born in Aurora, Illinois on July 15, 1931. He attended Pasadena City College for two years before enlisting in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. After his discharge from the military, he worked first as a copywriter and later as a creative director for two of the nation's most successful advertising agencies. At show more that time, he wrote and produced radio and television commercials that won numerous international awards, including one at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He began writing in 1965 and published his first novel featuring Dirk Pitt in 1973. His first non-fiction work, The Sea Hunters, was published in 1996. He has written over 50 books including the Dirk Pitt series, the NUMA Files series, Oregon Files series, Isaac Bell series, and the Fargo Adventure series. He is the Chairman of NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency), a non-profit group which he founded. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers have discovered over 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites. Clive Cussler died on February 24, 2020 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
blanvalet (35896)
Zwarte Beertjes (3018)
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Atlantis Found
- Original title
- Atlantis Found
- Original publication date
- 1999-12; 1995
- People/Characters
- Dirk Pitt; Al Giordino; Rudi Gunn; James Sandecker; Hiram Yeager
- Important places
- Antarctica; Washington, D.C., USA; Atlantis
- First words
- The intruder came from beyond.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Loren curled her arms around his neck. "That's true, but the fun is in making it happen."
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 4,333
- Popularity
- 3,460
- Reviews
- 56
- Rating
- (3.63)
- Languages
- 31 — Armenian, Belarusian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Irish, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Macedonian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, Welsh
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 73
- UPCs
- 3
- ASINs
- 17