''Atlantis Found'' is a 1999 novel by
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list m ...
, the fifteenth book in the
Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt is a fictional character created by American novelist Clive Cussler and featured in a series of novels published from 1976 to 2021. Pitt is a larger-than-life hero reminiscent of pulp magazine icon Doc Savage. Pitt is a citizen of the ...
series.
Plot summary
In 7120 BC, a comet hit North America, abruptly ending several advanced civilizations.
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, a group of U.S. scientists discover a mysterious underground chamber in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, including a polished
obsidian skull. They are attacked and left to drown, but U.S. National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) Special Projects Director
Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt is a fictional character created by American novelist Clive Cussler and featured in a series of novels published from 1976 to 2021. Pitt is a larger-than-life hero reminiscent of pulp magazine icon Doc Savage. Pitt is a citizen of the ...
saves them.
Another chamber, like the one the scientists found, is discovered on a remote island and Al and
Rudi Gunn
Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spir ...
head there. They make a significant find and are attacked by the same group as the scientists. Meanwhile, Pitt is aboard an
icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
in Antarctica searching for the 1770s merchant ship and the other skull. He finds the ship and narrowly escapes disaster. A German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
, missing since 1945, is destroyed. Pitt dives on it and recovers the body of a female officer.
Both skulls found are given to NUMA for study and analysis and a theory about the possibility of them being Atlantean in origin develops.
The skulls are examined. Inscription symbols are found and they work on finding translations. Inside, geometrically exact globes are found; however, the continents and coastlines are different from current globes.
Pitt returns to Washington, DC, and interrupts someone – a twin to the U-boat officer – stealing the latest report from the NUMA director's office. She is captured and blood tests show they are enhanced as well as genetically identical – cousins, not sisters. The women are members of the Wolf family, descendants of
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
escapees. They run Destiny Enterprises, a corporation based in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
that is rumored to include Fourth Empire Holdings from Nazi Germany.
The chambers turn out to be the work of a civilization calling themselves the ''Amenes'' (pronounced Ah-meen-eez), 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.
Dirk meets Karl Wolf, CEO of Destiny Enterprises Limited, and mentions the potential catastrophe. Wolf's reply implies that his family is planning to capitalize on the disaster.
The data from the observatory comes back: the prophecy is false. The comet will return in a few millennia, and it will miss the planet entirely.
It is noted that Destiny Enterprises is putting a lot of capital into four superships to save themselves and hold everything required for them to re-create civilization in the future. Dirk and Al take a tour of one of the ships and rescue, again, one of the scientists from the chamber in Colorado who was captured for her ability to decipher the Amenes inscriptions.
Information linked to a Nazi-built
nanotech
Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
research facility in Antarctica comes to light. The plan that ultimately comes to light: the villains intend to use nanotechnology to separate the
Ross Ice Shelf from the Antarctic mainland in order to unbalance the planet and create a catastrophe that they can ride out in their superships. Then they plan to re-create civilization in the Nazi image.
Dirk and his friends head there, deactivate the nanotechnology and deal with Karl Wolf, his relatives and workers.
Series continuity
It is revealed in the book that 'Dad' is in fact Clive Cussler himself. The fact that he appears in his own work is a recurring theme of the series. And as mentioned by
Loren Smith, this is the first time where Dirk Pitt doesn't take back the form of transport used in the book (an old car/plane/boat etc.) to his hangar.
In another Cussler novel, ''
Serpent
Serpent or The Serpent may refer to:
* Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes
Mythology and religion
* Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature
* Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts
* Serp ...
'', Pitt and other characters are mentioned in
crossover
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
, said to be going to "a Project in the Antarctic".
{{Clive Cussler
Dirk Pitt novels
1999 American novels
Atlantis in fiction
Novels set in Antarctica
Cultural depictions of Adolf Hitler
American thriller novels
G. P. Putnam's Sons books