''Lost Empire'' is the second in a series of adventure novels 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 ...

, co-authored by

Grant Blackwood Grant Blackwood (born June 7, 1964) is an American thriller writer and ghostwriter. He wrote the Briggs Tanner series. He co-authored with Clive Cussler ''Spartan Gold'' which reached number 10 on the ''New York Times'' Hardcover Fiction Best Sel ...

, whose main characters are adventurers and treasure hunters Sam Fargo and his wife, Remi. The book's hardcover edition was first published August 31, 2010. Other editions of this novel were released on various dates in 2010-11.Fantastic Fiction website, http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/clive-cussler/lost-empire.htm .

Plot

While vacationing and

scuba Scuba may refer to: * Scuba diving ** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving * Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook * Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...

diving near

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

, the Fargos discover a ship's bell that they soon determine belonged to the Confederate warship '' Shenandoah'', which after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

had been sold to the

Sultan of Zanzibar The sultans of Zanzibar ( ar, سلاطين زنجبار) were the rulers of the Sultanate of Zanzibar, which was created on 19 October 1856 after the death of Said bin Sultan, who had ruled Oman and Zanzibar as the sultan of Oman since 1804. Th ...

before mysteriously disappearing. As soon as they raise the bell, they find someone else wants it badly enough to kill to obtain it. They lose the bell to their pursuers, who they discover are involved with the new government of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and they discover a number of tourists who discovered items of interest to the pursuers ended up dead. The Fargos end up traveling to the mainland of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, the rainforests of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and to the site of the 1883

Krakatoa Krakatoa (), also transcribed (), is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The caldera is part of a volcanic island group ( Krakatoa archipelago) comprising four islands. T ...

volcano explosion in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

in their quest to find answers to the intrigue. They not only get the bell back, but they discover what happened to the ''Shenandoah'' and make a stunning archaeological discovery. Co-author

has a habit of making cameo appearances in many of his novels. In this one his appearance is a bit more pronounced than normal, when he helps the Fargos escape from a group of robbers who captured them.

References

2010 American novels Fargo Adventures G. P. Putnam's Sons books Collaborative novels Michael Joseph books {{2010s-thriller-novel-stub