''Odessa Sea'' is a 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 ...

and

Dirk Cussler Dirk Cussler (born 1961) is an American author. He is the son of best selling author Clive Cussler and a co-author of several Dirk Pitt adventure novels, as well as being the namesake of the Pitt character. Early life and education Cussler was bo ...

published November 15, 2016.

Summary

A Dutch entrepreneur, Martin Hendriks, hires the crew of the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

-based salvage ship ''Besso'' to steal a load of uranium from a black market dealer. They accomplish this by detonating a charge underwater ahead of the target ship, releasing a cloud of poison gas that suffocates the crew of the ship carrying the uranium. He aims to try and sell it to the Iranians in return for 12 missiles, which he will give to the Ukrainian government to use to their

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against Russia. He hates the Russians because his wife was killed when the Russian military shot down a commercial airliner in the skies of Ukraine. Dirk Pitt responds to a mayday call from the ship. When he arrives, the ship is blown up by the thugs. With the help of Europol agent Ana, the uranium is recovered safely. Hendricks then hires the crew of the ''Besso'' to set off 20 tons of explosives in waters near the Russian naval base in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

. They hijack the NUMA ship ''Macedonia'' to make the attempt look like it had been attempted by the Americans, so as to start a war between the two great powers. The attempt fails when Dirk Pitt stops the ship. Next, the crew of the ''Besso'' finds an old Russian bomber wreck in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, a

Tupolev Tu-4 The Tupolev Tu-4 (russian: Туполев Ту-4; NATO reporting name: Bull) is a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid-1960s. It was reverse-engineered from the American Boeing B-29 S ...

carrying an intact

RDS-5 The RDS-5 (russian: РДС-5) was a plutonium based Soviet atomic bomb, probably using a hollow core. Two versions were made. The first version used 2 kg Pu-239 and was expected to yield 9.2 kilotons. The second version used only 0.8 kg Pu-239 Te ...

atomic bomb. In the meantime, Dirk and his friend Giordino find the wreck of the Ottoman frigate ''Fethiye'' with the preserved body of an airman snagged on the wreck by his parachute. They find evidence that the bomber's payload has recently been removed. This, along with a raid on the ''Bessos base that finds a cargo door matching the downed bomber, puts them on the trail of Hendricks' plot. Hendricks once again hires the crew of the ''Besso'' after upgrading the bomb, this time instructing them to launch an attack on America, making it look like the Russians had done it, to start a war between Russia and United States. Dirk and Giordino find the barge carrying the bomb in

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

; they realize that Hendricks wants to sink the bomb in the bay and then detonate it, releasing a cloud of poison gas over

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Their helicopter is shot down, but they are rescued by the USS ''Constellation'', a preserved

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 ...

era

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

. The volunteers on the ship use shells from the display cases on the ship to fire on the barge with a 20-pounder

Parrott rifle The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle-loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War. Parrott rifle The gun was invented by Captain Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He was an American soldier and invent ...

on the stern rail at point-blank range. The ''Constellation'' is almost destroyed by multiple grenades fired from an RPG. Pitt and Giordino board the barge with swords and defeat the surviving terrorists. After his attack fails, Hendricks tries one last ploy to harm Russia. Hendricks made his fortune by creating military drones. During a demonstration for the

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

, he fires a missile at the President, pretending that it is part of the demonstration. His last words before he and the president are blown to pieces are “Mr. President, I am about to kill you in the same manner you killed my family in the skies over Ukraine.”

References to real history and current science in the book

The USS ''Constellation'' is a real ship-of-line that served in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It was the last sail-only warship built for the United States Navy and is preserved on Chesapeake Bay. The Tupolev Tu-4 was a real aircraft, and the

atomic bomb did exist. The Ottoman frigate ''Fethiye'' may have existed, and there was a large ship-of-line called the ''Fethiye'' built in 1827. A mention of the

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Unit ...

military drone is made by Hendricks when he is demonstrating a drone to a Russian general. The drone that Hendriks is marketing, the Peregrine, has various technologies such as a

hydrogen fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...

solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...

, and

radar-absorbent material In materials science, radiation-absorbent material, usually known as RAM, is a material which has been specially designed and shaped to absorb incident RF radiation (also known as non-ionising radiation), as effectively as possible, from as ma ...

that exist today, although they have never been used in a drone.

Locations

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Reception

Reception was generally positive, with

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

saying it "gives fans their money’s worth," and

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

saying "the pages whip by."

References

{{Clive Cussler 2016 American novels Novels by Clive Cussler G. P. Putnam's Sons books Dirk Pitt novels Collaborative novels