Iceberg (Cussler novel)
First edition
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| Author | Clive Cussler |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Dirk Pitt Novels |
| Genre | Adventure, Techno-thriller novel |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Co. |
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Publication date
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1975 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 314 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 34046230 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3553.U75 I28 1996 |
| Preceded by | The Mediterranean Caper |
| Followed by | Raise the Titanic! |
Iceberg is an adventure novel by Clive Cussler published in the United States by Dodd, Mead & Company in 1975. This is the 2nd published book to feature the author’s primary protagonist Dirk Pitt.
Dirk Pitt is summoned from his vacation on the sunny beaches of California and sent to the Arctic when an iceberg is discovered that contains the remains of a missing luxury yacht. The yacht was on its way to a top-secret meeting with the White House; now the entire crew is dead, incinerated at their posts. This discovery sets Pitt on a deadly adventure as he tries to stop a multi-millionaire madman from upsetting the balance of world power and possibly causing the collapse of the world’s economy.
While on a routine survey mission of the iceberg fields in the North Atlantic, a United States Coast Guard survey plane discovers what appears to be a ship embedded in an iceberg. The plane marks the iceberg with a red dye marker and then returns to its base to report the discovery.
Admiral Sandecker dispatches Dirk Pitt and Dr. Bill Hunnewell of the National Underwater and Marine Agency on a top-secret mission to survey the ship in the iceberg. Pitt concocts an outlandish story about a disappeared Russian spy trawler, supposedly equipped with their latest in technology and codes, in order to commandeer the Coast Guard cutter Catawaba as a base of operations. In reality they are searching for the yacht Lax which disappeared mysteriously over a year ago with its billionaire owner, Kristjan Fyrie, and its entire crew while on their way to the United States.
When Dirk and the doctor search for the iceberg, they discover that someone has gone to a great deal of effort to erase the dye marker and try to convince them that the iceberg they are looking for is somewhere else by marking a similar iceberg 90 miles to the east. Pitt quickly figures out the trick and they eventually find the correct iceberg and work their way into the derelict ship. Inside they discover that all those on board have been incinerated at their posts by a terrible fire much more severe than should have been possible on the ship of that type.
It is revealed that Fyrie has developed a new type of underwater probe using a laboratory created element called Celtinium-279. Using this new probe it is possible to scan the ocean floor from the surface and detect minerals and metals without having to drill. The probe is of enormous value. Unfortunately for the crew the Celtinium-279 proves to be extremely unstable and it ignites causing an incredibly destructive fire, the heat from which eventually allowed the ship to become embedded in the iceberg.
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