As a child, former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone was told that his father died in a submarine disaster in the North Atlantic. But what he now learns stuns him: His father’s sub was a secret nuclear vessel lost on a highly classified mission beneath the ice shelves of Antarctica.
Twin sisters Dorothea Lindauer and Christl Falk are also determined to find out what became of their father, who died on the same submarine–and they know something Malone doesn’t: Inspired by strange clues discovered in Charlemagne’s tomb, the Nazis explored Antarctica before the Americans. Now Malone discovers that cryptic journals penned in “the language of heaven,” conundrums posed by an ancient historian, and his father’s ill-fated voyage are all tied to a revelation of immense consequence for humankind. As Malone embarks on a dangerous quest with the sisters, he will finally confront the shocking truth of his father’s death and the distinct possibility of his own.
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"Among the best of the Berry books I've read so far. Cotton Malone to me is getting to be a more and more interesting character in his books, and this strength really meshes well with Berry's well-researched, well-planned plots. I hope Malone continues to grow as a character in future Berry novels."
— Andy (4 out of 5 stars)
A solid action thriller [with] colorful bad guys, likable good guys, and plenty of action scenes.
— Booklist[A] hair-raising adventure…Berry has another blockbuster.
— Romantic TimesThose who relish suspense in the Da Vinci Code vein will snap this one up, the best yet in the series.
— Publishers Weekly,starred review[Steve] Berry outdoes himself… [in his] best book to date.
— Library Journal, starred reviewPlenty of classic touch points are in this cliff-hanger: Nazis, secret missions, shootouts, [and] cryptic journals…In Malone, Berry has created a classic, complex hero.
— USA TodayAction-packed . . . engrossing and suspenseful…another stunning thriller.
— Wichita Falls Times Record News" Of all the Steve Berry books I've read this is probably the best. It moves at a nice pace, it's not too terribly far fetched and it's entertaining. "
— Debbie, 2/18/2014" Full of History and adventure!!! Very suspenseful and I love Cotton Malone--the hero of this series. "
— Sarahb., 1/31/2014" Again a purely escapist adventure....with a little history mixed in to make you feel a little less guilty! "
— Kym, 1/26/2014" Mijn introductie tot de werken van Steve Berry en dus ook mijn eerste kennismaking met Cotton Malone. Een goed beschreven held met een vrij spannend rechtlijnig verhaal. Zeker geen ontgoocheling maar ook geen werk die ik bij iedereen onder de kerstboom ga leggen. Maakt, alvast voor mij, deel uit van de "Dan Brown categorie" en voor jullie gaan denken dat ik hierbij ga laagdunkend doen: nog steeds uitstekende (ont)spanning! Maar ook niet meer dan dat. "
— Kurt, 1/24/2014" Fun, though preposterous, adventure. Great for a long weekend or beach read. "
— Carolyn, 1/23/2014" zLiked that there wasn't love scenes, kept me guessing as to who was good and who was bad but a little too complicated for me. "
— Dawnette, 1/16/2014" slightly better written than dan brown. good airplane fodder. read and toss "
— Fern, 1/15/2014" My favorite pulp author... (If only poor, writer-blocked Dan Brown could be this prolific.) As is typical, a great "plot" where you're bound to learn a thing or two about submerged histories. Who really cares if any of it's plausible or true. "
— Worth, 1/15/2014" This is another good book from Berry. He continues to take interesting ideas and wrap them around a really good fictional story. I will continue to read books from this author. "
— Gian, 1/5/2014" Perfect for a read to let your mind just relax and go with the flow. "
— Liz, 1/5/2014" Not the best of Steve Berry's books or even of the Cotton Malone books, but enjoyable nonetheless. Its always fascinating how Berry takes some historical story and expands on it and makes such a captivating tale out of it. "
— Tony, 1/2/2014" I usually like Steve Berry's books, but i felt like this one was a bit slow and not that interesting of a read. "
— Junou, 12/31/2013" Enjoyed this one - not my favorite topic of Charlamagne. "
— Dorothea, 12/25/2013" I continue to enjoy these, even thought Cotton's character doesn't develop and the secondary characters have no depth (and they kill each other off at an alarming rate!). I just like the historical connections, both real and imagined. "
— Kirsten, 12/10/2013" Good book but not as good as previous Cotton Malone Books. Whats missing is all the supporting characters and they add alot "
— Mike, 11/20/2013" This is a good book, # four in the Cotton Malone series. It has the search for valuable information, death and destruction and takes place all over the world which is always a fun read. "
— Marysue, 10/10/2013" Think Davinci code. It's pretty interesting, but not "fine" writing. "
— Ruth, 8/10/2013" another one of those great mysteries that ties together real events with imagined ones, trotting all over the globe... I loved it. "
— Barbara, 1/23/2013" un bon bouquin pour tuer une journee de voyage, sans plus. "
— Remy, 12/24/2012" My first Steve Berry book. Steve took information that is known about Charlemagne and twists it into a suspense/thriller surrounding his character Cotton Malone. Another book that I couldn't put down. "
— Linda, 10/25/2012" This was a real disappointment after reading the author's book on the Templars. I found it just to fantastic to be the least bit credible. I know that one has to suspend belief when reading fantasy mysteries but this one was just to much for me. I guess if you like this genre its OK. "
— Norma, 10/1/2012" A good "beach" read - the cotton candy of the reading world. Decent, I just wish they concentrated more on the nerdy ancient history aspects and less on the lawyers as defenders of the free world schtick. "
— Andrew, 6/13/2012" Better than Paris Vendetta but that's not saying much. Not worth really wasting the time on it. Getting tired of the Da Vinci Code and it's imitators. "
— TJ, 5/24/2012" I love his books. This was as wonderful as any of them. "
— Arlene, 1/8/2012" A "smart" book of this genre. I like the attention to detail and how even when things seem far fetched, the author reels it back in. Plus the protagnist isn't a complete male whore that seems to be the requiste in other novels (see Lucas Davenport, Stone Barrington, etc) "
— Caroline, 12/15/2011" Great fast read. Who can resist treasures, science, and history bundled in an exciting storyline? "
— Lynn, 11/21/2011" The Cotton Malone series is starting to become one long, exhausting blur. This episode explores possible roots to myths of ancient civilizations like Atlantis. "
— Erik, 5/5/2011" It's a not terribly subtle thriller involving an ancient German dynasty, Nazis, retired USA Special Forces members turned booksellers... and Antarctica. Mostly everyone dies.<br/><br/>Finished with no great relish... ok for the Tube, but that's not a terribly high standard. "
— Yvann, 4/15/2011" Still reading it but great so far "
— Jane, 3/12/2011" Sort of like Dan Brown except the style is just a bit different and the subjects he writes about are a lot more diffrent than Dan Brown. "
— Frédéric, 3/7/2011" It took awhile for me to get into this book, but as always Steve Berry drew me into Cotton Malone's life with easy. I love this series, and will keep reading Steve Berry's books. "
— Jeanette, 1/14/2011" All of Steve Berry's books are entertaining reads, mostly international conspiracy theory mysteries. "
— Joseph, 1/8/2011" The premise of this story is about a lost civilization in Antarctica and even brings in that old and extremely accurate map of Antarctica back in the sailor explorer days. This story is more of a personal journey for Cotton but just as exciting and interesting as his other stories. "
— Chrissy, 1/4/2011Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of seventeen Cotton Malone and four stand-alone novels, among other books and works of short fiction. He has twenty-five million books in print, translated into forty languages. He is an emeritus member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board and a founding member of International Thriller Writers. With his wife, Elizabeth, he is the founder of History Matters, which is dedicated to historical preservation.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.