Trojan Odyssey is a Dirk Pitt

Dirk Pitt

Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...

 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 by Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler

Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...

, published first in 2003.

Plot summary

The book opens with a fictional historical overview/flashback to events of Homer

Homer

In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...

's famous Odyssey

Odyssey

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...

, but alters the original plot. In the present day, Dirk Pitt, his son Dirk Pitt, Jr.

Dirk Pitt, Jr.

Dirk Pitt, Jr. is a fictional character. He is a protagonist in a few recent Clive Cussler novels.born- 1981 Dirk Pitt, Jr. is the son of Dirk Pitt and Summer Moran. He has a twin sister Summer Pitt. He works for the National Underwater and Marine Agency as the special projects director...

, his daughter Summer Pitt

Summer Pitt

Summer Pitt is a fictional character, the daughter of Dirk Pitt from the Dirk Pitt series of adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. She and her twin brother, Dirk Pitt, Jr. were raised by their mother, Summer Moran, without Dirk Pitt's knowledge. Upon reaching adulthood, and following their...

, and friend Al Giordino

Al Giordino

Albert Cassius Giordino is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by Clive Cussler; he first appears in The Mediterranean Caper . He is described as being of Italian ancestry, 5'4" in height, 175 lb, with dark curly hair, swarthy skin, dark Etruscan eyes, and a Roman nose. He...

 are involved in the search for the source of a brownish contamination in the ocean's waters, which leads to a diabolical plot that they must unravel and ultimately topple. As this is occurring, discoveries relating to the "true" tale of the Odyssey are made.

The villain is the mysterious Specter, a huge man who disguises his identity by wearing sunglasses, a hat, and a scarf over his face.

The book also features a significant event between Dirk Pitt and Congresswoman Loren Smith. He and Al retire from their life of daredevilry and settle down. Pitt asks for the hand of Loren who also steps down.

Pitt assumes the responsibility of head of NUMA as Admiral Sandecker accepts the Vice Presidency. This marks a change in Dirk Pitt Sr. series, as confirmed by his next novel, which features Dirk Pitt Jr. as the primary protagonist.

As with every Dirk Pitt novel, this one features a classic car

Classic car

A classic car is an older car; the exact meaning is variable. The Classic Car Club of America maintains that a car must be between 20 and 40 years old to be a classic, while cars over 45 years fall into the Antique Class.- Classic Car Club of America :...

, in this case a Marmon

Marmon

Marmon Motor Car Company was an automobile manufacturer founded by Howard Marmon and owned by Nordyke Marmon & Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. It was established in 1902 and was merged and renamed in 1933. They produced cars under the Marmon brand. It was succeeded by Marmon-Herrington and...

 V-16 Town Car. A custom-built 1952 Meteor DeSoto

DeSoto (automobile)

The DeSoto was a brand of automobile based in the United States, manufactured and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation from 1928 to 1961. The DeSoto logo featured a stylized image of Hernando de Soto...

 hot rod modified with a 270 hp engine is briefly mentioned.

Allusions/references to other works

The version of the Odyssey recited in this book was inspired from the Iman Wilkens book, Where Troy Once Stood: The Mystery of Homer's Iliad' and 'Odyssey' Revealed.

Where Troy Once Stood

Where Troy Once Stood is a book by Iman Wilkens that argues that the city of Troy was located in England and that the Trojan War was fought between groups of Celts, against the standard view that Troy is located near the Dardanelles in Turkey...

Trivia

Cussler dedicated Trojan Odyssey to his wife, who died due to cancer in 2003.

The main antagonist in the novel shares his alias ("Specter") with the father of the antagonists in Inca Gold

Inca Gold

Inca Gold is a novel written by Clive Cussler. First published in 1994, it is the twelfth book in Cussler's Dirk Pitt series.-Plot summary:...

.

Loren's father mysteriously came back to life and attended the wedding, long after being killed and his body stashed on a sunken aircraft in a remote Colorado lake as depicted in Vixen 03

Vixen 03

Vixen 03 is an adventure novel by Clive Cussler. This is the 4th book to feature the author’s primary protagonist Dirk Pitt.-Plot introduction:...

External links

• Paperbackbazaar Review of Trojan Odyssey (about halfway down the page).