The Barbary Pirates
William Dietrich
Harper, Apr 2010, $25.99
ISBN 9780061567964
In 1802 American diplomat Ethan Gage, accompanied by his brilliant insane scientist companions, British rock hound (geologist) William Smith, French zoologist George Cuvier, and American crackpot inventor Robert Fulton, is back in Paris. Napoleon orders the foursome to investigate whether Archimedes’ renowned mirror exists or is a fantasy as rumors of the death ray gizmo abound.
The quartet begin the quest from Toulon crossing the Mediterranean towards Tripoli, but quickly run into adversarial conditions caused by the brutal Egyptian Rite cabal still planning to dominate the globe with plans to use the fabled death ray on the opposition. Gage is across the Mediterranean where he is joined by Lady Aurora Somerset and Astiza the Egyptian while the Barbary Pirates see his expedition as plunder while Gage and company sail in Fulton's impractical sub to Tripoli with plans to continue to Malta and beyond.
The latest Gage swashbuckling pulp fiction is a great over the top of the Tibesti Massif as the hero and three lunatic savants join him on his latest escapades. The story line is fast-paced throughout as Gage never has a chance for a breather. Fans who relish Indiana Jones in Napoleon Era Mediterranean will relish the Barbary pirates adventures as Gage has left America again (see The Dakota Cipher) to cause havoc in Europe and Africa.
Harriet Klausner
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