There is a touch of Dirk Pitt in the soul of every man who longs for adventure.

I could search through the whole book and not find a better quote to reflect this novel. I'd change one thing though. I wouldn't say man. It works for a woman, too.

In the Trojan Odyssey, the 20th in a series of Dirk Pitt novels, Clive Cussler grabs you and takes you on another thrilling adventure. The whole gang is back, after three novels with a new hero and two non-fiction books, Clive Cussler returns to his roots.

Dirk Pitt, Al Giordino, Admiral Sandecker, Rudi Gunn and the rest of the gang are all as brave and daring as ever in Trojan Odyssey.

Cussler, as always, manages the difficult task of creating a bad guy who has a plan to rule (or destroy) the earth. He puts the world in peril, always by way of the sea, then lets Dirk Pitt snatch the planet from the jaws of disaster.

Cussler has a style that is uniquely his. He begins his novels with a long ago myth. Then he jumps to some other, seemingly unrelated scene. He drags you into one of his stories, takes you to a moment of climax and jumps to another story.

I always think, "No don't leave them there, hanging by a thread!" Then, before you know, you're completely hooked by the new situation. The writing style keeps you on the edge of your seat until all Cussler's stories collide.

Cussler's fearless master of the sea is Dirk Pitt. He appears in Trojan Odyssey, but he doesn't appear until Chapter 9. Of course, he shows up right in the nick of time. Cussler has such sure disaster heading your way that you're going to think the catastrophe is the basis of the story. Then Dirk shows up.

Oh, my gosh, Cussler's going to let them live. BUT HOW?

A little side note: at first, if you're not a Cussler fan, you think… "Dirk Pitt? What kind of dumb name is that?" By the end, I promise, you'll be wanting to name your first child Dirk. Pitt is the bravest, strongest, smartest hero that has ever wise-cracked his way through the pages of literature.

If you've never read Cussler before, you have a real treat in store for you because a body of work this rich is still out there waiting for you. If you're a fan, then you can't miss Trojan Odyssey because big things are in store for Dirk.

Between his bold characters and fast-paced writing, there's no escape from a Cussler novel. In the end, you snap the book closed and think, "I've got to learn to SCUBA dive, or join the Navy, or at least go ice skating." You need an adventure. You need the water. Cussler makes you long for adventure.

The rating Sleep Robber doesn't go far enough for Cussler. Because I laid awake a couple of nights AFTER I'd finished the book, trying to figure out how to arrange a SCUBA diving adventure along some coral reef. I've heard the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is nice! Brace yourself. And don't plan a winter vacation until after you're read Trojan Odyssey. You're going to want an adventure under the sea.

Nobody does it better than Cussler. I rate Trojan Odyssey an A+ Sleep Robber.

Remainder of article removed by author as the nature of the content was not relevant to the NUMA Web site. This article originally appeared in the Lyons Mirror-Sun newspaper.