Clive Cussler will sign aboard the historic Berkeley, 1898 steam ferry boat, in San Diego Harbor on Monday, December 1 from 6 to 9 p.m.

PHOENIX-In TROJAN ODYSSEY Clive Cussler's hero, Dirk Pitt ®, battles his deadliest, and most extraordinary foe. Long hailed as the grandmaster of adventure fiction, Clive Cussler has continued to astound fans throughout the world with the intricate plotting and astonishing set pieces of his novels. TROJAN ODYSSEY is no exception as Cussler weaves the fall of Troy tale seamlessly with modern day marine biology and spell-binding intrigue. Now Cussler gives us his most audacious work to date when TROJAN ODYSSEY is released November 24th in the U.S. and Canada. Cussler worked on three new novels this year, the international television show THE SEA HUNTERS and the movie of his best seller SAHARA. He was also on expedition in the North Sea for three weeks searching for John Paul Jones ship the Bonhomme Richard for his 501c3 non-profit, the real National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA). Cussler is not just an action adventure writer; he has lived the adventures himself so it is only fitting that part of his book tour be aboard the steamship BERKELEY. During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake BERKELEY carried thousands of survivors to safety. Her captain and crew, not knowing the fate of their own families, worked night and day to help victims escape the burning shores of San Francisco. Their unwavering and unselfish efforts saved many lives. The BERKELEY is "irreplaceable", a California State Historic Landmark, and a National Historic Landmark. A portion of the book sales aboard the BERKELEY will benefit the San Diego Maritime Museum, a 501c3 non-profit. For additional information about this exciting evening at sea, please contact the Museum, 619 234 9123, extension 102 or www.sdmaritime.com.

"When my publicist suggested a signing aboard the Berkeley, I was thrilled with the opportunity to tour her and the Star of India," Cussler stated. "These ships are the history I write about come to life. I am very pleased to participate in this event to help benefit the San Diego Maritime Museum's efforts to preserve these wonderful examples of maritime history."

At the end of VALHALLA RISING, Dirk Pitt ® discovered, to his shock, that he had two grown children he had never known, 23-year-old fraternal twins born to a woman he thought had died in an underwater earthquake. Both have inherited his love of the sea: the girl, Summer, a marine biologist; the boy, himself named Dirk, a marine engineer. And now they are about to help their father in the adventure of a lifetime. There is a brown tide infesting the ocean off the shore of Nicaragua. The twins are working in a NUMA underwater enclosure, trying to determine its origin, when two startling things happen: Summer discovers an artifact, something strange and beautiful and ancient, and the worst storm in years boils up out of the sky, heading straight for them and for a luxurious floating resort hotel square in its path.

The peril for everybody concerned is incalculable, and, desperately, Pitt, Al Giordino and the rest of the NUMA crew rush to the rescue, but what they find in the storm's wake makes the furies of nature pale in comparison. For there is an all-too-human evil at work in that part of the world, and the tide is only a byproduct of its plan. Soon, the work will be complete -- and the world will be a very different place. If Summer's discovery is to be believed, the world as we know it is already a very different place…Filled with dazzling suspense and breathtaking action, TROJAN ODYSSEY is Cussler at the height of his storytelling powers.

Cussler is the author or coauthor of twenty-four previous books, most recently the Dirk Pitt ® adventure VALHALLA RISING, the Kurt Austin ® novel WHITE DEATH and the OREGON Chronicles novel GOLDEN BUDDHA. He is also the author of the best-selling nonfiction THE SEA HUNTERS and THE SEA HUNTERS II. The non-fiction books chronicle the true adventures of the real NUMA weaving fact into a narrative one can't put down. The expeditions, led by Cussler, seek lost ships of historic significance. With his crew of volunteers, Cussler has discovered more than 60 ships, including the long-lost Confederate submarine the CSS HUNLEY, the CARPATHIA, the valiant ship that dodged icebergs to rescue survivors of the TITANIC, the MARY CELESTE, the first of the so-called "ghost" ships and the GENERAL SLOCUM, the largest loss of life in New York City history prior to 9/11/01.

Cussler, describes himself as an entertainer from his days in advertising. Cussler's Dirk Pitt ® novels have made him the undisputed Grand Master of the action-adventure novel. Soon his legion of fans will be able to enjoy Dirk Pitt's ® adventures on the silver screen. SAHARA is slated to be Paramount's Thanksgiving 2004 blockbuster release; it will star Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt ®, Steve Zahn as Al Giordino ®, and be directed by Breck Eisner.