Adventure stories dont get much more epic than this!Daily Mirror, UKAbout the AuthorAndy McDermottis a former journalist and movie critic who now writes novels full-time following the international success of his debut thriller,The Hunt for Atlantis,which has been sold around the world in more than twenty languages. He is also the author ofThe Tomb of Hercules, The Secret of Excalibur, The Covenant of Genesis, The Pyramid of Doom, The Sacred Vault, Empire of Gold, Return to Atlantis, The Valhalla Prophecy,andThe Shadow Protocol. He lives in Bournemouth, England.Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Chapter OneNew York City :Three MonthsLaterThe lights of Manhattan shone like constellations ofprecision-aligned stars against the night sky. EddieChase gazed out at the spectacular panorama andsighed. He would much rather have been somewhere,anywhere, on the islanda restaurant, a bar, even alaunderettethan here.Not that the venue itself was a problem. The OceanEmperor was their hosts pride and joy, a 350-foot motorcruiser on which absolutely no expense had been spared.Chase had been on luxury yachts before, but this onerepresented a whole new level of opulence. Had he justbeen with Nina and a group of close friends, he wouldhave taken full advantage of the experience.But apart from a handful of senior IHA staff, so far hedidnt know any of the hundred-plus guests. And hedidnt have anything in common with them either.Diplomats, politicians, titans of industry, all busy networkingand deal-making with every handshake. Chase,on the other hand, was here merely as Ninas andguest. This wasnt his world.It wasnt Ninas either, but she was doing everythingshe could to pretend it was, he thought with a frown. Heknocked back the remaining red wine in his glass andturned away from the vista to face the crowd. Nina wasstanding with former U.S. Navy admiral turned historianHector Amoros, the head of the IHA, and shakinghands with a tall, distinguished yet smug-looking man.Politician, Chase knew at a glance.Nina glanced through the open doors in his direction.Eddie! she called, waving one hand to summonhim. The champagne glass that had been in her otherhand from practically the moment she boarded theyacht had been refilled again, he noticed. Eddie, comehere and meet the senator.Yeah, coming, he replied without enthusiasm, fingeringhis stiff and uncomfortable collar. A blast of noiseand wind swept over the deck as he reentered the ship,another helicopter coming in to drop off more ultra-VIPguests on the yachts helipad. Chase and Nina had beenbrought to the Ocean Emperor by boat, as had most of theother guests. Even in the world of the superrich, therewas still a pecking order. He imagined the only way totop arriving by helicopter would be to land in a Harrierjump jet.Nina looked amazing tonight, he had to admit. Thesweeping scarlet off-the-shoulder dress was a worldaway from the ruggedly practical clothes she had wornwhen he first got to know her a year and a half before, oreven the Italian suits shed adopted more recently in herrole as the IHAs director of operations. Her normallyred hair had been dyed a richer, darker tone for the occasion,swept and styled to highlight her carefullymade-up face.Chase ground his teeth at the mere thought of herhair. Hed complained about it all day before Nina finallymade him promise to shut up.But still . . . five hundred dollars for a fucking haircut?Eddie, said Nina, this is Senator Victor Dalton.Senator, this is Eddie Chase, who works for me at theIHA. And he also happens to be my boyfriend, sheadded.Nice to meet you, Senator, said Chase, shootingNina a subtly annoyed look as he shook Daltons hand.He recognized the nameDalton was in the running tobe the next president of the United States. That explainedthe two stone-faced men in dark suits watchinghim coldly from nearby: Secret Service agents.You too, Mr. Chase, Dalton answered. English,huh? Not a Londoner, if Im right about the accent.Too bloodI mean, yeah, thats right. Im fromYorkshire.Dalton nodded. Yorkshire, right. Nice part of theworld, I understand.Its not bad. Chase doubted the senator knewwhere Yorkshire was, or cared.Senator Daltons on the IHAs funding committee,Amoros told him.Chase smirked. That right? Any chance of a payraise?Ninas glossily lipsticked mouth shrank into a tightline, but Dalton laughed. Ill see what I can do. Helooked past Chase, his eyebrows flicking in recognition.Say, our host approaches! Monsieur Corvus, good tomeet you again!Chase turned to see a sleekly groomed, black-hairedman in a dinner jacket. He looked to be in his midfifties.Please, he said to Dalton as he shook hands,Ren. This is a social event, yes? No need for tiresomeformality!Whatever you say . . . Ren! Dalton chuckled.Thank you . . . Victor! And Nina, Corvus continuedas he turned to Nina, taking her hand, such a pleasureto meet you again. He leaned forward and kissed heron both cheeks. Nina blushed. Chase glared at theFrenchman, quickly forcing a neutral expression whenhe turned to face him. And you, you must be . . .Eddie Chase, Chase announced brusquely, stickingout his hand. Ninas boyfriend.But of course, said Corvus, smiling as he shookhis hand. Ren Corvus. Welcome aboard the OceanEmperor.Cheers. Chase looked around at the oak-paneledroom. Its a really nice boat youve got here. I supposebeing a shipping magnet has its perks.Dalton suppressed an amused noise, while Nina letout a fluttering, slightly desperate laugh. Rens notjust a shipping magnate, she said to Chase, emphasizingthe pronunciation of the word through clenchedteeth, hes also one of the IHAs directors.Nonexecutive, of course, Corvus added modestly.Its only proper that the experts like Nina should makethe decisions about protecting the worlds archaeologicalwonders.Yeah, well, said Chase with a big fake smile, shereally does like to be in control of everything, I cantell you.Nina took a gulp from her glass before treating Chaseto an equally false grin. Honey, sweetie? she said,tugging at his jacket sleeve. Can I speak to you? Overhere? She tipped her head towards the doors.Of course you can, darling, he replied. He noddedto the other three men. Excuse us for a second. Thetrio exchanged knowing looks as he and Nina backedaway.What the hell are you doing? Nina hissed as soon asthey were what she mistakenly thought was out ofearshot.Whatre you talking about?You know damn well what Im talking about! Makingan ass of yourself and embarrassing me!Oh, Im embarrassing you? snorted Chase. Whatabout you and your Heres Eddie, my dogsbody at theIHAoh, and hes sort of my boyfriend as well?I didnt say that!You might as well have! And pardon bloody me forgetting a word wrong that no bugger uses in normalconversation. Not all of us could go to the University ofPoncy Vocabulary. Or afford a five-hundred-dollar haircut,he added before he could stop himself.Ninas eyes narrowed into angry slits. You promisedme you were going to stop going on about that! The onetime, the one goddamn time I need to look good to impressthese people, and all I get is you complaining how muchit cost!It was five hundred fucking dollars! Chase remindedher. I can get a haircut for ten bucks!Yes! And it looks like it! Nina snapped back, wavinga hand at his close-cropped, receding hair. Besides, Ivegot a high-level job with the United Nations now. Imearning a hell of a lot more than I was at the universityits not like I cant afford it.Yeah, theres a lot of things you can afford now,arent there?Meaning what?If you cant . . . Chase trailed off as he saw two peopledescending the stairs from the upper decks. New arrivals,brought to the Ocean Emperor by the helicopter.One was a Chinese man, like Chase in his midthirties,surveying the crowd of wealthy guests with an arrogantsmile that suggested he considered himself to be farmore important than any of themor all of them. Theother . . .Scuse me, Chase said, his fight with Nina completelyforgotten. He started for the doors. I need to getsome air.Nina blocked his way, confused and still angry.What? No you dont! What did you mean, I can afforda lot of stuff?Forget it. I . . . He looked at the stairs again.It was too late. Shed seen him.The Chinese man swaggered through the crowdtowards Corvus, people moving out of his path as if hewere sweeping them aside with an invisible force field.Following a couple of paces behind was a youngerwoman. Unlike him, she was Caucasian. Brunette, stunninglybeautiful, expensively attired . . . and wearing anexpression of quiet sadness. what do you call a person who loves the smell of books The Tomb of Hercules: A Novel (Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase)
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Amazing readBy nicholeBroke my heart a little because of all the fighting, but they make up... a lot of the action wasnt together like in the first one but still great!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Over-the-Top, Death-defying Adventure ContinuesBy PastAgesandFutureWorldsAs with most book series', it is always best to start with the first (The Hunt for Atlantis). In book two, the one after another death-defying escapes and adventures by the main characters never lets up. Perhaps a bit overdone and at times feels like favorite movie scenes were strung together. Still, this is pure escapism like those movies that doesn't pretend to be even plausible. Very little history/lost treasure stuff like the last book. More of a James Bond meets Die Hard. Will check out where Nina Eddie end up in The Secret of Excalibur. Note to publisher, do you really have to put "a novel" on the cover? Really, who can't figure that out?0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good escapist fictionBy Troy DuttonI enjoyed "The Tomb of Hercules" about the same as Andy's first book. This book took longer to get the story really moving, but after that point it was pretty good. There are quite a lot of action scenes, and they are not very realistic, but they are creative. I compare Andy's style to Matthew Reilly's earlier books, before Matt's style became too "over the top". Character development isn't great, but is sufficient for this type of story; and the plot is not very deep, but does have a few twists and turns. Overall, McDermott accomplished just what I wanted from this book, which was to be entertained.