An American author returned to Malta three years after his first visit in the week when his new book climbed to the Number 1 spot on the New York Times bestselling list, regarded as the most distinguished classification of books.
Graham Brown was in Malta last week for a short stop-over at the same time that the book he co-authored with Clive Cussler, “The Rising Sea”, reached the top position.
It may be just a coincidence, or maybe the Malta connection has brought a large dose of good luck. Another author who first visited Malta with Brown in June 2015, Boyd Morrison, had also been in Malta for the second time a year later when his own book, “The Emperor’s Revenge” (also co-authored with Clive Cussler), had reached the Number 1 spot. A third US author who had come to Malta, Chris Kuzneski, had won the first prize in the E-book Original Novel Category in 2016 with his book “The Prisoner’s Gold”, which is partly set in Malta.
Brown, Morrison and Chris Kuzneski had been invited to Malta in June 2015 by the Malta Tourism Authority for a one-week stay during which they were taken to the most significant sites around the islands. The visit was organised as part of the MTA’s policy to market Malta in the United States.
“If coming to Malta makes the books go number one then it’s just another reason to keep coming back here,” Brown said.
He recalled the wonderful time he had in Malta three years ago, saying that “the visit has been difficult to match”.
During his short stay in Malta last week, Brown took his wife Sarah to Mdina and Valletta, two of the places that he enjoyed when he was here three years ago. But, he admits, there is still so much more to see and looks forward to the next time he will come for a longer stay.
He was quite emotional when, walking into a bookstore on the Valletta Waterfront, copies of “The Rising Sea” were already available on the bookshelves.
It is the seventh book of the NUMA files that Brown has co-authored with Clive Cussler. The others are “Devil’s Gate” (2011), “The Storm” (2012), “Zero Hour” (2013), “Ghost Ship” (2014), “The Pharaoh’s Secret” (2015) and “Nighthawk” (2017).
In “The Pharaoh’s Secret”, published soon after Brown’s first visit to the islands, Malta and Gozo feature prominently, with scenes based in Grand Harbour as well as in Gozo, apart from other events that take place off the Maltese coast.
In its review of the book, under the headline “'The Rising Sea' is entertaining and diverting read”, the Associated Press says:
“Kurt Austin heads the Special Assignment division of NUMA, the U.S. National Underwater and Marine Agency. His latest mission has him exploring various glaciers as he attempts to determine why they are melting faster than expected. The answer should be climate change, but what he uncovers is something far more sinister and disturbing.
“The ocean levels are increasing at a rate that doesn't match his scientific calculations. When he presents the findings to the rest of his team, they soon learn of a mining operation in the East China Sea that's looking for a rare alloy, and the rapid methods used have caused catastrophic environmental issues as a result. The metal has indestructible properties, but obtaining it has the potential to raise the sea level so drastically that billions of people would be displaced if not outright killed.
“Can Austin and his allies stop a man determined to win at all costs? Toss in a ruthless assassin so brutal in his methods that even his former employers, the Yakuza, have disavowed him. Sprinkle in major action sequences involving the latest advances in the future of technology, and add missing Japanese samurai swords. The end result is "The Rising Sea," another entertaining and diverting read from a true legend in the adventure business. Unlike the other series in the Cussler brand of novels, the NUMA Files runs the closest to invoking the classic feel of James Bond re-imagined as an oceanographer.”
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