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Gold Ship
On September 8, 1857, the USS Central America left Havana, Cuba. The ship carried over 500 passengers and crew and over ten tons in gold bars and coin fresh from the gold fields of California.
Two days later, on September 9, the ship encountered a category 2 hurricane. On September 11, after being battered by 105 mile an hour winds for two days, the ship sank. Over 400 people lost their lives and ten tons of gold went to the bottom.
The exact location where the ship sank remained a mystery. The last page of the captain’s log book, the one that should’ve contained the coordinates of the sinking, was missing from the log book.
The loss of the gold had an immediate effect on an economy already weakened by bank failures in New York and Ohio.
A presidential election would take place in 1860. The Republican Party rallied behind their candidate, Abraham Lincoln. Southern states threatened to secede form the union if Lincoln was elected and forced abolitionism on the slave labor dependent economy of the South.
Northern industrialists backed Lincoln in a plan to raise the sunken treasure on the Central America. The Union would be able to finance development of advanced weaponry. In the event of a civil war Lincoln would be able to bring about a fast victory and avoid a long, protracted conflict.
The job of recovering the gold is given to a team of Nick Camarack, maritime insurance researcher and field investigator, Nomvula Bell, Secret Service agent, Dr. Henri Gifard, scientist and inventor, Eveline Gifard, Dr. Gifard’s daughter and research assistant.
The team builds an underwater device. The device is deployed and the gold is discovered.
Two days later, on September 9, the ship encountered a category 2 hurricane. On September 11, after being battered by 105 mile an hour winds for two days, the ship sank. Over 400 people lost their lives and ten tons of gold went to the bottom.
The exact location where the ship sank remained a mystery. The last page of the captain’s log book, the one that should’ve contained the coordinates of the sinking, was missing from the log book.
The loss of the gold had an immediate effect on an economy already weakened by bank failures in New York and Ohio.
A presidential election would take place in 1860. The Republican Party rallied behind their candidate, Abraham Lincoln. Southern states threatened to secede form the union if Lincoln was elected and forced abolitionism on the slave labor dependent economy of the South.
Northern industrialists backed Lincoln in a plan to raise the sunken treasure on the Central America. The Union would be able to finance development of advanced weaponry. In the event of a civil war Lincoln would be able to bring about a fast victory and avoid a long, protracted conflict.
The job of recovering the gold is given to a team of Nick Camarack, maritime insurance researcher and field investigator, Nomvula Bell, Secret Service agent, Dr. Henri Gifard, scientist and inventor, Eveline Gifard, Dr. Gifard’s daughter and research assistant.
The team builds an underwater device. The device is deployed and the gold is discovered.
ebook
Published September 23, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 17, 2018
This is a fictional account taking place in the mid-1800's, just before the start of the War Between the States. While it is perhaps meant to be historical fiction, this book is so completely historically inaccurate that I would not give it that title, no matter what year it was supposed to take place in. And even though it mixed many new thoughts and things with old, I would not call this a steampunk book either.
This novel was about a man named Nick Camarack, an agent for a maritime insurance company who did investigative and field work. He was made a key player in a secret mission to raise ten tons of gold from a sunken ship named the Central America, in order to help the war end as quickly as it was going to start (favoring the side of the North, of course). He works alongside French inventor Henri Gifard and Gifard's illegitimate daughter Eveline to develop new technology to make this possible.
This was a very bad book in a couple ways. Interesting concept, but poorly written. There are many errors throughout the book: grammatical errors, punctuation errors, spelling errors, historical errors, errors in the details of the book (such as two people without air supplies escaping from a diving bell 320 feet under the sea and swimming to the surface without being squeezed by the pressure and without decompression stops, and then catching their breath on the surface and suffering no ill effects), and misc. errors that I wouldn't even know how to classify (such as the following sentence: "Smithers and the Riley in agreement." I have no clue what the author was trying to say here.) I think that it could have been good, but it needs a lot of work first. Two stars.
This novel was about a man named Nick Camarack, an agent for a maritime insurance company who did investigative and field work. He was made a key player in a secret mission to raise ten tons of gold from a sunken ship named the Central America, in order to help the war end as quickly as it was going to start (favoring the side of the North, of course). He works alongside French inventor Henri Gifard and Gifard's illegitimate daughter Eveline to develop new technology to make this possible.
This was a very bad book in a couple ways. Interesting concept, but poorly written. There are many errors throughout the book: grammatical errors, punctuation errors, spelling errors, historical errors, errors in the details of the book (such as two people without air supplies escaping from a diving bell 320 feet under the sea and swimming to the surface without being squeezed by the pressure and without decompression stops, and then catching their breath on the surface and suffering no ill effects), and misc. errors that I wouldn't even know how to classify (such as the following sentence: "Smithers and the Riley in agreement." I have no clue what the author was trying to say here.) I think that it could have been good, but it needs a lot of work first. Two stars.
January 4, 2019
Poorly Written
A poor attempt at a steam punk historical fiction focused on the location and salvage of the Central America. Riddled with impossibilities for the time and presents a physiological impossibility in the depths dives were made to. Save your money and avoid this terrible excuse for a novel.
A poor attempt at a steam punk historical fiction focused on the location and salvage of the Central America. Riddled with impossibilities for the time and presents a physiological impossibility in the depths dives were made to. Save your money and avoid this terrible excuse for a novel.
February 6, 2018
A good read that could have been much better had some of the technical aspects been considered when being written.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews