Okay, I'm done. It was an enjoyable read. I agree with one of the other reviewers that, even though they took some damage, Remi and Sam didn't seem phased in the slightest by the bad guys in a way that I felt they should have. They brushed off the attacks from villains and thugs with a shrug. As for the History-mystery, I liked that part of it. The writing was smoother than I remember Clive Cussler being in the Dirk Pitt Novels. It's worth another book, but not three if Sam and Remi don't learn [...]

This is a good summer read in the sense that your brain kind of has to be shut off to enjoy it -- so I am giving it three stars in the same sense I would give a mindless action movie two thumbs up for entertaining me while keeping me out of the heat in an air-conditioned theater. Now, if your brain isn't shut off while reading this book, you may notice some things that might irk you, such as (spoilers ahead, you have been warned):- The heroes, married treasure hunters Sam and Remi Fargo, are fla [...]

Overall, a disappointing outing from Cussler and Blackwood. In this novel, Remi and Sam Fargo, treasure hunters extraordinaire and generous philanthropists, find themselves up against the forces of a mysterious Ukranian crime boss who traces his ancestry to Persia, and Xerxes the Great. Both are after the secrets of the lost cellar of Napoleon and the potential treasure it will lead them to.The major issue here is that there is no threat. Remi and Sam repeatedly face down the bad guys, and do so [...]

I having a hard time figuring out what to say about this novel. I believe the "ARGH" pencilled in near the end of the copy I read may say it all.(that "ARGH" no doubt had to do with a xiphos, a Spartan sword, being referred to as having "gleaming steel" showing through on the blade. The xiphos was bronze and, in later times, iron. There would be no gleaming steel.)That, really, says it all. This book read like someone spliced some action scenes into a series of printouts - the entire thing was [...]

I've read a couple of Cussler's book before this one, mainly Dirk Pitt adventures and I honestly enjoyed them a lot. I was expecting a great adventure, spiced with political intrigues, fictional historical events and topped with some good humor, cheesy romance and good enough characters. But instead I got a shallow treasure hunt, more than usual unrealistic action scenes, two uni-dimensional main characters ( a couple: husband and wife), some very retarded side characters. The dialog and action [...]

I enjoyed it, was good enough adventure to keep me interested.

He's not Tom Clancy, so he should definitely leave out the Spatsnaz soldiers in his books. He made them look like kids with toy guns in this book. Not even close to real life. Also a definite thing to do is to drop all the product placement. I actually got so tired of it that I wrote him on his website, cusslerbooks, and asked him to leave it outr. I wrote that I felt more like I was reading a sales catalog than an adventure in comparison to his earlier books.Anyway, I like the true, historic ev [...]

Not my usual read, but I thought I'd break it up with something different. This is an adventure story about a treasure hunting married couple on their quest to find 12 lost wine bottles from Napoleon's "lost cellar." But believing that these bottles hold the key to finding the secret treasure of Xerxes I, the book's villain will stop at nothing to get to them first.I'd never read anything by Clive Cussler before this; his stuff always seemed to be like something my dad would read. I don't say th [...]

I feel as if I have ordered a steak and recieved a hamburger. A good hamburger, but still just that, a hamburger. What's that, a hamburger is better with cheese making it a cheeseburger? Yeah, well I got a hamburger and that is it. Here is the line on this one: a gorgeous young and wealthy couple stumble upon a great historical find, meanwhile a nasty rich bad guy is also after the find that the young couple stumbled upon. And of course the bad meany will send his cronies in to attempt to thwart [...]

A solid/fun suspense novel. Sam and Remi are two likable characters, both capable as well as self deprecating with decent sense of humor. I also enjoyed the traveling and the little morsels of history the book offers. Worth it to me to continue to the next book in the series.

This is first book in a series about husband and wife treasure hunters Sam and Remi Fargo.The plot is the familiar find a clue, solve it to find the next clue etc In this case that formula was used too literally and there was very little sub plot or anything. Added to that, the Fargo's, managed to just escape the bad guys too many times for my liking.As an adventure story it wasn't bad, but lacked an edge of tension and suspense that make many books of this genre page turners. Some of the Histor [...]

This is a biblio-turd. I was disappointed that the protagonists were not killed at the end.

A fast paced read that takes us on a treasure hunt across the world. It's overflowing with action and adventure - a book that lives up to the genre Action/Adventure. But, along with that comes some unbelievable moments. You know? The scene were the bad guys empty their guns and miss with every bullet, while the hero takes one shot that kills three of them. You have to take the good with the bad. In this book there was more good than bad.A treasure hunting couple stumble upon a WWII German sub hi [...]

I've read a number of Cussler books over the years, and have enjoyed every one. This was no exception. The story was entertaining, and the characters (although somewhat stereotypical) were engaging. I did have a few problems with it, though. The writing wasn't up to the standard I expected. There were a couple of grammatical errors, and in many places the exact same phrasing was repeated in consecutive sentences. This change in style may be due to Cussler collaborating with another author. I'm n [...]

Spartan’s Gold, written by Clive Cussler, is a book about a couple exploring on a river and coming up on a weird submarine. Sam and Remi Fargo are their names. They then took a great interest in the finding of the submarine and began to study it. As they study the submarine, they come across a map written by Napoleon, a map that shows 12 bottles of wine. These aren’t ordinary bottles of wine. They have markings on them from years ago and are very valuable. As they go and search for all 12 bo [...]

Fargo adventure #1. I enjoy Cussler's portrayal of the Fargo's. Remi the hottie and her husband Sam, the wealthy brainiac, both of whom are addicted to treasure hunting, adventure and doing it in style. This is the second of the Fargo series I've read and enjoyed. Nazi mini-subs, Napoleon, a crazed Russian billionaire and Greek treasures keep the Fargo's jetting, diving, cave hopping and fighting for their lives throughout this tale of adventure. Throw in some 5 star hotels and an occasional 3 h [...]

This book was decent. It entertained me for what I was looking for, something light, funny, and like the video game "Uncharted" and that's what I got! It is filled with world class architectural references, world history, and enough mystery to keep you turning the pages. For my friends at FBR, it's comparable to The Dresden Files as it has that kind of light feel and quick witty humor that Mr. Butcher brings to his novels. This is the first Clive Cussler novel that I've ever read but it will not [...]

This is the first book in the Fargo Adventure series by Clive Cussler (and Grant Blackwood for the first three novels).The story is filled with action and suspense, along with a healthy dose of history.The rapport between the two married protagonists, Sam and Remy, reminded me strongly of Jonathan and Jennifer Hart from the 80s television series, Hart to Hart .

Really enjoyed this book. I haven't read a Cussler in awhile, as I was getting a bit sick of them. I've had this one for awhile (along with a few others), and read it for a challenge. Sam and Remi Fargo are treasure hunters, and get involved in a mystery involving Napoleon Bonaparte and 12 bottles of rare wine that disappeared back in the 1800's. Full of adventure, murder and intrigue, it keeps you on the edge of your seat. The only downside was the huge amount of ancient history, but that is Cu [...]

Scott Brick narrator Besides the abundance of historical nuggets, I found the story boring.

Too much bad guy and not enough plot.

Having listened to this series out of order, second and third and now the first one, I knew what to expect, so I was neither disappointed nor impressed. And yes, this series can easily be read/listened to out of order. Fargos, Cussler's cardboard picture perfect in every aspect married couple of adventurers and treasure hunters extraordinaire, are, of course, much too perfect to be believable. They are boundlessly capable, marvelously inventive, phenomenally clever, competent, knowledgeable and [...]

A very good beginning to a series. The pages of this book are filled with action and relay a great history lesson in the bargain. Sam and Remi Fargo are treasure hunters. This adventurous couple never have a dull moment. While out exploring the Great Pocomoke Swamp they stumble across a WWII German U-boat which leads them eventually on a hunt for the "lost cellar" of Napoleon Bonaparte. They struggle to stay a step ahead of a very determined and evil connoisseur who is also on the trail of the " [...]

Uh, is an action/adventure book supposed to make the reader want to take a nap? I couldn't even make it out of chapter 3! I'm not sure if I was bored with the story, the writing, or Scott Brick's narration. The man could have put some excitement into his voice, couldn't he? But to be fair to Brick, it's not all his fault. The pacing of this story, and the cardboard-like characters were mind-numbing! This was my first (and last) Clive Cussler book. I'll take James Rollins, thank you very much!

This book was ridiculous. I'm sad because I hoped there would be a series I could read here, being book #1 of a group, but there's no way I can stand the Fargos any further than this.The rich, world-hopping, treasure-hunting, good-at-everything protagonist couple are completely unfazed by bad guys with guns shooting at them, always find someone to speak perfect English no matter where they are in the world, and magically that person they find just happens to have exactly the information they nee [...]

This amazingly talented and clever couple Remy and Sam are independently wealthy treasure hunters. They travel the globe, discovering countless secret tunnels and trap doors, outwitting evil buffoons in order to hunt down Napoleons lost collection of wine bottles. The bottles have a treasure map hidden beneath their labels, but it is obscurely encoded. The decoding is tedious and ridiculous. The action is constant and mind numbing. The conversations are predictable. I did not enjoy this book.

My first Clive Cussler book. I don't know, I think I didn't rate it higher because I have been reading Harlan Coben and Clive can't even compare, in my humble opinion. My main objection, though, lies in the knowledge of the main characters,Sam and Remy. They are portrayed as omniscient about every subject, object, and detail. They do have a research assistant who fills in the blanks and goes more in depth, but truly, it grates on my nerves and is wholly unrealistic to have characters who know it [...]

If you like Clive, you will like the Fargos: a wealthy couple who use their cartoonesque powers of millionairing, spy training and archeological digging to save national treasures and thwart horrible Russian mobsters in this first adventure in the Fargo series. The best part for me is that Mrs. Fargo is intelligent, attractive, and kicks butt as often as her hubby and is not relegated to being a peripheral character.I can't wait for the next one in the series!

If Nathan Drake and Lara Croft got married and went on a Dan Brown-ian adventure across Europe with an Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull villain on their heels and a Penelope of Criminal Minds as a research assistant to aid them, the result would be Spartan Gold. Not an award-winning literature by any stretch, but a fun non-stop action summer read I can't say I regret getting myself into. I'll be picking up the sequel for sure.

Brutto. Brutto. E ancora brutto. Caro Clive, fa più attenzione agli orrori su cui accetti di far stampare il tuo nome. Che non ci sia nemmeno mezza riga tua è più che evidente, ma per favore evita di impelagarti con certa immondizia!Una trama che è tenuta insieme con sputo e scotch, personaggi insipidi e freddi, dialoghi imbarazzanti. Lo spunto della riserva di bottiglie perduta sarebbe anche stato interessante, ma è stato gestito e cucito in modo patetico e ridicolo. Uno spreco di tempo!