Dragon Sea: A True Tale of Treasure, Archeology, and Greed Off the Coast of Vietnam

The wreck of the Hoi An lay on the bottom of the Dragon Sea off the coast of present-day Vietnam for centuries, containing within it a hoard of 15th-century porcelain. In the late '90s, Pope managed a salvage mission, led by Oxford archeologist Mensun Bound, which would result in the rescue of a fortune in ancient Vietnamese ceramics. Bound's moniker, ""Indiana Jones of the Deep,"" sums up this audiobook's appeal pretty well. This is a can't miss for fans of that intrepid archeologist and/or aquatic exploration. Audie Award-winner Heller's pleasant alto voice is engaging throughout, and he does a fine job dramatizing scenes and adding accents to dialogue. The book's structure, however, is not particularly well-suited to the audio format. The narrative's chronology jumps around as Pope introduces the listener to the major players in the project with a lot of background information, making it a bit hard to follow at times. Heller is in top form with this performance, and first-time author Pope will leave readers looking forward to accounts of new adventures. Simultaneous release with the Harcourt hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 23).