Titanic 2012
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
Best-selling mystery novelist Trevor Hughes has no idea that attending his twentieth reunion at Harvard will forever change his life.
Persuaded to go by his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Dr. Julia Magnusson, he meets up with three old friends: Solly Rubens, a self-made Wall Street millionaire; Ken Faust, a successful software entrepreneur; and Harlan Astor, New York real estate tycoon and the glue that holds their circle together.
That afternoon, over drinks at the Harvard Club, Harlan drops his bombshell: He is doing what James Cameron did not -- he is rebuilding the Titanic, and sailing the ship on the hundredth anniversary to honor those who died, including his great-grandfather, John Jacob Astor IV. Only Trevor is intrigued by Harlan's audacity. Touched by his friend's interest and concern, Harlan invites him on the maiden voyage to serve as the official chronicler.
On April 10, 2012, Trevor journeys to Southampton and, along with the hundreds of handpicked passengers, boards the Titanic. He is awed by the immensity of the ship and the feelings that well up in him. His friend has made his grand dream a reality.
During the journey, armed with his iPod Touch and a miniature wireless camera hidden in his glasses, Trevor interviews both passengers and crew, eager to learn the reasons why they chose to sail on the reborn ship.
Nearly every one of them claims to have been profoundly affected by Cameron's film, wanting to recapture the magic for themselves. And some of them are dying -- their last wish to be on the maiden voyage of the new Titanic.
Trevor is touched that his friend has allowed these people to come aboard, and is unprepared when he meets Madeleine Regehr, a beautiful, free-spirited woman who resists his entreaties to be interviewed, intriguing Trevor all the more. Slowly, and inexorably, Maddy draws him out of his shell, allowing him to love deeply and completely, for the very first time in his life.
But Trevor soon discovers a darker purpose for the voyage, a purpose that threatens to destroy him and the woman he loves. In a race against time that pits friend against friend, Trevor must stop the unstoppable or risk a horrific replay of history...
"One would have to have an iceberg for a heart not to be touched by Trev and Maddy's romance and the tragic plight Walker plots for them." —Publishers Weekly
"If you are a fan of Titanic, the movie, you will love Titanic 2012. Put this one on your TBR list now..." —cmashlovestoread.blogspot.com
"This was a book that I could place myself in and was a joy to read." —journeythroughbooks.wordpress.com
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nothing dates like a fad, and this entertaining but gushy valentine to James Cameron's film Titanic already reads like yesterday's news. Set in the centenary of the "Night to Remember," Walker's first novel (after the collection Dystopia) recapitulates the basic premise of Cameron's tale of star-crossed lovers on a doomed voyage. Novelist Trevor Hughes is on the rebound from a derailed romance when he takes up the offer of Harlan Astor--great-grandson of Titanic victim John Jacob Astor--to sail on the maiden voyage of a scrupulously rebuilt replica of the legendary ocean liner. Trev's plans to turn the voyage into book fodder bring him into contact with spunky Maddy Regehr and a well-drawn cast of crew and passengers, all eager to relate their life stories. Like Trev, all were inspired to make the voyage by their love of Cameron's film, "the greatest movie of all time." Unlike him, as Trev discovers through private interviews, all are facing medical death sentences. There's a bit of Katherine Anne Porter's Ship of Fools, and quite a bit of Charles Beaumont's Twilight Zone classic "Requiem for a Lady," in the climax. One would have to have an iceberg for a heart not to be touched by Trev and Maddy's romance and the tragic plight Walker plots for them. But his fidelity to history and to the Titanic mythos robs this thriller of any mystery and reminds readers that they have made this trip before.
