Daydream

Daydream was all that her builders could make her. She was a palace in the sky, cruising among topless clouds on her way to Innominate, a Mayan city deserted for five hundred years. For this journey Daydream's usual cargo of ecotourists has been reinforced by Mexican Federal troops. A horde of gold has been discovered in the ruins, and the government is determined to protect it. While over the city, Daydream gets a distress call from Achilles, a small liner in the Gulf of Mexico. Achilles has engine failure, a problem in hurricane season. The Captain maroons his own passengers down in the city so he can get to Achilles, get the people off, and get out before the storm hits. But can his ship still fly with all that extra weight? Back in Innominate, Captain Hector Ochoa of the Mexican Army is having problems of his own. He has to guard the tourists from the jungle, and the gold from the tourists, bandits, and possibly himself. Then it starts to rain, but he has a large supply of cigars, and he knows how to keep them dry. If you like the adventure of Patrick O'Brian, the humor of P.G. Wodehouse, the insight of William Shakespeare, the social consciousness of Charles Dickens, and the romance and heartbreak of F. Scott Fitzgerald, you are out of luck. No one could do all that, but William Rahner has woven a rich tapestry.