Rating: 
Summary: Avoid
Review: Clive Cussler is great -- let's start with that. Unfortunately, one can't say the same for Paul Kemprecos, who presumably bore the lion's share of writing this book. Yes, all the action takes place in Cussler's NUMA world but the plot is thin and the characters are so bland that, in the final scene, you find yourself turning back to the start to reassure yourself the hero is really the hero. Worse, any thriller reader will recognise the immediate similarities between the final plot line of this book and the one in Wilbur Smith's River God/Seventh Scroll duo, at least in as muich as there is a fabulous treasure hiudden in an ancient tomb that is in turn under under water protected by a dam. Not worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Did Cussler really write this?
Review: I snap up Clive Cussler's novels the first day they appear on the store shelves. I read most of his novels in a day or two; sometimes I even skip work. This one took me a couple weeks to finish because it didn't grab my attention. Where are the trademark cliff hangers at the end of each short chapter that make me want to start the next? Gamay and Nina are more interesting characters than Austin and Zavala. At least Perlmutter is still around to amuse and educate us. Where are the maps and illustations that tie into the story? Eventually I finished the book because Cussler's name was on it. But rarely did I see much evidence of his genius touch in the text. The big climax was pitifully short on detail and suspense. It seemed like a B-movie that ran out of funding. Christopher Columbus would have died before he finished reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Cussler/Pitt Passing the Torch?
Review: Cussler takes us on another great adventure with this one. The only difference is that this time our guides are newcomers Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala instead of old friends Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino. We do spend a bit more time than usual with secondary characters in this tale, and less with the main bad guys. But the usual elements are here: romance, globe-spanning adventure, really bad bad guys, linking the past and present -- Cussler fans will not be diasappointed. I wonder if Cussler is passing the torch (pen) along to Kemprecos and this is being reflected by Pitt passing the torch (uhh... dive knife?) to Austin. If so, I'll miss Cussler and Pitt, but look forward to getting to know Kemprecos and Austin.
Rating: 
Summary: Lacks the punch of the Dirk Pitt series
Review: You dyed-in-the-wool Cussler fans, have probably heard about Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino's replacements, Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala. Correct. I'll admit I missed Dirk and Al, but soon forgot them (well, not completely). We begin on July 25, 1956, aboard the Swedish-American liner, Stockholm. Helmsman Lars Hansen gradually turns the ship onto a intercept course with the Andrea Doria. The ships collide. The Doria sinks while the Stockholm docks. Hansen disappears. Housed in the Doria's cargo hold is an armored car and inside are four murdered bodies and an artifact that will change history. Forty years later, Dr. Nina Kirov and her twelve-member expedition investigate an ancient Phoenician seaport on an isolated Moroccan shoreline. She discovers an artifact that will also change history; a link between the Old World and the New--two thousand years before Christopher Columbus' famous voyage. Restless, Kirov takes a midnight walk. Machine-gun fire shatters the night. Racing back to camp, she finds the team murdered. She escapes, but the bad guys chase her into the ocean and try to kill her with a hydrofoil. Diving just offshore for NUMA, Kurt Austin saves her. He joins the investigation to find who murdered Kirov's team and discovers that dozens of archaeological teams around the world have mysteriously disappeared during the past two decades. Using private resources Pitt developed, Austin finds that Christopher Columbus claimed to have found a treasure richer than King Solomon's. Austin also finds that Columbus made several mysterious voyages to the Yucatan Peninsula. Using CIA and NUMA files, Austin unearths a global conglomerate based in San Antonio, Texas, linked to a mafia-type group thought disbanded 300 years earlier, the Spanish Brotherhood of the Sword. The organization is led by a villain who controls billions and vows to keep a segment of history secret. The Stockholm's helmsman, Lars Hansen, is alive, well, and connected to the Brotherhood. The artifact in the Doria's hold and the one Kirov found are connected. Once I quit pining over Dirk and Al, I totally enjoyed Serpent. As always, Cussler twists fact and fiction into a rope of tension that will leave you dangling until the last page. Though Austin and Zavala are great characters, I wasn't able to connect with them like I have with Dirk and Al. Maybe in future books. Nearly 100 million copies of the Pitt series are in print. Cussler is the founder and chairman of NUMA, a historic shipwreck searching organization. He also owns one of the world's most valuable car collections. He told me during a telephone interview, "My wife banks one-half the royalties so we won't have to starve in our old age. I buy and restore antique cars with the other half." His last book contract was fifty million dollars for four books. Co-writing Serpent is Paul Kemprecos. Winner of the Shamus award from the Private Eye Writers of America for his first novel, Cool Blue Team, Kemprecos is the author of six underwater detective thrillers. Tom Clancy says, "A new Clive Cussler novel is like a visit from your best friend." Harry Odum is a published writer and president of The Literary Review Service.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best, but still better than everybody else!
Review: Clive Cussler is an American institution, and his works are always terrific reading. While I've enjoyed others more, I still felt this was a wonderfully intriguing and exciting read. Another book I've just read that I thought one of the most stunning I've ever come across is a novel Clive Cussler calls "One of the most intriguing tales of the decade!" That novel is Glenn Kleier's THE LAST DAY. Cussler is absolutely right and I happily pass that along to every Cussler fan's attention. Another brilliant, edge-of-the-seat read! Thank you for the reading tip, Mr. Cussler!
Rating: 
Summary: Inspiration missing
Review: Having read all of Cussler's previous books I must say that his quality is sinking. The plot was too thin, things kept happening too fast to keep in a state of suspense, the bad guys were far too stupid and the hero (Austin) resembled James Bond. I hope Pitt comes back soon. Also I'd rather see Cussler writing his own books himself.I don't recommend this book to dedicated Cussler fans.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I bought this book on recommendation of a CC fan. My dad read it non-stop from the time he got up until he went to bed. Thought it was pretty good. So I read it myself and couldnt put it down. Havent read any of Clive Cusslers books but I plan to. Mostly to see what all the bad reviews are about
Rating:
Summary: Dirk Pitt, please come back
Review: I have read every book Cussler has written. I have enjoyed Dirk and Al making 007 look like a sissy. This book was soft and the characters were better suited for a soap opera than a Clive Cussler novel.
Rating:
Summary: Kurt Austin the new lead or is it Gamay and Nina?
Review: The introduction of Kurt Austin by Dirk Pit sets the stage for a new Numa book. However, after reading Serpent, it seems that the characters that were larger than life were the woman of the story, either Gamay or Nina. In fact, for a while there, while reading, I thought that the main character was Gamay. She seemed to spring to more daring escapades (ala Dirk Pit) then Kurt had at that point in the book. In fact, Kurt Austin does not come across as a good leading character. However, I think I would have felt better about the book if that silly Dirk Pit introduction wasn't there. And, the notion that this Numa Special Assignments team (Kurt, Zavalla, Gamay, and Paul) has various adventures together is somewhat intriguing and worth some play. Sort of like the Numa Fantastic Four.
Rating:
Summary: Serpent: A Review
Review: Since this is the first Clive Cussler book I have read, I wasn't sure I should've read it. After reading it though, I was glad I did. This book is one of the best books I've read. Clive Cussle is keen on details and action/adventure. He brings out the best in Kurt Austin and Nina Kirov! I certainly give this book 10 thumbs-up!
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