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Summary: FINALLY a book for the 3 year old mind.
Review: Seriously, I could not put this book down. I had to see how many more ridiculous circumstances Austin could put himself into with only a "Kurt Austin Plan" that can get him out. What is NUMA anyway a CIA front or something? I cannot beleive that two people who seem to always get themselves killed on a daily basis would forget to pack heat. The plot was fairly imaginative, thats the only good point to the entire book, it read like a cheezy Harlequin romance. This is the first book I have read by Clive Cussler and it will be the last, I am so happy it did not buy it, but borrowed it from a friend.
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Summary: From the Andrea Dorea to the secession of the Southwest U.S.
Review: Concerned that this was co-written and not a strict Cussler I still bought this book and I can honestly say I was not dissapointed at all. This is a terrific novel that centers around the mysterious efforts of an unknown person/group that is sabotaging archaeological expeditions that deal with Columbus and pre-Columbian history. The first part of this wonderful novel begins on the Andrea Dorea on the eve of its sinking and raises many interesting questions. The story proceeds from there and involves a hot button topic involving the forecast secession of the Southwest United States. I have read about this issue from several sources, so I found this particularly fascinating that it would be involved in a novel. As always the beautiful characters of Clive Cussler fill the pages with life. Kurt Austin is a terrific character, even to a hard-core Dirk Pitt fan!!
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Summary: Interesting plot but lacks a catching ending
Review: Clive Cussler has written numerous books with enchanting tales of hostile take-overs and non-stop action. The Serpent keeps the readers attention through out the chapters but in the end, lets them down. The 'bad guy' is taken care of within a couple of pages and leaves the reader lacking a substantial drama. i don't know if it is because Cussler has teamed up with Paul Kemprecos or if this was just a book that was slightly lacking. Cussler captures the NUMA spirit and does lead the reader into suspense and mystery. Overall, this book is a good choice for a Cussler fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Read a Dirk Pitt novel instead....
Review: I have read just about every one of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels and loved them all. Sadly this book just doesn't measure up. I am not sure why the auther has created a different hero, Kurt Austin, who then shares so many similarities to the very popular Dirk Pitt. He even has his own sidekick -- who steals Sandecker's cigars!?!?! The story itself is not very entertaining and I only finished it hoping that it might get better along the way. It didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous plot, overblown writing
Review: Before I get to complaining, you must know that the thesis of this book is one of the best Cussler's come up with yet, because it's actually believable. It's Diffusion Theory at its best. Of course all of Cussler's books have great plots, which is why I prefer them to Ludlum's or some of those other authors' novels. So on that premise alone you ought to read this book. However, there is a twist in the plot, and it doesn't only have to do with introducing Kurt Austin (which isn't bad -- Austin and sidekick have other new friends, and as a woman I'm VERY pleased to see that one of these new bullet-proof friends is an intrepid woman)--it's Cussler's new writing style. I guess he's trying to raise his writing level by having another author "help" him with his prose. Whatever, it didn't do it for me. When I read an adventure novel I'm in it for the thrills, not the overblown poetic prose. The on-and-on description of fog early on in the book was warning enough to skip over the flowery descriptive stuff and get on with the action. If that doesn't bother you, you'll love this book. As for me, it meant a star knocked off the rating. I like pure Cussler, with himself written in somewhere. Regardless of my complaint, this is yet another Pitt, er, Austin, novel well worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A combination of intigue and history
Review: I had never read any Clive Cussler books so I have no bias to the Dirk Pitt character in Cussler's other books. I think Cussler is a very talented writer. I was amazed at how quickly this and "Blue Gold" read. The characters in the book are very interesting;the men are for the most part strong and fit and talented in everything from piloting to ship building. The women are intellingent,witty and beautiful. It is fantastic to be able to escape with Kurt and Joe to another world, and out of the dull day to day. The settings are absolutely beautiful by description. I liked it very much. Took two days to read, very fast paced.
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Summary: ACTION-PACKED AND FUN
Review: Well I have just finished reading another Cussler book and I found it to be quite enjoyable. Every now and then I read a book like this when there isn't anything else in front of me. A friend at work gave me this book and told me that I might get a kick out of it, he said it did have some historical stuff in that I might find fun. I thought it was a good book with lots of action and suspense. I also was able to get a couple of other guys hooked on the book too. In a way it kind of reminded me of the TV show Nash Bridges, Nash has a latino side-kick also as does the hero in this book, same name too, Joe. Well if your looking for some fun reading then you don't have to look no further.
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Summary: he's a dirk pitt wanna be & thats okay by me (sorta)
Review: Short & sweet, he's a duplicate of Dirk Pitt. Sorta. I say that he's a duplicate of pitt in that he has the same tenacity, determination, ability to get into trouble (and amazingly, get OUT of it). The story lines are also similar to those Pitt. Beautiful woman in a nautical/archaelogical/scientific field stumbles onto something sinister and Pitt/Uastin rescues her, smashes crime syndicate behind it and prevents disaster (ecological or otherwise) or finds siginifcant archaelogical discovery or finds treasure (or combination of the above)He is naturally different from Pitt, liking arhcaic guns & rowing, but these feel like obligatory necesitated changes meant to distinguish Austin from Pitt. Much as Pitt would almost always find himself ina dangerous car chase whenever he was driving one of his classic cars, I can sense that in future Austin books, he will find himself having to defend himself from attack coincidentally when he is cleaning some old musket or similar weapon. It seems contrived, as if Cussler was trying to say,"See, he's not DIrk Pitt. He likes muskets not Cordair's." That aside, I don't really care. Cusslers books have almost always kept me captivated till the end, mouth agape, turning page after page till I realize its 3AM. Thats what good books do. This book was no different (although the ending seemed a tad too easily achieved). Austin or Pitt? Makes no difference to me. If its Clive Cussler, I'm buying it. Is it wrong not care? Perhaps. I'm sure there are folks who will find Austin too similar and be disapointed, wanting something new & different. If it had been I'd have been just as pleased as I am that nothing has really changed.
Rating:
Summary: Dirk Pitt Wanna-Be
Review: I was amazed that Clive Cussler takes the time to have his main character Dirk Pitt introduce us at the beginning of his book to this series' new hero - Kurt Autsin. Here, Cussler is obviously trying to immediately convert all Dirk Pitt fans to Kurt Austin fans (Dirk Pitt actually has a "cameo appearance" in the book). I went into this book with an open mind, but was dissapointed becuase I was expecting all of the witty dialogue that exists between Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino to also exist between Kurt Austin and his "sidekick". Unfortunately, this book lacked the true Cussler witty "repartee" and did not keep me on the edge of my seat. With every other Cussler novel that I've read, I can almost never put them down, but with this one, I was almost begging it to end, but kept reading out of respect for prior Cussler novels, hoping that it would get better (unfortunately, it never did).
Rating:
Summary: A Fun and Fast summer read
Review: I had this book on my shelf for a little over a year, and hesitated every time i thought of reading it - it just didnt sound that interesting to me. I finally bit the bullet and was quickly swept away in an intriguing adventure tale. The plot is interesting (i dont really care how historically plausible it is), the characters are likeable (although a tad predictable), and the pace is fast and fun. The story has a "hollywood" feel to it, and is by no stretch a great piece of literature, but as far as i'm concerned, the writing is good, and it's just a plain old fun read. Isnt that why we read fiction anyway? - for fun? I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a quick fun read.
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