Rating: 
Summary: Shockwave
Review: You have to take Clive Cussler's books for what they are. He presents his protagonist, Dirk Pitt, as a James Bond type hero except that he operates at sea. A very well written plot with a great ending, unique characters, intense action, make this novel one of Cussler's finest works that I've read so far. However, for some reason, people do not discuss this book as one of Cussler's finest works in the same vein as Sahara. My only disappointment was that Julien Perlmutter, his obese marine historian, does not make any appearances. He's one of Cussler's most interesting characters. I would definitely recommend Shockwave.
Rating: 
Summary: The absolute Pitts...
Review: Having read all 80-odd reviews here, I frequently wondered if the others had been reading the same book. I ended up "inheriting" this book after I bought it as a gift for my father-in-law (a Cusslerphile) and then discovered he (of course) already has it. Thinking I might as well read it, buoyed up by my father in law's enthusiasm and the "Grand Master of Adventure" moniker I plunged in to what has to be one of the most turgid and poorly written books I've ever tackled. The storyline was tortuous and poorly thought out, with elements that seemed to serve no purpose to the plot - the sea serpent, for example. The characters were totally unbelievable - the heroes were all dashingly handsome, noble, unflappable and incapable of error. The villains were totally black hearted without a single saving grace. I've seen more rounded-out characters in episodes of He-Man. The dialogue was stilted and poorly written, with phrases that no real person would ever utter. Many of Cussler's foibles really started to rankle after a while - his microscopic attention to technical detail (no machine, gadget or widget , no matter how trivial must go undescribed). His constant name-dropping and "casual" references to past novels. His cameo appearance in his own book (which apparently happens frequently). I came close to giving up halfway through the book, but some kind of masochismic determination to finish the book kicked in - mostly because I refused to believe it could get any worse, although boy, did it ever! By the end of the book I was clinging on by pure willpower alone - not unlike how Dirk Pitt must have felt climbing that 100metre cliff-face after a good going-over by a bunch of evil henchmen and three weeks at sea in a remarkably well-equipped execution ship. Whoever compares Cussler to Ian Fleming does the latter a disservice. Buzz Lightyear is closer to James Bond than Dirk Pitt ever is.
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