Shock Wave

Rating:
Summary: Shock Wave's sound wave plague is ridiculously ludicrous
Review: I have to say that the "high-intensity sound wave plague" that is the back bone of this book is totally absurd. There were parts in this book related to the sound waves that were supposed to be suspenseful that instead were just roll-on-the-floor funny.

I like a good adventure book, but not one that is so ridiculously unbelievable.

This book did have a few great Dirk Pitt moments, but unbelievability of the the sound waves or the lunatic Arthur Dorsett were just too much to take.

If you are looking for Clive Cussler, look to some "Listmania" lists and try to find one of his better books.

I would pass on Shock Wave.

Rating:
Summary: A truly enjoyable adventure on the high seas.
Review: A certain type of pollution is destroying lives, hundreds of them at a time, and it is left to the National Underwater Marine Agency's own Dirk Pitt, hero of our story, to figure out, and to try to stop, the horror that will soon become so widespread it will take on a life of it's own. But first, Dirk must battle the formidable Arthur Dorsett, owner of Dorsett Mining Company, Ltd., one of the world's foremost leaders in the world diamond market. Arthur is more than wealthy, he is inscrutable, a hardened block of unfeeling ice, and as resistant and impervious to penetration as can be. Undaunted, Dirk begins to learn more than he wants about the Dorsett family and their evil empire, until the horrible truth begins to unfold, that a link between Arthur Dorsett and the murderous pollution is a certainty. Dirk is not alone. Unfortunately, the one person he chooses to trust is one of Arthur Dorsett's daughters, Maeve. Maeve Dorsett is the mother of twin six year old boys, boys that, with any luck, she can rescue from her father's clutches and save the lives of hundreds of innocent people at the same time before it's too late. Maeve, it turns out, is not cut from the same cloth as her sisters, Boodicka and Deirdre, who are, for all intents and purposes as evil and icy as their father. What follows is a tale of adventure on the high seas, a familiar Clive Cussler setting. Maeve and Dirk and one companion must pit themselves against an unseen but slowly advancing death plague, and try to rescue Maeve's boys while destroying Arthur Dorsett and his empire. With a little help from NUMA, it might be done, but the odds don't look good, and in fact, the outcome is quite a surprise. If you want adventure, mystery, a bit of romance and a few hours of lively entertainment, this audio cassette set is for you. Four cassettes are read by James Naughton, whose voice is incredible, his inflections and tones making you forget you are listening to different characters all in the same voice. He is wonderful, he sets the mood for the story and has a gift for drawing you into it. I put on the headphones and enjoyed hours of drifting out to sea with Dirk and Maeve and NUMA on an undersea adventure helped along immensely by the voice of James Naughton. I highly recommend this trip!

Rating:
Summary: Another Cussler great
Review: Clive Cussler has done it again with Shock Wave. Although I was apprehensive about the slow start, once Pitt is introduced it never stops moving. An extended sequence where Pitt and two others are stuck on a small boat seems disconnected from the rest of the book, but it is still very enjoyable. The ending is very tragic and twisted, but it really was the only way to keep Pitt the way we know and love him. I really recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: OH, GOODNESS! UNIMAGINABLE!
Review: First of all I have to admit that Shock Wave is the second book by Cussler that I've read. So I was sort of a newcomer to Cussler's adventure universe at the time when I read it. I've only read Raise the Titanic, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Serpent and Atlantis Found so far. It started getting addicting from the first pages and throughout the whole story it made me think "Whoa! Really great!" all the time, impressing me more and more. The events were absolutely unimaginable and the action sequences reached sky-high levels of tension. Finally, the ending is incredibly sad. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to enter the world of NUMA adventures. You'll be stunned.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I've come to expect from Cussler...
Review: Let me start out by saying that I am a Dirk Pitt fan and have great respect for Cussler because of the peices of wonderful writing he has done in the past. This definitely influenced the rating I gave it.

Alright, now that I've said that...umm...I think Cussler could have put a LOT more effort into Shock Wave. It lacked the excitement and the thrill of Cussler regulars, and it certainly wasn't a page-turner for me. I'm sure new-comers to Cussler were impressed, but as I am already familiar with Pitt, I know that it doesn't nearly reach the standards of "Cyclops," "Raise the Titanic," and "Sahara"(My personal favorites). He(Cussler) could have reduced the 566 pages to a maximum of 350-400, as the plot isn't really apparent until around page 150. He seems to go on an on, explaining the backround of everything, which decreases the enjoyment of the novel. I think of it as he tells us instead of showing us. Don't get me wrong, it is a Cussler-type book. The plot is amazing, a whole lot of twists just thrown in to keep the reader engaged. It's just the style that he uses in this book that does just the opposite. I was, though, awaiting how everything would turn out and what would happen next. It was anything but predictable. If it wouldn't of been for the excellent plot and sometimes good charachters, I don't know if I would have finished reading it or not. Still, a good way to escape and make you wonder.

Rating:
Summary: Rock 'em Shock 'em Clive!!
Review: I just LOVE Cussler...and let me say, that after 'Inca Gold' I was wondering if Cussler wasn't in a little bit of a slump...and even though I still enjoyed that book, I was VERY pleased with 'Shock Wave'. NOBODY but nobody can set up a book like Cussler can, and 'Shock Wave' proves it. The opening story, like many of his previous novels takes us back in time to an event that happened a over a hundred years ago and eventually ties in with the plot (as always). From a boat adrift in the ocean waaay in the Southern Hemisphere, it eventually makes landfall on an island that turns out to be not just their lifeline to survival, but unmeasurable wealth as well. As usual Cussler has done his homework and having dabbled in fine gems myself a bit, it was interesting to see it all written so plainly here without any sugar-coating. Are the diamonds that flood the earth over-inflated in price? You BET. What would happen if one of the world's leading diamond producers suddenly released these stones in mass quantities all over the globe? The end result would be an incredible drop in the price of precious stones, to the point that it would reduce their value to that of ordinary gravel... Don't worry, it's only fiction, but GOOD fiction it is. The actual 'Shock Wave' in the story is very interesting AND deadly, too. For reasons only understandable to a bad guy in a Cussler novel, our main baddie here wants to use this technology to further his maniacal plan, whether or not it causes death to hundreds, thousands or possibly millions of people. Cussler has come out swinging in this heavy hitter, his best in several years (at the time it came out) and always a pure joy to read. All Cussler fans need to pick this one up post-haste and clear away a weekend of pure escapism. It's just plain FUN.

Rating:
Summary: a very SHOCKING book
Review: this was the first clive cussler book i read and it was the best book i ever read and i would give 10 stars if i could. if you really liked this book as much as i did e-mail me at [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: The best peice of worker ever done
Review: Out of all Mr Cussler novels this had to be finest. But he should have stopped while he was ahead. Both Flood Tide and Atlantis Found were terrible pieces of writing. If your a new reader to Clive Cussler read his books up to Shock Wave. The next two will just disappoint you like it has for me. And don't get me started on that Numa Files crap! If I was Clive Cussler I would be embarrased to have my name written on the front of that series. But all in all a great book like the rest before. But if I had known his books were going to be so bad afterwards I would have saved myself a couple quid!

Rating:
Summary: One of Cussler's best
Review: Dirk Pitt is back battling a powerful business family out to control the diamond market. Marooned at sea, battling for his life on Gladiator Island, Pitt lays it on the line once again. Sandecker, Giordino and the usual cast are here as are the set pieces we've come to know and love from Cussler.

Rating:
Summary: A First Class Dirk Pitt Novel
Review: As an addicted fan of Dirk Pitt novels, I rate this book relative to what I like about the Dirk Pitt books. First, I find Pitt to be a thoroughly enjoyable hero. Second, I like the tying together of a historical perspective with a current theme. Third, Clive Cussler has a good imagination, and he often makes me think about things that I would never have otherwise considered. Fourth, I find my heart pounding and my palms sweaty as I sit up late at night to finish the latest novel.

By all these standards, Shock Wave is a definite 5 star novel. Arthur Dorsett and his daughters make for interesting opponents for Pitt. They will remind you of some of the villains in the James Bond novels.

Don't miss this one!