RAISE THE TITANIC (Clive Cussler)

Rating:
Summary: The book is amazing, written by a great author.
Review: Clive Cussler uses his imagination and combines it with actual events to produce a great novel. In most of his stories, Cussler writes with one main character. That characters name is Dirk Pitt and he is the epitome of a hero. Pitt is a Special Projects Director for the NUMA organization yet seems to get involved in the wildest adventures. Pitt uses common sense, sarcasm, and his intellect to solve the hardest of mysteries. In the novel, Raise the Titanic, Pitt starts out trying to find missing byzanium. According to the last report, the byzanium went down with Titanic when it sank. Pitt and NUMA decide to raise Titanic in order to find this byzanium for it is the main ingredient in the making of a defense weapon. Cussler uses factual information concerning the shipwreck and writes the most compelling story. Cussler is a native of Colorado and in this book, Pitt visits CO. Another interesting point is Cussler's fascination with vintage automobiles. In every one of Cusslers books, Pitt owns or drives a car that Cussler has in real life. Following the idea of past history, the novel Treasure also written by Cussler begins with a fight with the Romans in the time of the Roman Empire. This novel goes on about a lost treasure that is priceless. Pitt must find the treasure but no maps were ever found, only directions on tablets. It turns out that the boat with the treasure sailed up the Rio Grande and ended its journey in Texas. Pitt faces deadly adversaries in this book like all others. Pitt is able to overcome high obstacles with the help of his superior, Admiral James Sandecker and his friends Al Giordino and Rudi Gunn. These three characters are in most of Cussler's stories and the team of Gunn, Giordino and Pitt is unstoppable. They have been shot and hurt numerous times but refuse to be beaten. The attitudes of these men are what make heroes. The novel that is most powerful is Sahara for it seems so real yet so unbelievable. The beginnings of all Cussler's novel begin hundreds of years ago to tell a brief story and then it jumps to the present day. What is amazing about Cussler is that is writing technique allows him to relate the original excerpt with the whole book to make complete sense. In Sahara, the story is about Pitt discovering a highly poisonous toxin. Pitt and Giordino are then captured and put in a pit with others digging for diamonds in Africa. They manage to escape, steal a car and race into the Sahara desert. They come across a downed aircraft flown by a young woman nearly forty years ago. They take her diary and continue on their journey. Near death they come across an intercoastal highway like the one in Alaska. They are rescued and after recovering, they go back and save the other prisoners. Pitt is intrigued by the young woman's diary and discovers that she found a ship when she crashed. Pitt launches a recovery operation that leads them to a confederate ship from the United States with Abe Lincoln's remains on board. Cussler is able to use actual events and then put his own twist on it. A habit of Clive Cussler's is to put himself in the story he's writing. Its always a small part though. For instance, in Sahara Pitt and Giordino come across an old drifter in the desert who guides them in their journey. At the end of their conversation the drifter identifies himself as Clive Cussler. Cussler has a unique writing style that distinguishes himself from other authors. He leads readers to places they have not gone to before and the reader has a sense of experiencing these events for themselves. Cussler always rearches information so false events is unlikely and it is obvious that Cussler has a passion for water and land adventures which mirrors in his Dirk Pitt character.

Rating:
Summary: Worst thing I have EVER read.
Review: Completely unbelievable plot. Total lack of understanding of anything remotely connected with science. Abysmal characterisation, junior-school dialogue, this book almost completely drained me of the will to live. I regret deeply the afternoon I wasted reading this turgid excuse for a novel, as I will never be able to reclaim it. Little wonder the movie based on it sank without trace, how could anyone have been stupid enough to have thought that this noisesome mess was worth more than the effort of pulping all exsisting copies. I had to give this one star to get my review submitted, the form requires that field is filled, but I would really like to give it a massive negative rating.