Pitt Books

I've read many of Clive Cussler's novels. In general I enjoy them, even with the meglomaniacs and the machismo attitude which I ignore. I enjoy how Dirk and Al, and Kurt and his side-kick, Joe etc., work together and support each other. I enjoy the history info that is woven in, (intriguing). The underwater gismos--interesting. I enjoy the Geography lessons, usually getting out my atlas at least once per novel. The pace is usually good and holds my attention. The treasures found absorbing. The new tech stuff--if not based on reality, which I think a lot of it is, creative. However this is the first CC novel I've read that I'm finding tedious. I find this CC effort lacking in the writing style. The plot and info are good-- however, I am not finding the flow that makes a person want to keep reading. I have to put it down and for example go weed the garden or just become overwhelmed with boredom. I will finish it and will read other of CC's novels but have found this one long and tedious.

OK so this is my 16th Cussler book and this is my lowest review I've ever given him. I'm not sure if it's my taste as a reader changing or if maybe I've just read too many Cussler books.

To start off I felt that the book almost started off right in the middle of the story building process. The last book "Shock Wave" was before this book and finished only a few months before this one started. The author reminds you that he's tired from his last adventure a few times. From the get go you seem that you are in the middle of something without a lot of lead in and not a lot of development in the story. This beginning "action" last for around 100 pages before we get to sit back and get some plot/character development.

On the flip side the ending of the book ends about 100 pages shy of the actual ending. I had to force myself to finish reading after the climax has already happened. Cussler always starts his book with a prologue from the past and the last 100 pages of the book are just a "oh man I guess I should tie that beginning in somewhere" sort of feel to it.

Another problem I had with this book was the dialogue. It had no flow and seemed forced. The force was the author trying to make every character say something witty/sarcastic/funny to every situation and it just didn't work and seemed very amateurish for an author that I really like.

It took me over two months to finish this one off and actually read three books in between the start and the finish. I just couldn't pick it up for more than 10-20 pages at a time. I think it had something to do that the story was very standard Dirk Pitt and the Evil Bad Man's horrible plot just really wasn't that daunting to me.

Ok so after that review I just have to say that I really like Cussler and his books helped me become a bookworm when I first picked up Inca Gold about 8 or so years ago. After that book I went a picked up all the Pit books that had been written and only have about 3 left out of the 10 or so that I bought that day.

I thought this novel was a very entertaining story. The author takes the reader to numerous interesting places, such as the northwest, Mississippi River, the swamps and the Great Lakes. As I traveled to these places he weaved a great story that involved the practice of smuggling illegal aliens, the skill required to navigate the Mississippi river, the Great Lakes, and the skill required to recover sunken treasures. Dirk Pitt brings to the read a lot of action that makes this book a great action/thriller. Highly recommend it.

Flood Tide was my first foray into the world of Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt. I expected much more from such a prolific writer, but what I found were contrived plot lines, underdeveloped characters, and prose loaded up with cliche phrasing (She stared up at him with pure hatred in her eyes), and way too many adverbs. I get tired of characters saying things caustically, shrugging smugly, and muttering contemptuously (all of which occurred on just one page: 78). I got to chapter 18 before I decided it wasn't going to get any better and put the book down. Thank God the copy I had came from my public library. At least I didn't waste any money on it.

I enjoyed this Book by Cussler as I have enjoyed the previous novels read. I did have one issue with the story from historical preservationists view point. **SPOILER** I did not like the fact that Cussler reveals the bones of Peking man to the open air due to their age after being submerged 50 years. Pitt acted very uncharacteristically when he orders the anthropologists to unwrap them for all to see. Not a big deal, but just something that bugged me as a historian. Other than that, it was a fairly new plot with interesting insight into problems America faces today with our dealings on the international level and the immigration issue. Cussler may be using his work to express his views on these matters which could detract readers who disagree. I will still read because I enjoy the plot and writing.

This was my first Cussler book and just loved it. Great mix of action and adventure. I was really into archaeology at the time of reading this book and just was really exactly what I was looking for. Great book.

This is actually the very first book I ever read from Clive Cussler. I loved it! I enjoyed it from cover to cover. It was entertaining, and full of adventure and suspence.

I have read many other books written by him, but these is one of my favorites. I think this is a good choice to start any youngster into reading. It's a good choice if you are stressed out and only want to unwind and put your mind at rest for a while.

This is the only Cussler book I think I have read, because a friend had it while I was staying at their house for a while. Anyone, there are archaelogical adventures, kidnapping, now you have it, now you don't treasures, dodgy people who seem ok, and of course a decent sort of a woman to be rescued and be charmed.

Growing up reading Clive Cussler novels, I never thought I would be able to go back to them and enjoy them in the same way. I actually like them more now, for although some of this kind of fiction is stretches of the truth, it easily touches the imagination. Inca Gold is one of my favorite Clive Cussler novels only next to Sahara and Dragon. With Inca Gold, I get to again experience the adventures of the brave character Dirk Pitt, who by now has been explained and defined as an "Indiana Jones meets James Bond" type of character. Needless to say that is pretty close to the truth, and along with that character I was again introduced to a bizarre and tantalizing tale full of an interesting array of bad guys, undersea treasure hunts and historic mysteries that wait to be discovered. If you enjoy International espionage novels from the likes of Ian Fleming or Robert Ludlum, you just might want to take a chance on a Cussler novel and I think that Inca Gold is in fact, one of his greatest treasures.

This was my twelfth Cussler book and the stories are still entertaining. Some of the plot is getting predictable, but the books are still a pleasure to read. The struggles Cussler puts his two main characters through can make them seem superhuman at times, but these are fiction books to be read for entertainment value.

This is my tenth Clive Cussler book that I've read and it's just didn't seem to be up to par with the others. Some parts of the book didn't need to be there and just added to the length. which was fairly long. Other than that a good standard Dirk Pitt novel. Also the movie is just awful which I actually rented the day after I finished the book.

This is a beautifully written yarn that makes the unbelievable seem somehow plausible. I absolutely love this story.

If you have friends that rave about Clive Cusslers books, read this book and understand why.

The first time I saw the movie Sahara it was great. But when I read the book it was even better. Reading this book is like going back in time. I like how Cussler puts some history in his books but twists it just enough to make it more interesting. Dirk and his sidekick Al are at it again, but this time they are in a race against the clock to save the world because the Oxygen in the world is about to run out if a chemical pollutant isn't stopped. They are pushed to go to the middle of the world's biggest desert because of a surprise perk that you won't believe. I recommend this book any one that like action, little romance and humor.

I don't know what I find more incredible:
That a man who claims to be a writer wrote this book,
a publisher actually published it,
readers actually paid for it.
I have never seen more childish, adolescent prose in book published by a major publisher. It was so bad, I put it down around page 180, only kept going that long because I kept thinking "There has to be something to this if this guy's so popular".
Some people who liked the books even though the writing is bad say the action sequences and descriptions of foreign countries make up for it. I disagree. The action was not believable and the descriptions are shallower than seeing a country from group tour bus window.

I read this particular novel in one night. I started it because I have this thing about reading books before seeing the movies based on them. I didn't realize at the time that it would hook me into a whole new genre. I've read four other Cussler books, and working on the fifth, and so far this is the best, with 'Pacific Vortex' and 'Raise the Titanic' in a close second and third. I recommend this for anyone who enjoys a fly by your seat adventure that just keeps going and going...Cussler does go a bit overboard on descriptions, making for long paragraphs, but it was easy to overlook.

If you do not believe in the religion of global warming and corporate consiracy theories your eyes will pop out of your head every two pages. The best part of this book is the lead-up to the main story line. The main story line is more suited to a scooby-doo episode than an adult action novel.

By far Clive Cussler's best book yet. Almost an unputdownable book. Only weaknesses albiet small was the beginning and the end. But the middle towards the end, how my gosh! I couldn't put it down! A different spin in every chapter!

Even though I've read a lot of Pitt novels they are still very enjoyable to read. Standard ocean catastrophe and Dirk and Al have to figure out the mystery. Good mix of adventure and science. Very well written.

This is my first Clive Cussler book, and as a fanatical reader of thrillers I would say Shock Wave was an occasionally entertaining near miss. Cussler is clearly a very imaginitive storyteller with a deep knowledge of all things nautical, but he goes overboard on the action to the point where the story becomes a cartoon. If he would tone it down a bit, add a little more realism, the story would become much more gripping and suspenseful. After 2 or 3 superhuman escapes by Dirk Pitt, you realize that he's Superman and nothing can hurt him, so the story loses all suspense. Also, the main storyline about a sound wave that can kill over thousands of miles seemed utterly ludicrous and unbelievable.

The best parts of the story were the opening scene on the doomed ship, and the chapter where Pitt is cast adrift on a raft and manages to survive. Cussler is great when he's describing ocean survival and the lore of the sea; if he would stick closer to that instead of the over-the-top James Bond stuff he could spin a great tale. The rest of the story is mostly cliched, cartoonish and silly to anyone who has read better writers in the genre like Forsyth, DeMille and Fleming. Not recommended for serious fans of thriller fiction unless you really love nautical adventure and don't expect much realism or refined writing in your novels.

One of the best Clive Cussler novels I've read, and I've read quite a few. Gripping adventure as always. Cussler never fails to deliver. Shock Wave will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Cussler uses a topical situation on which to base his story around, and as always some interesting characters are introduced as the story progresses. Being an Aussie, I liked the fact that an Australian character was included, albeit the villain. A top read and a must for all Cussler fans, and those not yet fortunate enough to have read a Clive Cussler novel.

How To Keep Your Man: And Keep Him For Good

Real Life Dramas - Volume One

Darren G. Burton

Dirk Pitt has it all, looks brains, cars and the women and this is one of my favorite books, probably more so because it is one of the first books I read of his more than anything else. I am not sure it is his "best" book but it is worthwhile anyway if you like his other books.

This one centers on the Titanic itself and some secrets materials it holds.. Cussler is a researcher in real life and his passion for the sea comes through once again with enough points to add cedibility to something, which of course, is by its nature incedible (good guys/bad guys/evil plots), but that is what his books are about.

There are some weak points along the way (sometimes the romance writing is not quite up to par) but the action and adventure aspects makes it a fun read, like the rest of Cussler's writings.

This book is good and holds your interest from beginning to end. Several surprises which always makes for interesting reading. Cussler captures your total interest and holds it until the book ends. Hurray!!

This book was very slow to start. Has a lot of characters so the character development of the plot takes more time than I would have liked. Half way through, the book becomes one you cannot put down. It does a 180 and becomes fast paced action. My opinion of the book drastically changed near the end. Read it, you'll like it!

Nobody writes em like Clive Cussler...sort of like James Bond meets Jacque Cousteau. Excellent book for history and science lovers...and there is always a twist...can you spot Clive Cussler's character in the book? I love that part...he always inserts himself into his work. I know of no other author who does that. Hope you enjoy the read! This is my 2nd time around :o)

For the most part not much really happens. It was written in the 70's when people were still terrified about Communism. I could of seen this book a good read if I was older and actually lived during those times but since I didn't I found it hard to connect with the book. This is the 16th Clive Cussler book I have read and still think he is a great author and find it interesting to read how much Dirk Pitt has changed. In the more recent books (mid 80s and on) Pitt has more of a solid typical hero vibe. In the older books he is more arrogant and kind of a jerk. Just interesting to see the character development there.

Clive Cussler knows how to push those buttons when it comes to adventure thrillers. This is a fast paced book that packs a punch. As usual with his Dirk Pitt novels, the characters are very entertaining throughout, which is what makes his storytelling so good. Treasure, terrorists, shipwrecks. It's all here in this one. There are a lot of Clive Cussler books out there and plenty that I haven't read, but I plan to get through most of them.

The Alexandria Library was first burned in Julius Caesar's time.
By 391 AD it had again become important: ( you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket?) wishful thinking would want the documents destroyed in these
events.
The story is a very far fetched one, but if you suspend belief,
it is like a fantasy adventure with terrorists and jumping all over the world...Dirk Pitt only beds two women, but one is the secretary general of the UN. Ancient sea wrecks, and very old buried treasure are what Clive Cussler thrives on!

Clive Cussler's Treasue starts out like any other og his books. On this historic flashback, a roman named Julies Vernator sails a fleet of ships carrying a unknown cargo across the ocean. He hides the cargo in a cave somewhere on the unknown continent they sailed to. Vernator and his crew come under attack by primitives and never make it back to Spain. One ship makes it away and it's final resting place was unknown. Many centuries later, Dirk Pitt stumbles across the wreck of the ship and an assination attempt on the Egptian Secretary General, Hala Kamil. The mystery unfolds as Pitt tries to find the treasure that was mentioned on tablets in the sunken ship. The treasure just happens to be a portion of the Library of Alexandia. NUMA is recruited to help find the Ehyptian national treasure so that the Egyptian leader, President Hasan, can stay in office a little longer so that a terrorist leader named Akmid Yazid does not take over Egypt. In his insane attempt to take over Egypt, Yazid orders his mercenaries to steal a ship with the Egyptian and Mexican leaders on board. They steal the ship and lose all the follers whil disguising the ship as an iceberg and sailing near Antarctica. Pitt and a team from NUMA track the ship and lead an American SOF team to retake the ship while stopping the terrorists and saving the hostages. Pitt then finds the treasure and peace is restored to Egypt. This is one book that has you by the pages. You wil not want to put this book down.



-Hans Fertig

Of course, Karl May wrote 120 years ago and created the hero Apache Chief Winnetou who was the idol of every joungster in Germany when I grew up; we loved the American Indians for their bravery in their struggle against homicide by the western Christians and their mass murder weapons against the natives of this continent. Clive Cussler brings the old struggle back to life with Dirk Pitt. Great reading.

Treasure's protagonist is again the indestructible, larger-than-life, and incurable Casanova, Dirk Pitt. This time he is on the search for treasures from the ancient Library of Alexandra. And these treasures are to be found in a place where nobody would expect them to be! While searching for the treasure, Dirk has to contend with hardened international criminals, terrorists and other unsavory characters. Dirk's own father is taken hostage in a conspiracy to take control of Egypt and Mexico and Dirk has to rescue him and some other world-influential people out of the situation. The novel is a real page-turner filled with over-the-top action, adventure and suspense and I would think the best of Clive Cussler's books that I have read thus far.

I am a Fan of Clve Cussler.
Dick Pit Engagements are fantastic.
Those books are from start untill finish excellent
stories.
I think I have read most of Clive Cussler#s books Its thrilling experience.

This was one of the most exciting, fast paced books that I have read in a long time. There were many twists that kept you guessing. I was unable to put it down. I just had to keep going to see what was going to happen next. The action just never stopped. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast paced action mystery story. Clive Cussler has really delivered with this installment in the Dirk Pitt series.

Great quick read. You can tell it is the first book in the series but it is still good. It helps to establish the characters for the following books. A must read.

Pacific Vortex was apparently the first book Clive Cussler ever wrote. Word is he didn't want to publish this one, but friends and family encouraged him to.

I'm glad he did.

I rate it as one of his most entertaining novels. It really keeps you turning those pages as Cussler had Dirk Pitt carving through the story at a rapid pace.

The Dirk Pitt series (and all Cussler books for that matter) are entertaining and a lot of fun to read.

Reading fiction is all about entertainment and escapism. Clive Cussler always manages both.

How To Keep Your Man: And Keep Him For Good

Real Life Dramas - Volume One

Darren G. Burton

My older brother has been a fan of Cussler's work for 30 years! In that time, he has urged Pitt after Pitt on me and I've always balked. I even had 3 Cusslers gathering dust on my to read shelf.

Then I came across Pacific Vortex. Just minutes after discussing the author with a good friend of mine, I stumbled upon this early, first Pitt adventure. Seeing as whenever I start a new series, I like to start with the very first one, I picked up the book and, after 30 years, read it on the spot.

Wow!

I couldn't put this book down! As a fan of classic pulp fiction from the 30s and 40s, this was like coming home. And it was great to see the legacy being carried on with such deft skill. Great pacing, mysterious mastermind plot, an engaging main character. I was captivated. And could not, for the life of me, explain to myself why I had waited so long to give this series a try.

I've been told that the later novels are better than this one. Pacific Vortex does have its flaws. What first novel doesn't? But I was still swept away by this story of a missing nuclear sub. And couldn't help thinking that, if this series only gets better, I've got to be along for the ride. So it's next stop Mediterranean Caper!

For any new readers, like myself, curious about the series, this is really the book to start with. If the other books are as much better as people claim, this one will suffer if read after the later books. So, if you've wanted to try a Dirk Pitt, start here. It's not perfect, but it is a great read and you can see the promise that will come to fruition in later books.

A truly enjoyable adventure!

I though I had read all of the older Cussler books when I discovered Dragon. It turns out this is one of Cussler's better Dirk Pitt books, not that I did not like most of them. If you like Cussler at all, you will really enjoy Dragon.

Clive Cussler is my favorite author but this was his greatest misfire and the only book that I have NEVER reread. When Dirk and Al wind up battling killer robots I knew that CC had gone too far. It had promise but it just didn't live up to his earliest works.

A really enjoyable Dirk Pitt novel and had a great time every time I picked it up to continue reading. Great action mixed in with a little bit of suspense makes this novel a fun read. I liked the way the prologue worked into the story. If you like Pitt books this one definitely gets the job done.

Excellent Book! One of Cussler's best I've read. Keeps you entertained on every page.

Rather classic Pitt novel, pretty straight forward, although you will find the plot a little more complex than the average Pitt novel. Don't spoil the fun considering how improbable the solution of events may be, how sci-fictional the gadgetry may appear or how incredible his deeds may seem...it's Dirk Pitt.

i was delighted to finally read the beginning of Charlotte and Thomas's relationship. i started the books somewhere in the middle as couldnt find the first ones in any library and had to actually buy this book, glad idid!

The charm of this book is in it's setting. The charming part is that Victorian England is a main character in the book. I enjoyed this book because not only are you engaged in a good mystery but you also learn about everyday life during that time period. Overall I liked the book, the character's were well rounded and at time's the mystery takes a back seat to the character's development throughout the book. I would recommend this book to those who love mysteries, and those who like historical fiction.

While I didn't think this was the best in the series, it does help to start with it since it introduces the characters, so I recently bought this as a gift for a friend. I have read all of Anne Perry's "Pitt" series as well as the "Monk" books. I think, from everything else I have read about that time period, that they are startlingly accurate portrayals. I particularly love her strong female characters, in contrast with the more typical women of the era. These books are sometimes "heavy" reading and the author clearly has specific points to make which do get repetitive. Because of this, I found I needed to take a break after reading a couple of them, but then I was continually drawn back to the series until I had gotten through them all. Again, Cater Street Hangman wasn't my favorite but it does lay the groundwork for all the rest. I recommend it.

It took me three tries to get into this book, but once I got hooked I stayed up late and got up early to finish it. The murder mystery is unpredictable with several convincing red herrings thrown in to pull you off track. In the end, the motive behind the killer's actions are alluded to, but not strongly supported by the storyline. This made the ending slightly unsatisfying. However, the Victorian era's customs and manners is presented with picture-painting detail and seemed believable.

Anne Perry uses a very interesting literary device: we can hear the thoughts of only female characters (not all of them, but we never see inside a male character's mind). This helped to focus (or even exagerate?) the emotional and social distance between the male and female characters. Enjoy the book and the character of Charlotte as she changes over the course of the series.

CAPSULE REVIEW: This is the first book in the CHARLOTTE AND THOMAS PITT series of Victorian murder mysteries. I highly recommend this book and the whole series, although this first volume is not as riveting as some of the later ones. This is an excellent British cozy with the elements mystery fans expect.Among my criticisms are that the emotions of the characters are often glossed over when they should be explored and are examined in minute detail when they are of little interest. Also, I find the romance between the two main characters completely unbelievable, but then I must admit that I am a mystery fan and not not a romance fan, so I may be missing something.

Dirk Pitt going against an elder James Bond Character, what more needs to be said.

Badly written, terrible use of adjectives, many illogical leaps, sexist. and it never got any better. don't waste your money.

I've read a number of the Dirk Pitt novels. I had a roommate after college who had a whole bunch of them and at that point I was spending a couple hours a day on the train, so I was going through books very quickly. He let me read the ones he had. That was about 15 years ago, and until recently I hadn't read another Cussler book. After having read what I think was the first of Cussler's Dirk Pitt stories a couple weeks ago, however, I decided to pick up Night Probe.

Wow!

This book hooked me really quick. After only a couple of chapters, every time I put it down I could't wait to pick it back up again. And at that point Dirk had yet to make more than a couple of quick appearances.

Maybe I'm just not remembering things very well, but this book struck me as rather different than the Pitt novels I read before. It certainly doesn't focus nearly as much on Dirk and the other NUMA characters as many of the other books. It was also a less predictable mystery.

I will admit that there were some threads in the story which weren't very well fleshed out and cut off rather abruptly. Even still, I found it a really fun, enjoyable read and would definitely recommend it.

I thought that this book was a little dragged out in parts. Also in several parts of the book the events jumped around more than usual to the point of being confusing.

Couldn't even finish this book. Dirk Pitt is basically an unknown character thru half the book. Early Cussler; development period. Don't recommend if your love the complexity, adventure and characters of Pitt and Al.