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Trojan Odyssey

Trojan Odyssey

List Price: $39.95
Your Price: $25.17
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Great Writer, Needs New Material
Review: I've enjoyed Cussler for several years. I admire his work in marine archeology. But he's no longer on my must buy list after this one. The one saving grace for the book is it exposes the reader to the hypothesis about the location of Troy and the evolution of the Illiad and Odyssey. Beyond that, the characterizations are the thinnest parody of the worst of the Bond Movies. The addition of Dirk Pitt's newly found children to the cast of characters is a little unbelievable, and certainly unwanted. The tempo is uneven. The dilemmas are so over drawn as to give melodrama a good name. The basic premise is the least plausible one to show up in one of his books. I read it through hoping it would improve, and it just got worse and worse. At the very best this book is better than being trapped in an airport with absolutely nothing else to read...but only just. Clive Cussler is a talented writer, but he must have rushed to finish this book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Yes, He's Done Better, But Please Cut Clive Some Slack
Review: I have read Clive Cussler novels for over 20 years and count some of his novels as the best I've ever read, in particular Sahara, Night Probe and Atlantis Found. I picked up Trojan Odyssey pretty much the day it came out and, like most of his books, devoured it quickly. And I have to admit that when I was done, I didn't have that "Wow!" reaction like I have had with many of his books, but I did enjoy it.

I thought the typical catastrophic event that pervades Clive's novels was novel indeed. An evil corporation attempts to freeze out Europe using underground tunnels to attampt to change water temperatures in the oceans. He hasn't done that one before. Dirk Pitt and his partner Al Giordino again go through much agony to save the planet once again.

Of course, what has changed here is the addition to the storytelling of Dirk Pitt's newly discovered twins, Summer and Dirk, who made their initial appearance at the end of Clive's previous novel, Valhalla Rising. I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of the twins, primarily because they are exactly like their namesakes (their mother, Summer Moran, was a character in the very first Pitt novel, Pacific Vortex). I wish Clive had made them a different from Dirk Sr. and Summer Sr. But I was glad that they only have a secondary role here. I hope it stays that way in the future.

All that said, if you've never read a Cussler novel, I think you'll enjoy it. If you've read the entire Cussler catalog, I can see why you might be disappointed a little. But understand that Clive wrote this with a heavy heart as he lost his wife of 40+ years, Barbara, to cancer early in 2003. He still plugged away for his fans, so I'm going to cut him some slack. I'll bet the next Pitt novel will be a great one!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I love Dirk Pitt!
Review: As always I cannot put down a Clive Cussler book. This was typical Cussler action/adventure and I loved every minute. I especially enjoy the fact that I could let my 10 year old grandson read this and know he isn't going to get a twisted sex education! This is one author I enjoy rereading and will spend the money for the hardcover. I haven't missed a book yet!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A new fan
Review: This is my first Clive Cussler/Dirk Pitt book and I enjoyed it so much that I can't wait to pick up the others. This book was not original or intellectual but it most definitely was entertaining. If you're looking for something easy and fun to read, this is a good book to pick up.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The last Dirk Pitt?????
Review: Perhaps the last Dirk Pitt adventure, Dirk and his friend Al go after an industrial druidic feminist cult (wow!--must have used a "plot wheel") that plans to change the world's weather and profit from the chaos. They are backed by the mainland Chinese. The background for all of this is the theory that the Trojan war was not about Greece or Turkey, but about the British Isles and tin mines (tin is needed to move from the copper to the bronze age). Odysseus traveled not to the Mediterranean but the Carribean. Sort of interesting and almost believable. A decent yarn, which might be Dirk's last (he is getting a little old for all that activity)and two major things change Dirk's life. Perhaps some of the future action will go to his son and daughter. BTW, the editing could have been much better. Typos and dangling modifiers all over.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: oh dear.
Review: this is my first cussler novel, and seeing as this particular book is the last of a series maybe i needed to get some background on the characters before reading it. now that i have read it the chance of this happening is zero. Simply put this book has nothing to recommend. the plot is dull,the lack of excitement is astonishing for such a well known author, the two main characters Pitt and Giordino whilst on their deeds of derring do never come close to being in any danger at all. what surprised me the most was the numbing dialogue, characters often explaining the banal with regularity, and if you use dialogue to explain all of the plot it better be done well,otherwise,like this novel,its gonna be sooo bad.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Prepubescent adventure.
Review: I picked up an audio version at the library as I have a long commute. After just hearing Steve Martin's hilarious "The Pleasure of My Company", which kept me in stitches for five lovely hours, I'm afraid I may now drive off the road asleep.

It is clear that this is meant to be adult entertainment but it is so self absorbed in style. OOH, Dirk Pitt has a bunch of cars! Listen Excitedly as they drink a nice wine! Then our hero saves the day by miraculously spotting someone who planted a bomb on his ship! Everything happens so dramatically! God, I can't stand it! I'm only finishing it because I want to write an awful book myself! With the last molecule of glucose surging into my fingers, I finished the miraculous spelling of brobdingnagian! Whoopdiefrikndoo!

Your pre-adolescents will love this book. Adults: Caveat Emptor.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Trojan Oddity
Review: Although I sadly realised that Clive lost his wife Barbara, hence the tribute, I realise that the Dirk Pitt series may be coming to an end as Dirk seems to have accepted the takeover as head of NUMA and Al is fed up of getting shot. It may be that Dirk Jr and Summer may take over as the lead characters with Dirk Sr as head of the organisation but I feel that this book left a lot lacking regarding the plot against other books in the series. It didnt grip me as the rest of the series did, especially Sahara, which is being made into a movie and about time and is my favourite! I have to say that it wasnt that good apart from the hotel rescue at the beginning but after that, a little lame. Sorry fans but I read my first Clive book aged 7 which was raise the titanic in 1977 and Ive got his full collection, disappointed with this one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Another Pitt Odyssey
Review: The followers of Clive Cussler will find Trojan Odyssey to be an enjoyable, entertaining book. It is a classic Cussler story of good versus evil. As would be expected, Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino again fight tremendous odds and calmly face down death repeatedly as they race against the clock to unearth and then thwart the evil scheme being hatched by Spencer. Adding to the storyline is the inclusion of Dirk and Summer, Pitt's twin children who appeared out of the blue at the end of Valhalla Rising. This is simply a very good novel filled with all of the action, suspense, and frequent plot twists that have become Cussler's trademark. In addition, after all of the action has been concluded, there is still a chapter or two that provide some material that Cussler fans should find interesting. All-in-all, if you have enjoyed the adventures of Pitt and Giordino over the years, Trojan Odyssey should keep you turning the pages as well.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Better than Valhalla Rising (but that's not saying much)
Review: OK, a bunch of disconnected "historical" factoids which are never really tied together coupled with a mystery scheme to get rich. Throw in the usual cast of characters and predictable events and you end up with a mess.

The good news (for fans of Loren), is that her Dad who was killed off 3 years before Vixen 03 (a very good book, BTW) has had a miraculous recovery from his death. I guess Vixen 03 was a "dream" (aka Bobby Ewing) - like the dream that we all have that Cussler could still put together a good read. Clive - TV programs use people called "continuity checkers" - you might want to investigate that! I also found the obligatory CC appearance at the end to be even more contrived than usual.


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