Sahara

Rating:
Summary: A most excellent Dirk Pitt adventure!
Review: "Sahara" was about the seventh Dirk Pitt book I have read and I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed any of the other ones. The plot is formulaic (but I like the formula) and the adventure was top notch. My favorite part of Cussler's work is reading the historic vingette at the beginning of the novel and then waiting to see how it relates to the outcome. This was an interesting adventure for Dirk Pitt in the aspect that other than the exporatory work on the Nile and the journey up the Niger River to locate the source of pollution, the entire story takes place on the most inhospitable land imaginable, the Sahara Desert. I heartily recommend this book to the seasoned Cussler reader or to someone whom has never read a Dirk Pitt adventure. The author's cameo was one of his better ones and my favorite character, St. Julien Perlmutter, is featured prominently. Yves Massarde was one of my favorite villians. I think I'll read "Treasure" next due to the references to it in this story. The other Dirk Pitts I have read are: "Atlantis Found," "Vahalla Rising," "The Mediterrianean Caper," "Pacific Vortex," "Inca Gold" and "Iceberg." I can't get enough of these great stories. The only downside I had was that I read the paperback, so the drawings of the vehicles and maps in the book were limited and I wonder if the hardcover copy had a some more. I would have especially liked to have seen the Luxury Yaht and Land Yaht. I am currently reading Sea Hunters II. Clive Cussler has overtaken Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Ken Follet and Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston as my favorite all time author.

Rating:
Summary: Sahaara: A Novel
Review: Sahara written by Clive Cussler is the eleventh in a series of Dirk Pitt adventure-fiction books and this one is a very compelling story that really grips the reader, making an engaging story till the end.

Clive Cussler works some amazing threads in this book, like an iron-clad Confederate named "Texas" in 1865 as it fights through a Federal blockade and then vanishes in the Atlantic. Next, in 1931 an Australian aviatrix Kitty Mannock vanishes mysteriously in the middle of the Sahara while making an attemp to fly from London to Capetown.

These mysteries are only the start, as Cussler works his magic of mysery further, it is 1995 as the hero Dirk Pitt is called to find a Pharaoh's funeral barge buried in the bottom of the Nile. Now, we find our hero on an African adventure like none ever experienced before. An adventure that takes Dirk Pit and company on a hunt for a mysterious disease, and the source of unprecedented pollution as they investigate through Africa.

Of course, there has to be a villian, or this wouldn't be a Dirk Pitt save-the-world adventure, as we find out this time it's a French billionare named Yves Massarde and of course, the local African connection is General Zateb Kazim the brutal despot... corrupt to the core and makes life hell on Earth for the West African nation of Mali and the world as pollution is leaking and is threatening to extinguish all sea life... and man as well.

Clive Cussler has set-up this Dirk Pitt adventure very well as you are captivated in this action-adventure and you are pulling for Pitt to make the connections and solve this engrossing story. Pitt takes a trip up the Niger River and is met with resistance, but with resplendent resolutness Pitt takes on the villany, but is captured.

Now, the story gets to a fever pitch, as Cussler weaves this story making twists and turns in the plot, never forgetting about action and excitement. As Pitt escapes and treks across the Sahara, Cussler's set-up makes for a tale like none other.

You will not be disappointed reading this book... this is a classic Dirk Pitt trashes the bad guys and he always gets the girl adventure.

Rating:
Summary: Dirk Pitt and Sahara are................The Pitts
Review: Clive (Jive) Cussler is allegedly an Adventure/Action author. In reality he's somewhere between Fantasyland and the Outer Limits. Lol(leap of logic), this guys stories are sometimes bizarre to say the least.

Am I being too harsh? Hell, I haven't even started. I have tried to read three of Cusslers books and three times I have failed to finish them. Thats right I haven't even finished this book. I get to the point where I think this is so stupid, to continue to read this drivel, is to make me as stupid as I must be, to have bought this insult to my intelligence.(did you follow that? good you might dislike this book too!) So, if you're dumb enough to read this book after my 1/2 star review, you don't really want to know more than I'm going to tell anyway.

What's really excruciating is that Cussler can come up with some great imaginative plots and then he just blows them up by going over the top. I've seen him do it in three books. What he thinks is clever is really incongruous. I understand and want my Adventure/Action to be exciting, even improbable but Cussler doesn't do improbable, he's into three other I's, Impossible, Inane and Idiotic.

I know, you're wondering if I'm ever going to tell you about the book? If I have to, but first let me address why this book gets good reviews. To do that, I'm going to explain this phenomenon in a scenario that Jive/Clive himself could appreciate.

This is probably fiction but who knows? In any case you could find something this improbable in a Cussler book. Cussler is an Alien! Not from another country, silly, another Galaxy. He is the vanguard for a race of Aliens that hope to conquer and enslave us. They plan not to confront us, but to subvert us. Our Jive aliens persona is our famous author, which is coincidently the method by which they hope to subvert us. The hero of all of his books is a jive-assed turkey named Dirk Pitt, this is important. The words Dirk Pitt, when read over and over, hypnotize the reader, making them think what they are reading makes sense, hence the four and five star reviews. The occasional one or two star review come from those such as myself, that can't be hypnotized, so if I suddenly disappear, you'll know why.

Back to my scenario. With everyone hypnotically primed to react positively to the name Dirk Pitt, another Alien emerges on the scene named Dirk Pitt, announcing, after serving a short stint as Dog Catcher of Wonderland County, that he is running for President. Voila! he is unstoppable and we're all slaves. Impossible, don't laugh, hey it explains the good reviews and it's maybe just a smidgen more impossible than some of the scenarios in Cusslers books.

Zie Wonderbar Plotzie

This is going to be quick. Some sort of ocean going pollution is causing the destruction of all marine life. A by product of this is a disease, a raging epidemic that is driving thousands of North Africans into madness, cannibalism, and death. Our hero, Dirk Pitt and a beautiful UN scientist are off to Africa in a luxury yacht to investigate this phenomenon. They are sailing the yacht up the Niger River when they come to this city on the river......No! On second thought, I'm not going to describe the book.

He lost me in this book, when Pitt and his companion discovered the remains of a Confederate Ironclad in a dry river bed in the middle of the Sahara Desert. I cannot think of anything more obtuse, except what is discovered upon investigation, the mummified body of Abraham Lincoln.

The thing is, Cussler starts out very credible with some very good plots but can't maintain and eventually blows a potentially good read with totally off the wall stuff.

There you have it in a nutshell. If you can be hypnotized you will like not only this, but all Cussler novels and if you can't (be hypnotized)you won't like this book. (and you might help save the world from the aliens)

Rating:
Summary: I never knew a trip to the Sahara would be so much fun...
Review: 'Sahara' was the first Cussler book that I did not purchase in hardback...I was strapped for cash and it seemed every penny I had was promised to someone else, so I agonized for an ENTIRE YEAR before I could purchase it in paperback. Now for the die-hard Cussler fans, you KNOW what sheer torture that was for me, especially since it was such a fantastic story! I am happy to say that the wait (albeit excruciating) WAS WORTH IT!

Cussler is never better in his storytelling than when he incorporates an historical event into his novels, and at the beginning of 'Sahara' we are smack in the middle of the Civil War. At first you may wonder what it has to do with Dirk Pitt and events in Africa, but don't worry...Clive has a rabbit up his sleeve and when he produces the surprise, it'll give you goosebumps! 'Sahara' has one of Pitt's most nasty adversaries (but then again, aren't they ALL bad??) and has more action per page than any other adventure novel available today. Action after suspense after thrills--this novel literally has it all. The deadly plague infesting the ocean certainly sounds catastrophic, but with Dirk and Al on the case, one thing is for SURE: A good time will be had by anyone who cracks the pages of this fine action/adventure/thriller. Cussler at the top of his form in a story as exciting and fun as anything else in his amazing list of accomplishments. A darn good read. Highly Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Pitt's in GOOD form in this adventure...
Review: I'm a lifelong Cussler fan since the late 70's when I first read 'Raise The Titanic' and felt (and still feel) that it was one of the best adventure stories written. Cussler seems to never write a bad story...however some are just better than others. 'Sahara' is one such story. From the opening pages when a Confederate Ironclad takes on a mysterious guest and set's sail to places unknown...to the deadly plague seeping into the ocean off the coast of Africa threatening to destroy all sea life... to a really nasty bad guy (who really get's what is coming to him ala Pitt's fiendish imagination...) this has just about anything and everything an adventure novel should have. I read somewhere recently that Cussler isn't the Sultan of Suspense, he's the Emperor of Action and I'd have to agree. Swift plotting with a cast of characters you just GOTTA like and a story worthy of Cussler's best. I particularly enjoyed Pitt & Giordino's travails through the desert near death, and their discovery there. As a true Dirk Pitt fan, I urge you to get to know this guy. Bigger, better and more creative than James Bond, Pitt is more like a cross between Bond & an ocean-going Indiana Jones. You get the best of nifty gadgets plus the swashbuckling adventure that makes Indiana Jones so fun--it's ALL HERE and in abundance, too. Another discovery in the desert is also worth the price of the book, too. 'Sahara' is a fantastic fun yarn and one YOU need to take as soon as possible. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: A pretty entertaining read - one flaw I can't let slide
Review: OK, I have read EVERY Dirk Pitt novel Clive Cussler has written, so I definitely qualify to review his books. I enjoy how Cussler pushes the technological envelope in each new story, even a little over the top; I also enjoy how Dirk Pitt is the ruthless hero (only to baddies, not to beautiful women) we've all wished our movie action heroes could be. If you've read more than one Dirk Pitt novel, you know what I'm talking about. No need to elaborate so as not to ruin it for others less fortunate.

By the way, I appreciate how he writes himself into nearly every novel. Don't criticize - you'd do it too if you knew how to make a living writing.

I enjoyed Sahara immensely. Cussler has a way of getting you to say, "Hmmm...could that be what really happened?"

I usually leave a LOT of room for authors to play with the rules of technology and even the laws of physics now and then.

However, despite Cussler's quality, I can't ignore this one:

If you are dehydrated to the point of death - no, wait, even if you are dehydrated significantly less than to the point of death - you don't simply drink quarts and quarts of water and in a matter of minutes fully recover, shake the dust off, and sally forth on your merry way. Even somewhat dehydrated, you will be on a table with an IV in your arm for several hours. I know this firsthand. Technology is one thing; medical accuracy is another.
Nonetheless...
A very good book, typical Cussler.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but predictable
Review: This being my third Clive Cussler novel, I was both entertained and annoyed while reading it. The historical parts interested me, and Cussler has a clever way of making you forget things you read at the beginning of the book, so that it's surprising at the end. Other than that, it follows the classic formula Cussler uses for all of his novels. Suave, charming hero with the same repetitive one-liners, faithful but uninspiring sidekick, near death experiences, and finally winning the day with some unbelievable and ridiculously clever (to the extent that it hurts) plot. Good for a laugh, but not much else.

Rating:
Summary: My Second Favorite Dirk Pitt Book
Review: This is one of my favorite books of all time. It is very long, but the pages fly by when you are reading it. The only Dirk Pitt book I like better is Treasure. This story has a great plot and is very exciting and interesting. If you've never read a Dirk Pitt book before you are missing out. The stories go by so fast. Dirk Pitt is a cross between James Bond and Indiana Jones. Dirk also has the best sidekick (Al Giordino) and boss (Admiral James Sandecker) of any other book. You need to buy this book today along with all other Clive Cussler books.

Rating:
Summary: I don't know how I feel about this one.
Review: I don't know how I feel about this one. I enjoyed reading it in the same way I might enjoy watching whatever made-for-tv movie might be playing on USA on a random weeknight. My main complaint about the book was its totally bad way of giving information by way of really bad exposition. Most authors seem to be able to reveal things in a clever way that comes naturally in the story.

Often it is the equivelant of writing a character who comes out and says "It's good to have you home; I see that you have sucessfully driven to work and accomplished your tasks there. By the bag in your hand I can tell that you have gone to the store and purchased the bananas, tomatoes, and pie crusts that we needed."

Rating:
Summary: Excellent.
Review: This book is brilliant. One of the best I've ever read. Cussler keeps you guessing right up to the end with non-stop action everywhere in between. I highly reccomend this book to anyone with a taste for adventure.