Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as his previous works
Review: I have been an avid Cussler fan for nearly 12 years, and eagerly snap up every book that comes out. And I've never been so disappointed as I was with Valhalla Rising. Though the book maintains Cussler's technological prowess and the subplots keep the book going, the actual writing leaves a lot to be desired. Dirk Pitt acts completely out of character and his "best friend" Giordino is reduced to a hero-worshipping, two-dimensional foil for Pitt's schemes. To make it worse, every major event is foreshadowed in such a way as to eliminate any semblance of tension during the action. We are told in the first paragraphs that the cruise ship is going to sink and about 100 of its 2000 passengers will die. The reader is therefore left out of the story, watching it like a news broadcast instead of living it. Even the surprise ending, while interesting and unexpected, does not read like Cussler's usual style. I am an avid romance reader and find emotion essential in a novel. But this was just plain sappy at times. I will purchase Cussler's next book, but I admit if I am as disappointed as I was this time, he will have lost me completely.
Rating: 
Summary: Dirk is back!
Review: Clive Cussler comes through with yet another fine adventure that provides a great escape.It all starts when Dirk Pitt, working for NUMA in the South Pacific, notices a fire burning on the horizon. It seems a state of the art cruise ship named 'Emerald Dolphin' is experiencing a major fire. The radios, as well as the sprinkler system, has been sabotaged and the lifeboats have been burned. Dirk must now rescue over 2000 people. This amazing rescue, along with 3 or 4 others in the novel, seem to be somewhat miraculous, but they sure are fun to read. As a multi-billionaire attempts to take over the oil business and eventually the government, Dirk has his work cut out for him. Dirk, and his long time friend Al Giordino, get together once again in this entertaining and fast-paced story. This well rounded and well researched novel includes tales of the old Vikings and Norsemen. Jules Verne also plays a part in this story. Cussler paints a vivid picture of his disasters and the ensuing action. The threat on Manhattan cut especially close to home. A Dirk Pitt novel that ranks among the best. Highly recommended for action and thrills.
Rating:
Summary: Not Cusslers best
Review: Like many other reviewers, I can honestly say this one has its cheesy moments. The whole Viking thing comes out of nowhere barely making a connection to the story. You're fumbling through looking for a connection that just isn't there. The "magic" briefcase had me cringing as well. It felt like Cussler had a long chat with William Shatner the night before writing that in. The ending has a suprise twist that was as predictable as it was cheesy. Not recommended as your first Cussler to read. If you plan to read Trojan Odyssey, however cheesy, the ending is a must read, there's some important character intros.
Rating: 
Summary: A fun go around, somewhat marred by the author's ego
Review: After nearly 20 years, Dirk Pitt is a familiar character for escapist readers. Cussler's books of his exploits are the literary equivalent of a good popcorn movie. Just another good book to kick back and enjoy - no big themes, no important messages. It's fluff. But fluff with some substance - Cussler never fails to included an interesting take on history and as the "What If." Cussler tries this time to introduce some more weight to Pitt, giving him musings about still being single, and continuing to mourn loss of the love of his life. Somehow while this is not outrageous to explore, it does clunk along a bit. The rest of the book is formula Cussler, but that's not a bad thing. He sets up a prologue situation that has very little to do with the main plot of the book, throws our heroes into a sequence of adventures where we are brought along for the fun, without the danger or worry of something dire really happening to them. And then, it's back to wrap up what was started in the prologue and tie ends together. The end. One annoying trait, though, that continues here is Cussler's propensity to write himself into the story. Pitt and co. have far too often fortuitously run across Mr. Cussler at a very convenient moment where he can help give the little extra needed to save the day. Once was fun. Twice was indulgent. but beyond that, it's just annoying. A work of great literature? No. But a good beach book.
Rating:
Summary: Cussler does it once again!
Review: Dirk Pitt and friends are back in Cussler's latest instalment! This time, our story begins in 1035 when Viking longboats land on American shores and hoards of treasure is hidden in a cave along the Hudson River. Then in 1894, a mystery undersea vessel attacks the US warship KEARSAGE and disappears! Zoom forward to 2003 when Dirk Pitt and his NUMA crew suddenly find themselves on the scene of a major disaster as the luxury cruise ship EMERALD DOLPHIN catches fire in mysterious circumstances. As they rescue the passengers and use all their resources available to help, a young lady named Kelly Egan is rescued, who is carrying the secrets behind a new kind of oil and a technology invented by her father that could change the world as we know it . . . hmm! Dirk and Al Giordino are soon on the trail of her father Elmore Egan's research and stumble across mega-baddie Curtis Merlin Zale, who has his eyes on the US's oil supply. Then he attempts to sink a submarine cruise ship, also designed by Egan. Dirk and Al's trail leads them to Raoul Island in the Pacific and then the headquarters of Zale's CERBURUS conglomerate in New Jersey. It turns out Zale wants to destroy Egan's research to keep oil profits high, and when his final evil plan to block out foreign oil from the US by engineering a huge terrorist attack is learned, it may be too late!You can surely guess the ending, or can you . . . Also in the tale are Egan's fascination with Jules Verne's stories which tie up with the mystery submarine subplot and his invention Zale wanted to destroy, and the significance of the Viking prologue ties in here well. Overall, if you're after plenty of action, escapism and James Bond style derring-do, Cussler's books are well worth the money. I always buy them the moment they're out - myself and my wife are always fighting over who reads it first. Also, if you like this sort of novel check out Matthew Reilly too.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Addition
Review: Clive Cussler's Valhalla Rising is a good addition to the long-running series featuring the intrepid Dirk Pitt. While it does seem to adhere to the formulaic plot of previous Pitt outings, it is still a fantastic read, opening with a maritime disaster that ties in, later in the narrative to the present-day mysteries faced by NUMA Special Projects Director Dirk and his assistant, Al Giordino. Without spoiling the plot, it is sufficient to state that naturally, nothing less than the fate of the world is at stake. Valhalla rising is a fine novel, and fans of the series will not be disappointed by a return of the Dirk Pitt adventure (and an unusual twist at the novel's conclusion)
Rating: 
Summary: Not nearly good
Review: The only reason I finished reading this book was to see how it all tied together. Unfortunately it ended more ridiculously than it began. I won't make the same mistake again.
Rating:
Summary: Another over-the-top Dirk Pitt adventure.
Review: Pitt is back for another over-the-top epic actioner. In "Valhalla", Pitt becomes embroiled with Cerberus, an aggressive petroleum cartel that will do anything to monopolize the flow of oil into America (the baddies are actually Americans. Though it's soon clear that "Valhalla" was written before 9/11, a more baiting author would have easily gone for the "OPEC" panic-button). There prime target is the inventor of a revolutionary form of propulsion that will put a severe dent in the global demand for oil. Luckily for them, the inventor, and his beautiful daughter, are both at sea on a revolutionary cruise ship powered by the inventor's magnetohydrodynamic engines - giving the cartel the opportunity to take out two birds with one stone (or in this case, one fire at sea). To late to save Dr. Egan, deep-diving hero Dirk Pitt arrives to save the plucky Kelly Egan, and become the cartel's latest target. Pitt, the special projects director for the "National Underwater & Marine Agency", isn't a guy to take "no" for an answer (he's also the only hero left who has no problem tossing off bon mots like "I hope you can forgive my tardiness"). In protecting Kelly Egan, and shutting down Cerberus, Pitt will find himself tangling with modern-day pirates in the Pacific, dogfighting a modern-day Red Baron over the streets of Manhattan, suffocating aboard a luxury submarine trapped at the bottom of the ocean and taking on a rogue super-tanker rigged to vaporize a city. He will also have to track down the mysterious hidden lab of Dr. Egan, but luckily for Pitt he and the departed doctor share similar interests. Cussler tosses an army of ruthless mercenaries, a lost Viking colony a mysterious 19th century submariner and ultimately...himself (again) into the mix for another Dirk Pitt adventure. Okay, so it gets a bit wearing at times, and Cussler doesn't so much blaze any new paths as much as follow old ones (he used the bomb-ship idea in the excellent "Cyclops"), while sticking to his trademark brand of pedantry (we always know what everybody is eating, and what they're wearing). Normally, the above would kill the story, but Cussler's brand is actually fun, and he doesn't allow dinner menus and wardrobes to kill the story, which manages to be both consistently action packed yet never a mindless videogame turned novel. There's probably some stuff that could have been tossed out (the Vikings and Jules Verne plot-lines were interesting, but they don't really connect to the story), but adventure fans should enjoy it. Cussler shows he can go deeper into a genre he essentially created.
Rating:
Summary: The integrity of a once great series and character.....
Review: Just to qualify, what is about to be said. I have read all the books, I like the series less and less. The first were alive and fresh, an adventure. The new ones are...
"Oh dear. I think someone was on autopilot writing this. 421 copies available from $0.01. Yep. The plot is too fantastical to even draw you in. The characters are wafer thin. An obsession with details, clothes worn, brands of gadget, etc. instead of eh story...In Sweden, we say 'cake on cake' - not one shipwreck, but 2, then a vintage plane fight over Manhattan, then finding lost viking boats, moored next to Cpt. Nemo's submarine. And an ending, to make you want to puke, it is so saccharin. No, no, no. All very disappointing. This is now the Mills & Boon of adventure. Or the Roger Moore of Bond.
Rating: 
Summary: What genre is this?
Review: My first Clive Cussler read, "Treasure", was, some years back, an "on the edge of your seat" thriller. So, I expected the same from Valhalla Rising. For the first third of the book, it met all expectations...but it went downhill from there. Halfway through the book, I felt like I crossed over into science fiction. At several points, I felt as though the only way that Cussler could make the story to work was to introduce something completely impossible to "rescue" the plot. Plus, I grew tired of every female character being georgeous, and every boat being unlike any ever seen before. Still, if you are looking for something entertaining, it works.
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