Rating: 
Summary: same loveable cast of characters, weak writing
Review: Okay, I admit that I've read every single Dirk Pitt novel, but remember, they've been around for years. There are two possibilities: 1)I was too young to notice that his writing his horrible or 2)his writing has gotten worse. I'm not trying to take a cheap shot because the plot follows the same hallowed formula as always and does it well: ancient mystery, major international intrigue replete with lots of really bad guys, and our heroes meet beautiful women and solve the mystery with some sea salvage operations in the middle. When Cussler sticks to descriptions of technical stuff, he's quite good, but his dialogue is so bad that it can make you wince. Plus, he telegraphs everything with an incredible overuse of adverbs and adjectives ("he said grimly, she said seductively") -- come on Clive, as a writer you must have studied the famous Hemingway dictum to "show, not tell." In short, I loved the plot, I still get a kick out of Dirk even in his older age, I love the reappearance of the old cast of characters like Perlmutter and Hiram Yaeger and Al, but Mr. Cussler needs to clean up his prose and avoid the pat endings (the thing with Dirk's kids was almost sickening). I hate to complain because I've read the whole series, but this time the writing quality really bothered me to the point of interfering with my enjoyement of the book. And the author's ego (forgot the cameos, they were okay the first five times, but it's getting old) seems more noticeable in this book. I'd recommend this one for old fans only. Makes me want to reread Raise the Titantic to see if the old ones really were better.
Rating: 
Summary: What happened Clive?
Review: The early Clive Cussler/Dirk Pitt novels were fun and exciting. I enjoyed them. Valhalla Rising was BORING. Why does Clive Cussler have to become a character in his own book. He must have an ego the size of the Grand Canyon. This was the most disappointing Cussler novel to date. This book could be labelled "SOS". Same old stuff. It's as though he put a template over one of the older novels, added some new characters and changed the plot a little. I'm tired of Dirk Pitt. I'm tired of Clive Cussler. The back cover of the book shows Cussler with all the antique cars he owns. Who cares?
Rating: 
Summary: Meh. (from a non-Cussler-reader)
Review: I'd like to give it 2 1/2 stars, actually. It's not as bad as 2, but it sure doesn't rate 3.Not bad, I guess, for an adventure novel. The prose is fairly ham-fisted, though--if you're looking for a well-*written* novel, you won't want to read this one. I didn't much care for the author's cameo (it seemed more like a piece of fantasy-fulfillment than a legitimate plot/character device), but those who read a lot of Cussler might enjoy it. It's an interesting story with some pretty clever ideas driving the plot, but the characters really aren't much more than cardboard cutouts.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Cussler-Good Narrator-Audio book
Review: My Wife and I were happy that there is finally a new narrator for the Audio Book. We have read all of Clive Cussler's books and also listened to a couple on tape. We did not care for the way Michael Pritchard read Cussler's previous works. He read in a monotone and all the characters sounded the same. We think Scott Brink did a respectable job, and we enjoyed this audio book. Over the years we have listened to many narrators of different books. While Scott Brink is not at the top, he is a great improvement over Michael Prichard and I hope he narrates the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe good for pre or young teens
Review: I took this book as a "talking book" on CD on a road trip. I really wanted it to be good because we had an 8 hour drive through the desert. Got to the last CD, and just could not take it anymore. Ejected the CD and never did finish it. Trite and Hardy Boys-ish.
Rating:
Summary: Dirk Pitt in another solid adventure
Review: A strong effort by Cussler. The author needs to stop putting himself into his novels, in my opinion. He's a good enough writer to find a way to get Dirk and Al out of jams. This is, however, a real return to the strong story telling that got me started 15 years ago on Dirk Pitt. Great evil characters work their way into the story and I found myself hanging on to the end. Cussler uses a great descriptive style and allows himself a bit of flight of fancy, but brings home a wonderfully chilling finish to his novel again. I like that he doesn't feel the need to go over the top in describing the technology, but doesn't also treat the reader like a techno-dummy. I hope that Clive will keep Pitt going for many novels to come! If you like suspense and plot, this is great stuff. Cussler does it again.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read!
Review: A GREAT read for fans of Jules Verne, mystery, suspense and thrillers.
Rating:
Summary: Valhalla rose to the challenge!
Review: Another Clive Cussler success! Plenty of action, a little romance, and a lot of adventure! This one would have to rate along side Inca Gold, and Floodtide as my favorite Cussler novels. As per his successful formula, Dirk Pitt again gets himself into trouble by helping to save a damsel in distress, and he gets more than his money's worth, and so do we. I particularly enjoyed the aerial battle scene above New York City. He obviously wrote the novel pre-9/11.
My only negative comment, is that you get the feeling he retired his major character(Dirk Pitt/Personna of Cussler himself) with this novel. Too bad, cause a lot of older guys, like myself really warmed up to Dirk, and Al, and loved reading of them getting themselves into, and out of perils. I look forward to reading his next novel Fire Ice, but will miss Dirk, and Al.
Rating:
Summary: The "Princess Bride" of modern literature...well, not quite
Review: Hey, but it's close. Clive Cussler manages to get a lot of different stuff crammed into however many pages and 99.9% of it is entertaining...
However, I think it surely must be illegal or at least immoral for an author to write about himself using his actual name...
Not too gory, but if you're the sort who goes on regular sea cruises, you might want to give it a miss.
All in all, a pretty good read.
Rating:
Summary: Good Cussler...wrong narrator
Review: This comment refers only to the audiotaped version of this book.Where is Micheal Pritchard??? Scott Brick cannot possibly portray our hero, Dirk Pitt, with any conviction. I hope enough fans will feel as I do and will make their feelings known. I have all the Dirk Pitt tapes and find it hard to listen to the new yuppy voice. What a dissappointment. Read the book. Forget the taped version.
|
