Sacred Stone (Oregon Files), MP3 CD Edition

Rating:
Summary: Pretentious, mediocre Cussler or should I say Dirgo fare
Review: "Sacred Stone" obviously written by Craig Dirgo was a bombastic adventure novel that tried to impress with the complexity of the plot. The book unfortunately got bogged down in a tangled, confusing morass of characters that frequently had to be identified in an index as to who they actually were. The plot while topical was a bit much even for a Cussler type book.

The story commences with the discovery of a meteorite unknowingly emitting lethal doses of radiation by the uncouth, brusque Viking explorer, Eric the Red in Greenland. After much death surrounding the tenders of the meteorite it was sealed and entombed in a cave.

Fast forwarding to the present, the iridium containing meteorite was uncovered in an archeologic dig financed by wealthy industrialist Halifax Hickman. This lethal stone was to be the method of retribution used by Hickman against Muslims for causing the death of his son Lieutenant Chris Hunt fighting exremists in Afghanistan.

At the same time a Muslim extremist group had pilfered a nuclear bomb from the Ukraine and had designs on detonating it in London.

As these plots became revealed, the Corporation a contingent of ex-military and intelligence operatives who hired out their specialized services became mobilized. Under the employ of the U.S. government, they were commissioned to thwart the dual threats. Based on a technologically sophisticated converted 500 foot cargo steamer, the Oregon and led by Chairman Juan Cabrillo they launched a multi pronged effort to foil the potential disasters.

Rating:
Summary: Sacred Stone
Review: I do think this is a little better than the previous Craig Dirgo novel. The whole story had great potential in the right hands, but as Dirgo has shown and written, it can also be a bit entangled.
The novel itself moved fast and did provide me with a few hours of entertainment, just not the entertainment I'm used to with the Cussler name.


Rating:
Summary: Wake me up when Dirk is back!
Review: I don't know how much Cussler had to do with this book. It sure doesn't seem like his writing. I like the concept of the series and the main story line of each book but it just lacks that Dirk Pitt sense to it. I gave this three stars because I can't give Cussler anything less after all the years of fun books he has given me, but this is just an average read that I fell asleep many times trying to get through.

Rating:
Summary: NEVER AGAIN!!!! This is not even close to Cussler!!!
Review: I have read most of the *real* Cussler novels and am a huge fan. I read one previous Dirgo book (and hated it): I thought I would try again, but I couldn't even finish Sacred Stone!!! The characters have NO depth, the plot has huge holes, and the writing style is amateur. Sorry Craig, but with Cussler's name on the book the bar is set pretty high - and at this point in your career you're no Clive.

It appears that Clive maybe consults on the storyboard of these new "co-authored" books, but then steps away. It is a shame, but these books will never satisfy a Cussler fan.

Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: I love all the Clive Cussler novels with Dirt Pitt as the hero. I even like the Kurt Austin novels too. However, this was really the worst novel I've ever had to force myself to read. If Craig Dirgo would just take time to develope his characters, I might be able to learn to like them. Basically, the Corporation consists of too many characters.I hardly even get a feel for the main character, Juan Cabrillo. He barely describes what any of the characters even look like. I won't be reading the next installment.

Rating:
Summary: Another great Craig Dirgo - Clive Cussler book
Review: I read the other reviews of this book and I am again sad for the readers. If you have been a Clive Cussler fan from the beginning, you know that he is getting ready to retire soon, and has been training many new fine authors, including Craig Dirgo.

This is not a Dirk Pitt novel. The Oregon files are not about any of the Dirk Pitt characters.

Our stars in this book are Juan Cabrillo and his gang at the Corporation. A group of self sufficient mercenaries out to save what others have taken. They have concience and are providing a service to the world in a way that entertaines you. Juan Cabrillo and his team at The Corporation, again cleaverly weave their way around the world powers, and save everyone in the end.

We had several bad guys in this book, the worse a father out for revenge. Halifax Hickman an industrialist, spending millions to bring down those he feels responsible for his sons death.


Thanks Dirgo and Cussler. Please keep writing the Oregon Files.







Rating:
Summary: Where is the Cussler part?
Review: Not a bad story, but during the book I got more and more convinced about the fact Pitt and Giordino would have managed everything better in only one chapter.
Pity. The memory of the older (only written by) Clive Cussler books deserves better!

Rating:
Summary: Author is an obvious novice
Review: This book was tedious. It is more formula than even Cussler's other work. I wonder how much he had to do with the book, because it is not up to his usual fun romp! The last line of many chapters (and even more paragraphs) pulled you ahead so that there are no surprises or suspense building. For instance, "The man had no way of knowing the next doctor he'd see would be a coronor." and "He had no way of knowing that this sleep would be his last until the big one." and "By the time it was over, a nation would be threatened, and people would die." and "For Ackerman, ego tinged with self-aggrandizing would be a deadly combination." and "Cabrillo had no way of knowing that within twenty-four hours he would be traveling across a frozen wasteland to the east - or that the fate of a city by a river would hang in the balance." and "And it would be years before that played out." (First 20 chapters). Part way through I wanted to scream every time the phrase "had no way of knowing" was used yet again! Other distractions like a character viewing a comet streaking across the sky (with the story about a meteorite, no less!) pulls one away from the story line. Where was a critical editor?

Rating:
Summary: Complex plotting but little character development
Review: This novel is better than the first Cussler/Craig Dirgo collaboration(The Golden Buddha)but not up to the standard of Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels.It provides an entertaining read but stretches the bounds of credulity in places. There are two major plot streams. One involves the discovery of an iridium meteorite in Greenland in a shrine built by Eric the Red and subsequent attempts by a vengeful American industrialist Halifax Hickman to use it to replace Abraham's Stone in Mecca and help bring about the destruction of three sites sacred to Islam. The other involves the theft of a tactical nuclear warhead from the Ukraine and an attempt by a radical Islamic group to destroy the heart of London on New Year's Eve. The schemes intersect in the first part of the novel but Juan Cabrillo and The Corporation (mercenaries with a conscience)track down the would-be perpetrators of a London massacre and avert disaster. Tracking down the meteorite and divining the identity and intentions of Mr. Hickman, and preventing the destruction of Islam's three holy sites, prove more challenging. But with a lot of luck and much ingenuity Juan Cabrillo and his team thwart the attempt to destroy the foundations of Islam.

Rating:
Summary: Reads like a rejected movie script
Review: Without the Clive Cussler name this book would never have been printed, except by a vanity press. The character development is shallow, with references to known movie stars used as a descriptive crutch in some cases. The "Cast of Characters" carried in the front of the book is fortunate, allowing the reader to keep track of the very forgettable characters. The book reads like a rejected movie script turned novel.

Cussler again affronts his loyal fans whom he seems to take for granted these days. His writing has become careless, arrogant, and sloppy, beginning with the insertion of himself as a character in stories like Sahara and Valhalla Rising, where he rips the reader out of the adventure and back to reality. He has lost the right to a loyal following.

Cussler's annual "Just In Time For Christmas" novels are off my gift list. I'll take pleasure in the search and discovery of other worthy adventure novelists who, I'm sure, are out there.