Trojan Odyssey

Rating:
Summary: What happened?
Review: Was this really Clive Cussler who wrote this book? If it was ,what happened to the old cussler? He use to write books for entertainment and not money. It is sad to see that after writng so many other books Cusslers writing skills have declined to that of a high school student. Trojan Odyssey is not the same as the classic Cussler books like Sahara,Inca Gold or Deep Six. the story line seems to have been re hashed from past books, but don't let that fool you into thinking that this is one of them. The story line is stupid, like the fact that there is four gigantic tunnels running under ground, that have been built with out any one on the surface discovering this. These tunnels are hundreds of miles long, and when reading the book you find it hard to believe. The fact that I am Nineteen and found it hard to believe, I would hate to think what a more mature reader would think. A great pity to end on such a low. This cussler book is only for the die hard fans.If you are not one of these people, save the money for something worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: Cussler is loosing some luster
Review: I've been reading Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels since grade school - always fascinated by the fantastic scenarios and engaged by engrossing action.

Sadly, Pitt is getting a bit long in the tooth. Pages spent on the decor and menus of local restaurants, descriptions of female characters' cosmetic applications straight out of Vogue, and even brief details provided re: sending facsimiles and other trivial action all seem hopelessly out of another time (not 2006 as suggested), and out of place (not occupying the mind of our alert hero, who may or may not share ALL of his author's preoccupations).

I purchased this book on sight. Cussler + Trojan War should = instant delight and a very fast read. However, with rather obvious plot developments leading the way, accompanied by seemingly irrelevant and distracting scenes and/or descriptions of fleeting settings necessitated by said scenes, this has not turned out to be the speedy, pleasurable read I usually associate with Cussler. Furthermore, the introduction of Pitt's kids is going... where?

Of course, anyone who's read the other Pitt adventures MUST read this one, if only to enjoy the quality of Cussler's premise - as good as any that have come before. The discovery of Troy is certainly right up there with Atlantis, et. al. Any true fan will forgive Cussler this time - hopefully he'll reinvigorate the franchise next time around.

And who knows, perhaps Cussler will yet pull off a feat that few other action writers have dared attempt: Realistically aging his hero to the point of retirement, while retaining the audience. I, for one, will keep rooting for Pitt - and Cussler - either way.

Rating:
Summary: Not one of his better Dirk Pitt books...
Review: I am always excited when I see a new Dirk Pitt novel (not one of those poor "Kurt Austin" collaborations).

However, almost right off the bat I sensed that this was not going to be one of Cusslers better Dirk Pitt adventures.
The action was slow to develop and had none of Cusslers great "feel like you are there" narrations. The action sequences were flat, average and predictable.
Cussler just could not pull me into the action on this book.
Cussler spent way too much time on technical details in this book and the plot was transparent and obvious.
At times, Dirk Pitt seemed to be remarkably "slow to catch on" to events in the story. The good humor "give and take" with AL seemed "forced" and uninspired.

At times, this book seemed to be like the lame "Kurt Austin" books and if I did not know better, I'd say that Cusslers co-writer in those books had a hand in this one as well.

This book was an "Ok" Dirk Pitt novel, but not one of the better ones.

Rating:
Summary: Not one of his best!
Review: I've been an avid follower of the Dirk Pitt Novels since the mid 80's when my folks forced me read Treasure as a teen, for which I am still grateful. When reading his early books start to finish I couldn't put them down. T-O took me over a week to read.

I did enjoy the premise of the book but felt overloaded with technical schematics on every bit of equipment utilized throughout the story. A little background is good but this is an adventure novel not a "how to" manual on a TBM Boring Machine. Pitt's constant inner monologue on how he was getting to old for the lifestyle he leads left me a little down.

The supporting characters were not fleshed out and the twins were boring. After the introduction of the twins in Valhalla Rising, which I found to be the best DP book in a while, I was left excited at the potential of the Jr. Pitt's. However, if they are going to take over the series they need some more personality and verve. Cussler has spoiled us with Dirk, Al, Rudi, Loren, Sandecker etc. The twins are pale shadows in comparison.

The story did not have the edge of your seat suspense prevelant in so many of his other books. Also, figuring out the bad guys was much too easy. I did enjoy the book just not on the level of say Raise the Titanic, Treasure, Inca Gold and his other earlier works.

There were also some really obvious mistakes in this book that leave me wondering if his editor needs an eye exam, as well as distortions in the timeline and incorrect past character reference.

To sum up there are a good number of the DP books in my library that get re-read every couple years. This won't be one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Great Cussler
Review: See storyline above.

Cussler again delivers a high level adventure that should please all his fans. This time he throws in a little history about Odysseus' great voyage as well as a lesson in Celtic Culture and the Druids.
I thought this was a well rounded adventure and a great escape. One of Cusslers best. It includes all the regular characters, as well as introducing Dirk Pitt's new found son and daughter, Dirk and Summer, who have an adventure of their own. You'll get no disappointment reading this newest adventure.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Trojan finale
Review: Having read the joint effort, 'White Death' and this latest Dirk offering back-to-back, the former pales into insignificance against the latter. After the shocking finale to the previous Atlantis Found, whereby Dirk discovered he had adult twins, Dirk and Summer, born to his previously thought deceased wife of twenty-plus years ago, Cussler moves into Trojan Odysessy with a new lease of life. He also chooses to link the timeframes of White Death and this novel together with a brief meeting between Dirk and Kurt at NUMA, as the latter heads to the Canadian 'fishery' that is so prominent in White Death. Unfortunately, White Death makes no mention of the storm of the century even though Kurt and Joe have heard about Dirk and the Ocean Wanderer. Still....
Historical purists might wince at the paraphrasing of the Illiad and the Odyssey by our author, his condensing of ten years of epic into a ten week battle between the Dardanians and the Achaeans and a new slant on the Trojan Horse, but it has its reasons in the story to follow....
The first part (and full third) of the novel opens at high speed with the storm of the century (Hurricane Lizzy) defying all previously known hurricane traits hurling herself across the Atlantic with 250mph+ winds devastating all human sea activity. Caught up are Dirk and Summer who are used as the storm's plaything in their marine outpost, Pisces. Having previously discovered a rare bronze urn in the shipwrecked Vandalia (thus linking us into our prologue) they narrowly escape death and are rescued by the ever familiar Dirk and Al, who have previously saved over a thousand lives on a floating hotel called Ocean Wanderer (owned by the mysterious Specter) together with the NUMA ship Sea Sprite and her hardly captain, Barnum from the effect of the hurricane.
Part Two commences with the bronze artefact and Dirk's and Summer's instruction to investigate it more fully whilst Pitt and Giordino head towards Nicaragua to investigate the brown crud that is originating in the area, threatening the sealife. Whilst down there they come under scrutiny from the Odyssey corporation who promptly try to blow them up then chase them off with a hologrammatic projection of the pirate Leigh and some well placed missiles. Several battles later they end up in one of four great tunnels designed to allow the Pacific ocean into the Atlantic - allowing Max to prophesy an arctic winter for Europe for eight months a year - designed to enable the Odyssey corporation to cash in on their new source of free nitrogen-based energy.
It ends up down to Pitt and Giordino to storm the Odyssey bastion, capture the evil Flidais and set off a volcanic eruption to literally squash the scheme. Meanwhile, Dirk and Summer end up on a celtic sacrificial altar as the other half of Odyssey, Epona, continues her personal insanity. Along the way Cussler gets to propose his alternative location for the battle of Troy and hence where Odysseus' voyage actually went. Inevitably, the Navidad Bank where the artefacts were located ended up being Circe's island and the treasure haul that Epona and Flidais had previously located had funded their empire.
This volume is clearly a turning point in the Pitt series. By the end Al is moving on to technical director of NUMA, Sandecker's running for Vice President and Dirk is to become head of NUMA, thus paving the way for 'Pitt:The Next Generation' novels which may be no bad thing. This latest volume is enjoyable in a true Cussler style and is portrayed as Dirk's swansong on the front line but so long as he retains an appearance in the future adventures then fans will continue to read them. A vastly exciting volume, Cussler has produced one of his better Dirk Pitt novels and, at least for now, has nothing to fear from Kurt Austin....

Rating:
Summary: Stick a Dirk in Pitt he's done!
Review: I use to love the Dirk Pitt novels by Cussler but just didn't find myself really enjoying Trojan Odyssey all that much.

In this one the standard historical tie-in just wasn't really interesting and felt kind of thin as it related to the plot. The villain was one-dimensional and pretty forgetful and Dirk's kids were just boring characters all the way around. The dialog throughout the book was week and I often read some of the lamest to my wife just to elicit a laugh from her. The nefarious deeds of the villains as well as the antics of Al and Dirk are getting even more unbelievable and poorly devised.

I got the feeling that Mr. Cussler had grown somewhat tired of the whole Dirk Pitt/Kurt Austin formula. It seemed that he just banged this one out at the instanced of the publisher or his agent or for some other motivation unrelated to the actual desire to tell a compelling Dirk Pitt story.

These novels are starting to make James Bond look believable. Maybe it's just time to let Dirk and Al slip quietly in the retirement that seems to be headed their way.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing. Poor editing. Older work is much better.
Review: I read some good early reviews on Amazon and bought the book on a whim. It's lousy, like his last several have been. Besides the rehashed plot, two-dimensional characters, and poor dialog, the book suffers from horrible editing. I'm sure Cussler can afford a proof reader and editor, but you couldn't prove it by this book. There are time/space conflicts, contradictions, subject/verb agreement problems, etc. I love Cussler's early stuff (Raise the Titanic, Sahara, etc.) but save your money and skip this one. If you want to read adventure pick up Lonesone Dove or early Cussler.

Rating:
Summary: Best Dirk Pitt in a quite a while
Review: As a long time Dirk Pitt fan, it's gratifying to be able to say that this is the best book in the latter part of the series. Great fun, a great pleasure, and a great ending.

Rating:
Summary: It doesn't even deserve one star!
Review: If Clive Cussler wrote this piece of garbage, he's either lost his talent, or he's submitting copy to make money. This is the worst Dirk Pitt novel in the series...and where the hell were the editors. The copy just doesn't make sense in places, or is laden with inconsistencies and inaccuracies. E.g., Cussler (or whomever) describes a meal of lobster thermidor; two paragraphs later, it turns into lobster sauteed in butter. Another: Pitt jumps in the water during a period when he's in the calm eye of a hurricane. Next paragraph, the hurricane's second half has come and gone and Pitt starts to do his routine...but what the hell happened when the hurricane hit...no mention...what did Pitt do, slide up and down the mountainous waves? Third...it's a Cadillac ESCALADE, not Esplanade!

This is the kind of rip-off that's becoming more and more prevalent in publishing. Do yourself a favor and skip this book; if you must read it, wait until you can find an old paperback for 25 cents a few years from now!

Oh, and by the way, please retire Mr. Cussler!