Trojan Odyssey

Rating:
Summary: Save Yourself...Set it on fire before you read this trash!!!
Review: I have read nearly 200 books, primarily novels in the past 3 years, including several Clive Cussler novels...this book is without a doubt the worst book I have ever read, period.

Do yourself a favor and literally run from this book. If you see a spare copy laying around somewhere...set it on fire.

First of all, the story line is ridiculous. Cussler is trying to put together evil villians, women who think they're ancient goddesses, Greek mythology, etc. and make some kind of plot/storyline out of it. It's horrible!

Secondly, the dialogue is even worse (if that's possible). It was SO bad I started highlighting the stupid phrases, things nobody would ever say in real life. I stopped reading the book when my highlighter went dry from all of the marks.

And lastly, I thought if Cussler spent another full page describing one of Pitt's stupid cars, or leapt from the story line into another 8 sentence description of some wine that's being drunk, I was gonna have to kill myself.

Have I mentioned how horribly bad this book is??? Seriously, Clive Cussler, if you read these, I want my money back, all $8.50 of it. Please do NOT write another book, retire.

Rating:
Summary: so-so
Review: I guess Cussler had a renaissance of sorts here. In some ways this was the best Pitt novel in a long while. Clive has some of the old spark back. Plus I suppose Dirk had a dose of gold kryptonite taking away his superpowers of recent novels.

I did like it and I agree with another reviewer that this is likely to be the last Dirk Pitt novel. Not the last of the NUMA crew for sure but then again, we'll likely have Dirk Junior to knock around for the nest decade or so.

Like the last half dozen Pitt stores, Cussler revives his tried and true - if somewhat tedious - formula. Dirk and Al the heroes against another billionaire meglomaniac bent on:

SELECT "evil_plot" FROM PITT_PLOTS where (SELECT plot_type, evil_villan, FROM PLOTS where (plot_id = (SELECT (rnd(plot_id))

You get the idea. My thought is Cussler has a computer write his books from a database of mad scientists and evil plots. This one is better, but still the same old repetitive story, now the evil guy is Specter ( SPECTRE?) maybe KAOS and THRUSH are next.

I guess I liked it overall. It moved fast enough but still so predictable I probably could have written it myself all I need do is fill in the name of the bad guy and historical background facts.

It is worth reading I think for long term Pitt fans wanting all of Dirks loose ends tied up. I won't give away any more than that, probably don't have to anyway. Everyone already knows what it's all about - the same as the last 6 Pitt novels.

Unfortunately tt's no "Raise the Titanic" but fortunately it's no "Oregon" either. So read and enjoy and then go re-read "Titanic' or Vixen 03 and have great memories of Dirk and Al.

Rating:
Summary: Cussler rebounds with "Trojan Odyssey"
Review: The Dirk Pitt series that has sprung from the keyboard of Clive Cussler over the past 20 years has badly needed a transfusion of excitement. That excitement is found in "Trojan Odyssey". Harkening back to a time when Cussler wrote more involved and complicated plots, "Trojan Odyssey" has a lot going for it. The staple characters, Pitt, Al Giordino, Admiral Sandecker, Rudi Gunn, and others are present as well as Dirk Pitt's newly discovered children, Dirk Jr. and Summer. While the two Pitt children are little more than sidebars in the plot, they are, nonetheless, being groomed by Cussler to replace Dirk Sr. and Al very shortly.

The book's plot deals with the plan of a nefarious character (known as Specter) to create a global disaster involving a new ice age. Specter and his band of Amazon (Druid) female followers have begun building a tunnel through Nicaragua that will link the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and create a temperature swing in the water temperature that will have a drastic effect on the climate of any land mass north of the 30th parallel.

Dirk and Al do their best to foil the plan and and involved in a number of interesting situations along the way. Cussler actually revives the Pitt franchise somewhat with "Trojan Odyssey" and leaves his readers wanting more. Based on the ending, however, this reviewer is not sure that will happen with the Dirk Pitt series, but the ending at least left the door open to more adventures with Dirk and Al.

If you're a Dirk Pitt fan, you will want to add this novel to your collection. It will not disappoint!

Rating:
Summary: So bad it's good
Review: I am in need of a psychoanalyst. I continue to read these things hoping against hope that SOMETHING will change but no - we still have the same cardboard characters (Dirk & Dirk Jr are equally wooden - daughter is just for show), the action is over-the-top as usual and and the "plots" still take outlandish license with history as Cussler attempts to make sense of nonsense.

Ready? It's a gawd-awful mixup of Greeks & Celts & England & Persia along with a modern-day cult based on Greek (or Celtic?) mysteries. Someone's trying to direct the ocean currents to Nicaragua to freeze the world and sell a special type of battery that...need I go on? You are probably asking what the freezing oceans have to do with Helen of Troy and of course, you are absolutely right - not a cotton-pickin' thing.

This is SO much worse than Lincoln in the middle of the Sahara. (If you don't get it then you are lucky.) Or Atlantis or the claim of the US from Iceland or fill in any of the hysterical events. I am convinced he wrote these with Mystery Science Theater in mind. If not, they should be adapted for that particular medium.

Rating:
Summary: Dirk Pitt...end of an era
Review: This book was a lot of fun to read. I've been a Cussler fan since I bought Inca Gold at a yard sale for 25 cents. Once again he provides a great story. There are a few editing glitches which will hopefully be taken care of in the paperback edition, but all in all highly recommended.
The Trojan plotline was very intriguing, so much so that I've been trying to track down Where Troy Once Stood.... the inspiration behind the novel. Pitt fans won't be disappointed!!

Rating:
Summary: Very Fun to Read!
Review: I think everyone has beaten to death the story of this book so I don't see a need to give a synopsis.

I just enjoyed this book as a good beach read! If you are a true Dirk Pitt fan this is a fun one to read.

Without giving away a lot of spoilers, this should really be the last Dirk Pitt book written. Dr. Cussler did a great job of cleanning up any loose ends. He's done a great job of giving all the true fans an ending that really is worthy of ending the series.

However, it appears that this won't be the last book he writes for Pitt fans but it does appear a little bit that the next book will be written with his son. Could be nice to have a fresh view on things. Could also be interesting to see where he takes everything now that new things are in place.

But, before I end this thing, does anyone else have a problem with the relationship between Dirk Pitt Jr. and his sister?! Thankfully, it was explained that they had "girlfriends/boyfriends" but without that, the relationship was a little too odd. Just my two cents!

Bottom line, read this book as a Dirk Pitt fan. It's really important I think and it's also pretty fun.

Rating:
Summary: Not my usual cup of tea
Review: First of all, the editing for this book was terrible. Trojan Odyssey is full of errors that a seventh-grader editing the back pages of the junior high yearbook would catch. It takes away from the story.
As others have mentioned, there is a basic Cussler formula, and TO sticks to it. Formulaic and predictable, especially for longtime Cussler fans, there were happily a few minor surprises. As always, the attention to detail in regards to ships and diving was superb. The same cannot be said for the writing in regards to much of the action, and it would be nice to see other characters evolve besides Pitt (to be fair, it seems that may be the case with the next offering).
A good time-killing, waiting at the airport sort of book, but not Cussler's best effort (I've always liked Night Probe and Iceberg the most).