Rating: 
Summary: Patience pays off
Review: There is something comforting about reading a Clive Cussler 'Dirk Pitt' novel. You know you are going to begin with an incident in the past that will soon come to dominate the action of the present. Cussler's books are like "Harry Potter"'s for adults -- we anxiously await the latest installment of the classic hero-villain story. As conventional as Cussler might seem to others, to those of us who are devoted Pittophiles, his writing never fails to take us places we could never see, introduce us to people we could never meet, and thrills us with adventures we could never experience. 'Valhalla Rising' is unique on its own, but fits perfectly into the other Cussler books. Read one...you'll be hooked for life.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty typical Cussler, which means pretty good
Review: I've never been disappointed by a new Dirk Pitt novel, and this one is no exception. It has all the features that Pitt-readers have come to expect, from the continual staring-death-in-the-face situations to the wildly implausible last-minute escapes. The big surprise of the last couple of pages was a bit jarring, and probably could have been handled better, but it does set the series up for an interesting future. The author could have written an entire story around this last surprise if he had wanted to. As for Mr. Cussler himself appearing in each story ala Hitchcock, I don't mind that at all. Makes it rather fun, and I think that's probably why he does it. I do have to wonder, however, why Mr. Pitt and the fictional Mr. Cussler never seem to remember having met before. For that matter, did you ever wonder why it is that Pitt, whose escapades have involved saving the world from unimagineable horrors innumerable times, can walk around incognito? If any real person did one tenth the things he did he'd be one of the most famous people on the planet. With all the things he has done, he'd be the MOST famous, and couldn't walk out his door without a media entourage. And the ficitonal Mr. Cussler would surely remember who he was. But hey, the books are still lots of fun even with this little bit of unreality. Bottom line: If you enjoy Dirk Pitt novels, you'll undoubtedly enjoy this one as well. I did.
Rating:
Summary: Valhalla Slowly Rising
Review: This new book by Cussler starts slower than others for a reader of all the Dirk Pitt novels. It seems a bit too familiar thus a little lackluster for my adventure books. As usual half way through the pace picks up and the action starts moving. This story has some twist and turns form his previous novels, one being the way the villian is disposed of and the other being the surprise ending. Its because of this ending that I'm anxious to read the next Dirk Pitt novel.
Rating:
Summary: Valhalla Rising
Review: Valhalla Rising is another Dirk Pitt Adventure, the best yet. Enjoyable and an easy read. Action and adventure carry the hero to all new adventures. The villians are vicious and calculating, keeping Dirk Pitt on his toes. Vikings, submarines, cruise ship disasters all keeping the reader entertained. The ending is quite the Cussler Style for Pitt and his novels. I enjoyed reading it in one evening... glued to the action and the twists and turns of the plot. Cussler didn't disappoint me with this one. Of course there were editing problems the the villians name Omo and Ono and the ships name, but hey it was easy to figure out what the author meant. I enjoyed Pitt getting older and is now more believable and realistic. New technology patents and corporate greed and hired guns all make good action adventure when Cussler adds to the mix. Buy it, read it and enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Cussler finds the mark again....
Review: I have read almost all of the DIrk Pitt adventures. They are all well written and will keep you up to the wee hours of the morning. I always look fwd to the next installment of the series. This was no exception,all the hallmarks of a Pitt novel were there. i can't help but mention that the story is very similar to previous Pitt novels. Yes I know that this is obviious. It's just that in the past it was not a problem. i was just happy to read about the adventures of Dirk Pitt. I think after all of these novels i'm looking for a bit of change to the basic outline of a Pitt adventure. The ending might open up a new avenue for the story. Again don't get me wrong i would advise anyone who enjoys a good story to pick this or any other Pitt adventure up and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Valhalla Rising
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I did notice that there was one mistake in the book and I would really like to share it with Clive Cussler. The book was a good read it went very fast for me 2 days. I wish that there were more Dirk Pitt books out there. I have already read all the books that Clive Cussler has written with Dirk Pitt. And have enjoyed all of them. Thank you Kitty M. Van Zile
Rating:
Summary: Pitt-or-miss
Review: Fans (like myself) of the Dirk Pitt/Al Giordino series always welcome a new publishing date in the series. Not since the heyday of Robert Ludlum do you get so many pounds and pages for your book dollar as Cussler delivers. This one has the usual tie-in to ancient mysteries -- in this case, the early pre-Columbian Viking explorers in North America. And there's the usual threat to the world, with a bad guy of James Bondian propeortions. Maybe I'm getting jaded, but I think this one falls short of the earlier Pitt novels. The antagonist this time is the evil megalomaniac head of a major oil company. (Does anyone write thrillers in which the people who run businesses AREN'T greedy evil exploiters? Are government agents the only good guys?) Perhaps Cussler's just showing his age, but in an era of gritty and realistic thrillers, it's tiresome when Pitt looks the bad guys in the eyes and calls them "verminous scum," "murderous villains," and other mild epithets that go back to the Hardy Boys/Tom Swift era. Or maybe it's just to maintaina a "G rating" that makes the books suitable for early teen age audiences and school libraries. It also seems that Cussler inserts himself as a character without fail in every new book, a device that loses its novelty after the first couple of instances. Sure, we all remember how Hitchcock had a walk-on in all his movies, but it really interrupts a novel to introduce the author by name in every book.Rather than the plot devices of the past, he's increasingly dependent on sci-fi gimmicks to try to build suspense. In this story, we have Jules Verne's Captain Nemo and his submarine pop up in real life, built in the 1870's but powered by a revolutionary new "hydromagnetic" drive lost to science since the gay 90's. Not to mention a backyard invention of "super slick" oil that threatens the oil industry, a teleportation device that will replace oil pipelines, and submarine cruise ships carrying passengers a mere two years from now. While there's nothing wrong with science fiction per se, the Dirk Pitt novels were better when you only had to make one leap of faith per novel, and not a virtual track meet of high jumping reality-defying inventions. Even when we watch Pitt exercise his well-known love of old planes and cars, you have to suspend belief by a slender thread. Why would a villain (whom Pitt first meets on the ground at an air show) wait to launch an air attack using his ancient WW I Fokker triplane, as Pitt flies a bunch of retarded kids in his own Ford TriMotor? Still, it does set up a dramatic chase at treetop level through the streets of New York between the skyscrapers. Cussler's earlier efforts were much more plausible and less gimmicky. Even James Bond is restricted to quasi-believable technology, in spite of Q's best efforts. I'd vote for Cussler rereading some of his earlier work (Aztec Gold, for starters) in which Pitt had to extricate himself from more believable problems and situations. Maybe Cussler's too rich to care, and just writes for his own amusement these days. For myself, I'm going to have to dig out the old stuff and enjoy it again.
Rating:
Summary: Silly Fun
Review: I love Clive Cussler. He is a lousy writer, but his stories remind me of old Saturday afternoon serials. His characters are like old friends now and he has an added an element of introspection in Dirk Pitt this time around. Old Dirk is aware that, well, that he's getting older! Now that in itself is deep for this series. Could it be that Dirk may swing a little slower from those vines and have to grip knives in his dentures soon? Now, I'm not putting Cussler down because these books have helped me survive many a long plane flight and wait in line. They are not great literature and I feel a little silly for loving these books as much as I do. This one is another reunion with old friends and it will mean a lot to fans.
Rating:
Summary: Dirk Pitt does it again
Review: Clive Cussler has his writing about Dirk Pitt down to a scientific formula: there's always some old-time vesel involved, beautiful women, and an evil conspiracy to do dastardly deeds. Then we have our intrepid hero, Dirk Pitt, the James Bond of America, come onto the scene and foil the bad guys just at the perfect time. Written this way, the books sound corny, but I really enjoy them! They are swift page-turners, and great for relaxed reading, because you know the hero will always do impossible deeds, and save the day at the end of the book. This one, however, does have a bit of a twist at the end, and I liked it. As long as Mr. Cussler writes these books about Dirk Pitt, I'll read them eagerly, and certainly enjoy them!
Rating:
Summary: Cussler Rises to the Occassion!
Review: Raising Valhalla is a great summer read. The faithful followers of Clive Cussler will find the book to be truly outstanding. Raising Valhalla is a classic Cussler story of good versus evil, with the usual predecessor event (in this case there are two seemingly unrelated such events -- the Vikings and Captain Nemo) setting the stage for an eventual tie-in to the main story. As would be expected, Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino again fight tremendous odds and calmly face down death repeatedly as they battle a demented, megalomaniac business man. Unlike some of the plots (and antagonists against whom Dirk and Al have done battle) in previous works, the underlying premise in Raising Valhalla does not push the envelope of ones imagination. The story is within the realm of believability. This is simply a very good novel filled with all of the action, suspense, and frequent plot twists that have become Cussler's trademark. In addition, after all of the action has been concluded, there is still a major surprise to be had in the last few pages. All-in-all, this book was a great read and very difficult to put down.
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