Rating: 
Summary: Bad, bad, bad
Review: Full of cheesy dialog and melodrama, this book is populated with people who are the best in the world at what they do, capable of extraordinary daring and able to speak only in cliches. It is as banal as a 1970's tv show.This was my first Clive Cussler book. I'm a great appreciator of sea-faring adventure and I had such hopes for this book (especially with Cussler's real-life past time of finding historical shipwrecks). But I am through with him now. No more will I support his antique car habit. He should use his book profits for writing lessons -- maybe learn how to tell a story. This is very nearly fiction as bad as it gets.
Rating: 
Summary: Ah, there it is! Dirk Pitt at his best
Review: As a long time Cussler fan, I've been keeping up with Dirk Pitt's latest antics. While the schemes have been as Machiavellian as ever, and the crooks as evil as evil comes, I have noticed that the last two books (Atlantis Found and Flood Tide) were a bit of a drag. That is to say, they lacked the swashbuckling action and wacky escapades that really define Dirk Pitt. Fans rejoice, for The Man is back in action. Anyone familiar with Clive Cussler's work can probably guess at the plot. Some maniacs are out to dominate the world, and it's all up to Dirk and Co. to stop them. Packing his trusty .45 automatic and his usual wit and wiles, Pitt is up to the task. The bad guys, as usual, do not stand a chance. What makes these adventures so addictive is the breakneck pace at which they proceed. You won't find yourself bored for a moment, and at times (despite knowing better) you'll really feel anxious that the good guys might lose. Oh and naturally, a few hot women are also around to spice things up. Perhaps the most distinctive thing about this latest tale is that Dirk is starting to show his years. Of course, that doesn't change much plot-wise, but it is realistic. He's been charging around in the adventure literature world for quite a while, after all. Does that mean he's getting soft? Don't bet your hit squad on it. All in all, Valhalla Rising is an adventure to read and remember.
Rating:
Summary: Is Cussler Senile?
Review: I won't rehash the plot summaries and gripes of other reviews.
I agree with some reviewers, this is Cussler at his worst. The
book is littered with elementary grammatical and syntactical
blunders which no author should commit and no editor should miss.
Cussler betrays profound ignorance of science, economics and
geography which even superficial research might have cured.
Examples: I've got no quarrel with "quantum teleportation"
in SF (though here it really added nothing to the plot) but
basing it on a flow of liquid helium at zero degrees absolute
is plain stupid because all molecular motion stops at absolute
zero: "Heat is the energy of moving molecules" is a definition
taught in high school chemistry. Then he has a very large
supertanker at anchor 21 miles south of the "Bay Area." Mr.
Cussler, the only water 21 miles south of the Bay Area is
whatever is used to irrigate a garlic farm near Gilroy.
The "Bay Area" is not a part of San Francisco Bay but the
whole bay and all the counties around it, and even if it
was that part of the bay that opens directly to the
Golden Gate, 21 miles south is ludicrous because the
ship channel south of say Hunters' Point (in San Francisco
proper) is much narrower than your tanker's beam and
much shallower than its draught.
Then, the villains' plan to banish OPEC oil from North
America by manipulating public opinion and establish
an internal monopoly (which after dumping all environmental
restrictions would find all the oil needed for fifty years)
with unlimited price hikes to vindicate the plan, just is
economic nonsense: Cussler apparently never saw a chart
showing a demand curve.
These unfortunate blunders are jarring to an educated
reader and get very much in the way of the "suspension
of disbelief" needed to swallow a plot unlikely to
begin with.
Rating: 
Summary: Seriously, this is the last Cussler book I read
Review: Now, it wasn't horrible. It's just that it is so sad to see just how much worse Cussler's new stuff is than is older work. First (and I know others have said it), but he needs to quit it with putting himself into differect cameo roles. The first time as an insignificant extra in "Dragon" was cute. The second time as an actual part of the plot in "Sahara" was interesting. That should have been it!! Has there been like five or more since then? Enough! How is it that Pitt remembers a character he worked with briefly in a novel that took place 10-15 years ago in the book storylines, yet can't remember that this same old guy keeps showing up in different locations over and over again? Next, I'm continually disappointed with the cartoonish portrayal of the villians in all his recent work. I mean, I think even James Bond villians have more redeeming qualities than any in Cussler's novels. In addition, I miss the days of the plots of his novels including having the President and other upper level government executives being heavily woven into the stories. They added to the complexity of plot, and made sure that many important things didn't always happen around Pitt and Giordino. Finally (and this is the one that threw me the most), he had completely moved the plots of his novels from being merely fantastic to ludicrously stupid. That a luxury cruise ship is the first application of a revolutionary engine technology? And that this technology could be designed by one man (with help from a 140 year old working model), plus he designs a revolutionary "super oil"? And he also happens to have invented QUANTUM TELEPORTATION!? By the way, don't worry, I haven't revealed a spoiler on this last point, because the teleportation plays absolutely no part in the plot of the book. I'm at a loss to explain why Cussler needed to include it all. My favorite Cussler book remains "Vixen 03". The same gripping action described in great detail that Cussler is noted for, augmented by a completely plausable plot, lots of Government character involvement, and a cast of villians who were "shades of grey" in their evilness. In fact, two of the bad guys end up dying as heroes in this great story. Many of Cussler's early books are good, but this one is still the best. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, I lied - I'd give it a negative five stars
Review: This book reminds me of the movie "Skyscraper", starring Anna Nicole Smith ~ bad story, bad characters, bad dialogue, blah blah blah.... bad everything. Simply torturous. I mean, if we ever catch Usama Bin Laden, we should sentence him to read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Valhalla Rising
Review: I am a loyal Clive Cussler fan. I have read all of his books and enjoyed each one,I am hooked forever. This one is no different, once you start reading it you can't put it down. The surpising twist at the end of this book leaves me hopeful for the next one. I am patiently waiting for it to be published.
Rating: 
Summary: "Some Exciting Stuff"
Review: Pretty good story with lots of great adventure. This time Dirk Pitt's nemesis is Curtis Merlin Zale, a sociopathic businessman trying to create a monopoly on domestic oil. With his murderous team of mercs known as the Vipers on his side, he will kill hundreds of thousands to achieve his goal. The adventure scenes were typical Cussler. The rescue attempts on the burning passenger ship and the luxury submarine kept me rivetted and the aerial battle between Pitt's Trimotor transport plane and a Fokker Triplane over Manhattan was downright awesome! Liked the angle involving the true story of Jules Verne's Nautalis, but thought the Viking angle could have been done better. Also some of the dialogue was too formal for actual conversations. The villains were OK. After six books, I have yet to see any of Cussler's bad guys match the two evildoers from "Sahara" in the category of "Villains you love to hate."
Rating:
Summary: Cussler Does it Again!
Review: Valhalla Rising is a novel that combines the finest aspects of Dr. Cussler's writing - history, action, humour, great suspense and sudden plot twists. The ending is very touching - I know some people almost cried! Dirk Pitt doesn't get old, and neither does Cussler. Keep it up, Clive!
Rating:
Summary: As bad as a book can get
Review: This book is .... If I could rate it below 1 star, I would. I find it difficult to believe this author gets paid for his work. He's trite beyond belief and has no sense of how people actually talk. Nearly every sentence contains a metaphor. It seems like he's getting paid by the word. A solid, serious edit would cut the book in half and improve it immeasuably. Staring at a blank wall would be better than reading this piece of [junk]. Shame, shame on Cussler.
Rating:
Summary: Come on people....
Review: Jesus Christ....what do you people want? I mean, really....when you walk into the book store and pick up a Cussler book, you know you're not buying Pulitzer Prize stuff....so give them man a break. If you want Shakespeare, buy Shakespeare.
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