Rating: Summary: Starting to get a little old ... Review: Clive Cussler is an amazing writer with an amazing character, but his plots are getting repetitive and his stories are getting old. He deals in adventure and intrigue, and is making his plots more complex with each book. Gone is the good old days of the quick, pulse pounding adventure of his earlier books (Night Probe, Pacific Vortex and The Mediterranean caper). In thier place are cumbersome and exhausting books with more depth than adventure.Don't get me wrong, this book is still a great read, but the same story could be told with a hundred or so fewer pages by removing some of the plot thickeners Cussler is so fond of adding these last few years.
Rating: Summary: Bad writing, weak plot, stolen ideas Review: Cussler's story about a new generation of Nazis based in Argentina is largely built upon Graham Hancock's book Fingerprints of the Gods (a lost maritime civilization, earth-crust displacement, ancient maps, etc.). Cussler tries to create an action/suspense novel using this as a backdrop, and even if his writing weren't so poor - AWFUL dialog, weak characters, unrealistic action sequences - it would still have been challenging to weave a credible storyline out of these elements. Thus, it is hardly surprising that the author fails so miserably in his attempt to do so. At times he came across as an extremely lowbudget version of Tom Clancy, without the depth of knowledge and feel for dialog that Mr. Clancy has, thereby making a bad situation even worse. Atlantis Found is by far one of the worst books I have ever read, and I would highly recommend NOT buying it, and picking up Fingerprints of the Gods instead (and a couple of Elmore Leonard books as well!).
Rating: Summary: Marvellous Review: The 15th installment of Dirk Pitt has 'borrowed' the Atlantis underneath the Antartic theory to spectacular effect. Thrown in with several superships, the villains, beautiful women and plenty of undersea escapades with Al Giordino this is a great addition to the series. The best thing about the latest novels is you simply have to read them in one go. Good beach novels, train novels - anywhere you have time to fill from the humdrum of daily life. I eagerly await the next one after Valhalla Rising.
Rating: Summary: An epic disappointment Review: To say I was disappointed in this novel is an understatement. The promise of an interesting premise is quickly destroyed by illogical action, verbose exposition, unrealistic dialogue and non-existent characterization. The hero--Dirk Pitt--is so superficial it is impossible to care about him, as are the other characters. I realize characterization is not always a priority in plot-based novels, but, as a reader, I expect at least some sort of sympathetic bond to the people about which I'm reading, especially if I'm asked to commit my time to more than 500 pages. So many flaws abounded in this novel that I found myself amused by its incompetence. For example, in one scene an underground location is described as nearly completely dark, yet one of the characters notes the color of another one's eyes. And that is only one of the minor problems with this novel. Much larger gaps of logic and probability occur throughout the work. I finished the book only because I chose it as a part of my reading regimen. I don't plan on reading any more Clive Cussler novels.
Rating: Summary: Action Packed Review: Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler is by far one of the best books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down for three weeks straight. Atlantis Found is action packed from beginning to end. There was so many unexpected events and twists to the story that I am still baffled about what happened. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole way through till the last page. Everything about this book is exciting, especially the characters, the plot, and the crazy changes of events. Clive Cussler always seems to deliver in his novels that star Dirk Pitt. Pitt has to be one of the coolest heroes that I have ever encountered in a novel. He is incredible because he is so realistic but unrealistic all at the same time. Pitt's timing is impeccable; he always manages to show up just at the nick of time and save the day. For anyone who is an action junkie I would definitely recommend this book. It is a guaranteed good time thrill ride. So get to the library or the bookstore and pick up a copy today. Also look for Cussler's new novel Valhalla Rising.
Rating: Summary: What Got Me Into Clive Cussler Review: anything having to do with the end of the world prophecies or ancient, lost civilizations is cool....atlantis found was suggested by a teacher who was a huge cussler fan and said "start with this"...i did, and i am GLAD the subplots early on that tie together are a lot of fun, and the Antarctica setting is neat as well...i loved the big action scene at the end beyond belief, and when all was said and done, cussler threw in a monkey wrench...and himself..... the premise is great, obviously Pitt and Giordino are the best real world Batman and Robin ever, and the action is very cool A GREAT BOOK
Rating: Summary: Cussler can spin a good story Review: Many years ago Cussler invented a sea going James Bond named Dirk Pitt who works for a mythical National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA naturally). Pitt has all the sophisticated tests, physical abilities, raw courage and looks and charm, which is required for a heroic figure. What keeps him from becoming a caricature is the fascinating vision of life at sea and the complexities of the ocean gives to any activity. Cussler clearly can spin a good story and in this case he unveils a Nazi project to launch the fourth Reich (It is fascinating that there are far more novels about totally improbable Nazi revenge than there are about tragically real Islamic medieval terrorism and there are far more novels about bad Germans 56 years after the Second World War than there are about all too real current acts of terror against Israel and the West or for that matter the terrorists who seek to destabilize India, the Philippines, Indonesia, etc.). Cussler brings to life the threat to the modern world and in an adventure, which is in many ways closer to science fiction than to traditional adventure fiction. He creates a threat to humans everywhere and a Nazi plan to inundate the world with massive oceanic and climate changes and then provide very large Noah's arks which they will control so they will be the only effective survivors (anyone else who manages to survive they plan to wipe out during the aftermath). While the story is wildly implausible Cussler builds it step by step so that you find yourself both fascinated by how it will turn out and totally rooting for the good guys led by Pitt to win.
Rating: Summary: Dirk Pitt grows up. Review: Cussler as always hit's a home run out of the park. Dirk and Giordino again led us on another adventure, but this one has personal twists unknown in the previous books. Dirk & Lauren relationship grows (if that's possible ) and Rudy finds his happiness. With all the pretenders to the Cussler throne out and about, it's ncie to know the master can still produce work that is the benchmark that all others are compared to.
Rating: Summary: Wow Review: Wow. I read this book a few month's ago and was surprised at how good it actually was. The ones i had read before it were good but not the best boooks i had ever read. Espeacially "raise the titianic" which really made me have to theink about buying the next one. But when i had barely even gotten into the book the adventure started to begin. I thought it was amazing. Three poeple had to be saved from a flooding cave and guess who was able to get there in time to save the day. Well it was pitt. Also in this book i got to see Rudi Gunn actually help out in a fight when he and Al Giorodino were searching an island when Pitt was somwhere on the other end of the world. They did not have much of a way to fight back but Gunn's master plan saved the day. The showdown was amazing and i could hardly put the book down and grumbled every time i had to. Plus there is another appearnce of Cussler. I admit it is very stupid how he has started to show up in every book lately but who cares. I though it was Hilarious in Dragon when pitt raced cussler and ithought it was prett funny that Cussler just happened to be at Antartica at the same time as pitt and that they just happened to come upon each other. Well i really don't care to much for the fine details as long as it could make the slightest bit of sense no matter how bizzare or unlikely it could be. As long as you are not totally hung up on everthing being completly realistic yuo will love this book.
Rating: Summary: Embarrassed for Mr. Cussler Review: "Atlantis Found" is without question the most poorly written book I have ever read. I finished it out of curiosity as I wondered, how bad could it actually get? I am embarrassed for Mr. Cussler, his editor (did he have one?) and the publisher. This book could help a middle school english class learn about bad writing. What stands out? Now that's a challenge. I'll pick the first few things that come to mind. Large portions of the the text reminded me of the old "Tom Swift" books, not only because of the outrageous technology ("nano" technogy was fun - microscopic machines that spontaneouly manufacture other little machines that can somehow carve off a 1,500 mile long ice shelf), but also because of Mr Cussler's often hilarious invention of new adverbs, created by appending "-ly" onto the ends of unsuspecting adjectives and nouns. (Remember the old joke that goes; "What we need is another man who can hit sixty home runs a year, said the manager, RUTHlessly.") Or how about the plotlines which go nowhere, or the unending grammatical mistakes. Or how about the time one of the heroes notices "..a bulge in the pants..." of the other hero. (Don't worry, the bulge turns out to be his Bushmaster (!) handgun.) Or how about... Well, you get the point. Anyway, it occured to me that there might be other explainations. Perhaps the publisher was performing a test market to see if huge quantities money could be made by getting an orangutan or a chimp to do the writing, thereby eliminating those pesky fees often demanded by homo sapien authors. Or, perhaps Mr. Cussler lost a bet in a bar. Or perhaps tired of the limelight, Mr. Cussler wrote a book intended to destroy his reputation, only to be thwarted when thousands of mass market readers bought it and actually liked it! Are good authors measured by skill, or getting distribution on those little racks you find in supermarkets, drug stores, etc.? Well, Mr. Cussler is no doubt laughing all the way to the bank. I have to admit, "Atlantis Found" made me laugh as well, so it wasn't a total loss from that perspective.
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