Inca Gold

Rating:
Summary: Still one of the best!
Review: This was my first endeavor into the Dirk Pitt series and it still rates as one of my favorites. As with all the books, you must suspend your desire for reality and simply enjoy the ride, knowing that Dirk and Al will win over all odds in the end. In Inca Gold, Dirk and Al take on a syndicate trying to get away with the long-lost Inca treasure. The adventures in the ancient sacrificial pool and Dirk's travel down the underground river were fantastic fun. I enjoyed Cussler's guest appearance, and the larger roles Loren and Rudi played in this book. If you truly want to have a few days of enjoyable, escapist reading, you won't go wrong with Inca Gold.

Rating:
Summary: Who'll destroy Dirk Pitt?
Review: To read "Inca Gold" and find it enjoyable, you must start reading it knowing that it isn't serious. Like in the Indiana Jones movies, everything is gonna be okay in the end, your hero will find a way to escape imminent death, and arrive in time to rescue the pretty girl and all his friends. Knowing this, you're able to start to read. Then you'll have fun. You can't compare Cussler's work with Tom Clancy, for an example. While Clancy almost begs the reader to be taken seriously, inserting in the text a huge amount of technical information, Cussler lets the text go its way. It's almost like he's telling you a funny story that happened to him. But "Inca Gold" is very cool. The story starts when an ancient Inca pit, now filled with water, is explored by an american archeological team, and they find out a time-hidden passageway underwater. From there on, art-smuggling bandits, corrupt governments and poor mexican-village people pop out of Cussler imagina! ! tion. Don't get me wrong, it'a good book, only too implausible. Dirk Pitt is what Cussler would like to be. He's every body childhood superhero, he's got historical cars ( Cussler does, also ), women knocking at his door, doesn't need to work for money, and has a full-time italian-bulldog bodyguard, Al Giordino, his best friend. This is a good book when you want to turn your life off, and don't think of anything, even what you're reading. The story explains itself sooner or later. The only difficulty is the number of characters. There's a time when you don't know who's who. Even Cussler himself does a little appearance in the middle of the book. If you want to have fun and don't want to be smashed by information and hard-facts, this is the book, and I think all Cussler's books must be like this, too. Well, I just bought "Raise the Titanic!", let's see what it's like.

Rating:
Summary: Really good for some,...but not for me
Review: I recently read Atlantis Found and I think Inca Gold is much better. Yes, Pitt is still the superman Indiana Jones and of course him and his almost equally superhuman girlfriend save the day. But this time the bad guy was just someone who had a billion dollar operation in the illegal antique buisness and had nothing to do with nazi's. Now this bad guy I can deal with, and this book I actually finished so hey it is an improvement. This book may be great for some readers, but it is not for me. I think i will give up on this arthur for a while until I run out of books to read. But if you are a Pitt fan I would say this is one of the better ones.

Rating:
Summary: Who'll destroy Dirk Pitt?
Review: To read "Inca Gold" and find it enjoyable, you must start reading it knowing that it isn't serious. Like in the Indiana Jones movies, everything is gonna be okay in the end, your hero will find a way to escape imminent death, and arrive in time to rescue the pretty girl and all his friends. Knowing this, you're able to start to read. Then you'll have fun. You can't compare Cussler's work with Tom Clancy, for an example. While Clancy almost begs the reader to be taken seriously, inserting in the text a huge amount of technical information, Cussler lets the text go its way. It's almost like he's telling you a funny story that happened to him. But "Inca Gold" is very cool. The story starts when an ancient Inca pit, now filled with water, is explored by an american archeological team, and they find out a time-hidden passageway underwater. From there on, art-smuggling bandits, corrupt governments and poor mexican-village people pop out of Cussler imagina! ! tion. Don't get me wrong, it'a good book, only too implausible. Dirk Pitt is what Cussler would like to be. He's every body childhood superhero, he's got historical cars ( Cussler does, also ), women knocking at his door, doesn't need to work for money, and has a full-time italian-bulldog bodyguard, Al Giordino, his best friend. This is a good book when you want to turn your life off, and don't think of anything, even what you're reading. The story explains itself sooner or later. The only difficulty is the number of characters. There's a time when you don't know who's who. Even Cussler himself does a little appearance in the middle of the book. If you want to have fun and don't want to be smashed by information and hard-facts, this is the book, and I think all Cussler's books must be like this, too. Well, I just bought "Raise the Titanic!", let's see what it's like.

Rating:
Summary: Must read this book now!!!
Review: Inca Gold is an action book that is fiction but has some historically correct background facts. The story begins when a diving team of two gets stuck in a sinkhole. A distress signal is sent and Dirk Pitt and NUMA get the call. They go to the sinkhole in Peru where the divers and their team were working. Dirk Pitt and his best friends Giordano goes diving in after them. As they are resurfacing, a group of terrorists cut the rope and leave Pitt stranded. When he finally catches up to the terrorists, he saves everybody by hijacking the helicopter and bringing them back to the NUMA boat. They discover that there is a jade box that leads to Huascar's (an Inca King) treasure. They find the box and translate it very quickly. They search all of the possible target areas, but don't find anything. Then a diner owner tells them about an underground river. They figure out there is a possibility that the treasure will be right near the underground river. However, when they find it, they are told to leave it because the government wants to catch the terrorists. Will they follow the order that they were given? Read Inca Gold to find out.

I loved this book. It is one of the better books in the Dirk Pitt series. Clive Cussler is brilliant in his description. I like that he puts himself in the book as a small part. In this book, he is the diner owner. I also enjoy the action that he puts into his books and the fact that he leaves no part unfinished.

By Kevin

Rating:
Summary: Just suspend your disbelief and enjoy
Review: STORY: As one editor put,"Dirk Pitt is back in fine form as he rescues two archaeologists from certain death in a Peruvian sinkhole. Before Pitt climbs out of the hole he runs afoul of the Solpemachace, a group of three brothers who steal and sell Indian artifacts. Pitt finds a rope sculpture, a quipu, that points the way to a huge Inca treasure. Meanwhile, the Solpemachace steal the Golden Body Suit of Tiapollo, which leads them to the same treasure inside a mountain in Baja, Mexico." The race for the treasure and the saving of lives are in Pitt's hands.

MY FEEDBACK:
If I was comparing this to "real" literature this book would get rated very low. But thankfully this isn't my first endeavor into a Cussler book so I knew to suspend disbelief and enjoy it for what it is.

As with his other stories, the main character is never really in any danger because he is James Bond, Indiana Jones and The Terminator rolled into one. There is never any doubt that Dirk Pitt will pull off the impossible, which is what makes these stories fun. There is no time to intellecutalize events or think if they are possible or not, they are just there and the reader is along for the ride.

This is my third Cussler book and the reason why I had to knock it down a star is because I just happen to have the luck that the opening few scenes seem to mimic almost event-after-event what happens in another one of his books. The only difference were the characters and locations. That was disappointing, but I quickly got over it and enjoyed the ride.

I cannot comment in detail on Characterization or Plot line because the story is more like a fantasy than something that takes place in real life. In other words, if you've read Cussler before and enjoyed it you are sure to like this story. If this is your first attempt at Cussler, just go into it with the right attitude and you should have fun.

As compared to the other two books from Cussler that I've worked through, this one was the better of the three (Serpent and the other I can't remember the name).

Also, I didn't give it a higher rating because I listened to the audio book version and the reader seemed to not have a lot of life and emotion in his reading. He had great voices for characters, especially Pitt, but when there is an action scene his reading should have been more intense and faster paced in order to draw the listener into the scene more.

Otherwise, it was an enjoyable story.

Rating:
Summary: Indiana Jones meets NUMA; typical...
Review: As an avid adult section reader since the age of ten, I've met the good ones and the bad ones. Nothing inappropriate luckily, but the in-between are pretty common. Personally, I'd say this book is right up there on my top ten.
The plot is a simple and yet at the same time tangled one. Clive Cussler does a great job at weaving together past and present with an intriguing storyline that takes you on a wild, Dirk Pitt kind of ride.
The characters are simple and yet to a weak reader charming. Dirk Pitt is the suave, sexy, old just means experienced kinda guy. He may work for NUMA, but he might as well be James Bond. Every lady in the story either falls for him or vice versa, although this continuing theme makes the plot a little weary at times. The women are hard-headed, large-chested, sex-idol types, although Clive Cussler's idea of giving them justice is by making them a bit intelligent. Pathetic. Mix in the short, Italian, known-him-forever sidekick, a greedy,sophisticated, rich villian (or in this case family of villians), and you've got a Dirk Pitt to go.
I'd probably recommend this to anyone who just needs to mush their brain for a while after Old English or Beowulf. A good "breather" novel as I call them, it can give your tired mind a break either on a pool deck or in a blizzard.

Rating:
Summary: REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY ....... GOOD
Review: This book was totally cool. It was one of the first Dirk Pitt books that I have read and it REALLY got me hooked on the series. Every time I want a good book I automatically think Dirk Pitt. Some people don't like the political intrigue in these books but I think it is one of the most fascinating things about them. That Clive Cussler can master so many characters is amazing. That there is always a different, yet the same, plot around all of his books is stunning. I like the fact that all the stories open up to almost the same scenes. A visit to the past to get some background info and then a whole new cast that are swept into danger and then....... Dun Dun Dun Dun, Dirk Pitt to the rescue. Yayyyy![*] This leads of course to a little romance, as most of the people he rescues are female. Mostly though this book is good action/adventure. Another thing that I think is a definite pro is the fact that we get the villians side of the story too. You get to clearly understand what goes through the evil guy's head and what his motives are, ect., ect., ect. This book is definitely a worthwhile addition to any Dirk Pitt fans collection.

Rating:
Summary: Still one of the best!
Review: This was my first endeavor into the Dirk Pitt series and it remains on one of my favorites. As with all the Pitt books, you must suspend your desire for reality and simply sit back and enjoy the thrill ride, knowing that Dirk and Al will win over all odds in the end. In Inca Gold, Dirk and Al take on a syndicate trying to get away with the long-lost Inca treasure. The adventures in the ancient sacrificial pool and Dirk's travel down the underground river were fantastic fun. I enjoyed Cussler's appearance, as well as the larger roles that Loren and Rudi played in this book. If you truly want to have a few days of enjoyable, escapist reading, you won't go wrong with Inca Gold.

Rating:
Summary: Jeff's review
Review: Inca Gold is a fiction story and takes place in South America. The main character is Dirk Pitt and he is looking in a lake for people and his team gets captured and he finally gets them back later but learns about a huge artifact smuggling empire and Dirk trys to stop them. Dirk works at an underwater research company. I like how the story moves along and it never got boring and it always kept you wondering if Dirk would make it. This book is not the best book I have read by this author but it is not bad.