Dragon

Rating:
Summary: another good one
Review: i am yet to be dissapointed with clive's books, this one may very well be the best one yet. the book is packed with action which is very well detailed, its like wachting a movie really, speaking of movies they should make this one a movie, that would be neato torpedo! your english english teacher may call this book a liquor store book, which mine did (i still hate her for that) but it is a worthy canidate for the best book ever written buy a guy named clive cussler.

Rating:
Summary: why haven't they made movies of this and his other books
Review: I have have heard all of his Audio Books, His books are the best since Ian Flemming's, James Bond books. I find them most enjoyable to listen when travelling accross country. I find the stories so interesting, that I hate to stop the car for fuel, food, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Dragon review from a real Cussler fan
Review: I have read about 10 of the Cussler series. Not only do I think that this is the best book yet but I also think that it is the most entertaining. I have read many books from many authors and I think that Dirk Pitt is at the head of the class. Never have I found a hero that can capture a reader in his astonihing atmosphere and personaluty. My personal opinion is this, Cussler is pure genius.

Rating:
Summary: Beneath Cussler
Review: I read "Deep Six" and "Cyclops" and "Raise the Titanic" when I was in college. I thought the plots were absurd and the characterizations cartoonish, but no more so than any found in a James Bond film. Mostly, these books were fun reads (and arguably better written than Ian Fleming's stuff). Pitt appreciated cars and babes and the action scenes were well drawn. So the years passed and I aged and along came "Dragon". I picked it up to recapture that old feeling. Unfortunately, it was junk.

What was the problem? Well to start with, there was the thinly veiled racist undertone to the whole thing. The premise: "Japs" were out to "colonize" our country. Though many believed this nonsense in the late eighties - otherwise intelligent people thought "they" were getting too powerful, though the Japanese barely had the means to conquer anyone, let alone America - and though any action writer needs a set of bad guys, it was beneath Cussler to give into this impulse, whether or not it was popular. (Note: I've read interviews and autobiographical work by Cussler and I do not think he's a bigot. I only think that, in writing this book, he allowed himself to get caught up in what was then, unfortunately, a somewhat fashionable resentment.) The Russians Cussler drew were cardboard thugs and criminals too; but there was some truth underlying the caricatures. The Breshnev Doctrine had essentially said that whatever was not Communist was theirs for the taking and that whatever was Communist was to remain so. Ronald Reagan said that this sort of doctrine was contemptuous of freedom and human rights and was the mark of an evil empire, and people like myself thought he was right to say so.

But Ross Perot and others were wrong to apply the same argument (albeit indirectly) to the Japanese. The Japanese didn't have such evil designs. In any event, Clive Cussler's premise made it difficult to enjoy what might have been a decent book. Think of it this way: a comedian does a stand-up that is genuinely clever and funny, but before he gets into the meat of his act, he says something that is undeniably racist or ugly or offensive. You're going to be hard pressed to enjoy the performance because of that initial impression.

But even if you could show that my accusation of xenophobia is unfounded and unfair, the book still doesn't work. There are no memorable action scenes. I remember getting excited when Pitt and his pals first realized they were being followed by a van full of Ninjas because I thought I was in for a great action scene only to be quickly disappointed when it ended in an absurd, almost immediate gundown after - ready? - Pitt and his pals smash their vehicle into a sporting goods store conveniently filled with guns. There was such potential there for meaty, suspenseful action, and Cussler let it go. I remember reading such flat scenes and wondering if Cussler's heart was really in this book.

Maybe the time passes and we outgrow Dirk Pitt, maybe not. But either way, pass this one by.

Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER WINNER!!
Review: I was hesitant to read a cussler novel, but now that i have read 4, i plan to read them all. they are entertaining, insightful and overall just very good. the comparison to james bond is abundant, but the story lines are much more complicated and absorbing than any bond film. just enjoy!!

Rating:
Summary: If you never heard of Clive Cussler before..Where are YOU?
Review: I'll like to say, this isn't the best book I've read. That's reserved for the Lord of the Rings and the Tombs of Atuan. However, it comes pretty damn close. I'm not seen such a fast pace and the plot often runs rings round the unwary reader. I admit, the plot is a bit of James Bond, but what's the harm in that? Would've have made a great movie.

Rating:
Summary: A phenomenal novel absolutely full of excitement!
Review: In 1945, Two U.S. bombers took off for Japan with atomic bombs, but only one got through. Now, in 1993, Dirk Pitt and the american government find that Japan has developed a plan to destroy the western countries, called the Kaiten Project. Through this project, Japanese fanatics have hidden over a hundred nuclear bombs in the powerful western countries. And if their economical demands aren't met, they will have no choice but to detonate them...

This book was Clive Cussler at his finest. The whole novel was very well thought out, and absolutely loaded with action. Anyone who enjoys reading will enjoy Dragon!

Rating:
Summary: Dragon
Review: In my day I have read a lot of books and so far I have not read one that is Dragons equal. Dragon is extreamly well written and has a fabulous plot. It talks of underground mining and a sinster plot to plant nucleur bombs all over the world and hold the world hostage. And this all being done from private companies out of Japan looking for finacial gain. Dirk Pitt, the protagonistis a mix between James Bond and Jaques Cousteau. If you are looking for a fabulous book with get to the next page action Dragon is the book you want.

Rating:
Summary: My First...
Review: Let me start off by saying I hate reading a book out of order when its part of a series. This was my first book by Clive Cussler and was instantly hooked! I picked up the book off a "freebie" shelf at work and was blown away. Cussler grabs hold of the reader and throws them around the world and under the water then spits them out onto a sandy beach at the end ... breathless! This was the start of a long standing relationship of reading all the Dirk Pitt books as they came out.

Rating:
Summary: Exciting but a bit out-of-date and possibly racist
Review: Like most of Cussler's books this one is an exciting one to read. However, the pleasure is severely dampened by two factors: First, it becomes immediately obvious that it was written in the early 1990's when Japan's economy was strong, and the USA's was weak. Hence the plot loses some credibility and feels less probable, now that things have changed. More disturbing, however, is the persistent use of the derrogatory term "Japs" when refering to Japanese people. Similarly, Cussler frequently confuses the distinctions between Japanese people, its government and its organized crime. Sometimes he seems to state that this is the work of a maniac, while at other times, he states that all Japanese are this way. It would have been enough to just have one crazy, power-hungry criminal... the racial bias was un-necessary and painful. One gets the impression from reading, that almost all Japanese Americans are likely to become traitorous spies. Didn't Japanese Americans suffer enough during their internment? And must we really use nuclear weaons on them *again*? Finally, there is the "white-male-asian-beauty" chauvanism: This is apparent in several places, but most unbearable at the end of the book when a woman is *given* to man. During large sections of the book, as the adventures of escape and death-defying acts are discribed, I was able set these issues aside, but in the end I must say that if I were an American of Japanese or Asian heritage, I would feel most insulted by this book.