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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I quite like the world of archaeological thriller series. I thought it went back as far as The Da Vinci Code, yet I was totally wrong. It goes way back and apparently Clive Cussler is one of the leading exponents of the craft. I read one of his a few months back that I found in my dads collection. It was a little out of date in terms of values and beliefs, so I decided to give the benefit of doubt and read his latest, unbelievably the twenty-fifth book in the series. Obviously this author churns them out at a rate of knots, so maybe the ideas are getting a little pushed at times.
Now I like these sort of thrillers that have a past that is painstakingly unpicked in the modern day. This one concerns an Egyptian Princess from the Tutankhamen era who fled Egypt and found her way into Celtic tradition. Dirk Pitt and his faithful companion Al Giordino come across an environmental crisis whilst probing the depths of a reservoir in El Salvador. This combines with another disaster in Detroit and we have another adventure beginning. This travels the world over from New Dehli to Loch Ness and finally to Ireland to a place more famous for Luke Skywalker 😉
So how did I find the book? Well it was a really entertaining read, but still seemed dated. There’s not a lot of character development, although that might be from not reading the series. The back story isn’t quite as good as I expected, no huge discovery that’s of earth shattering proportions. It was a decent read and I’m sure will appeal to his millions of fans, but it left me with a meh. It was a little formulated. The best bits are the pseudo science that come out along with the archaeological bits.
As I say it was a decent read and those of you who like this sort of adventure will lap it up. To me the genre has moved on to be more clever and this struggles to catch up.
Now I like these sort of thrillers that have a past that is painstakingly unpicked in the modern day. This one concerns an Egyptian Princess from the Tutankhamen era who fled Egypt and found her way into Celtic tradition. Dirk Pitt and his faithful companion Al Giordino come across an environmental crisis whilst probing the depths of a reservoir in El Salvador. This combines with another disaster in Detroit and we have another adventure beginning. This travels the world over from New Dehli to Loch Ness and finally to Ireland to a place more famous for Luke Skywalker 😉
So how did I find the book? Well it was a really entertaining read, but still seemed dated. There’s not a lot of character development, although that might be from not reading the series. The back story isn’t quite as good as I expected, no huge discovery that’s of earth shattering proportions. It was a decent read and I’m sure will appeal to his millions of fans, but it left me with a meh. It was a little formulated. The best bits are the pseudo science that come out along with the archaeological bits.
As I say it was a decent read and those of you who like this sort of adventure will lap it up. To me the genre has moved on to be more clever and this struggles to catch up.
I enjoyed the historical aspects of the book that went with the mystery of Celtic Empire. It kept my attention enough.
I am going to try another Dirk Pitt book that was recommended by a friend to see if that will make me a fan.
This book had me rolling my eyes at times with the cheesy, machismo lines.
I am going to try another Dirk Pitt book that was recommended by a friend to see if that will make me a fan.
This book had me rolling my eyes at times with the cheesy, machismo lines.
It's been a while since I've read a book feeling that I was completely wasting my time. A wealthy family of explorers rush to halt a female cabal's plot to eliminate males through the systematic implementation of plague. I like a good seat-of-the-pants international historical-based techno-thriller as much as the next reader, but .. seriously? This guy has sold how many books? I read at the back at the book that the author spends his spare time salvaging wrecks and looking after his antique car collection. I'd suggest he spend a bit more time working on his writing (or hire better writers for his franchise). Popular paint by numbers populated by cardboard characters, with as much suspense as my morning commute. Waste of time.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I stopped reading Dirk Pitt after the 1st 10 novels. They are a bit sexist, and are completely predictable. So was this one.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Yes, it follows the pattern you would expect from a Cussler novel, but you knew that going into it, unless this is the first of his series you are reading. After a lot of “ho-hum” novels, the story telling picks back up in this novel, and has me excited to read this series again. The plot can be far fetched and dialogue forgettable, but the action was faster paced and has not seemed to lag as in other recent novels. The 5 stars is not because this is the best book ever written, but the entertainment factor was back and made me want to keep reading on!
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
This is the second novel I’ve read this year that has an ancient Egyptian princess escaping Egypt and landing in Ireland. As an obsessive reader of all things ancient Egypt, I definitely wanted more of Meritaten’s story after fleeing, the events leading up to her fleeing, and this mysterious cure her husband discovered. The Egyptian section didn’t feel quite fleshed out, especially how things went down in the historical record in “Amarna” (PS – ancient Egyptians would not have called Amarna by that more modern name as they do in the book). What happened to Smenkhkare and Nefertiti? The other sisters and Tutankhamun? And Meritaten has a husband that’s thrown into this book: Gaythanos (the choice of husband becomes clear near the end).
As an action-adventure story, it’s a non-stop thrill ride. I couldn’t put the book down as the characters traveled across the world. I enjoyed breaking the story up between Dirk Pitt and Dirk’s twins. Again, loved all the exploration of Egyptian tombs and sites. The science behind everything was quite interesting, particularly extracting DNA from tooth pulp (a known method for what is being used for in the book).
This is my first Clive Cussler book, but I never felt like I was reading book 25 in a series. The characters and their past were succinctly described, and personalities popped off the page easily. It’s clear Mr. Cussler knows his maritime details (especially after reading his bio), and these were great additions to the story.
Stuff I could have done without: Max, the “user-friendly” holographic woman who is designed after the programmer’s wife but in skimpy clothing and speaking in a “seductive” voice. Seriously? No one in the workplace feels offended by this objectified interface?
Also, I could have done without the rationale-man-versus-a-crazy-revenge-seeking-woman-of-power plotline. The women antagonists’ stories were not treated with much empathy at all. Rape, abuse, cheating spouse. Meanwhile, the abuser is thought of as always seeking the betterment of “mankind.” I mean, you couldn’t have used the word ‘humanity’ instead? Just had to go MAN-kind? And making Boudica the name of this secret evil women’s organization? Boudica, who’s daughters were raped by Romans while she was flogged and her title and land stripped from her? At this point in the story, about three-fourths in, I began to root for the villains. Things just came across as overly Roman conquerer by then, especially as Dirk’s wife and daughter got eliminated from the finale, so it was an all-men crew. The worst was the final act of the villain. What a cop out.
All in all, I’m left with mixed feelings. The first half was great. There was lots of intrigue and country hopping and international schemes. The settings were great, and the characters were strong. However, it ended up like a Roman myth with women being villainized simply for existing and men are portrayed as the heroes despite the abuse they’ve inflicted on others.
As an action-adventure story, it’s a non-stop thrill ride. I couldn’t put the book down as the characters traveled across the world. I enjoyed breaking the story up between Dirk Pitt and Dirk’s twins. Again, loved all the exploration of Egyptian tombs and sites. The science behind everything was quite interesting, particularly extracting DNA from tooth pulp (a known method for what is being used for in the book).
This is my first Clive Cussler book, but I never felt like I was reading book 25 in a series. The characters and their past were succinctly described, and personalities popped off the page easily. It’s clear Mr. Cussler knows his maritime details (especially after reading his bio), and these were great additions to the story.
Stuff I could have done without: Max, the “user-friendly” holographic woman who is designed after the programmer’s wife but in skimpy clothing and speaking in a “seductive” voice. Seriously? No one in the workplace feels offended by this objectified interface?
Also, I could have done without the rationale-man-versus-a-crazy-revenge-seeking-woman-of-power plotline. The women antagonists’ stories were not treated with much empathy at all. Rape, abuse, cheating spouse. Meanwhile, the abuser is thought of as always seeking the betterment of “mankind.” I mean, you couldn’t have used the word ‘humanity’ instead? Just had to go MAN-kind? And making Boudica the name of this secret evil women’s organization? Boudica, who’s daughters were raped by Romans while she was flogged and her title and land stripped from her? At this point in the story, about three-fourths in, I began to root for the villains. Things just came across as overly Roman conquerer by then, especially as Dirk’s wife and daughter got eliminated from the finale, so it was an all-men crew. The worst was the final act of the villain. What a cop out.
All in all, I’m left with mixed feelings. The first half was great. There was lots of intrigue and country hopping and international schemes. The settings were great, and the characters were strong. However, it ended up like a Roman myth with women being villainized simply for existing and men are portrayed as the heroes despite the abuse they’ve inflicted on others.