Arctic Drift (A Dirk Pitt Novel, #20) (Dirk Pitt Adventure)

He's done it again...another great piece to add to the collection he's already written. It keeps you on the edge of your seat while reading it. Well written and very enjoyable. Hope to read many more in the future.

Unlike many Cussler fans lately, I'm going against the trend by saying I loved it. I don't know what it is about a Cussler story, but they are so very readable. I can just breeze through them, more so than many other books. I can't say it's just the writing style, as being an established author, he breaks tons of "the rules." He mixes POV's all over the place, likes to use author intrusion, etc. However, despite his faults, Cussler writes an engaging story. All of what I expect were there in Arctic Drift. Sure, some of you may find his formula tired and clichéd, but it's like I've said before in other reviews, when I pick up one of his books, it's like AC/DC. I know what to expect. He may be corny, he may have gone a little overboard with the global warming thing, he may paint his characters as too perfect. I don't care. I know it's going to be there and I'd probably be pretty upset if any of his classic tricks were missing. It's funny that I read this during a cold spell here in Las Vegas, and actually felt the cold he did such a great job of describing. I feel lucky I don't live back east where things are really cold! At first, I thought Dirk Jr. and his sister were going to dominate this book. That would have been a little disappointing. However, Dirk Sr., Al, Rudy, and Sandecker were still there along with Perlmutter and Hiram Yaeger. What I can appreciate is that Clive knows his hero is getting older and has made concessions to that in the story line. Maybe he has his facts wrong about global warming, but after all, this is fiction with a capital F, and though it's nice to throw in factual data, I don't see it as a major flub to use a subject that is near and dear to a lot of people. His view on global warming may not be scientifically correct (depending on who you ask), but if it makes someone think about it more, it may eventually help to inspire them to find out what is really going on. Overall, this was an almost single-night read, despite the page count. In reality, it took me several days, but not because I didn't want to read it at once. As usual, I have no regrets purchasing this book, and it now sits in a revered spot on my bookshelf. Highly recommended.

As with all of Clive Cussler's books, this one is full of adventure and preposterous escapes from impossible situations. I really like how he weaves cars from his personal collection into the stories. Unfortunately, they all end up damaged to the point that they need to head back to the restoration shop. The good news is that they are always fixed, as opposed to sent off to the junk yard. The villains are always evil and always get their just dues in the end. This one is no different. I did, however, find this one particularly more evil than those in previous books. I found myself really hating this guy and hoping that he would get sent off to his Maker before he did much more mayhem. Now that Dirk Pitt is married, his success in his amorous adventures have been curtailed. Cussler never got too juicy with the details of Dirk's activites, but they sure got a guy to feel an amount of envy for his successes. I find his books to be both exciting, yet unbelievable. National and world security are hanging on the balance of this attempts to thrwart the devices of the villain. No different here. Dirk has the direct line to the White House, which is interesting and a bit far fetched. Great book. I liken the Dirk Pitt novels to an American James Bond. You'll like this one.

I've read all the Cussler novels and found this one to be much more enjoyable and modern (as my title line suggests) than the other Pitt novels he has written the past ten years. Yes, it's true as one reviewer stated - not as much swagger - but I believe this theme in general, as well as the line of work of Pitt's children will bring in more readers that have not read Cussler before. In addition, some of Cussler's earlier works stand out more but this is still a fun read. These books are great oceanography meets Indiana Jones. Fun read - definitely in the adventure genre - but as this novel brings a more modern (global environmental crises - fossil fuel - carbon emissions) theme - it's heading in the right direction. I believe having both Dirk and Clive write the book makes it more new. The older books can stand on their own - but this brings an interesting and easy twist. I think new readers who have not read Cussler will enjoy the science adventure aspects of the book.

When I pick up a Clive Cussler novel, I have certain expectations, and this novel, though formulaic, meets and even exceeds each one. I read this over the Thanksgiving holiday and was thoroughly entertained. Low ratings from previous reviewers comes from the Kindle version, and the pricing, not the novel.