Dirk Pitt adventures are best approached like a James Bond movie; the hero will always win and the bad guy is typically a mustache-twisting character bent on world domination. But that's okay because there is much more going on in between the lines.
First off, there is always a true historical element to these books, Cussler will fictionalize these events to suit the story but, because they are real moments in history, they anchor the adventures extremely well.
What makes his books work are the relationships with his main characters; Dirk & Al are the best of friends, trust each other with their lives and always have fun while defying death. They always believe that things will turn out just fine.
The NUMA team is so incredibly competent I often wish I worked with such dedicated people.
And there is an arc to the lives of the characters that progress from book to book. Recently, Dirk discovered he had twin children. In this volume, the relationship of his love progresses as does the growth of NUMA itself. It's a very satisfying construct to the series.
In this particular adventure the evil genius is secretly plotting to divert the Gulf Stream in order to bring on climate change. Sure the idea, is silly but it plays with the “what if?” question that all good speculative fiction does. Any movie or fiction relies on a suspension of disbelief by the person consuming it. Some stories demand more of it than others
This particular one demanded a lot.
Still it was silly fun.
Borrow the book or buy it second hand. It's not a book I'll go back to but it pushes the overall arc of the characters’ lives forward and that was satisfying.
Clive Cussler’s website - https://clive-cussler-books.com/
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| Clive Cussler |
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