Black Wind By Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler - Book Report #292

A Dirk Pitt Adventure

World War II was a pivotal event that formed our present reality.  I find the period fascinating.

In this novel, during the war, the Japanese created a biological weapon and were en route to launch an attack before the submarine was lost sending the toxin to the bottom of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The present-day bad guy now wants the weapon for his own nasty plans.

Sometimes the plot of a Cussler novel doesn't grab me as much as the part of history he dug up to start the story.  In this one, the Japanese submarine also had a launcher for an aircraft.  This was the first time I've heard of this combination.

All kinds of questions came to me; how do you travel underwater with a plane attached?  Once in flight, how does the plane return? Or does it?


Cussler did me a favour by opening a part of WWII history I had never know.

I'm sorry to say, but it was the history lesson that captured my imagination.  I felt a bit like Julien Perlmutter in that I put the novel down many times to search out books about the Japanese Imperial Navy.

So, yes I enjoyed the book very much but not for the usual reasons.

Clive Cussler's Website - https://clive-cussler-books.com/

Japanese submarine history Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarines_of_the_Imperial_Japanese_Navy

Clive Cussler

Arctic Drift: A Dirk Pitt Novel by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler - Book Review #281

I grew up reading Cussler and his Dirk Pitt adventures.

I loved that the story hinged on the lost Franklin Expedition, it is one of Canada's greatest mysteries.  At the time he wrote the story, I am sure that Cussler knew there was a coordinated search, led by Parks Canada, for the lost ships Terror and Erebus.  This was his last chance to have Pitt and Girodino have a hand in their discovery. Wonderful.

The action played out on the shaggy British Columbia coast and in the Northwest Passage.  I liked that the moustache-twirling bad guy was taking advantage of the current climate change crisis, that was a nice nod to the real world.

I used to read the Dirk Pitt adventures in the ‘80s and drifted away from them after getting married and having children.  Now Pitt has kids of his own and is married!  I will have to find some older novels to catch up on things.

Having his kids investigate one part of the conspiracy while Pitt and Girodino chase their own high-arctic leads made for a well structured story.

These books are still terrific fun and an easy page-turner.

Highly recommended if you’re looking for escapist adventuring.

Clive Cussler’s website - https://clive-cussler-books.com/

Clive Cussler

Dirk Cussler