Reviews

I started this novel seven years ago but did not finish it since my ebook reader died during that trip. After that I always wanted to finish the book but on my kindle and in english (I started in Dutch). I think the anticipation probably ruined the book for me. I started over from scratch while I had previously read over 25%. Starting over was a good choice, since it helped me remember the details and it is probably the best part of the book. It was tough to get through the middle but it picks up from there again towards the end. The initial set-up is good with an interesting mystery about an old aircraft used for an attack on in air force base on the greek island of Thasos. The heroes of the story are nearby and help to safe the day. Coincidental is their nearby presence is coincidence places a much stronger role in what unfolds next. A bit too much for my taste. Only at one time does the hero appear to be in real danger while for the rest all other characters apear to have been given instructions to be as incompetent as possible and hand over as many clues as they can in their interaction with the main heroes.

sandin954's review against another edition

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3.0

This was the first published book in the best-selling Dirk Pitt series. Lots of adventure, romance, and evildoers to overcome though perhaps a bit dated. Listened the audio version reliably read by Michael Prichard.

ebokhyllami's review against another edition

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3.0

God adventure-bok, lett på øret og (nesten) like spennende som da jeg leste den for første gang for ca 35 år siden :-) Cusslers første bøker - serien om Dirk Pitt - er/var svært gode. De bøkene han "skriver sammen med andre" er en annen skål.

lundos's review against another edition

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2.0

I remember reading a Dirk Pitt book in high school, though, which one escapes my memory. I've had this one lying around from my father for quite a while and I was in the mood for something different - both in genre and time frame.

And I can safely say that time has passed Dirk Pitt. While it can be entertaining to read about an alpha male James Bond wannabe, who always says the 'right thing' to women, Pitt instead comes off as uncharismatic, chauvanistic alcoholic.

The story itself is straight forward with a few twists. Unfortunately, the reader doesn't get all the hints for all of minor details, but it isn't hard to guess who the bad guy (he out's himself fairly early) is or how he does it.

Overall a bit of a disappointment.

schwimfan's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I'd probably give the plot a solid 3.5. it's a decent adventure story.

But the writing... My god. It's so bad. A simile every other sentence. The most unlikeable, baby boomer masculine fantasy protagonist I've ever read. I can see why these books were so popular with baby boomers. I'm not even ruling out reading another one because again, it's a functional adventure story - but Cussler is just a straight up bad writer.

emjay24's review against another edition

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3.0

This is book #2 in the dirk pitt series. I like his books, but i'd read a few that were out of order and more recent, so i went back to the beginning to read them in order. i do think that cussler improved with this series as he went on, better writing and characters, but these early ones are still entertaining. pitt is kind of like james bond. i probably would not recomend feminists to read this series, but if you simply like a good action adventure novel, try this series. this one didn't have too much thought to it but was pretty good anyway.

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