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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Sexist and really homophobic, Also, no Giordino. I'm glad I didn't start with this one, or I never would have read another.
Spoiler
though strangely not as transphobic.
This is definitely a boys' adventure type book. While the action and suspense is good, it's clear that it was written in the 70s - the stereotypical damsel in distress approach to female characters is ridiculous. It was probably a good read when published but not so much now.
Interesting read using Iceland as the background. The story itself was straightforward with the usual intrigue and mystery, and it did not really deviate from Iceland as a setting. The added twist being the poetry. A short and quick read.
Of the Dirk Pitt books I’ve read so far this has been the best.
Oh my WORD, probably the most sexist Dirk Pitt novel I have read. I mean, I assume there is going to be a little in there based on this character, but really? Boo.
I quite enjoyed Clive Cussler as a youngster - a Tom Clancy, James Patterson or Lee Child of his day. I've bought what feels like a metric ton of his vast catalogue of books very cheaply in local charity shops over the last year or so and think my bookshelf is about to collapse under the weight. So I'm going in…
This book, whose title sounds like a placeholder, was written in 1976 and ye gods does it constantly show it. Plenty of mentions of typewriters, big old computers and of course everyone smokes. Plus much of the book’s dialogue was… ‘of its time’.
All of the men were chiefly sex pests with our hero Major Dirk Pitt (yes, really), the most toxic. He was pretty much a supermarket own-brand James Bond and essentially Pepé Le Pew in human form. The few women characters were written terribly and treated appallingly. They were little more than weak damsels in distress to be rescued and purely there to be ogled, insulted, harassed and abused.
There were a couple of sequences where Pitt pretended to be an artist for reasons I can’t even care enough to remember and it was very difficult to read. Think of every stereotypically gay character from 1970s sitcoms and you are getting close.
The twist ending felt like it was quickly written on the bus on the way to the publishers. It made no sense and added nothing to the story, but was actually treated with more subtlety than anything else in this wretched potboiler.
I have just shy of a dozen of these to read and I intend to grit my teeth and carry on in chronological order. I’m actually fascinated to see if there is any progression and improvement over the decades - there has to be, surely? I make no promises though, many more like this and I will certainly end throwing in the towel very early.
This book, whose title sounds like a placeholder, was written in 1976 and ye gods does it constantly show it. Plenty of mentions of typewriters, big old computers and of course everyone smokes. Plus much of the book’s dialogue was… ‘of its time’.
All of the men were chiefly sex pests with our hero Major Dirk Pitt (yes, really), the most toxic. He was pretty much a supermarket own-brand James Bond and essentially Pepé Le Pew in human form. The few women characters were written terribly and treated appallingly. They were little more than weak damsels in distress to be rescued and purely there to be ogled, insulted, harassed and abused.
There were a couple of sequences where Pitt pretended to be an artist for reasons I can’t even care enough to remember and it was very difficult to read. Think of every stereotypically gay character from 1970s sitcoms and you are getting close.
The twist ending felt like it was quickly written on the bus on the way to the publishers. It made no sense and added nothing to the story, but was actually treated with more subtlety than anything else in this wretched potboiler.
I have just shy of a dozen of these to read and I intend to grit my teeth and carry on in chronological order. I’m actually fascinated to see if there is any progression and improvement over the decades - there has to be, surely? I make no promises though, many more like this and I will certainly end throwing in the towel very early.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
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
Eesh - one of the worst Clive Cussler books that I have read thus far. You can absolutely tell this one was written in the seventies it is oozing with homophobia and sexism. For over half the book Dirk Pitt pretends to be gay, and he does so in such an outlandish way, and at the very end of the book... WOW. I won't spoil that surprise if you're going to read it. There were far too many moving parts to this story, yet Dirk was always one step ahead. He is just too smart and the story is too over the top. I'll try out the next one in the series, but if it is as bad as this one, then I am done with Cussler!
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced