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malreynolds111's review against another edition
2.0
least favorite book that I've read by this author. the character Tidi was so annoying, I just wanted to slap her and it ruined the book.
lectorliber04's review against another edition
2.0
Didn't realised it was a YA novel, hence how short it was. It did the job: kept me entertained during my lunch time at work.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
3.0
Very dated and definitely not one of the best Dirk Pitt adventures - possibly the worst!
mxsallybend's review against another edition
3.0
With my reading habits thrown off by a broken e-reader, I've been forced to delve into the towering stacks of paperbacks that clutter my shelves. It's not nearly as convenient, and has certainly put me a bit behind with those titles I've been sent for review, but it's kind of nice to catch up on some of my pleasure reading. That's not to say the arrival of a replacement e-reader wouldn't be a HUGE relief, but I'm coping.
Plucked from the dusty depths this weekend was Iceberg, a very early Dirk Pitt adventure by Clive Cussler. Notable for marking the transition to a more complex story line and a larger cast of characters than The Mediterranean Caper, it's also the only Dirk Pitt novel not to feature one of my favourite literary sidekicks, Al Giordino.
What immediately struck me about the novel (and I realize it was published in 1975), is how extremely dated and politically incorrect it is, almost to the point of parody. Dirk's attitude towards women is atrociously sexist, with a few comments directed towards Admiral Sandecker's secretary that actually left me gaping. In addition, there's an extended subplot where Dirk pretends to be a mincing, prancing, lisping 'faggot' (as he refers to himself) that hits on just about every flamboyant, over-the-top, gay stereotype. What's most perplexing about it all is the fact that a character who is revealed as transsexual in the last few chapters comes across very well, and is granted a significant amount of dignity and respect.
Social issues aside, this was a fun book. The ruse that Dirk pulls to commandeer the Coast Guard boat is played out perfectly, with some real moments of tension. The exploration of the burned-out hull of the luxury yacht, trapped as it is inside an iceberg, is creepy and claustrophobic. In terms of heroics, I'm not sure there's a scene in any of the subsequent novels that can compare with a brutally injured Dirk Pitt making his way across the frozen tundra, with only a homemade compass to guide his way. Also, as much as Cussler is know for his crazy climaxes, complete with elaborate settings and frantic action, the attempted assassinations and underground battles at Disneyland are a notch above his usual work.
There are some nice twists and turns to the book, with mistaken identities, betrayals, and double-crosses galore. It takes a while before the entire diabolical scheme is revealed, but even if it's a bit too elaborate to be entirely realistic, it's ambitious and exciting. I was a bit shocked by the brutal violence, which is more extreme than I can remember in any other Cussler novel, but it does set up that heroic tundra trek that I mentioned previously.
While it may not be the best Dirk Pitt novel, it's still a Dirk Pitt novel - and that always makes for a good read.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
Plucked from the dusty depths this weekend was Iceberg, a very early Dirk Pitt adventure by Clive Cussler. Notable for marking the transition to a more complex story line and a larger cast of characters than The Mediterranean Caper, it's also the only Dirk Pitt novel not to feature one of my favourite literary sidekicks, Al Giordino.
What immediately struck me about the novel (and I realize it was published in 1975), is how extremely dated and politically incorrect it is, almost to the point of parody. Dirk's attitude towards women is atrociously sexist, with a few comments directed towards Admiral Sandecker's secretary that actually left me gaping. In addition, there's an extended subplot where Dirk pretends to be a mincing, prancing, lisping 'faggot' (as he refers to himself) that hits on just about every flamboyant, over-the-top, gay stereotype. What's most perplexing about it all is the fact that a character who is revealed as transsexual in the last few chapters comes across very well, and is granted a significant amount of dignity and respect.
Social issues aside, this was a fun book. The ruse that Dirk pulls to commandeer the Coast Guard boat is played out perfectly, with some real moments of tension. The exploration of the burned-out hull of the luxury yacht, trapped as it is inside an iceberg, is creepy and claustrophobic. In terms of heroics, I'm not sure there's a scene in any of the subsequent novels that can compare with a brutally injured Dirk Pitt making his way across the frozen tundra, with only a homemade compass to guide his way. Also, as much as Cussler is know for his crazy climaxes, complete with elaborate settings and frantic action, the attempted assassinations and underground battles at Disneyland are a notch above his usual work.
There are some nice twists and turns to the book, with mistaken identities, betrayals, and double-crosses galore. It takes a while before the entire diabolical scheme is revealed, but even if it's a bit too elaborate to be entirely realistic, it's ambitious and exciting. I was a bit shocked by the brutal violence, which is more extreme than I can remember in any other Cussler novel, but it does set up that heroic tundra trek that I mentioned previously.
While it may not be the best Dirk Pitt novel, it's still a Dirk Pitt novel - and that always makes for a good read.
Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins
hagbard_celine's review against another edition
1.0
Jeezus Christ, this is just several hundred pages of men condescending to each other, with brief interruptions to be awful to women or to break machines. How is this author in every airport? Fuuuuuck.
failbarge's review against another edition
3.0
You can't beat a book that randomly culminates in a shootout in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. I don't even know what to say.
sharksfan32's review against another edition
3.0
I love Clive Cussler, however this was not one Dirk Pitts finest adventures.
redgates0742's review against another edition
1.0
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.