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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
A great adventure with Dirk Pitt involves a Russian plot to overtake Cuba, a lost golden statue and a secret colony on the moon. Non-stop action makes this a book that is impossible to put down.
A wealthy American financier disappears on a treasure hunt in an antique blimp. Okay, that sounds cool.
From Cuban waters, the blimp drifts toward Florida with a crew of dead men—Soviet cosmonauts. Whoa, now you've got my attention.
Dirk Pitt discovers a shocking scheme: a covert group of US industrialists has put a colony on the moon, a secret base they will defend at any cost. You've got to be shitting me!
Threatened in space, the Russians are about to strike a savage blow in Cuba—and only NUMA’s Dirk Pitt can stop them. This sounds awesome!
Cyclops was a thoroughly enjoyable read, as cheesy and as far-fetched as Cussler got during Pitt's early days, but that's hardly a complaint. This is a vintage 80s thriller that I've only discovered because of the new edition, and that cover blurb sold me immediately. I didn't care if it was a republished classic or a new throwback, but I had to read it. No question.
As I read through this, one word kept coming to mind - Moonraker - and that's a good thing. If you remember Bond's most preposterous mission as fondly as I do, then this is the book for you. All that Cold War paranoia, American/Russian/Cuban politics, Space Shuttle excitement, macho sexism, and cartoon violence is here in spades. I loved the idea of a secret USA moonbase that not even the President knows about, and the high-stakes plan to assassinate Castro, destroy Cuba, and frame the CIA was just preposterous enough to be entertaining. Throw in an antique blimp that's as a clever plot-point as it is self-indulgent, and you've got the makings of a kick-ass adventure.
Personally, I would have liked more Space Shuttle action, but given that this hit shelves not long after the Challenger disaster, I'm surprised it was published as-is. The threat of a fatal crash is key to the book's final act, and that had to have made for an awkward read at the time.
Anyway, as much as I loved the Shuttle angle, I would have trimmed the final story arc, as it strays too far into politics, at the expense of the treasure hunt that began it all but, otherwise, Cyclops delivered exactly what I was looking for.
From Cuban waters, the blimp drifts toward Florida with a crew of dead men—Soviet cosmonauts. Whoa, now you've got my attention.
Dirk Pitt discovers a shocking scheme: a covert group of US industrialists has put a colony on the moon, a secret base they will defend at any cost. You've got to be shitting me!
Threatened in space, the Russians are about to strike a savage blow in Cuba—and only NUMA’s Dirk Pitt can stop them. This sounds awesome!
Cyclops was a thoroughly enjoyable read, as cheesy and as far-fetched as Cussler got during Pitt's early days, but that's hardly a complaint. This is a vintage 80s thriller that I've only discovered because of the new edition, and that cover blurb sold me immediately. I didn't care if it was a republished classic or a new throwback, but I had to read it. No question.
As I read through this, one word kept coming to mind - Moonraker - and that's a good thing. If you remember Bond's most preposterous mission as fondly as I do, then this is the book for you. All that Cold War paranoia, American/Russian/Cuban politics, Space Shuttle excitement, macho sexism, and cartoon violence is here in spades. I loved the idea of a secret USA moonbase that not even the President knows about, and the high-stakes plan to assassinate Castro, destroy Cuba, and frame the CIA was just preposterous enough to be entertaining. Throw in an antique blimp that's as a clever plot-point as it is self-indulgent, and you've got the makings of a kick-ass adventure.
Personally, I would have liked more Space Shuttle action, but given that this hit shelves not long after the Challenger disaster, I'm surprised it was published as-is. The threat of a fatal crash is key to the book's final act, and that had to have made for an awkward read at the time.
Anyway, as much as I loved the Shuttle angle, I would have trimmed the final story arc, as it strays too far into politics, at the expense of the treasure hunt that began it all but, otherwise, Cyclops delivered exactly what I was looking for.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Surprisingly good, considering the other titles in this series tend to be more advertised. This book has a good balance between political relations, Dirk Pitt trying to save the day as well as locating a treasure, and the fantasy of a space colony. It would be interesting if this turned into a movie, or that some of the ideas mentioned here became a reality. A good and exciting read.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
This has to be one of my favorite of the Dirk Pitt series so far, Clive Cussler weaves us into this story from the very beginning making me not want to put it down. How he manages to have more than one plot throughout the book continuously amazes me. They were separate plots, but weaved into the same one.
1. A moon colony...come on thats just cool, and something to think about, I mean maybe in the 1980s they couldn't do but would it book cool if one day the president just announced there is a colony on the moon?
2. Le El Dorado treasure, I don't know about anybody else but I loved that animated movie "The Road to El Dorado" when I was a kid. ( I still do.) So after watching the movie all the time when I was little it was cool to hear about it again, The City of Gold, the statue, awesome!
Again we had more action scenes and as always in the end Dirk gets his woman.
I have always admired how strong Clive Cussler's characters are mentally as well as physically and it was nice to see he appointed that same strength to Jessie LeBaron as well. Altogether a wonderful installment, I cant wait to get to the next!
1. A moon colony...come on thats just cool, and something to think about, I mean maybe in the 1980s they couldn't do but would it book cool if one day the president just announced there is a colony on the moon?
2. Le El Dorado treasure, I don't know about anybody else but I loved that animated movie "The Road to El Dorado" when I was a kid. ( I still do.) So after watching the movie all the time when I was little it was cool to hear about it again, The City of Gold, the statue, awesome!
Again we had more action scenes and as always in the end Dirk gets his woman.
I have always admired how strong Clive Cussler's characters are mentally as well as physically and it was nice to see he appointed that same strength to Jessie LeBaron as well. Altogether a wonderful installment, I cant wait to get to the next!
Of all the Dirk Pitt stories I've read this is the most ridiculous- and that's saying something!
With such snapping writing as Bad Guy: "Dirk. May I call you Dirk? Dirk replies "That's my name", like he is a 6yr on the playground. I don't know how to think about this. I enjoy Cussler's writing but it can be so cheesy and I don't know if its because this is from the 1980's or that's just how he writes. I will learn as I continue this series.
A novel in Cussler's classic action/adventure style, a heart pounding and thrilling ride for those of you who enjoy stories like his. Great novel, but only for a small audience.