A review by weaselweader
The Chase by Clive Cussler
4.0
Back on the Cussler bandwagon!
When I read Clive Cussler's GOLDEN BUDDHA several years ago, I'll admit I thought myself generous in awarding it one entire star and I had pretty much put paid to the notion of reading any further Cussler output. Convinced that the shark had indeed been jumped, I concluded my limited reading time would be better spent elsewhere. But once my very generous gift-giving family get convinced that I enjoy an author, it's very difficult to find the "off" switch. And so, over the years, I accumulated a pretty fair stash of second hand copies of Clive Cussler novels which sat languishing on my book shelf. On the basis of a favourable review from an Amazon friend whose opinion I've come to trust, I decided to pull out THE CHASE and give Cussler a second chance.
Well ... if that don't beat all! The debut novel in Cussler's historical Isaac Bell detective series set in the late 19th century in the southwestern states is a thoroughly enjoyable winner! Yippee!
A new hero with more proverbial lives than Pauline, suitably endowed with superior intelligence, detecting abilities and out-of-the-box mental prowess; a sensible version of love at first sight that doesn't seem Hollywood or overly syrupy; good guys who actually die because they're not presented as invulnerable supermen; a psychopathic villain that appears to pull the trigger realistically quickly as opposed to spending hours and hours gloating with a megalomaniacal laugh; an absolutely fantastic and superbly innovative re-invention of the requisite chase scene - there are a LOT of very good things to say about this departure from the NUMA and OREGON files series.
Of particular interest were Cussler's innovative approaches to putting the series into the historical context of the late 19th and early 20th century in California. First was a very interesting focus on the specific workings of early technology - photography, fingerprinting, guns, automobiles and trains, for example - as opposed to looking at buildings and people. Second was a very graphic description of the events surrounding the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco and its disastrous aftermath.
I'm definitely back on the Clive Cussler bandwagon and I'm looking forward to further Isaac Bell outings in THE SPY and THE WRECKER. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
When I read Clive Cussler's GOLDEN BUDDHA several years ago, I'll admit I thought myself generous in awarding it one entire star and I had pretty much put paid to the notion of reading any further Cussler output. Convinced that the shark had indeed been jumped, I concluded my limited reading time would be better spent elsewhere. But once my very generous gift-giving family get convinced that I enjoy an author, it's very difficult to find the "off" switch. And so, over the years, I accumulated a pretty fair stash of second hand copies of Clive Cussler novels which sat languishing on my book shelf. On the basis of a favourable review from an Amazon friend whose opinion I've come to trust, I decided to pull out THE CHASE and give Cussler a second chance.
Well ... if that don't beat all! The debut novel in Cussler's historical Isaac Bell detective series set in the late 19th century in the southwestern states is a thoroughly enjoyable winner! Yippee!
A new hero with more proverbial lives than Pauline, suitably endowed with superior intelligence, detecting abilities and out-of-the-box mental prowess; a sensible version of love at first sight that doesn't seem Hollywood or overly syrupy; good guys who actually die because they're not presented as invulnerable supermen; a psychopathic villain that appears to pull the trigger realistically quickly as opposed to spending hours and hours gloating with a megalomaniacal laugh; an absolutely fantastic and superbly innovative re-invention of the requisite chase scene - there are a LOT of very good things to say about this departure from the NUMA and OREGON files series.
Of particular interest were Cussler's innovative approaches to putting the series into the historical context of the late 19th and early 20th century in California. First was a very interesting focus on the specific workings of early technology - photography, fingerprinting, guns, automobiles and trains, for example - as opposed to looking at buildings and people. Second was a very graphic description of the events surrounding the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco and its disastrous aftermath.
I'm definitely back on the Clive Cussler bandwagon and I'm looking forward to further Isaac Bell outings in THE SPY and THE WRECKER. Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss