Scan barcode
michaelbtice's review against another edition
1.0
Where do I start with this? About 23 years ago I read the only other Dirk Pitt book I have ever read. It was Inca Gold and my 16 year old self loved it. I decided, while taking a break from reading way too many Jack Reacher novels, that I would find some other bit of flippery to occupy my reading time on airplanes while traveling for work, and went back to the well to pull out the very first Dirk Pitt novel published.
I wish I hadn't.
Perhaps I am applying a modern sense of morals to a book that came out 44 years ago and I should accept this novel for what it is based off of the time in which it was written? I think perhaps not.
We start off with our "hero " meeting a woman who he first slaps because she is being, what he deems as, hysterical and then, because she hasn't had a man in the 9 years since her husband dies, immediately has sex with her on the beach. Was this acceptable then? I'm pretty sure Dirk just raped a woman.
The book then continues to follow a cliff hanger, how will Dirk get out of this trap, format where Dirk is naturally the only person smart enough to understand how anything works, what is going on, and how the day will be saved. He is, naturally, the smartest and the best at everything he does, because he is a man, and all men aspire to be him. The manliest of men.
Working through all these problems that only Pitt can see, and that are revealed to the reader at the end, wrapped up with a nice little bow, leaving us entirely in the dark, Pitt makes his way around the island battling the German mastermind at every turn, coming up with the most out there idea as to what is actually going on, while providing absolutely no proof until the very end of why any of this happens to be true or why anyone should understand it. Maybe I like my mystery to have a few clues along the way? I could be wrong, though. I guess it all should be in the hero's head and then just presented at the end like the "fresh" catch of the day. You either buy it or you don't.
Minor aside, when the radio operator is described as a, "your black," with his, "low, resonant voice," I winced. Man did I ever wince so hard.
Really, though, why did I devote the time it took me to actually finish this book? It wasn't a matter of figuring things out ahead of time, which there were a few parts where it was easy to do that, I'm looking at your Unterseeboot, but more that you couldn't figure anything out because this was really nothing more than the story of Dirk Pitt bumbling around an island, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and stitching together a bunch of unrelated nonexistent clues to form a cohesive narrative that absolutely had to be true because Dirk Pitt said so!
And the overt misogyny at the very end with the women working their typewriters in that office? That was way over the top.
One mystery about this book that I cannot solve, and there are ample clues to be found within its pages, how did it spawn so many sequels?
I wish I hadn't.
Perhaps I am applying a modern sense of morals to a book that came out 44 years ago and I should accept this novel for what it is based off of the time in which it was written? I think perhaps not.
We start off with our "hero " meeting a woman who he first slaps because she is being, what he deems as, hysterical and then, because she hasn't had a man in the 9 years since her husband dies, immediately has sex with her on the beach. Was this acceptable then? I'm pretty sure Dirk just raped a woman.
The book then continues to follow a cliff hanger, how will Dirk get out of this trap, format where Dirk is naturally the only person smart enough to understand how anything works, what is going on, and how the day will be saved. He is, naturally, the smartest and the best at everything he does, because he is a man, and all men aspire to be him. The manliest of men.
Working through all these problems that only Pitt can see, and that are revealed to the reader at the end, wrapped up with a nice little bow, leaving us entirely in the dark, Pitt makes his way around the island battling the German mastermind at every turn, coming up with the most out there idea as to what is actually going on, while providing absolutely no proof until the very end of why any of this happens to be true or why anyone should understand it. Maybe I like my mystery to have a few clues along the way? I could be wrong, though. I guess it all should be in the hero's head and then just presented at the end like the "fresh" catch of the day. You either buy it or you don't.
Minor aside, when the radio operator is described as a, "your black," with his, "low, resonant voice," I winced. Man did I ever wince so hard.
Really, though, why did I devote the time it took me to actually finish this book? It wasn't a matter of figuring things out ahead of time, which there were a few parts where it was easy to do that, I'm looking at your Unterseeboot, but more that you couldn't figure anything out because this was really nothing more than the story of Dirk Pitt bumbling around an island, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and stitching together a bunch of unrelated nonexistent clues to form a cohesive narrative that absolutely had to be true because Dirk Pitt said so!
And the overt misogyny at the very end with the women working their typewriters in that office? That was way over the top.
One mystery about this book that I cannot solve, and there are ample clues to be found within its pages, how did it spawn so many sequels?
carli096's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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
1.0
rdiii's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
holt_mh's review
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-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
1.0
ty_williams's review against another edition
A little bit too misogynistic for me.
noemi43's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
jb16772's review against another edition
2.0
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
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
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
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.
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.