Product Description

Dirk Pitt battles his most dangerous foe ever - with help from a very unexpected source. There is a black tide infesting the ocean off the shore of Nicaragua. Whilst trying to determine its origin, startling things begin to occur and the inhabitants of a floating resort find themselves directly in the path of a violent storm. Dirk and the NUMA crew rush to their rescue, but they discover that there is an all-too-human evil at work and the black tide is only a by-product of its plan. Soon its work will be complete - and the world will be a very different place...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75161 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780425199329
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Adventure tales for boys (and girls) of all ages have no more vigorous champion today than Cussler, who has kept the spirit of Joe and Frank Hardy alive, albeit on a grander scale, in numerous bestsellers. This 17th Dirk Pitt extravaganza finds Cussler (literally, as he makes a cameo at book's end) and his entourage of paint-by-number characters in fine fettle, foiling a dastardly plot by outlandish villains to launch a new ice age, and at the same time demonstrating that the Achaeans were not Greeks but Celts, and that Troy was a town in what's now England. After a prelude set during the Trojan War, the novel proper starts with a roar, as a monstrous hurricane sweeps toward the Caribbean, endangering not only Pitt's twin son and daughter, engaged in undersea exploration, but also the Ocean Wanderer, a luxury floating hotel owned by a mysterious billionaire known as Specter. In a manly manner, Pitt and his longtime sidekick, Al Giordino, both of NUMA (the National Underwater and Marine Agency), save the hotel and Pitt's grown kids, but not before those kids discover a trove of underwater relics that indicate that the Celts, aka Achaeans, reached the New World millennia ago. And the Celts are still here, in the guise of a female Druidic cult linked to Specter and aiming for world domination by altering ocean currents via a vast underground mechanism in Nicaragua, which will plunge the earth into cold, then selling a new type of cheap fuel cell to supply needed heat. The action never flags, the heroics never halt and the bodies pile up as Pitt and Co. take on the villains; some big changes in Pitt's personal life close the book.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The latest Dirk Pitt thriller, like its 16 predecessors, is ready made for the big screen. (Let's hope it makes a better movie than 1980's Raise the Titanic, also based on a Pitt adventure, which gives you some idea of how long the series has been around.) A hurricane threatens an undersea resort hotel; meanwhile, Dirk Pitt's twin offspring are trapped at the bottom of the ocean in Pisces, an underwater laboratory. Oh, and Dirk himself swoops in to rescue the hotel, and its guests--but what about his children? Cussler has written a lot of seabound thrillers, and he clearly knows how to put one together to get maximum excitement from minimal material. Everything is done in shorthand, from the disaster-movie-plot setup to the characters and dialogue. There's the evil-named Specter, the man behind the hotel, "with a heart of cold stone." There are the twins, whose dialogue sounds like it was lifted from a Hardy Boys novel ("I want to take a closer look inside the cavern where I found the urn." "Can you find it in the dark?" "Like a fox to its lair"). In a nutshell, this novel offers precisely what readers have come to expect from a Dirk Pitt adventure: danger, heroics, villains, heroes. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Hurricane Clive at his most tumultuous. -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review, October 15, 2003

Customer Reviews

Dirk Pitt's Swan Song???
At the end of 'Valhalla Rising' we found out quite by surprise that Dirk Pitt, hero and world-class adventurer has not just one, but TWO children (fraternal twins Dirk Jr. & Summer). This came as quite a shocker, especially for those of us who have known Dirk to be quite the ladies man -- but also a confirmed bachelor. His relationship with Congresswoman Loren Smith has come CLOSE to wedding bells once before, but I personally figured that if it didn't happen THEN, it was probably NOT going to happen at ALL. However, I've learned long ago to NEVER say NEVER.

As usual, 'Trojan Odyssey' begins with an interesting re-telling of Homer's Odyssey, a version that is apparently gaining in popularity. How does it tie-in with events from today? As is always the case, finding out is half the fun. Summer & Dirk Jr. are busy attempting to examine a tide of brown crud that has infested waters in the Carribbean when they stumble upon something extraordinary (well Summmer does, at first). Suddenly things take a nasty turn as the Mother of ALL Hurricanes begins to form and head directly towards Summer & Dirk Jr. and also towards the most unique floating Hotel ever designed. Can they all safely escape before the Hurricane arrives? Maybe, maybe not. Along the way Dirk Sr. and Al make an appearance and suddenly as a direct result, their plans for the next few weeks are set in motion. Are massive tunnels being excavated underneath Central America, and if so, for what purpose? Once Dirk & Al figure it out, an all-out race is on to avert an incredible disaster of amazing proportions.

Along the way, Dirk Sr. and Al discover one of lifes more unfair absolute rules: we cannot remain young forever. Getting shot at and risking your life can only remain fun for so long. Dirk realizes that with the sudden appearance of two grown children his death defying exploits are no longer a challenge, and more of a major hindrance to his ultimate goals. Dirk does a LOT of soul searching, and along the way it wasn't hard to figure out where it would eventually end up. Is 'Trojan Odyssey' the last outing for Dirk Sr. as a souped up version of James Bond? Maybe. I can't answer that for certain, but with a son named Dirk Jr. it can safely be assumed that Dirk Pitt adventures WILL continue.

Along the way I found a few genuine surprises (Admiral Sandecker's New appointment for one) and a few genuine sad moments for us die-hard Dirk Sr. fans. Unlike James Bond who will forever remain youthful, Clive has treated us fans to one simple reality: we ALL grow older, and so did Dirk. He no longer can do all the stunts he used to without serious repercussions. Healing from wounds no longer are as quick as they used to be, and the thought of leaving his two children without a Father begins to seriously force Dirk to re-think his life. I finished 'Trojan Odyssey' with mixed emotions. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely. Did it make me excited about what was on the horizon for Dirk & Co.? Again, yes. But it also saddened me at the same time. You will just have to read it for yourself to figure out what all of this means, and why.

Clive continues to be the BEST action/adventure author writing today, and no matter WHAT it is, if his name is on it, you can be rest assured that I WILL be reading it. Long Live Clive & Dirk Pitt, both senior & junior.

Vintage Cussler, but beginning to get old
Like all of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novel's this one has our heroe's battling some dastardly plot to destroy or take over the world. This one is somewhat different from the others in that the adult son & daughter that Pitt learned he had in the last page or two of Valhalla Rising are now working at NUMA.
The book starts with what has become Cussler's formula of some great event occuring at some point in the past and then moving forward to the present day,in this case Aug-Nov 2006. A super hurricane is about to wipe out some fantastic floating hotel when Dirk Sr. and Al Giordino arrive to save the day,kind of a wasted story element as it is only lightly linked to the rest of the book (D.Sr. & Al don't even appear until chapter 8 by the way).
The rest of the novel switches back and forth between Pitt's children and the older generation, sometimes together but more often not. You'll find the usual mix of a great old car or two, narrow escapes and explosions tempered by Pitt (you'll almost need a score card to keep track of which Dirk you're reading about, Sr. is usually referred to as Pitt, Jr. as Dirk) and Al referring to the years getting to them.
The stories have been going on for almost 25 years now and it seemed to me that at times Cussler was ignoring past story plot lines although many times he'd put something in about a lot of the past adventures. A couple of times there was a problem with the timeline - Valhalla was set in 2003 but Trojan Odyssey, set only 2 years later, is set in 2006. Another time warp occurs when a man is sacrificed by the evil Druid group, the way subsequent events regarding the man's holdings are related far to much time goes by to fit into the general storyline.
In the end all ends well with Pitt marrying longtime love Congresswoman Loren Smith, and it looks like he and Al will have job promotions at Numa. Cussler himself makes his usual appearance in the story but this time only in the last page or so.
Mr. Cussler may be planning to retire, I kind of wonder from the tone of this book. I wonder if someone else will write some Dirk Jr. & Summer Pitt novels, perhaps Paul Kemprecos whose Kurt Austin & Joe Zavala characters are very briefly in this book.

Dragging but enjoyable
If you've never read Cussler, all his books are done via formula. Essentially they're all the same, but you'll never complain about the retread. They're all the same, yet all very entertaining.

This book is Cussler's last (though not the last of the series). It suffers for that reason, as Cussler strives to tie loose ends.

The reigns are being passed from Dirk Sr to Dirk Jr (a convenient appearance, but not wholly unbelievable). At the same time the reigns are being passed from Clive to his son.

The story is entertaining, and likely was likely read by the writers of The Day After Tomorrow. It was novel before the movie, might be tired after, but this came first.

There are some creepy moments between Dirk Jr and his sister, as she's set up to be a sexy character despite spending much of her time alone with her brother in the middle of the ocean - am I the only one that sees this? Couldn't the editor have stepped in on these?

I won't complain much, though. Cussler has given us many, many (many) entertaining reads, and even though he ends on a dip it is a necessary one, and still a solid effort.

If you're a Cussler fan buy it. If you're not yet a Cussler fan buy this, along with some older ones and read those first.

Adventure fans will not go wrong.