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Fantasy. Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:In his first adventure since the revelation that he�??s a parent, Dirk Pitt must uncover the truth behind the myth of another long-lost father-figure, Homer�??s Odysseus, if he�??s going to stop a dangerous cult from reshaping the earth in their own image. Fraternal twins, Summer Pitt and Dirk Pitt, Jr., are working to determine the origin of a strange brown tide infesting the ocean off the shore of Nicaragua when two startling things happen: Summer discovers an artifact, something strange and beautiful and ancient. And the worst storm in years boils up out of the sky, heading straight for them and a nearby floating luxury resort hotel called Ocean Wanderer. The peril for everybody concerned is incalculable. And now that Dirk Pitt has learned he�??s a father, he will stop at nothing to protect his two children. He rushes into the chaos, only to find that what�??s left in the storm�??s wake makes the furies of nature pale in comparison. For there is an all-too-human evil at work in that part of the world, and Summer�??s relic may be the only clue to the man calling the shots. Whoever he is, he�??s connected to a cult that believes the Celts, also known as the Achaeans, reached the New World millennia before the accepted history suggests. If he�??s right, his ancestors laid the foundation for the work he will soon complete�??and our world will be a very different place. Though if Summer's discovery is to be believed, the world is alr… (more)
User reviews
"Now as their objective stood before them it became obvious that unlike the others towns and cities they had sacked, this one would not fall without a long and lengthy campaign."
"'You ain’t gonna
"Exotically designed minibuses with luxurious interiors and painted lavender pulled up to the aircraft to accommodate the passengers."
"Seemingly adhered to the marble slab, he could not move nor turn his head."
Talk about phoning in your work . . . sweet Jesus! Apparently, best-selling author™ Clive Cussler can insult readers and desecrate the English language with impunity, so long as he keeps making money for his publisher. Thank God I found this book in a hospital waiting room and didn’t actually pay for it.
Odyssey opens with a magnificent and thrilling action sequence, in which Pitt's children are the placed in to danger. This opener showcases great narrative skills from Cussler and the rest of the story doesn't live up to it, although it never stops trying. The cast is more diverse too, creating a wider opportunity for adventures, although there are some incredible coincidences to be pushed aside. It's standard adventure territory for the most and is somewhat predictable, although it maintains its sense of fun throughout.
Reading( or in this case listening) to a Cussler is like being on a speeding boat during a sea storm. You never know what is going to happen. His
I’m a committed fan of Clive Cussler. I’ve read at least a dozen of his books and all have proven to be entertaining. But though I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all Cussler’s novels (naturally some
As a writer I’m now stuck in edit mode, whether I’m watching a movie or reading a book, which means I’m incapable of just enjoying them without noting the problems with them. In this case, while the story is fairly generic (with edge-of-your-seat action), as Cussler novels go, this one just didn’t pull me in the way the others have.
One of the issues I have is that so much of what is included, as to the character’s backgrounds, etc., I’ve already been introduced to, so I skimmed most of the descriptions. Setting that aside, there was so much supporting detail that it detracted from the read. While it’s wonderful that Cussler knows all about the weapons spies use, what dive gear the characters prefer and what the rich eat, I’d have enjoyed the read more if he’d left a lot of that description out, or at least slimmed it down. In addition to too much detail, some of it is actually repeated, in detail, in at least 3 places.
I think Cussler could’ve shorted this novel by several thousand words just by deleting the add-on words, of which there is plenty.
Sorry to give some of the plot away, but any savvy reader will pick up on this in a heartbeat: I knew from the moment the baddest of the bad guys was introduced that Specter was a woman in a fat suit.
There was one glaring omission that really put me off. While rescuing Specter’s grand floating hotel for the uber-rich, Dirk and Al and the crew of the NUMA research vessel accomplish it when the eye of the hurricane calmed the seas, but then the worst of it – the backside of the storm, just vanished. Literary license, of course.
If I were to grade Cussler’s novels, I’d give ‘The Chase’ an A+ and ‘Trojan Odyssey’ a D. But that’s just my take on it. I have recently purchased 5 additional Cussler novels, so you can see this one didn’t put me off his stories altogether. I’m just disappointed with this one.
The book opens with a fictional historical overview of Homer's Odyssey as told by Odysseus, who withhold details. In the present day, Dirk Pitt, his son Dirk Pitt, Jr., his daughter Summer Pitt, and friend Al Giordino are involved in the search for the source of a brownish contamination around the waters of the Caribbean. While searching off the coast of the Dominican Republic, the Pitt twins find bronze Celtic items leading to the finding of a burial of an important druidess resulting in NUMA concluding that Iman Wilkes’ theory of the Trojan War occurring in England and Odysseus’ journey occurring in the Atlantic is correct. Meanwhile Dirk and Al search around the coast, rivers, and lakes of Nicaragua leading to them finding out about a diabolical plot by the multinational corporation Odyssey and China to divert the Gulf Steam through four tunnels to the Pacific and freeze North America and Europe while selling them newly created fuel cells at massive profits. Dirk and Al foil the plot then rescue the twins when Odyssey’s leadership captures them and attempt to sacrifice them in a neo-druidic ritual, afterwards they decide they are too old to continue saving the world. Al plans to transfer to another NUMA department or quit depending on Admiral Sandecker’s response, however Sandecker tells Dirk he will be nominated for Vice President and has set things in motion to make Dirk the new Director of NUMA. Finally, Dirk and Congresswoman Loren Smith get married.
Utilizing the theory presented in Iman Jacob Wilkens’ Where Troy Once Stood, Cussler creates two mysteries that intertwine but are relatively independent from one another. Dividing the ancient and the modern mysteries between the Pitt twins and the team of Dirk and Al brought a better narrative flow as well as allowing Cussler to develop the newly introduced twins that will carry the series going forward. While the Gulf Stream diversion plot is unique, it was easy for it to be foiled given that one of the interconnected tunnels runs right next to a volcano that is set off by a bomb. Odyssey’s leader mysterious lead who happens to be the druidic high priestess who disguises herself as a overweight man was pretty underwhelming. Cussler attempted to put back the retcon genie he unleashed in the previous installment, but unfortunately created another when he resurrected Loren’s father for the wedding. Through there really is not an antagonist and Cussler focused on developing the Pitt twins, this book read a whole lot better than the previous installment though again not up to the quality he achieved a few books ago.
Trojan Odyssey is the last book of the Dirk Pitt series that Clive Cussler solely by himself, while not his best work it is an improvement over the previous installment. It will be interesting to see if Dirk Cussler will help the overall quality of the series going forward.