Status
Available
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
G.P. Putnam's Sons (2006), Edition: Reprint, 656 pages
Description
Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Legendary oceanographer Dirk Pitt must work with his children to unravel old battle plans from WWII to prevent a present-day massacre in this novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling adventure series. In the waning days of World War II, the Japanese tried a last desperate measure. Kept secret from all but a few select officials, two submarines were sent to the West Coast of the United States, their cargo a revolutionary new strain of biological virus, their mission to unleash hell. Neither sub made it to the designated target.But that does not mean they were lost. Someone knows about the subs and what they carried, knows too where they might be, and has an extraordinary plan in mind for the prize insideâ??a plan that could reshape America, and the world, as we know it. All that stands in the way are three people: a marine biologist named Summer, a marine engineer named Dirk . . . and their father, Dirk Pitt, the new head of NUMA. Pitt has faced devastating enemies before, has even teamed up with his children to track them down. But never before has he encountered such pure evilâ??unti… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member mattries37315
A long-range plan by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conquer the South is spearheaded by a businessman with a deadly plan to strike the United States with a pandemic of a hybrid strain of smallpox, but Dirk Pitt Jr. appears on the scene. Black Wind is the eighteen novel of Clive
In December 1944, the commanding officer of the Japanese submarine I-403 is given orders to launch a mysterious attack on the United States, a mission involving Japan’s notorious biological warfare group, Unit 731. The I-403 reaches the U.S. northwest coast but is sunk before the mission can be carried out. Over 62 years later, a team of CDC researchers, including field epidemiologist Sarah Matson, are unexpectedly infected by a deadly and mystery illness in the Aleutian Islands; they are rescued by Dirk Pitt Jr. (hereinafter Pitt Jr.), who is nearby on a NUMA research vessel. Pitt Jr, with friend and coworker Jack Dahlgren, return to the site to investigate, but their helicopter is downed by gunfire from a mysterious trawler. They survive, eventually determining that the illness resulted from a toxic compound of cyanide and smallpox. In Japan, the U.S. ambassador is golfing with his British counterpart when he is assassinated by a sniper named Tongju. Tongju later assassinates the ambassador’s deputy and a semiconductor executive, leaving clues that appear to identify him as a member of a Japanese terrorist group. Investigating the toxin, Pitt Jr. consults marine-history researcher St. Julien Perlmutter, who finds records of the I-403. Pitt Jr. and Dahlgren find and dive on the sunken I-403, but its mysterious ordnance has been removed. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Dirk Pitt senior (hereinafter referred to simply as Dirk) and his friend and colleague Al Giordino are also discovering forgotten Japanese ordnance that is poisoning marine life. In Incheon, South Korea, Dae-jong Kang, a multi-millionaire industrialist, is secretly a North Korean sleeper agent who has been using corruption to press for rapid reunification of the divided peninsula under the DPRK's rule. Kang reviews his plans with his assistant; they include framing a U.S. serviceman for the murder of a South Korean girl to foment unrest, while Tongju retrieves more of the World War II toxin from a second sunken submarine. Learning of the interference of Pitt Jr., Kang sends assassins to eliminate him, but they fail through ruin a classic car Pitt Jr. had just purchased. NUMA researcher Hiram Yeager has discovered that the toxic ordnance was also carried by a Japanese submarine lost in the South China Sea. Pitt Jr. joins his sister Summer aboard a NUMA salvage vessel that locates the wreck, but Tongju and his commando team seize the vessel. After taking the recovered toxin and kidnapping Pitt Jr and Summer, the North Koreans sabotage the salvage ship and leave the imprisoned crew to drown, but actions by the Pitt siblings before leaving enables everyone to escape. Pitt Jr. and Summer are taken to Kang’s yacht, where the multimillionaire taunts them with a general threat of infecting the U.S. with the hybrid toxin, then leaves them to drown. They escape and make their way back to the United States. Unaware of the exact nature of Kang’s plan, the NUMA team coordinates with government agencies to search for cargo vessels that might be carrying the toxin. However, the real plan goes forward as Tongju and his commando team pirate Sea Launch, a seaborne rocket-launching platform, preparing to fire a toxin-laden warhead at a G8 summit meeting in Los Angeles. When Dirk and Giordino spot the launch platform from a blimp, a deadly countdown is already underway. However, Dirk manages to infiltrate and alter the launch, resulting in the rocket crashing harmlessly into the sea. In the final showdown, Pitt Jr. and a team of Navy SEALs infiltrate Kang's base as he prepares his final getaway aboard his luxury yacht. However, after a showdown on the bridge, Pitt Jr. sends Kang and his yacht to a fiery crash.
As this is the first book that featured the younger Pitt as the main character, his character was more rounded out than his previous appearance. Unfortunately, he is too much of a chip off the ol’ block from his father, in fact its hard to see any differences between the two from physical appearance to their interests (classic cars as shown in this novel) and even getting himself onto a SEAL mission. It could be said that there are a variety of ways that a younger character could be seen as their parent’s kid, being exactly alike is the cheap way out. The overall plot of the book is one of the better ones of the series and an improvement over some of the previous outings, save for a few glaring head scratch moments that don’t ruin things but diminish the quality enough. The evil mastermind (Kang) and his top henchman (Tongju) are among the best in the series as well as head and shoulders over any since probably Inca Gold. If there is one glaring thing in the book, it’s that Summer Pitt sometimes feels like an add on though she’s given enough agency to be more than a damsel-in-distress due to some genes from her father, I guess.
Black Wind is a return to the better quality of books in the Dirk Pitt series, whether it’s focusing the series on a younger protagonist or that fact that Clive Cussler was joined by his son Dirk in writing the book can be argued. While not perfect and nor the best in the series, this is a very fun and engaging read.
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Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series the first featuring the young Pitt in the lead as well as the first with Cussler’s son Dirk as his co-author.In December 1944, the commanding officer of the Japanese submarine I-403 is given orders to launch a mysterious attack on the United States, a mission involving Japan’s notorious biological warfare group, Unit 731. The I-403 reaches the U.S. northwest coast but is sunk before the mission can be carried out. Over 62 years later, a team of CDC researchers, including field epidemiologist Sarah Matson, are unexpectedly infected by a deadly and mystery illness in the Aleutian Islands; they are rescued by Dirk Pitt Jr. (hereinafter Pitt Jr.), who is nearby on a NUMA research vessel. Pitt Jr, with friend and coworker Jack Dahlgren, return to the site to investigate, but their helicopter is downed by gunfire from a mysterious trawler. They survive, eventually determining that the illness resulted from a toxic compound of cyanide and smallpox. In Japan, the U.S. ambassador is golfing with his British counterpart when he is assassinated by a sniper named Tongju. Tongju later assassinates the ambassador’s deputy and a semiconductor executive, leaving clues that appear to identify him as a member of a Japanese terrorist group. Investigating the toxin, Pitt Jr. consults marine-history researcher St. Julien Perlmutter, who finds records of the I-403. Pitt Jr. and Dahlgren find and dive on the sunken I-403, but its mysterious ordnance has been removed. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, Dirk Pitt senior (hereinafter referred to simply as Dirk) and his friend and colleague Al Giordino are also discovering forgotten Japanese ordnance that is poisoning marine life. In Incheon, South Korea, Dae-jong Kang, a multi-millionaire industrialist, is secretly a North Korean sleeper agent who has been using corruption to press for rapid reunification of the divided peninsula under the DPRK's rule. Kang reviews his plans with his assistant; they include framing a U.S. serviceman for the murder of a South Korean girl to foment unrest, while Tongju retrieves more of the World War II toxin from a second sunken submarine. Learning of the interference of Pitt Jr., Kang sends assassins to eliminate him, but they fail through ruin a classic car Pitt Jr. had just purchased. NUMA researcher Hiram Yeager has discovered that the toxic ordnance was also carried by a Japanese submarine lost in the South China Sea. Pitt Jr. joins his sister Summer aboard a NUMA salvage vessel that locates the wreck, but Tongju and his commando team seize the vessel. After taking the recovered toxin and kidnapping Pitt Jr and Summer, the North Koreans sabotage the salvage ship and leave the imprisoned crew to drown, but actions by the Pitt siblings before leaving enables everyone to escape. Pitt Jr. and Summer are taken to Kang’s yacht, where the multimillionaire taunts them with a general threat of infecting the U.S. with the hybrid toxin, then leaves them to drown. They escape and make their way back to the United States. Unaware of the exact nature of Kang’s plan, the NUMA team coordinates with government agencies to search for cargo vessels that might be carrying the toxin. However, the real plan goes forward as Tongju and his commando team pirate Sea Launch, a seaborne rocket-launching platform, preparing to fire a toxin-laden warhead at a G8 summit meeting in Los Angeles. When Dirk and Giordino spot the launch platform from a blimp, a deadly countdown is already underway. However, Dirk manages to infiltrate and alter the launch, resulting in the rocket crashing harmlessly into the sea. In the final showdown, Pitt Jr. and a team of Navy SEALs infiltrate Kang's base as he prepares his final getaway aboard his luxury yacht. However, after a showdown on the bridge, Pitt Jr. sends Kang and his yacht to a fiery crash.
As this is the first book that featured the younger Pitt as the main character, his character was more rounded out than his previous appearance. Unfortunately, he is too much of a chip off the ol’ block from his father, in fact its hard to see any differences between the two from physical appearance to their interests (classic cars as shown in this novel) and even getting himself onto a SEAL mission. It could be said that there are a variety of ways that a younger character could be seen as their parent’s kid, being exactly alike is the cheap way out. The overall plot of the book is one of the better ones of the series and an improvement over some of the previous outings, save for a few glaring head scratch moments that don’t ruin things but diminish the quality enough. The evil mastermind (Kang) and his top henchman (Tongju) are among the best in the series as well as head and shoulders over any since probably Inca Gold. If there is one glaring thing in the book, it’s that Summer Pitt sometimes feels like an add on though she’s given enough agency to be more than a damsel-in-distress due to some genes from her father, I guess.
Black Wind is a return to the better quality of books in the Dirk Pitt series, whether it’s focusing the series on a younger protagonist or that fact that Clive Cussler was joined by his son Dirk in writing the book can be argued. While not perfect and nor the best in the series, this is a very fun and engaging read.
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LibraryThing member DavidLErickson
If this was the first Clive Cussler book I picked up I doubt I'd read another.
While the story is interesting (albeit fantasy in the extreme) it is so larded with supporting info as to be a text book disguised as a novel. This is the first of the Cussler novels that I wish would just come to an
I just completed the book with a deep sigh of relief. While the ending had a lot less supporting data, it was still too much.
There were just way to many scenes that were reminecent of the TV series, 'A Team' where thousands of bullets are fired and yet the good guys walk away. A little less fantastical would go a long way towards making this book a solid read, which it is not.
While the story is interesting (albeit fantasy in the extreme) it is so larded with supporting info as to be a text book disguised as a novel. This is the first of the Cussler novels that I wish would just come to an
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end.I just completed the book with a deep sigh of relief. While the ending had a lot less supporting data, it was still too much.
There were just way to many scenes that were reminecent of the TV series, 'A Team' where thousands of bullets are fired and yet the good guys walk away. A little less fantastical would go a long way towards making this book a solid read, which it is not.
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LibraryThing member MSWallack
Black Wind is the first of the "new" Dirk Pitt novels written by Clive Cussler with his son, Dirk. Apparently, Clive is retiring and Dirk is taking over the series. So, it should come as no surprise that with this novel, Dirk Pitt has been promoted and most of the action falls upon Dirk Pitt (that
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is, Dirk Pitt, Jr.) The old role of Al Giordano is now effectively split between Dirk's sister Summer and his friend Jack Dahlgren. In fact, Junior is so much like Senior that I mostly forgot that I was reading about the exploits of a different character (at least until the climax of the story, but no spoilers here). In almost all other ways, Black Wind is just like any of the preceding books in the series. (Dirk Pitt, Sr. and Al Giordano do get some "screen time"). I enjoyed the book, although I didn't love it. Too much of it was too much like too many prior books; then again, I keep reading Dirk Pitt novels precisely because they are much like their predecessors and I sometimes like knowing exactly what I'm getting before I open to page 1. In this way, Black Wind did not disappoint. My biggest gripe with the book is that I was hoping to get more deeply into Summer Pitt's character and I certainly hope that she does not remain as a mere sidekick for Dirk in future books. Show Less
LibraryThing member amacmillen
Again like most of his books the good guy always wins. Out side of that it was fun to read and held my interest.
LibraryThing member nursewidener
Another good book that involves Dirk Pitt with addition of his twin children playing the dominiant saving the world forces. Good adventure book and I hope to see more of the twins as the series continues.
LibraryThing member dbhutch
Its been a while, close to a year since I've read any Clive Cussler. This was very well worth it. Combining our beloved Dirk Pitt, and his children Dirk and Summer, this proved to be an excellent novel and tale for the current day.
Here, terroism comes from North and South Korea in a runification
Thrills abound, this is to me, one of Cussler's best works.
Here, terroism comes from North and South Korea in a runification
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desire by a madman who is a top businessman in South Korea. Working with the remenants of the Japanese Red Army, Kang hatches a plot to use a airborne bio-weapon with technology the Japanese attempted to use on the US in WWII, only more modern, and deadlier. the plot is uncovered little by little by accident, as Pitt stumbles across Kangs men retriving the old ordinance from a sunken WWII Japanese sub off the coast of Washington state. The trip takes them from there to Japan, then to Kan's private residence in South Koerea, where they learn of the extent of Kangs plot, to shoot a rocket over southern California during an economic summit to server as a distration so North Korea can ovverrun South Koera in a reunification attempt.Thrills abound, this is to me, one of Cussler's best works.
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LibraryThing member RGraf
There isn’t a Clive Cussler novel I don’t like. Each one gets me sucked in and refuses to let me go until the book is completely read. What makes the action packed novel even better is the way Cussler incorporates history into each of his books. He didn’t disappoint me in Black Wind.
Toward
Black Wind was full of the usual intricate plots and subterfuge Cussler is well known for. Action, mystery, betrayal, and romance all can be found in this novel.
Having the children of Dirk Pitt involved in the story was fun. I really enjoyed it. It made a Dirk Pitt novel different than it had been before. Many have complained of this, but I saw it as an expansion of a line of novels that is heading into a new generation.
As I said before, the fact that Cussler incorporates history into the story makes it even more interesting. He takes historical facts and adds to them giving them a more sinister twist and explores more ‘what if’ scenarios. For me, after reading his books I want to explore the true history of what he brings in and learn more about it. That makes it a very successful ‘history’ book in my eyes.
It is full of technical jargon though the author explains most of it for those of you like me who can’t understand all of it including the science side of it. Those parts of the book do take me longer to read, but the majority of the time the information is critical to understanding the plot.
Want some adventure? Want some action? Like gun scenes? Love history? Like science? Then any Cussler book will be a good read for you. If World War II, specifically the Pacific Theatre, is what you are interested in, this is for sure a book you need to look into.
Note: This book was purchased with my own funds.
Toward
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the end of World War II, a Japanese submarine reaches the shores of America ready to disperse biological warfare that had never been seen to that date. It is unable to unleash the Black Wind as an American naval ship plows into it sinking it to the bottom of the ocean. All remains quiet until mysterious Asian men begin a dance with the world to retrieve the deadly cargo and create something even more lethal. It is up to Dirk Pitt, Dirk Junior, and Sumer Pitt to save the day though each one is faced with losing their life more than once.Black Wind was full of the usual intricate plots and subterfuge Cussler is well known for. Action, mystery, betrayal, and romance all can be found in this novel.
Having the children of Dirk Pitt involved in the story was fun. I really enjoyed it. It made a Dirk Pitt novel different than it had been before. Many have complained of this, but I saw it as an expansion of a line of novels that is heading into a new generation.
As I said before, the fact that Cussler incorporates history into the story makes it even more interesting. He takes historical facts and adds to them giving them a more sinister twist and explores more ‘what if’ scenarios. For me, after reading his books I want to explore the true history of what he brings in and learn more about it. That makes it a very successful ‘history’ book in my eyes.
It is full of technical jargon though the author explains most of it for those of you like me who can’t understand all of it including the science side of it. Those parts of the book do take me longer to read, but the majority of the time the information is critical to understanding the plot.
Want some adventure? Want some action? Like gun scenes? Love history? Like science? Then any Cussler book will be a good read for you. If World War II, specifically the Pacific Theatre, is what you are interested in, this is for sure a book you need to look into.
Note: This book was purchased with my own funds.
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LibraryThing member readafew
Meh. Not great, but not awful. It was very entertaining, and was fun to listen to while driving to work. Once again our heroes get themselves into tough places and luck almost more than skill gets them back out again. Almost everyone does something monumentally stupid at least once, at least all
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the men. If you're looking for realism look elsewhere, if you just looking for a bit of popcorn entertainment, this might be just up your alley. Show Less
LibraryThing member Icefirestorm
For a fan of the Dirk Pitt series, this is more of what you want. To say any more might spoil things. You can see a start of a transition from Dirk Sr. being the main character to Dirk Jr.
LibraryThing member feralchicken
Another easy to read, page-turner from Cussler, featuring improbable feats of daring and survival from the protagonists. A good romp on face value, with an amusing cameo and a rather optomistic conclusion.
LibraryThing member Darla
It's almost totally Dirk junior now. That's part of my problem, though I think most of the reason I didn't enjoy this one as much as I normally would have is that I was interrupted too often while I was reading it. Like all the other Cussler books, it jumps around from thread to thread, and with
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all the interruptions, it got confusing. I should have just put it down and read something else, waited to read this until I could have some uninterrupted time to enjoy it. The plot was--bio agents developed by Japan in WWII recovered & expanded on by N. Korean megalomaniac. Over-the-top as usual. Dirk Jr. seems to have developed his dad's ingenuity & invincibility, but he & Dahlgren, or he & Summer, just don't have the chemistry of Pitt & Giordino. (who, btw, look distressingly like McConaughey and Zahn now) Show Less
LibraryThing member Ameise1
It's ten years ago since I've read the last Dirk Pitt adventure and now I can't belief that I've waited so long to read this one. It's as always a fast-paced enthralling adventure starting out in the last year of WWII and everything that happened later is related to this event from WWII. The whole
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NUMA family is involved to eliminate the acute jeopardy, luckily the heroes are always on time at the right spots. Minor damages like the loss of some high tech vessels have been included but nevertheless the good ones have been the winners and the bad boys are removed from this planet. Show Less
LibraryThing member pre20cenbooks
I travel around the globe, eat well, imagine i can swim out of danger, am vital....getting too dramatic. However, this was the best of the older novels I have found at the thrift stores. The adventure was spine tingling and the medical mystery right up my alley! Fun fast read it was indeed...I am
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in favor of not revealing plots;/spoilers for these stories as that is what hooks the reader like me, and I say great job. Love the addiction to vintage vehicles but what happens to the Chrysler in this one will make the Mopar club cry! Show Less
LibraryThing member jimgysin
When I read fiction, one of the things that I do is to maintain a list of problematic questions regarding the narrative and the choices of the author in terms of plotting and the like. And when I get to ten questions of this sort, I stop with the list and either continue to read with my brain
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turned off or throw the book against the wall and read something else. Well, I'm pretty sure that I could have come up with dozens and dozens of questions about the plot of this one, and if it hadn't been for my love of *Clive* Cussler's work in the past with some of these characters, this one would not have survived my 50 page rule. But I hung in there for the sake of Dirk and Al and Rudy and Sandecker more than for the sake of The Next Generation. And it never got better; it remained extremely stupid and unbelievable from start to finish. I don't know if I'll continue with the series anytime soon (especially with Cussler's son Dirk getting more involved with the writing), but I'm not ready to say goodbye yet. Still, it's sad to see a series in decline like this. In short, this one is for the complete-ists out there, but I would not recommend it to anyone else. Show Less
LibraryThing member sjh4255
very good read
LibraryThing member buffalogr
Another action packed adventure--too packed. It seems that Dirk Senior has aged out of the adventure business and is now Director of NUMA. He did not appear until the last third of the book when he left the desk to fly a blimp and sink a "ship". Instead, Dirk Junior and his sister Summer have all
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the fun. The book departed credulity when Al Giordino looks at a piece of gear and says: "What's that?" and in the next sentence is operating it like a seasoned pro. The plot remained extremely stupid and unbelievable from start to finish.....maybe, I'll give the series a haitus.... Show Less
LibraryThing member Ian.Coates
A good page-turning read involving a World War II biological weapon that has lain on the seabed since the close of the war, when the submarines carrying it were sunk before it could be deployed. A North Korean industrialist with plans on driving the Americans from South Korea sets out to recover
The story is slightly spoiled by a lack of realism in how the villain treats Pitt: rather than simply shooting him when Pitt is captured (as he does other opponents without hesitation), he repeatedly chooses to keep him alive instead (for no apparent reason), allowing Pitt to return and disrupt his activities again, and the cycle repeats. In very James Bond story fashion, during one encounter, the Korean shackles Pitt in a cave that is about to flood and leaves him there to die; and on another occasion, ties him to the support structure below the base of a rocket that is about to be launched so that the flames will kill him. In both instances, of-course, Pitt escapes, only to go after the villain once more.
That lack of realism disrupts what would otherwise be a very absorbing story with a strong plot. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the overall read, which kept me eagerly turning the pages to the final full stop.
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the weapon with the intention of using it against American cities. A trial release in Alaska leads to unexplained seal corpses, which soon prompts a NUMA investigation. Dirk Pitt becomes obsessed with uncovering what’s happening and rapidly finds himself on a collision course with the Korean and his henchmen.The story is slightly spoiled by a lack of realism in how the villain treats Pitt: rather than simply shooting him when Pitt is captured (as he does other opponents without hesitation), he repeatedly chooses to keep him alive instead (for no apparent reason), allowing Pitt to return and disrupt his activities again, and the cycle repeats. In very James Bond story fashion, during one encounter, the Korean shackles Pitt in a cave that is about to flood and leaves him there to die; and on another occasion, ties him to the support structure below the base of a rocket that is about to be launched so that the flames will kill him. In both instances, of-course, Pitt escapes, only to go after the villain once more.
That lack of realism disrupts what would otherwise be a very absorbing story with a strong plot. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the overall read, which kept me eagerly turning the pages to the final full stop.
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LibraryThing member Rockhead515
I liked these better when Clive wrote by himself, but still a fun read.
LibraryThing member pussreboots
Black Windis by Clive Cussler is the eighteenth Dirk Pitt novel and the second one co-authored by son Dirk Cussler. Dirk Pitt Jr. is called into rescue some researchers mysteriously ill on a remote Aleutian island. It appears their illness (and the deaths of some others nearby) is related to the
Two things in thrillers make me cringe: dirty bombs and airborne WMD. This one relies on a the latter — a WWII era chimera which combines a variety of airborne diseases into one super weapon. Except it's been sitting at the bottom of the ocean in a submarine for five decades.
Sure it's related to a Japanese plot, but if I were North Korean agent posing as a South Korean businessman and arms dealer, I'd stick to sarin gas. It's just as deadly and doesn't require tracking down old sunk submarines (and thus drawing unnecessary attention to one's self).
Black Wind would have been so much better had the submarine plot been a complete red herring. From reading other reviews, though, it appears the Cusslers were distracted with Hollywood's version of Sahara (and a failed law suit, therein).
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recent discovery of a WWII era submarine.Two things in thrillers make me cringe: dirty bombs and airborne WMD. This one relies on a the latter — a WWII era chimera which combines a variety of airborne diseases into one super weapon. Except it's been sitting at the bottom of the ocean in a submarine for five decades.
Sure it's related to a Japanese plot, but if I were North Korean agent posing as a South Korean businessman and arms dealer, I'd stick to sarin gas. It's just as deadly and doesn't require tracking down old sunk submarines (and thus drawing unnecessary attention to one's self).
Black Wind would have been so much better had the submarine plot been a complete red herring. From reading other reviews, though, it appears the Cusslers were distracted with Hollywood's version of Sahara (and a failed law suit, therein).
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LibraryThing member JBreedlove
Campy in dialogue, metaphor and at times plot, over written and over described a times but still a good fast paced read where you know the good guys will win in the end. Like the other Cussler I read, 2023I had run out of books while away at work and found this laying around. Almost a 3 but it was
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fast reading when I was in the office. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2004-11
Physical description
656 p.; 4.25 inches
ISBN
1405620862 / 9781405620864