Clive Cussler
1982
Grade: C-
This is quite an easy read. It was the matter of a single day’s reading as I sat beside mom in the hospital. It has all the elements, the good and the bad, of a James Bond film and an Indiana Jones film. From feme fatales to mysterious lost civilizations, the adventure misses no beat that its intended audience would hope to find. Where the work shines however is in the apparent technical expertise Cussler shows with regard to all things underwater and the mystery that culminates in the revelation of the villain’s submarine hideout and nefarious plot. While I can’t say with any certainty that Cussler’s knowledge holds true to life when it comes to diving and submarines, I can say that it was all told quite confidently and without any clear logical inconsistencies. The mystery of the missing ships becomes the biggest page turning engine as I was first intrigued by the notion of the missing Kanoli civilization then kept engaged by wanting to know how much of the deranged message of Captain Dupree would turn out to be true. Not knowing what the rules of the world of the novel were, it was easy to imagine all manner of supernatural explanations. Gun fights, car chases, and every kind of popcorn chewing harmless fun that makes movies of this sort such a pleasant and entertaining diversion.
Character, plot, dialogue. Understanding that Dirk Pitt is not intended to be a three dimensional character so that the reader can fully invest in the power fantasy is completely within the bounds of what Cussler was trying to do here, but unfortunately that trait flows onto most all of the other characters as well. Admiral Hunter and his daughter, Denver, Boland, Summer, Delphi, and Rudi are all rather one note in their execution, but, owing to their environment, one is forced to call this more of a nit-pick than a full fledged criticism.
The plot wavers from extremely competent to meandering depending on the moment. The elements involving the submarine, the diving, and the mysterious forces plaguing the north Pacific are tight, focused, and exciting, while those without these elements suffer by comparison. Also, the way the message of Captain Dupree was revealed to be a forgery is clunky and deflating considering the mystery Cussler had been building to that point; it is a real missed opportunity. Though also destined to be mentioned in the dialogue portion of this critique, Summer’s involvement is everywhere a drag and logically confusing considering the outcome of the novel.
Dialogue and climax: I pair these largely because the former becomes worthy of comment most notably at the latter.
“I have a strange feeling when I’m in your presence…it’s not simply happiness or contentment but something else. I can’t explain it”
“The feeling is love”(246). This may be the most incredulous I’ve ever felt at a profession of love in fiction. To this point Summer had spent a short walk on the beach (with murder as the intent) and a battered interrogation (which ended in her escaping through a bathroom window) with Dirk. This was their only interaction in the whole novel before she made this startling confession. The fact that it is ludicrous on its face is highlighted by the fact that within a few more pages she’s sacrificing herself to be buried with her father on the ocean floor. As this has no bearing on the novel as a whole, save for her deus ex machina rescue of Dirk from being drowned in a bathtub, it is less intrusive than the self aware monologuing of her father, the villainous Delphi.
Having your character comment on the foolishness of villain monologues only moments before delivering just such a tedious exposition dump is truly confusing. While it may be necessary for Delphi to clarify all of the elements of the intrigue that had been going on behind the scenes of the novel, the back and forth between Delphi and Pitt is very extensive to the point where it loses all sense of reality and tiptoes into the realm of farce.
All that said, the overall impression I took away from this was a positive one. I enjoyed the high adventure, the well traveled and rough edged hero, and the slowly unraveling mystery. While I would have preferred there to have been more to the mystery itself (though it is perhaps childish of me to hope for something more dramatic than a corrupt disciple of a Captain Nemo type), it would be unfair to say anything less than this was a fun book to read. I don’t know if I will be buying into the series proper, but I am interested to know the arc of Cussler’s skill with the character. Are the weaknesses here partially due to early 80’s thriller trends and a new writer? Or are these weaknesses representative of the series as a whole. There is certainly an argument to be made for selecting a mid and late entry from the series. While I wouldn’t give this preference over the Crichton’s or Clancy’s I’ve encountered in this vein, definitely a recommend for anyone looking for a page-turning beach read off the beaten path from the household names.
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