Arctic Drift [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Clive Cussler (Author), Jeff Harding (Reader), Dirk Cussler (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2009

As with all Clive Cussler’s dazzling Dirk Pitt novels, critics said Treasure of Khan “amazes, informs and entertains” (Publishers Weekly), “the action zipping along until a final powerhouse showdown” (Entertainment Weekly). “What’s not to like?” proclaimed the Los Angeles Times—and hundreds of thousands of readers agreed.

In his new novel, however—the twentieth Dirk Pitt adventure— Cussler may have topped even himself.

A potential breakthrough discovery to reverse global warming . . . a series of unexplained sudden deaths in British Columbia . . . a rash of international incidents between the United States and one of its closest allies that threatens to erupt into an actual shooting war . . . NUMA director Dirk Pitt and his children, Dirk. Jr. and Summer, have reason to believe there’s a connection here somewhere, but they also know they have very little time to find it before events escalate out of control. Their only real clue might just be a mysterious silvery mineral traced to a long-ago expedition in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. But no one survived from that doomed mission, captain and crew perished to a man—and if Pitt and his colleague Al Giordino aren’t careful, the very same fate may await them.

Filled with the breathtaking suspense and audacious imagination that have become his hallmarks, this is a tour de force— further proof that when it comes to adventure writing, nobody beats Clive Cussler.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Cussler and son Dirk imagine the U.S. and Canada on the brink of war in their third collaborative Dirk Pitt novel (after Treasure of Khan and Black Wind). In 2011, as the price of gas hits $10 a gallon, President Garner Ward must contend with a corrupt Canadian cabal that's subverting efforts to solve America's energy problems. Pitt barely escapes serious injury when a bomb destroys a D.C. lab along with records of research into an artificial photosynthesis process that could, almost immediately, eliminate the threat of global warming. That discovery may be connected with a legendary failed 19th-century sailing expedition to the Arctic as well as a series of deaths due to the phenomena that the Native Americans of British Columbia know as the Devil's Breath. The Cusslers won't suspend many readers' disbelief, but thriller fans in search of a quick, exciting read should be satisfied. 750,000 printing; author tour. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Impossible to put down... a compelling sense of adventure that can rival any cinematic blockbuster --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: ISIS Audio Books; Library only ed edition (June 1, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0753140837
• ISBN-13: 978-0753140833
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Clive Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt(R), in 1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York, considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997. It was the first time since the College was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed.
Cussler is an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers have discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship, Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea.
In September, 1998, NUMA - which turns over all artifacts to state and Federal authorities, or donates them to museums and universities - launched its own web site for those wishing more information about maritime history or wishing to make donations to the organization.
In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler is also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic Society in London. He has been honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration.
Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. His past international bestsellers include Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey, Black Wind, Treasure of Kahn and Arctic Drift (the last three with his son, Dirk Cussler) as well as The Chase; the nonfiction books The Sea Hunters, The Sea Hunters II and Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt (R) Revealed; the NUMA(R) Files novels Serpent, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death, Lost City, Polar Shift, The Navigator and Medusa (written with Paul Kemprecos); and the Oregon Files novels Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha (written with Craig Dirgo) and Dark Watch, Skeleton Coast, Plague Ship and Corsair (written with Jack Du Brul).
Clive Cussler lives in Arizona.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another winning entry for Clive & Son, November 26, 2008

By 

Jeff Edwards "RadioJeff" (Twin Falls, Idaho) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Arctic Drift (A Dirk Pitt Novel, #20) (Dirk Pitt Adventure) (Hardcover)

You would be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of Dirk Pitt novels than me, and while the anxious 'sit & wait' attitude until the next adventure comes out has softened somewhat with the last 4-5 novels, I gotta admit that it's tough to beat an action-drenched sea-worthy drama like the type produced by the Cussler's.

After being totally UNDER-Whelmed by the cover of 'Arctic Drift' (easily one of the worst in the entire Pitt library), I began with earnest to get back to what I love to do most: become entirely entrenched into a world where NUMA is real and saving the world is as easy as turning the next page. This time around, a completely random discovery that may very well 100% reverse Global Warming has been discovered, only to have another nasty megalomaniac--this time around from Canada--attempt to block it in order to continue to rape the environment for profit, all the while doing his best to look like his company cares about being Green more than almost anyone.

Along the way, Dirk's children, Summer & Dirk Jr. have managed to stumble upon a dangerous arm of our nasty Canadian while doing otherwise boring research half-way to Alaska on the Canadian Coast. Of course everything becomes connected in only the way that Dirk & Co. can manage to be at the right place at the right time to help. The horrible Canadian has done his best to spark what could very well be a major conflict with America, one in which an armed response seems inevitable, and right in the middle: you guessed it...Dirk Jr., Dirk Sr., Summer & Al Giordino. Along the way we discover some interesting History revolving around the efforts to discover a North Passage near the North Pole and what lengths some people will go to in order to add a few million dollars more to their already outrageously huge personal fortune.

While the debate continues to rage about the validity of mans impact on Global Warming vs. a cyclical pattern that the earth adheres to which man simply cannot influence, one thing is certain: Dirk Pitt continues to provide a slam-bang fun ride, this time through the North West Territories.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to like this..., December 18, 2008

By 

J. Tant (Under the cultural penumbra of Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Arctic Drift (Dirk Pitt Novels) (Kindle Edition)

I really wanted to like this latest adventure. Unfortunately, it follows the same formula as Dirk Pitt books have used since, oh, Dragon or Inca Gold. In fact, it got to the point where I was mentally ticking off the bullet points of the forumla. When a corporation was named, I knew right off it was the home of the rich and megalamaniacal bad guy. When the old guy helps Pitt out of a jam, I knew it was Cussler. When the handy character comes along, I knew it was a love interest for one of the characters.

I challenge the reader to put this alongside Raise the Titanic and see exactly what Cussler looked like in his prime.

Arctic Drift is good for a quick beach read, but unfortunately it doesn't have much staying power. Change the names around and you can have a nearly 1:1 substitution with other Pitt novels from the last ten-fifteen years.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buy Arctic Drift in Hard Cover and Enjoy a Fine Sea-Going Tale, December 1, 2008

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Arctic Drift (A Dirk Pitt Novel, #20) (Dirk Pitt Adventure) (Hardcover)

Arctic Drift has a lot to recommend it (if you don't get jammed up with Kindle pricing). The plot is an imaginative one about the potential risks to peace and economic stability with the world running out of energy while the ice caps are being melted down by global warming as a greedy billionaire seeks to manipulate the situation to his own advantage (much as Enron did during the electricity shortage in the West a few years ago). Dirk gets out and under the sea to have some unusual adventures which include a most unusual battle. There is a great series of cliff hangers as men's lives are at risk in perilous conditions. Dirk, Jr. and Summer also have some exciting adventures. The story also features a merciless killer who likes to make things go pop. You'll also read an intriguing historical mystery that connects to today's problems and technology. My only complaint is that the story could have used more of Dirk and Al in action.

The book opens on a doomed expedition that is captured in the Arctic ice after trying unsuccessfully to navigate the Northwest Passage through Canada from Europe to Asia. The officers can't keep order as the men seem to be going mad, somehow connected to silvery rocks they have come into contact with.

Moving into the future, the year is 2011 and a mysterious phenomenon called the Devil's Breath is causing mysterious deaths at sea along the Inside Passage in British Columbia. Summer and Dirk, Jr. are taking water samples when they come across a derelict ship that has come into contact with the Breath. In the process, Summer makes friends with a dead fisherman's brother and the three investigate what might be causing large changes in the acid level in the sea.

Further south, a pro-environmentalist Canadian M.P. is murdered in a way to make it look like an accident. In the Arctic, a Canadian research station is destroyed by what looks like a U.S. Navy vessel creating international tensions.

In Washington, D.C., a rare element turns out to have unusual properties, and the finding triggers a race to find more of the element and to seize control of the secret. Now the race is on to solve the energy crisis.

I liked the plot very much. It goes well beyond the "we are running out of . . . ." story lines and the "we are going to die from global warming" story lines to come up with an original intersection of the two problems constructed in a way that seems realistic in light of the economic events earlier in 2008 as gasoline prices in the United States spiked above $4.00 a gallon and seemed headed higher until a global recession pricked the balloon.

The story has nice balance as well. There are a lot of characters and several interesting threads. If anything, Arctic Drift is a little too balanced. I could have used more of Dirk and Al at sea and in battle. The new plots where Dirk, Jr. and Summer engage in the ocean-going events aren't nearly as interesting as the more dangerous situations that Dirk and Al used to get themselves into and out of.

There's less swagger here . . . and more intellect. That's okay, but it's not quite as good as the over the top swagger that this series once featured. But I think you'll enjoy your voyage with NUMA and company.