Customer Reviews

Black Wind: A Dirk Pitt Novel (Dirk Pitt Adventure)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(27)
1 star:		(34)

 

 

Clive, the senior Cussler, and Dirk, the junior Cussler, have written a rip-rollicking tale about Dirk the Elder, Dirk the Younger, and Summer the Daughter. It's Manly Man Reading when Father and Son write about Fathers and Sons.

Even though I'm being funny, this is a fun, enjoyable book. Cussler Sr. wrote the first part of the book, and Cussler Jr. picked up where he left off and finished the book. The two authors meld seamlessly. There are no jarring exchanges where you can tell that one or the other is writing.

Like most of Cussler's books, dark deeds from the past well up to infiltrate the present. Here, the three folks from NUMA (Dirk, Dirk, and Summer) must foil a bio-plot that has its roots in WWII. It's a little slight, which is why it doesn't get a higher star rating, but at least it's fun.

Even though this is the latest in a long series of NUMA books, each one stands alone. You can pick up any one of them and not be lost. "Black Wind" is no exception.

Jim Yodrick

In December 1944, Captain Miyoshi Horinouchi, staff operations officer of the Japanese Imperial Navy Sixth Fleet, informs Lieutenant Commander Ogawa of Submarine I-403 of a change of assignment. Instead of patrolling the Philippines, he is to "escort' a special guest from the Kure Naval Base in Japan to the "enemy's doorsteps". The civilian Dr. Jisaichi Tanaka of the Army Medical College has found a devastating biological agent that will bring the Americans to their knees begging for peace. If he fails on this mission, Japan will inevitably lose the war as the Battle of the Pacific is all but over since the recent fleet devastation at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. However neither this sub nor a companion ever made it to its intended target.

In 2007 a South Korean knows where the subs sank and has plans for uniting his country by distracting the Americans with the launching of the deadly biological cargo on Los Angeles. Only Dirk Pitt Sr. and his adult children Jr. and Summer along with his crew from the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) stand in the way of success.

This is typical Clive Cussler fare starting with a historical naval moment expanded into an exhilarating base for a strong contemporary watery thriller in which the action is everything. Dirk is aging gracefully (my knees hurt just reading about his adventures), but the torch as with the authors seem to be moving on one knot at a time to the next generation. BLACK WIND is an exciting tale that is like all the NUMA novels worth an oceanic adventure trek that takes enthralled readers merrily to the Pitts.

Harriet Klausner

Ever since I read my first Clive Cussler novel while on an oil rig in the North Sea (sometime about 1978 or 1977 or so), I've been a Cussler enthusiast. I've only read the Cussler novels, not the commercialized versions with co-authors. They never seemed to have that spice that makes a Cussler novel whatever it is.

There is not another author for whom I would consistently shell out the cost of a hardback, then take the following day off from work just to read his novel. I've always thought Cussler that good.

His writing has never been, well, elegant. His prose has never been challenging or even slightly mind-bending. His grammar is at times thwarted or convoluted....but....

It's his stories. They have always captivated me. He has always told rip-snorting, exciting yarns.

Imagine my sadness when I bought this latest book at the San Francisco Airport bookstore (paying a premium, I might add, just because it is Mr. Cussler's name on the book) and took it with me on a business trip.

Not even the boredom of a hotel room could entice me to finish it. The novel had all the formula (Mr. Cussler, you've always used the old "formula writing") but none of the storytelling, yarn-stretching, fat-chewing, whopper-telling, enigma-engrossing whatever-it-is-that-makes-Clive-the-best sauce. It was gone. Left in it's place was dry turkey leftover from Thanksgiving, and that was months ago....

It was like returning to a favorite restaurant and discovering that they had lost the recipes that had made the place so compelling to begin with. A most depressing experience.

If Mr. Cussler or his son read these reviews, I hope they take note of this: First, Mr. Cussler, whatever your talent was, it was great. Perhaps you no longer want to practice your art, so you should simply stop. No matter what, these sorts of skills (innate abilities?) cannot be passed on. Stop while your are ahead. For Dirk, I suggest that you do what you feel compelled to do, but whatever you choose, don't choose to ride on Daddy's coat-tails.

The secret Cussler sauce was missing from this novel. Completely. But the others, in their time and space, are absolute magic.

I cannot remember which book Mr. Cussler wrote in the preface/dedication regarding the "Alhambra" (a bar, a place, what?):

Gone, but not forgotten.

I say the same now for Mr. Cussler's books. They are gone, but not forgotten. A tip of the hat to you Mr. Clive. You were the best.

For the past couple of decades the arrival of a new book from a select group of authors always raised my hopes and expectations: Forsyth, Follett, Higgins, MacDonald Fraser, and Cussler among them.

Some but not all of these writers have managed to keep their minds clear and their stories interesting and entertaining. The first to lose his touch was Jack Higgins, whose hack comic book stories about the unbelievable Sean Dillon are an embarrassment.

Now it would appear it is the turn of Clive Cussler to disappoint. 'Black Wind' is a pale shadow of the early Dirk Pitt stories, where the unimaginable seemed possible. Anyone here remember 'Raise the Titanic'? The only thing unimaginable about 'Black Wind' is getting through the book without taking it back for a refund. Happily I got mine from the library and I am only out the tedious hours wasted on reading it.

Dirk Pitt the Lesser is as weak a character as Dirk Cussler is a writer. The story is long, over-complicated, and full to the brim with clichés and stilted, clumsy language.

None of the cliff-hanging events instil any sense of urgency - everyone knows the good guys will come out on top and the bad guys will lose, but the out-come is telegraphed so far in advance there're no surprises. So, who cares?

Years ago I had the pleasure of working with a world-class racing driver who made the decision to quit while still on top of his game, rather than risk exposure of waning abilities through years of deteriorating performances.

It would be nice if Clive Cussler went out a winner rather than pass the franchise along to his son who can only 'blot his copy book' as the Brits say.

Quit now, Clive, and let us remember you fondly. Don't let Dirk Pitt the Greater be ruined by Dirk Cussler the Lesser . . .

When I saw that this was a "Dirk Pitt" book by Clive I was really looking forward to reading it (even though it has Clive's son as co-author).
Well, it turned out not to be that great.

The book started out in the old Clive Cussler tradition of interesting narrative history, that really grabs your attention, then it quickly went down hill from there.
First, it's not a Dirk Pitt book, it's a Dirk Pitt Jr book.
Second, unlike Cusslers past (distant past) Dirk Pitt books where every page is "hang by your fingernails" story telling, this book rambles on and on, interesting in some spots, but slow and tedious in most areas. Better than the Paul Kemprecos "Kurt Austin" collaborations, but far below Cusslers other Dirk Pitt books.
Those familiar with Cusslers style of writing will see that this book was NOT written by Clive Cussler (at least not in total).
The action comes in spurts, there is too much "dead space" between the action, and the interaction between Dirk Jr & Summer is pale compared to Dirk Sr and Al.

The last "true" Clive Cussler Dirk Pitt book was "Valhalla Rising".
All the other Cussler books since then (including this one) have obviously been written in large part by other authors.

The move from Dirk Sr & Al, to Dirk jr. and Summer (his sister) has not added ANY positives to the books and indeed, has taken away the chemistry that made them so enjoyable.

Cussler has obviously turned over the Dirk Pitt "NUMA" franchise to other far less capable writers.
I just wish that the publisher would stop trying to "sucker" Cussler fans into buying the books by simply sticking his name on them.

I've been reading Clive Cussler books since I was 12 years old. I loved Raise the Titanic, as improbable and silly as it was. I guess that's what made it, and all of Cussler's books, so much fun.

Cussler has his ups and downs and Black Wind is certainly a down-arguably one of the worst books in the Dirk Pitt series. Perhaps it's unfair to criticize this book when many of its faults are actually a long time tradition in Cussler's writings.

Is it really a spoiler if every single one of Clive Cussler's books has the same plot devices? Well, let's just say that if Black Wind is the first Cussler book you've ever read, then don't continue.

Black Wind starts with the same, recycled plot straight from the Clive Cussler cookie-cutter plot factory. A beautiful (but intelligent) damsel in distress is rescued by Dirk Pitt (after she looks into his dreamy green eyes). Next there's a car chase involving some sort of vintage vehicle and finally Pitt defeats an evil megalomaniac. In Black Wind Dirk Pitt Sr. is now head of NUMA and his son, Dirk Jr., has taken over his father's job as head of special projects. Cussler, never much on character development, doesn't put any work into making Dirk Jr. anything but a perfect clone of his father. Right from his features, to his old-fashioned wise-cracking to his love of antique automobiles. Couldn't Clive Cussler have given the younger Pitt just *one* character trait not shared by his father?

I suppose Cussler's bad writing, too, has worn on me over the years. Every line of dialogue is inevitably followed by a bad quip that would make James Bond wince. And the same tired clichés such as "he grinned demonically" or "on a one way trip toward evil." Cussler's writing can be competent at times. So why does he have to succumb to dime-store prose so often?

In addition, where was the editor for Black Wind? This book is at least a hundred pages too long. Every corridor the characters walk through is described in agonizing detail. Perhaps asking Cussler to trim the clichés and excessive description is like asking McDonald's to trim the calories. Still, a good editor could have tightened this book up and vastly improved it.

Ah, Clive. I've been a reader all these years, but the bad writing and two-dimensional characters just don't entertain anymore.

Perhaps I'm getting old.

I have been a fan of Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt since the beginning, and I really looked forward to this collaboration between father and son (both as writers and as characters in the new book). Unfortunately, there is little resemblance to previous characters, and the style is quite different. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the book, but it is the first of the Dirk Pitt series that I haven't read cover to cover in one sitting. It is also the first that I have not had a burning desire to finish. The mechanics of the book are good, although there are too many details at times to make reading it anything but laborious. Dirk Cussler has a hard act to follow if he is to continue writing Dirk Pitt, Jr. That is too bad, Dirk Cussler is not a bad writer; his work just needs to be tweaked a bit. Dirk Pitt, Jr. does not have the fire and charisma that Dirk, Sr. has, and he is not as well developed as he was in previous works. It will be interesting to see how the collaboration (or takeover by Dirk Cussler and Dirk Pitt, Jr.) develop.

I am a huge Pitt fan. I always preorder and wait with anticipation for the new adventure to arrive. I was still anticipating at page 200.

Hard to get excited when you keep falling asleep - the book is a bore.

This is NOT a Dirk Pitt Novel as indicated on the cover.

Its Dirk Jr. and Summer.

Interesting characters - but they do not carry a book.

I have to cast my vote along with those other readers who wonder if the whole "Dirk's Kids" concept makes sense.

The plot-line of "Black Wind" is standard Cussler fare: an evil industrialist out to change the status quo of the the world by nefarious means, and only the brave teams at NUMA stand between them and success. That isn't the problem I have; were this another Dirk Pitt Sr. novel it would be fine. But Dirk Jr. and Summer are given the spotlight here, and in my estimation their lives up to this point cannot have prepared them for handling the crises they repeatedly encounter. They've gone to the right schools, gotten the right education, have good physical condition. But Dirk Sr. was a Vietnam vet, a Major in the USAF, and his buddy Al Giordino boasts a similar background. The kids have none of this type training or background. From the information provided by Cussler and Cussler thus far, these kids should be the peers of those many other scientists needing rescue, not the heroes.

Summing up: all Cussler novels require a definite suspension of reality to work, but expecting readers to accept that these 20-something kids possess the skills, savvy, and cunning their dad acquired over decades of experience is too much.

Clive must have been tired and it was not the can't wait to turn the page he usually gives us. First time I haven't stayed up all night finishing one of Clive's adventures.