Customer Reviews

The Chase

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I've always been a fan of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt and NUMA Files adventures, and THE CHASE is the same kind of story. There's a larger-than-life hero who faces impossible challenges and is viciously injured but gets right up. There are fast cars, a discreet liaison with a beautiful woman, loyal associates, and big transportation (in this case trains rather than boats). Oh, and a sociopathic villain.

All that's to the good. Of course we also have writing from the Hardy Boys school of literature and fantastic plot elements. That's no surprise and if you're a fan, you just read around it. Here's an example of an overloaded sentence from the beginning of Chapter 15:

"Cromwell's chauffeur drove the 1906 Rolls-Royce Brougham, made by the London coach maker Barker, with its six-cylinder, thirty-horsepower engine, from the garage to the front of the palatial Nob Hill mansion Cromwell had designed himself and constructed from white marble blocks cut and hauled by railroad from a quarry in Colorado."

Hmmm ... anyone got a red pencil?

The hero is one Isaac Bell, an independently wealthy private detective. The villain is a bank robber-murderer known as "the Butcher Bandit." Bell, through hot detective work and breathtaking good luck, gets on the trail of the Bandit by page 168 (of 404). The rest of the book -- the better half -- involves a lot of fast driving, a locomotive race, some shooting and robbing, and the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Oh, and of course a satisfactory ending.

THE CHASE does have a structural device that kicks it up a notch. While the story takes place in 1906, the book opens and closes with a 1950 underwater salvage operation in a large Montana lake. This is reminiscent of James Cameron's 1997 movie TITANIC, and was a very nice touch.

Cussler's at his best with the action scenes, and THE CHASE has some epic action. The train scenes really are playing to his strength. The story is according to formula but the formula works: familiar and therefore safe style, combined with wild action. This is a very satisfactory offering from Cussler and if you like this kind of book, you'll probably enjoy it as much as I did.

Linda Bulger, 2008

Only Clive Cussler could go from writing about NUMA and their exploits and turn out such a book as good as this. There is no Dirk or other players that you are familar with, but an outstanding new one with the name of Issac Bell. Hopefully Cussler will continue with his exploits in future books also. A well written book and one that keeps you from putting the book down except for bathroom breaks. Well done again. When is the next one??

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical since this was not another Dirk Pitt adventure which is what most know Clive Cussler for. Many times an author attempts to branch out and delivers something that is mediocre at best. That is not the case with The Chase!

This story had me captivated from the first page and I couldn't put it down until it was finished. It is one of the fastest reads that I have experienced with a Cussler novel.

There is a great story line with plenty of action and suspense. I would strongly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a stimulating read with great characters and suspenseful story. The primary character Isaac Bell is a real man with sharp intelligence, cunning intuition, athletic ability and tenacious spirit.

With out giving away too much about that book I will end with my thumbs up. I recommend to anyone who likes a great story written by a fantastic author. You won't be disappointed.

The Chase, as the title might suggest, is a fast paced action packed novel. The Chase tells the story of a conveniently wealthy PI in pursuit of a murderous bank robber in 1906. The novel delivers on a number of counts and overall is a pretty entertaining ride.

A few small complaints:

The ending lacks suspense because we know exactly what's going to happen. I kept turning pages, but in the end felt like I was going through the motions, waiting for the inevitable outcome. Even the epilouge 50 years later was painfully predictable.

The novel includes a commonly used gimmick which is to incorporate a famous historical event into the story. In this case Cussler uses the San Francisco earthquake. I'm generally not a fan of this sort of thing unless the event is central to the story and not just a plot device. In this case, Cussler uses the disaster as a plot device to provide a diversion for a bank robber's escape. While the use of the earthquake is not nearly as awkward and forced as Jeffery Archer's use of 9/11 in his abysmal novel False Impressions, it still feels out of place to me. The challenge is that in the face of such catastrophic disasters, the central plot of catching a bank robber (even a murderous one) pales in comparison to the devastation caused by the disaster.

Finally, I'm getting a little tired of independently wealthy crime fighters. Our hero in this novel works as a low paying PI but he is an extremely rich man. This allows him to solve a host of problems just by throwing money around. It's all a little too convenient for me.

My complaints are relatively minor though. All in all, this is an entertaining fast paced read that takes the reader back to a time when murders couldn't be solved in the lab or with computer data bases. The Chase isn't perfect, but it's good fun.

I have read most of the Dirk Pitt series and a few of Cussler's other efforts and have to admit that as time has gone on, I was tiring of his writing.

Not this one. This is a well done period piece which is absorbing, interesting, informative and fun. I loved the characters that he developed to tell this story of greed and cunning and I suspect that if you have liked his writing in the past, you will also.

Clive Cussler couldn't retire from writing for long, thank goodness, and having handed Dirk Pitt over to his son, he has decided to do something a little new. Given his obvious penchant for the more elegant way of life 100 years ago, it is unsurprising he chose to set this story in 1906.

The hero of this novel is Isaac Bell, a detective for the Van Dorn Agency who always gets his man. Isaac is the wealthy son of a banker who chose the excitement of being a detective instead, but still enjoys the perks of wealth. He is put on the trail of the notorious Butcher Bandit, who has been robbing banks all over the west and killing any and all witnesses. Isaac knows he's up against one tough customer, and the Butcher Bandit has a very beautiful accomplice. Isaac's quarry also has a beautiful secretary, and Isaac wastes no time romancing her. Isaac starts following a faint trail of clues and it isn't long before he finds out who the Butcher Bandit is, but getting his superiors to believe him and then actually catching the bandit are another breed entirely.

Though I have to admit I missed not only Dirk and Al, but seafaring life in general, I have to support Mr. Cussler's right to write whatever he wants. It's all good! Ships and their loving descriptions were replaced by locomotives, but classic cars are a big part of the story--except the cars in this book are new and not restored. Though the writing was not nearly as over-the-top, the timeline of this story had somewhat of a Doc Savage feel, and also reminded me a little of Elmore Leonard's recent work.

Filled with adventure, romance, and descriptions of life in the past, this book was great fun to read. Mr. Cussler does not seem completely comfortable working without his NUMA cast, but his talent comes shining through. I will always be first in line to buy anything by Clive Cussler because he always delivers a great read.

This book is a welcome change from the Dirk Pitt and NUMA files of the past. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope that more of this nature is in the future.

When a new Clive Cussler novel falls into my hands, I put things aside so I can read it immediately. Cussler, in the tradition of Ned Buntline's dime-novels or Barbara Cartland's 700+ romance novels, writes page-turners consisting of almost pure non-stop action.

Plots are essentially after-thoughts. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I get the impression that Cussler starts with the barebones of an idea and starts writing, letting the characters and his own thoughts guide the writing as it goes. The heroes are always on the thin side. Always handsome in a rugged, scarred masculaine way, always honest, always chivalrous, always very attractive to women, always brave and always smarter than the bad guys they are chasing. Villains lack only a waxed handlebar mustache, top hat and a damsel to tie to the tracks in front of the oncoming train.

In short, a Cussler adventure is just that: an adventure.

The story opens in 1950 as an elderly gent stands on a barge floating in a Montana lake. A crane brings up an old steam locomotive . . . Flash back to 1906 when an evil, evil man dubbed "The Butcher Bandit" is coursing through the West robbing banks and murdering all witnesses.

After two years of ineffectual efforts, crack private detective Isaac Bell of the Van Dorn Agency is assigned to thte case. Of course, why it takes two years befor Isaac "Always Gets His Man" Bell is assigned to the case is never explained - and, since its a Cussler novel, no one cares.

We are quickly introduced to "The Butcher Bandit", a really evil guy, as are all the villains in Cussler novels. And of course "The Butcher Bandit" really is smarter than the other guy, coming up with ways to leave the small towns whose banks he loots without leaving a trace. (No, I will not tell you how he does it . . . the inventiveness of Cussler's villains is a big part of enjoying a Cussler novel). The identity of "The Butcher Bandit" comes as a shock, as it is intended to.

In the hands of someone less capable than Cussler "The Chase" would quickly degenerate into nonsense. But Cussler is a grand storyteller and the implausible plot and characters work, no matter how may gigantic holes there are in the plot, no matter how many editorial oversights and factual errors there are. (My favorite in this one is where Cussler explains how the bad guy has contributed to campaigns of those seeking to become federal judges. The implication is that they are elected. Nope. Not federal judges.)

Cussler engages in his self-referential habit in an amusing way and, as always, drops numerous historical tidbits into the story. This time around, the Great San Francisco Earthquake plays a major part in the tale as well as a pretty exciting train chase. The latter, of course, is the basis for the title.

Cussler, I suspect, is an aquired taste. People looking for brilliant plots, lifelike characters and plausibility may not like Cussler. But for those who enjoy pure, unadulerated escapist adventure, Cussler is the master. While this sort-of Western is a far cry from his usual excellent maritime adventures, it is still great fun.

A fun, fast read.

Jerry

I was beyond thrilled to spot a new Cussler novel on the shelves recently. I had to do a double-take when I noticed that nowhere on the front did it say Dirk Cussler, Craig Dirgo, Paul Kemprecos or Jack DuBrul as co-authors. This is a Clive-only written adventure tale fairly off the beaten path of what he normally churns out by way of Dirk Pitt, Kurt Austin, Juan Cabrillo and soforth.

First off, a Cussler novel beginning many years ago is nothing new by any stretch...but what really sets The Chase apart is that when we finally skip to the Present, we are still quite deep in the past. The Butcher Bandit has been on a killing spree rivaling anything done by any previous serial murderer in US history. The Government becomes involved and eventually hires renown detective, Isaac Bell from the Van Dorn Detective Agency. Cussler barely gets off the ground at this point, but it doesn't take long before rubber hits the pavement and The Chase is ON...literally.

While some of the dialogue is rather stiff and less than realistic, the story never ceases to entertain. I constantly found myself drawn into a world from well over 50 years ago wondering just how fun it must have been (as well as difficult) to incorporate all the trademark Cussler adventure details all without relying on modern technology as virtually all of his previous novels have...all the while keeping things JUST as action-packed as we have come to expect from the Grand Master of Adventure Fiction. It would seem that since Clive has turned over the majority of his tried-and-true franchises over to other authors, it was high time he got busy writing stuff that he may have been thinking about writing for who knows how many years? All I know is if Isaac Bell were to make a return visit in a future tale, sign me up for the ride.

Easily one of the most bankable authors in print over the past 30 years, I can always count on Clive...and will continue to do so. Simply a fabulous story, and am I ever glad I talked myself into buying it.

Having been a Cussler fan since 'Vixen 03', I've read all of his works, some of them many times. I've always thought that 'Treasure' was the height of his literary powers (with 'Sahara' and 'Inca Gold' running a close 2-3), but I assume I'm no different than other long-time followers in saying that anything Clive puts out there will wind up on my bookshelf.

'The Chase' is certainly not up to those standards, but it's got to be hard for a writer to keep topping him or herself...with that in mind, I cracked open 'The Chase' with an open mind (the same open mind that has discovered that Juan Cabrillo is an intriguing character, while Dirk Junior and Kurt Austin are not). Not surprisingly, this book's protagonist, Isaac Bell, has some turn-of-the-century Dirk Pitt characteristics, and although it's somewhat over the top in this story, Bell shows potential to be an interesting hero in a new Cussler series, should he decide to pursue one.

I've always enjoyed Cussler's "tweaking" of known history to create a backstory which in turn lays the groundwork for each novel, and his basing of this story one hundred years ago was a pleasant change from the Dirk Pitt series.

I have two criticisms: My first is similar to other reviewers' here, in that the story is lacking the detail and character development of other Cussler novels.....another fifty pages wouldn't have hurt a thing. I'll simply hope that this work was perhaps a hurried experiment, just to see how the fanbase would react to it.

Second was the ending, also lamented by other reviewers: somewhat lacking in suspense. The opening chapter sets the stage that keeps one reading, but the next to last chapter is the true conclusion....the final chapter being too predictable. Upon finishing the book, I immediately thought of my own alternate ending that would have kept us guessing until the final page (instead of Bell leaping onto the Kalispell and therefore knowing the exact fate of the train, instead I would suggest having the ferry disappear into the storm, leaving us with the impression that even Bell can't be sure if there were survivors).

Even with those criticisms, I'll still freely admit that it was a page turner. While the dialogue did have an odd ring to it, remember, this was 1906. If the reader can let his mind drift back half a century before Dirk Pitt was even born, I believe he or she will find 'The Chase' an enjoyable read.