Customer Reviews

Deep Six

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Cussler does it again!! What can I say. I purchased this book the day it was released (what was it now, 12 or 15 years ago?) and I was captured into the plot from page 1 all the way through the VERY satisfying conclusion. From a ship oozing poison into the ocean to the kidnapping of the Presidential Yacht, right under the noses of the Secret Service ON the Patomac...and an unusual nasty lead character that is a woman...Clive has given one of his earlier novels plenty of flair and like I said, as you may already know, Pitt usually wins (okay ALWAYS) and the bad guys usually get what's coming to them (okay ALWAYS) but THIS one was a bit more satisfying than in novels past (at least for me). The action (as usual) is non-stop and no matter how unbelievable the story is (let's face it, ALL of Cussler's books are difficult to believe...) but let's also remember just how fun they are, too. The MOST successful movie series of all-time are about a secret agent named Bond...and are they any more believable than a Dirk Pitt novel? But we keep going back for more...why? I'll tell you why: Because THEY ARE FUN! And so is 'Deep Six'. If you (for some strange reason) do NOT know Dirk Pitt yet, get to know him here in this fantastic adventure by Clive Cussler. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Clive Cussler has made a very successful career at producing fast paced, entertaining adventures which provide us with a clean cut hero in the form of Dirk Pitt as he finds himself battling yet another villain out to ruin the world.

While Cussler's fans, who number in the legions, faithfully purchase each new novel as it comes out, there has been a change in the novels as they have become longer in length, with more exotic locales and more fantastic in their stories.

Deep Six is one of the older novels, written in the 1980s, and does not suffer from some of the far fetched coincidences that plague the latest stories. The novel concerns itself with the machinations of the Bougainville Shipping corporation. This Korean based company has used hijacking, bribery and murder to grow to its influential status and has become involved in a plot, with the Soviet Union, to kidnap and brainwash the President of the United States.

Into this steps our hero, Dirk Pitt, of the National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) who loses a friend to one of Bougainville's old crimes. While investigating this crime, he stumbles across the Presidential kidnapping plot.

Like most of the Pitt novels, this one motors along at breakneck speed as we are introduced to a surprisingly large cast of characters and spend our time moving between US government figures trying to hide knowledge of the kidnapping plot, Soviet agents aiding and trying to block the success of the kidnapping/brainwashing scheme, a private investigator seeking revenge, and a host of myriad characters. The novel nevers spends long at any one location and there is a refreshing lack of multi-dimensionality. The good guys are always good. They are willing to risk their lives for the cause of truth and justice. The bad guys are uniformly bad with no redeeming qualities.

There are, admittedly, gaps in some of the logic and you have to decide to go along for the ride at the beginning of the novel if you hope to enjoy it. However, the novel never strays into fantasy and though it may seem improbable, it never seems unbelieveable.

In the later Dirk Pitt stories, the novels are jam packed with extra information as we learn about, among other things, the diamond trade and the trade in illegal antiquities. The earlier novels, like this one, don't seek to educate but merely to entertain. There are no extraneous scenes here, everything happens for a purpose. Simply put, it is a fun adventure. Great for those times when you just want to turn your brain off and live in the moment.

For accomplishing all that it seeks to do, this novel rates a 5 stars.

Deep Six is an apt title for this Cussler's action novel, for I have lost count of the number of vessels deliberately and accidentally deep-sixed in the plot. Ship sinking were only parts of the story, this novel is 50% action, another 50% political issues stuffs.

This action packed novel told a story of human greed, power hungry and revenge mixed with the explosiveness of Clive Cussler writing wit. The main plot is organized along the political issues in Washington and beyond. A number of the highest US officials, including the president, were having a rendezvous in a yacht. The supposedly regular meeting turned disaster when a bunch of assassins came overboard to take over these officials. These assassins were operated by an entity whose boss had a deep hatred and revenge in her mind. Lots of old non-fictitious shipwrecks were also involved in this novel, making it better for reading since it had a historical weigh in it.

If you like Dan Brown's Deception Point or John Grisham novels, this novel has those qualities + lots of Robert Ludlum in it. A recommended four-star nov

My husband handed me a copy of Deep Six about 5 years ago to read the preface, and I never gave it back. I've been hooked on Dirk Pitt ever since. Deep Six is my first and favorite Cussler novel, he knows how to keep the reader interested. Great adventures, you won't want to put them down!

Deep Six in itself is not a great book - the story takes a couple hundred pages to get into the main plot, which itself is clouded with implausibility. Nevertheless, Deep Six has a brilliantly crafted tale of political intrigue, which can be at times quite suspenseful, making the book hard to put down. The plot was rather predictable, but not lacking in the action department that we come to expect from Dirk Pitt. Deep Six was the first novel, in my opinion, that started Cussler's best period of writing. The novels that were to follow, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, et al. shows that Cussler gets better with each novel he writes.

I hadn't read a Clive Cussler book for a few years and picked up "Deep Six". I ended up tearing through it in a few days. It reminded me why I like his writing so much. Sometimes Cussler's stories are a bit implausable, but they are a lot of fun. Dirk & Giordiano are a great pair of super agents and their exploits are always thrilling. Dirk always comes through with a way of saving the world at the last minute and gets the girl at the end, a la James Bond. I look forward to reading some more of Cussler's stuff. One last note, it's always neat (although sometimes hard to believe) the way Cussler has Pitt use some object of historical significance to help him out at the end; in this book he uses a Civil War steamboat in a battle in the Gulf of Mexico. These imaginative ideas are what puts Cussler above the rest.

Good book but the little bit of politics in the book was too much for me. Pacific Vortex was a much better Pitt novel than this one; Vortex was purely action/adventure and no political stuff. If I want politics, I will read Executive Orders.But the end was pretty interesting in Deep Six.

"Deep Six" is an captivating and interesting novel. The story plot is great, the President of the United States is kidnapped while on a cruise along to Potomac River, and a deaadly nerve agent was released off the coast. From the first page, the story captivates you so much you do not want to put it down. This book is not as good as his other novel, "Shock Wave", which is my favorite. He spends Some of the time, about one hundred pages, on setting up the scene. Overall, this is a good read. I would reccomend this to anyone enjoys a fast - paced and well written book.

Yes, Clive Cussler has done it again. This is one of his best and definitely one of his most entertaining novels. Sheer, non-stop escapism. Forget some of the seemingly far-fetched ideas that seem inspired by James Bond movies and ENJOY! I won`t want to give more plot away, read it for yourselves. This would make a great movie actually.

Deep Six is pure entertainment. Having lived at sea in Alaska as well as living in Korea, I found this to be an enjoyable cruise through troubled waters.

--Roger Weston, author of The Golden Catch