Diving The Seamount [Paperback]

Tom Rapko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2004

Twenty miles off the arid coast of Baja California an underwater oasis beckons. Known by generations of Mexican Indians as a source of energy and strength, its renown has attracted a loose following of itinerant travelers determined to discover its secret. Slowly the seamount reveals her secret, but will that be enough for these travelers to overcome the trappings of a modern society?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Rapko is an avid scuba diver, underwater photographer, and impromptu philosopher. With over a thousand dives on five continents, he holds a special place in his heart for the Baja peninsula. He lives above his means in Boston?s South End with his wonderful wife Angela.

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595320856
• ISBN-13: 978-0595320851
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,686,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sell everything, pay off your debts, punch out., November 3, 2005

By 

Justin Ratcliff "egovirus" (S.Pasadena, Ca.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Diving The Seamount (Paperback)

At it's heart, Diving the Seamount is about an ancient desire for escaping the mundane and meaningless lives which most of us lead, and throwing the dice for paradise. This book offers many stories, many of which represent salvation and redemption, all within the context of a geographical locale capable of causing many to question the very value of their existence, and the quality of their happiness. Though scuba diving offers the common link between many of its characters, Diving the Seamount explores the universal nature of mankind's desire for peace, quiet, love, and the ever prescient attraction of the sea, regulator or no. Tom Rapko writes in the spirit of Steinbeck, and the similarities between this book and the Monterey Series are not lost on me. I will be looking forward to future offerings from this promising new author, and share the sentiment of another reviewer that employing an editor would do much to bring out the talent made obvious by this nascent effort.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful And Entertaining, September 13, 2004

By 

Donald Chewms ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diving The Seamount (Paperback)

It is very rare when a book this short in length (130 pages) is so packed with adventure and excellent character development. However, author Tom Rapko accomplishes just that in Diving The Seamount.

Additionally, Rapko's obvious passion for diving is hard to contain, and as such the reader can't help being drawn into the excitement of the story. Another area in which the author succeeds is in his description and development of each character. We follow the lives of several strangers who have little in common aside from their trip to Baja to dive the seamount. We then see how their lives unfold afterward and the changes that are brought about by their experiences at the seamount. What I appreciate most about the characters in this book is that, while they come from all walks of life, it is very easy to identify with each one. Rapko also manages to avoid cliches, and brings a very human approach to the variety of characters, whether it be the natives of Baja or the big city lawyer from the United States.

In addition to a very entertaining story that makes this book hard to put down, the book is full of little philosophical gems that causes the reader to ponder the choices that he or she has made regarding their own life. And rather than tell the reader which life path to take, Rapko allows the reader to decide that for him or herself.

I would highly recommend this book for anybody with a sense of adventure, particularly anybody that loves SCUBA diving or has ever entertained the notion of trying it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Painful Read, May 28, 2006

By 

SharkBookLover (Lansing, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Diving The Seamount (Paperback)

This self-published novel may be the worst book I've ever read. It's as if the author sat down with a thesaurus to turn 'birds' into 'avians', and to have people 'perambulate' and 'hagger' [sic] instead of walk. The writing is full of strange word choices and even stranger phrasings, the author working very hard to be clever and original. The result is that this amateurish book reads like a very bad first draft. This reader's most frequent response to the writing: "huh?"

It also seems the book went to print without being read by a living, human editor. The computer's spell checker gives us 'unique receipts' instead of 'recipes,' 'segregate home' instead of 'surrogate,' and 'wince it came' instead of 'whence.' People go 'aboard' to study. The manuscript is replete with these uncorrected errors, the editing a bad joke. Did the author actually critically read his own manuscript before publication?

The story gives very little actual sense of what diving the Sea of Cortez seamounts, or what visiting the town and people of La Paz are truly like. To this avid reader and avid diver who's explored those very seamounts, and spent more than a year traveling the wonders of Baja, this book is a major disappointment. And worst of all: the story itself is simply boring.

Caveat emptor. I wish I had read an honest review before spending my money.