Customer Reviews

Night Probe!

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

1914: United States undersecretary of state, Richard Essex, is traveling on the Manhattan Limited Train. With him is one of three copies of the North American Treaty. A document few government officials know about which will have an insurmountable effect on the future of the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. Meanwhile, on the very same evening and halfway across the world, Harvey Shields, deputy secretary of the British Foreign Office, carries a copy of the treaty with him while sailing on a ship called the Empress of Ireland. Coincidentally, the train carrying Richard Essex plunges through a gap in a bridge and sinks in the Hudson River, and the ship with Harvey Shields aboard collides with a coal collier and sinks in the St. Lawrence River. Neither man's corpse is recovered and the two copies of the treaty are gone with them. Canada's prime minister has the third copy, but since the treaty is not favorable to the Canadian's he destroys it. The matter is laid to rest. The North American Treaty is never to be. Those few officials who know of the pact keep their silence and the world never knows how close we came to rewriting history.

1989: U.S. naval commander, Heidi Milligan, is writing a thesis when she comes across a letter written by Woodrow Wilson referring to the North American Treaty. Curious, she probes into the matter and discovers that even the most expert historians have no knowledge of any North American Treaty. When the word leaks out about Heidi's investigation, the U.S. and Great Britain do some detective work of their own and are stunned to learn that the treaty was indeed real. If a copy could be found, it would be valid even after seventy-five years. The United States would profit greatly from it but Great Britain would lose.

Could an intact copy of the treaty be found underwater after all these years? Call in Dirk Pitt, director of special projects for the National Underwater Marine Agency. Dirk and his men take on the task of attempting to recover the treaty for the U.S. despite the remote probability of finding it. Great Britain, on the other hand, wants to find it first so they can destroy it, rendering it useless to the U.S. Brian Shaw, a retired top-notch spy is hired to lead the British crew on their search. The race begins!

Cussler has put together a superb tale of mystery, espionage, history, and adventure. The action is non-stop as Dirk and his men battle it out underwater, on the ground, and in the air with British enemies. Expect lots of nail-biting tension as the plot twists and turns at an unrelenting pace. The surprise outcome will leave you breathless, shocked, and undoubtedly running back to the bookstore to purchase your next Dirk Pitt adventure.

I became a hopelessly addicted Cussler fan after reading the incredible 'Raise The Titanic' in '79 (GEEZ! Has it been THAT long ago??) and ever since then, looking forward to a new Dirk Pitt novel is kinda like a hobby of mine...so you can imagine when 'Night Probe' came out what a thrill it was for me to buy and read it as quickly as possible. As usual, I wasn't disappointed one tiny bit. Another fantastic example of 'what if' by the Emperor of Action.

What IF the US and England negotiated a treaty that in essence sold Canada to the Yankees...? Cussler introduces this exact situation with the opening pages of this adventure taking place on a train and a luxury ship. Both meet untimely ends, but not necessarily the way you are led to believe. Years later a reference to these documents is uncovered and soon after the race is on to find them by two countries, one bent on destroying them, the other for the purpose of collecting them intact. This is easily one of Cusslers most political novels, moving from the inner workings of the Prime Minister of Canada to the Oval Office and many points in between. If you remember the character of Foss Gly in 'Cyclops', you will be happy to find out that he makes his first appearance here in 'Night Probe', and as you can imagine, he is at his worst.

'Night Probe' definitely is one of Cusslers most intricately plotted novels, and what it may lack in action compared with some of his other stories, it more than makes up for in plot development and storyline details. Simply a great example of Cussler at his literary best. A fantastic book and worthy of any other Pitt adventure out there. Do yourself a supreme favor and get to know Dirk Pitt, and if you haven't done it yet, do it HERE. You will be most happy you did. Highly Recommended.

I have always loved the way that Clive starts his stories with a distant event or tragedy, and then brings it to modern times. Night Probe offers two distant disasters that are somehow related. It's up to Dirk Pitt, Clive's main character, (and you) to solve the puzzle.

I thought I had the mystery solved, (especially the missing train... just where is that thing hiding?) but one by one my guesses came up empty. I think I figured it all out about five seconds before Dirk did. (So, I did out-guess him, right?) It takes an exceptional author to pull that off. And Clive knows how to keep the reader happy.

This book has ranked as one of the top ten books I've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. (Of course, a lot of Clive's work is in my top ten.) Night Probe is a wonderful start to anyone just discovering Cussler's writing, or, if you've read his latest, exploring Dirk's past

Clive Cussler's books are one of my true guilty pleasures. It's similar to when you tell a friend whether they should see a movie or not--pay full price, matinee, wait till video, or don't bother. With books its--hardback, wait for paperback, hope your library has it, or don't bother. Clive Cussler is hardback all the way. Fortuneately for those of you new to the Dirk Pitt Novels, you can get hardback quality at a paperback prices.

This is a great place to start this series. Dirk Pitt takes on James Bond--Ok not the REAL James Bond, but I'd like to think that the outcome would be the same. The entire North American Treaty concept is engrossing, and the plotting is fast and furious.

This book is in the upper tier of Cussler Novels, along with Treasure, Cyclops, Dragon, and Deep Six.

Enjoy.

Ahhh, old Clive Cussler novels were so fun and this is at the top of my list of his books. It's so much fun and what a twist. The whole Canadian angle is really fun.

Cussler may be light reading even by bubblegum for the brain standards but this one, like all of his old stuff, is undeniably fun!

It's Pitt to the rescue, again, when America & the UK tangle over an obscure, never ratified treaty that may mean the salvation of America. In the early 20, twin disasters separately take the lives of two men - diplomats for England & the USA. Unknown is that each carried copies of a treaty giving Canda to the USA. Fast forward to the near-future - America faces an unprecedented energy crisis. Luckily, billions of barrels of oil is available just off-shore. Unfortunately, it's on (or under) Canadian waters. Heidi Milligan, a USN Officer and frequent Dirk Pitt companion, discovers reference to the obscure treaty while doing historical research. Knowing the implications of the treaty, NUMA and Dirk Pitt soon join the treasure hunt. Learning of the treaty themselves, the Brits pull out the stops to secure it first. (It's unclear if the Brits are aware of the massive petro-implications at stake, but they're not about to give up Canada.) Routine, and hardly the globe-hopping romp of novels like "Valhalla Rising" or "Cyclops", "Night Probe" is still worth a look. Like Pitt, "Probe" knows what we want, and delivers the goods. The story also adventurously tries a less-than patently evil adversary - with Pitt facing a british agent who's bound by duty, but not given to the bad-guy speeches or grandiose plans. He's probably the most sympathetic foe Pitt has ever faced. For Pitt fans, definately worth a read.

Warning!
Some Spoilers Below!

I can tell by the reviews that most folks really liked this book so by all means read it and form your own opinion. For me though, this book was far less entertaining than I'd expected.

The good stuff first. Some of the shipboard scenes were good and most of the supporting characters were written well enought that they were individuals without being caricatures. No mean feat in a book with this many people.

Dirk Pitt seemed OK but he didn't have much to do with the story until nearly halfway into the book and then he mostly just was in charge as things were being done. Not my idea of an action hero; more of an administrative hero. To be fair, he did see some action in the last four or five chapters, and he did figure out the big puzzle. In summary, I liked the Pitt character and would be interested in reading more about him.

Now on to the bad.

The plot doesn't stand up to even a cursory examination. I've found the plots of Bond books much more realistic. The idea of the treaty, its loss and the coverup, and its importance never made any sense. But if you're willing to give that a pass, OK.

The action wasn't very satisfying compared to a Bond or an Executioner book or a Conan story. There wasn't much action in the book at all really and that surprised me. As this is the first Dirk Pitt book I've read I could just be expecting too much. But my impression was that there would be more action than is actually here. And the action that was in the book didn't seem really exciting to me.

James Bond is here and that's a problem. Apparently the only reason Bond makes an appearance (nominally disguised) is so Dirk Pitt can defeat him. Yes, I was rooting for Pitt all the way.

OK, just one more complaint. What the hell kind of naval officer was Heidi Milligan supposed to be? That character was supposed to be smart but she didn't seem to be able to string two smart moves together during the entire book. Bond's seduction of her for information leads, directly or indirectly, to disaster and the death of 12 of Pitts men. She knows she's been used by Bond. So of course she makes the same damn mistake again, leading to more deaths. Huh? I think her character was my least favorite part of the book.

I'm probably going to read another Dirk Pitt book or maybe one of the NUMA Files series. But most of the reviews here praise Night Probe! as being the best of Cussler's books with his "most realistic plot" so I'm not sure what to expect from the others.

Story of a haunted train where few will guess the ending. Some of Cussler's books are somewhat predictable, but this one is more difficult than the others. Good read, not too complex or wordy.

Once again, Clive Cussler has re-written history and predicted a future that has not happened. The major issue is the fate of Canada, when a secret treaty from Woodrow Wilson is discovered. Dirk must find the actual treaty before some of the other nations' best spies find it. Political intrigue abounds as English and French speaking Canadians work behind the scenes. Sometimes its hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Indeed, when the Canadian Prime Minister's wife has her climatic scene, I was surprised at who was behind the manipulations. I was also dissappointed in the US President's actions.

I'm not going to give this one 5 stars because it's just not as good as many people play it out to be. I had read a lot of these reviews before I bought it and it just wasn't one of the best books ever. Hey, Cussler is a good writer. I like his stuff. He's a great guilty pleasure author.

I liked Night Probe and will continue to read his stuff. All the same Dirk Pitt acrobatics are there. Giordino is in tow as well. Good stuff. Fun stuff. As can be expected.

On the down side, I thought some of the literary elements were a bit lacking. Not to give too much away, but I was not impressed with the explanation of the ghost train. Not at all. However. I did like the way the train was found. That was good, heady, stuff.

I did not really like the Foss Gly character. There was a bit of a contradiction there, I thought. He was awfully smart and got away with an awful lot. That's fine. Except it does not fit in with the final bit we see of him.

Finally, I thought Shaw's role in the book was a bit abrupt in the fact that it seemed more words had been written about him but were sliced out by the publisher. I guess I would have to know Cussler to say.

I liked the book. I'm trying to give a fair and even-handed review of it though. Definately recommended.