Customer Reviews

Sacred Stone (The Oregon Files)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

I should start by saying I am a big Clive Cussler fan and have read all his books. The only ones I have not enjoyed are the two Oregon Files ones.

There are so many characters I could not remember who was who without having to keep looking at the cast list at the front.

I reached the point of not caring anyway and just kept reading to get to the end. The whole thing reads like a Mission Impossible TV episode but nowhere near as good or exciting.

The scenes in the UK were very sloppy; there are no such things as pound notes and the beefeaters actually guard the Tower of London not Buckingham Palace.

I can only hope that it is Craig Dirgo that is the problem and that when the next Oregon Files book comes out written by Jack DuBrul (who I am a great fan of in his own right) that things will improve.

A big fan of Cussler's, I picked this book up, hoping to find a great adventure story, and though I am glad he broke from his Pitt/Austen formula, of rescue the pretty damsel in distress, and get involved in solving her problems, I was disappointed in this story for 2 reasons;
1. too many characters for a 400 page book, and the author(obviously not Cussler jumps around from character to character, leaving the reader very confused.
2. The author(again not Cussler) clues you in on what's going to happen next, in just about every paragraph. This is not only unnecessary, it cuts down on the suspense for the readers. This is the trait of an amatuer author, and not one who has written some of the best adventure novels for the past thirty plus years.
It is obvious from reading this book that Craig Dirgo did most of the writing, and Cussler only put his name on the book, to get it past the editor's desk, and onto bookstore shelves. Clive Cussler should be more careful about the books he puts his name on, or he will start losing readers, myself being one of them!
Though somewhat better than the first story in the series 'Golden Buddha' (which I tore up, and threw away!) this is nowhere near the quality of story writing he puts into his Dirk Pitt, and Kurt Austin novels. My advice; Stick with early Dirk Pitt novels, anything up to, and including 'Floodtide'.

As is the trend, Cussler, a true master of the imaginative thriller, has allowed himself to become a fiction factory. Just as Robert Ludlum writes from the grave, Cussler permits others to write in his name. In this case, the co-author, given small billing on the cover, is Craig Dirgo.

The most notable feature of this attempt at imitating Cussler is the obsession with food. Every few pages, one of the paper-thin, utterly boring characters pours coffee, makes a sandwich, orders from room service or does something with food. I can't understand why. Even as a device for the idea starved author, the food obsession makes no sense.

Of course, nothing in this wannabe thriller makes sense. The plot appears constructed from an adaptation of those refrigeraor magnets. Kind of like a series of "exciting" plot twists and action scenes were mixed up on the refrigerator door and then plucked one by one to create this excruciatingly thrilless thriller.

To make a long, dreadful story short, a archaeologist financed by a shadowy billionaire discovers a meteorite in Greenland or someplace around there. Gee golly, the meteorite is radioactive and is stolen. Heavens to Betsy, a small tactical device has also been stolen in the Ukraine. Wow, mix a few terrorists in and a murky vengenace mission by the wacky billionaire and what do you have? An opportunity for the Corporation, a private counter-terrorism business, to get involved.

Clive Cussler could have done wonders with these concepts. Lacking his firm hand, however, the result is a painful excursion into boredom. I finished this failed effort only because I wanted to see if it could get worse. It did.

Cussler is one of my favorite thriller authors. In my opinion, he shouldn't permit his good name and reputation to suffer.

Jerry

While the underlying plot had potential, the story dies under its own weight. There are too many characters (the first hint of trouble is the multi-page listing of characters at the front of the book). This leads to too little time devoted to character development and too much bouncing around as we follow the many characters around the globe. The dialog, is terse, contrived, choppy and generally devoid of emotion. Having loved the Dirk Pitt and Brad Austin line of books from Cussler, I had wanted to like the Oregon Files as well. Unfortunately, I found Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha to both be underwhelming.

How Cussler could lend his name to this worthless "novel" is a mystery to me. No suspense, no character development, disjointed editing, predictable plot add up to an absolute snoozer. I finished it out of incredulity that it could get progressively worse, but it did.
I have read everything else Cussler has written, but am now going to be on guard for these " name cash cows".
Avoid this one.

Mr. Cussler, please don't lend your revered name to such poorly written stuff as "The Oregon File" series. Your name on the cover, and your pic on the back may sell books to your loyal fans, but will quickly destroy our faith.

Without the Clive Cussler name this book would never have been printed, except by a vanity press. The character development is shallow, with references to known movie stars used as a descriptive crutch in some cases. The "Cast of Characters" carried in the front of the book is fortunate, allowing the reader to keep track of the very forgettable characters. The book reads like a rejected movie script turned novel.

Cussler again affronts his loyal fans whom he seems to take for granted these days. His writing has become careless, arrogant, and sloppy, beginning with the insertion of himself as a character in stories like Sahara and Valhalla Rising, where he rips the reader out of the adventure and back to reality. He has lost the right to a loyal following.

Cussler's annual "Just In Time For Christmas" novels are off my gift list. I'll take pleasure in the search and discovery of other worthy adventure novelists who, I'm sure, are out there.

Ok, I bought the audio edition of this to listen to on my drive to work and back. This story almost made me fall asleep at the wheel. Too many characters or similar depths made it difficult to keep track -- in fact, I still dont know who half the characters were. Did Cussler write this book? Save your money and your sanity and get a different cussler book.

I am a huge fan of Cussler. I thought I was buying a Cussler book. I was wrong. The writing style is entirely different and incredibly boring. As one reader mentioned, almost every chapter ends with sentences like: "His plan was to make the delivery, then locate a doctor. He had no way of knowing the next doctor he'd see would be a coroner," or "The meeting broke up...he would grab a few hours sleep. He had no way of knowing that this sleep would be his last until the big one." Ugh... they were so irritating that I found myself getting actually angry at this book. Halfway through it I put it down to go read the new paperbacks by Lincoln Child and Matthew Reilly, and then I came back to finish it. I have NEVER put down a Cussler before. I'm fine with the break from tradition (Dirk Pitt, ships, fun cars), but not from Clive's traditional break-neck action, drama and detail. I'm dreading reading any more Oregon Files.

I started this book 4 weeks ago and today I just gave up. Very weak. No fun and I think this was just written to make money. With the books that have been out before, you would think they would try.....well, will see what the Pitt book is all about, but if its like this I am done with the series. Have them all and love them....just not this one.

PS Golden Budda rocked