Customer Reviews

The Silent Sea (The Oregon Files)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Clive Cussler and Jack DuBrul have produced another riveting adventure in the Oregon series. For those of you who are new to this series, the Oregon appears to be a dilapidated freighter manned by a ragged looking crew when in reality it is a high tech and highly armed ship whose crew is known as the Corporation, and is led by Captain Juan Cabrillo, a former CIA field agent. He and the crew perform black ops for the CIA and also private security for different world leaders at handsome prices.

In this novel the CIA recruits Cabrillo and his teamates to recover something in the jungles of Argentina, which ultimately leads the Oregon to Antarctica and the discovery of some remarkable things that have serious political implications (I am being deliberately vague so I don't spoil anything). The action is nonstop, the plot is well crafted and interesting, and there are several surprises. Everything ties neatly together with a literally explosive ending.

While this novel is much different from Cussler's The Wrecker, which has an entirely different cast of characters, it is just as entertaining and well written. I recommend it for anyone who likes adventure novels with interesting twists.

Note: The overall rating on this novel has been improperly lowered by people who complain about the price of a new Kindle release rather than the quality of the writing. For anyone who actually reads this novel, I am sure you will agree it merits at least four stars if not the five that I and other readers have given it.

I read this one in one sitting. This adventure had a little less sea action then the other Corporation novels, but it was a great change up.

The plot goes like this: Bad things happen, the US gov needs deniability, they send Juan and his capable crew, they solve problem-barely, with some close calls along the way. As simple as that is, this book never slowed down, kept me interested and even managed to get me a little emotionally involved. Go figure. Nothing like enjoying the trials of a fictional character in the freezing cold arctic in sunny 75 degree LA.

I'm not sure why people are complaining about the price. Even at its current price on the kindle its a solid $7.00 cheaper then at the discount chain I was at this weekend.

The Clive Cussler brand of action writing continues to provide reliable entertainment to those readers who like strong heroes, evil enemies, and lots of adventurous action. In the seventh Oregon series novel titled, The Silent Sea, protagonist Juan Cabrillo leads a team into hostile Argentina to recover a NASA satellite. Some opportunistic Chinese have been partnering with Argentines in Antarctica, and much of the context for the novel involves ancient Chinese sailing ships. Juan and his team travel the world to confront enemies, solve mysteries, and restore world order. Not bad in 400 pages.

Rating: Three-star (Recommended)

This book held my attention. It is probably one of the better of the Oregon Files series. If you have enjoyed previous Cabrillo books, you will want to get this one as well. Plenty of action, from the south pole to the Pacific northwest.

One minor disappointment for me -- the number of stupid proofreading errors seems to get larger with each new book. This one has quite a few spelling errors, grammatical errors, and minor factual errors (the east coast is 3 hours ahead of the west coast, not 3 hours behind). I guess since everyone uses word processors, proofreading has become a lost art.

And finally, what's up with the obviously coordinated campaign by disgruntled cheapskate Kindle owners? It's just polluting these reviews and artificially dragging the ratings down. Take it somewhere else.

This is the seventh installment of the Oregon Files series by Clive Cussler. The series started out as a spin off of characters created in one volume of the Dirk Pitt series, also by Cussler. The characters turned out to be a perfect base on which to launch another successful series of books. To date, I have enjoyed every installment of the Oregon Files series. And The Silent Sea is no exception.

The story starts on a family owned island off the west coast of the United States. For generations, the family members have struggled to reach bottom of a flooded shaft at the center of the island. At the bottom of which is believed to be an abandoned pirates treasure. But while the young men of the family line have struggled for generations to reach the bottom, none have yet discovered its secrets.

How the story spins from the small family owned island of North America to the jungles of Argentina and an ice covered base in Antarctica is something that must be experienced in order to be believed. The story unfolds at an accelerated pace taking the characters on a series of twists and turns that ultimately lead not only the hidden secrets of the family owned island but the discovery of a lost ancient Chinese expedition and a deadly disease.

I'm a big fan of Cussler's work. After dozens of compelling and entertaining adventure stories, he continues to release creative and original works that center around powerful and captivating characters. The Silent Sea is yet another great example of his work.

In my opinion, the novels of the Oregon Files have emerged as the strongest Clive Cussler is currently cowriting. If you are a Cussler fan, you have to like the rough-and-tumble crew that comprises the Oregon. And you have to admire their chairman Juan Cabrillo, one of the few protagonists that I know of that makes it look easy, while sporting a titanium prosthetic leg. Kudos to Cussler for creating this character. We get to know each of the characters; they are well developed and experts in their individual fields. Each contributing to the greater good of the whole.

A downed NASA satellite provides the catalyst for the action in the present, but there's always that backstory waiting to seemingly emerge out of nowhere. In this case, it's a buried treasure (think "The Goonies). "The Silent Sea" is a page-turner and the title is a nod to Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." I think you will enjoy this installment!

As a Kindle owner I will pay anything for my regular authors - for the immediacy of delivery, for the convenience it is fantastic. Now back to the real issue - Oregan files have become my favourite. Ever since Dirk and Al decided to hit the office I have looked to Juan to deliver and deliver he does, This is not so much about the sea time but land based. But does it detract from the story - no way. It is filled with ups and downs and enough thrills to keep everyone happy.

Cussler, Rollins, Iles, Coben and Crais are my must reads and this one delivers.

Cussler just seems to get better and better as he goes along. I have read all of his books to date, most of them more than once, and am anxiously awaiting his new Isaac Bell book, "The Spy". I have yet to find one of his books I didn't enjoy thoroughly. My favorites are the Dirk Pitt and Kurt Austin books with the Oregon series a close second. So far the new Isaac Bell series is running neck and neck with the Oregon series. As I said earlier, I haven't found a Cussler novel I didn't like.

Exploring a small island off the Washington State coast in 1941, five brothers make an astonishing discovery, costing one of the brother's his life, that is interrupted by the attack on Pearl Harbor and has ramifications for Cabrillo's present-day investigation into a crashed satellite in the Argentine jungle.
One thing you can always count on with a Cussler novel is a dependable and harrowing adventure. His storytelling talent provides the reader with an awesome escape and a very satisfying feeling. Love the characters and love the plotting.

While I was reading The Silent Sea I was imagining a Rambo or a Schwarzenegger or Chuck Norris movie from the 80s. The action scenes are so implausible that one would question if the novel should be under the young adult section. There are endless descriptions on how they would use the hi-tech gadgets in lieu of a good story. The characters are totally stereotyped. The cool guy is the cool guy and the bad guys are totally bad. There are no grays. The dialogues are clichéd and full of fuzz words.

I wouldn't want to go over the details of the story not to ruin the experience of other readers, but one almost knows exactly what will the outcome be. There is no surprise factor. The timing of the events is absolutely ridiculous. In every major event the same `good guys' abruptly meet the `bad guys'. Juan goes to the jungle he meets the bad ones. He goes to Washington, he meets them again (twice). He goes to the Mississippi river and guess who shows up? He goes to ... and again and again... well you get the story. And each time it is so obvious what's going to happen that you could skip a few pages and you'd be fine with the story. I was waiting until the last page to the final punch, but never came.

There are also some facts that are dead wrong. Some would let them pass if the story was absolutely fantastic, but they end up being annoying. The Amazon jungle is not in Argentina (as some other reviewer mentioned too). The Falkland Islands are called Malvinas by Argentina, not the Maldives which are located in the Indian Ocean. The Uruguayans that crashed in the Andes were not a soccer team, they played rugby. As I said before I could have let them pass by but the story was so infantile that any detail infuriates the reader even more.

I give this book 2 stars because I think the prologue is well written and invites to a great story.

One tends to sympathize with an author that has been reading for a long time. That could be the reason why the reviewers give this book plenty of stars. But as I was reading the reviews I see a lot of `great as usual'. So if you are a fan of Clive Cussler I don't need to tell you anything, but if you are looking for something out of the ordinary this is not the book. Or at least, I should say, it wasn't for me.