Customer Reviews

Trojan Odyssey (Dirk Pitt Adventure)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

At the end of 'Valhalla Rising' we found out quite by surprise that Dirk Pitt, hero and world-class adventurer has not just one, but TWO children (fraternal twins Dirk Jr. & Summer). This came as quite a shocker, especially for those of us who have known Dirk to be quite the ladies man -- but also a confirmed bachelor. His relationship with Congresswoman Loren Smith has come CLOSE to wedding bells once before, but I personally figured that if it didn't happen THEN, it was probably NOT going to happen at ALL. However, I've learned long ago to NEVER say NEVER.

As usual, 'Trojan Odyssey' begins with an interesting re-telling of Homer's Odyssey, a version that is apparently gaining in popularity. How does it tie-in with events from today? As is always the case, finding out is half the fun. Summer & Dirk Jr. are busy attempting to examine a tide of brown crud that has infested waters in the Carribbean when they stumble upon something extraordinary (well Summmer does, at first). Suddenly things take a nasty turn as the Mother of ALL Hurricanes begins to form and head directly towards Summer & Dirk Jr. and also towards the most unique floating Hotel ever designed. Can they all safely escape before the Hurricane arrives? Maybe, maybe not. Along the way Dirk Sr. and Al make an appearance and suddenly as a direct result, their plans for the next few weeks are set in motion. Are massive tunnels being excavated underneath Central America, and if so, for what purpose? Once Dirk & Al figure it out, an all-out race is on to avert an incredible disaster of amazing proportions.

Along the way, Dirk Sr. and Al discover one of lifes more unfair absolute rules: we cannot remain young forever. Getting shot at and risking your life can only remain fun for so long. Dirk realizes that with the sudden appearance of two grown children his death defying exploits are no longer a challenge, and more of a major hindrance to his ultimate goals. Dirk does a LOT of soul searching, and along the way it wasn't hard to figure out where it would eventually end up. Is 'Trojan Odyssey' the last outing for Dirk Sr. as a souped up version of James Bond? Maybe. I can't answer that for certain, but with a son named Dirk Jr. it can safely be assumed that Dirk Pitt adventures WILL continue.

Along the way I found a few genuine surprises (Admiral Sandecker's New appointment for one) and a few genuine sad moments for us die-hard Dirk Sr. fans. Unlike James Bond who will forever remain youthful, Clive has treated us fans to one simple reality: we ALL grow older, and so did Dirk. He no longer can do all the stunts he used to without serious repercussions. Healing from wounds no longer are as quick as they used to be, and the thought of leaving his two children without a Father begins to seriously force Dirk to re-think his life. I finished 'Trojan Odyssey' with mixed emotions. Did I enjoy it? Absolutely. Did it make me excited about what was on the horizon for Dirk & Co.? Again, yes. But it also saddened me at the same time. You will just have to read it for yourself to figure out what all of this means, and why.

Clive continues to be the BEST action/adventure author writing today, and no matter WHAT it is, if his name is on it, you can be rest assured that I WILL be reading it. Long Live Clive & Dirk Pitt, both senior & junior.

Like all of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novel's this one has our heroe's battling some dastardly plot to destroy or take over the world. This one is somewhat different from the others in that the adult son & daughter that Pitt learned he had in the last page or two of Valhalla Rising are now working at NUMA.
The book starts with what has become Cussler's formula of some great event occuring at some point in the past and then moving forward to the present day,in this case Aug-Nov 2006. A super hurricane is about to wipe out some fantastic floating hotel when Dirk Sr. and Al Giordino arrive to save the day,kind of a wasted story element as it is only lightly linked to the rest of the book (D.Sr. & Al don't even appear until chapter 8 by the way).
The rest of the novel switches back and forth between Pitt's children and the older generation, sometimes together but more often not. You'll find the usual mix of a great old car or two, narrow escapes and explosions tempered by Pitt (you'll almost need a score card to keep track of which Dirk you're reading about, Sr. is usually referred to as Pitt, Jr. as Dirk) and Al referring to the years getting to them.
The stories have been going on for almost 25 years now and it seemed to me that at times Cussler was ignoring past story plot lines although many times he'd put something in about a lot of the past adventures. A couple of times there was a problem with the timeline - Valhalla was set in 2003 but Trojan Odyssey, set only 2 years later, is set in 2006. Another time warp occurs when a man is sacrificed by the evil Druid group, the way subsequent events regarding the man's holdings are related far to much time goes by to fit into the general storyline.
In the end all ends well with Pitt marrying longtime love Congresswoman Loren Smith, and it looks like he and Al will have job promotions at Numa. Cussler himself makes his usual appearance in the story but this time only in the last page or so.
Mr. Cussler may be planning to retire, I kind of wonder from the tone of this book. I wonder if someone else will write some Dirk Jr. & Summer Pitt novels, perhaps Paul Kemprecos whose Kurt Austin & Joe Zavala characters are very briefly in this book.

I am always excited when I see a new Dirk Pitt novel (not one of those poor "Kurt Austin" collaborations).

However, almost right off the bat I sensed that this was not going to be one of Cusslers better Dirk Pitt adventures.
The action was slow to develop and had none of Cusslers great "feel like you are there" narrations. The action sequences were flat, average and predictable.
Cussler just could not pull me into the action on this book.
Cussler spent way too much time on technical details in this book and the plot was transparent and obvious.
At times, Dirk Pitt seemed to be remarkably "slow to catch on" to events in the story. The good humor "give and take" with AL seemed "forced" and uninspired.

At times, this book seemed to be like the lame "Kurt Austin" books and if I did not know better, I'd say that Cusslers co-writer in those books had a hand in this one as well.

This book was an "Ok" Dirk Pitt novel, but not one of the better ones.

It's difficult to know how to describe this book. Exciting, gripping, realistic, well-written, intriguing, thought-provoking? This book is none of these things. The plot would be considered overly silly for an Austin Powers movie, and I seriously expected that at any moment, the arch-baddie (Spector) was going to appear on a video screen in the White House to demand 'One Million dollars'.

The dialog would be considered poor for a 1950's Boys Own comic book and the characterization is so thin that my partially blind pet cat could see through it. The only reason I continued through to the end was the fact that I was on a dare from my wife to finish it. I could not recommend this book to anyone, even if they were in solitary confinement in a Turkish prison and the alternative was insanity.

If you've never read Cussler, all his books are done via formula. Essentially they're all the same, but you'll never complain about the retread. They're all the same, yet all very entertaining.

This book is Cussler's last (though not the last of the series). It suffers for that reason, as Cussler strives to tie loose ends.

The reigns are being passed from Dirk Sr to Dirk Jr (a convenient appearance, but not wholly unbelievable). At the same time the reigns are being passed from Clive to his son.

The story is entertaining, and likely was likely read by the writers of The Day After Tomorrow. It was novel before the movie, might be tired after, but this came first.

There are some creepy moments between Dirk Jr and his sister, as she's set up to be a sexy character despite spending much of her time alone with her brother in the middle of the ocean - am I the only one that sees this? Couldn't the editor have stepped in on these?

I won't complain much, though. Cussler has given us many, many (many) entertaining reads, and even though he ends on a dip it is a necessary one, and still a solid effort.

If you're a Cussler fan buy it. If you're not yet a Cussler fan buy this, along with some older ones and read those first.

Adventure fans will not go wrong.

I've been an avid follower of the Dirk Pitt Novels since the mid 80's when my folks forced me read Treasure as a teen, for which I am still grateful. When reading his early books start to finish I couldn't put them down. T-O took me over a week to read.

I did enjoy the premise of the book but felt overloaded with technical schematics on every bit of equipment utilized throughout the story. A little background is good but this is an adventure novel not a "how to" manual on a TBM Boring Machine. Pitt's constant inner monologue on how he was getting to old for the lifestyle he leads left me a little down.

The supporting characters were not fleshed out and the twins were boring. After the introduction of the twins in Valhalla Rising, which I found to be the best DP book in a while, I was left excited at the potential of the Jr. Pitt's. However, if they are going to take over the series they need some more personality and verve. Cussler has spoiled us with Dirk, Al, Rudi, Loren, Sandecker etc. The twins are pale shadows in comparison.

The story did not have the edge of your seat suspense prevelant in so many of his other books. Also, figuring out the bad guys was much too easy. I did enjoy the book just not on the level of say Raise the Titanic, Treasure, Inca Gold and his other earlier works.

There were also some really obvious mistakes in this book that leave me wondering if his editor needs an eye exam, as well as distortions in the timeline and incorrect past character reference.

To sum up there are a good number of the DP books in my library that get re-read every couple years. This won't be one of them.

I have been reading Clive Cussler novels for 25 years. He has not written a bad novel yet. His stories are pure escapist, action adventure yarns. Do not judge his books by the two that have been made into movies. Sahara doesn't follow the novel at all. I think some of the other reviewers on this site are too [...] a novel that is soley intended to be mind candy. This is like a comic book with no pictures. A relaxing read perfect for the beach or a long flight. Keep'em coming Clive!

Trojan Odyssey continues the line of Dirk Pitt adventure stories. This one is not that different from the others and many of the plot devices have been used before (the evil cult that Dirk is trying to expose, the death-defying heroics of Dirk and Al, the impossible situations they find themselves in, the causes and reasons for the situation, etc.). Unfortunately, this storyline is rather perfunctory and seems like mostly rehashed material. Unlike some of his previous ones that had me holding my breath in anticipation (Sahara for instance) or staying up way too late to continue turning pages, I could see what was coming almost from the first page.

Another problem was that some of the plot devices were put out there and not really followed up. The story starts with a wonderous concept that gets into severe trouble. The main evil being does not do anything to help, and leaves thousands of people behind at risk. One would think that somewhere along the line, there would be a discussion of why that occurred. Why was the thing constructed, and why was it abandoned as it was. But none of that occurs. The only obvious puropse it serves is to provide a convenient entry point for Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino.

There are also several mistakes in the book that make me think that Clive Cussler is poking fun at this audience. For instance, there is a hurricane that developed off the African coast and moves towards the U.S. The book repeatedly talks of its eastwards movements. Excuse me? Last I looked at a map, that would have it moving WEST!!! This "mistake" is repeated several times so it cannot be a real mistake, and I cannot believe that no proofreaders caught it either!

Towards the end of the book, several things happen that make me believe that Clive Cussler intended this to be the last book in the series. Now, I know that is not true as a sequel has appeared, but the ending was not a typical Dirk Pitt ending ... there was no dropping of a villain down the elevator chute in the World Trade Center, etc.

So, I am overall slightly disappointed.

This book was a lot of fun to read. I've been a Cussler fan since I bought Inca Gold at a yard sale for 25 cents. Once again he provides a great story. There are a few editing glitches which will hopefully be taken care of in the paperback edition, but all in all highly recommended.

The Trojan plotline was very intriguing, so much so that I've been trying to track down Where Troy Once Stood.... the inspiration behind the novel. Pitt fans won't be disappointed!!

I think everyone has beaten to death the story of this book so I don't see a need to give a synopsis.

I just enjoyed this book as a good beach read! If you are a true Dirk Pitt fan this is a fun one to read.

Without giving away a lot of spoilers, this should really be the last Dirk Pitt book written. Dr. Cussler did a great job of cleanning up any loose ends. He's done a great job of giving all the true fans an ending that really is worthy of ending the series.

However, it appears that this won't be the last book he writes for Pitt fans but it does appear a little bit that the next book will be written with his son. Could be nice to have a fresh view on things. Could also be interesting to see where he takes everything now that new things are in place.

But, before I end this thing, does anyone else have a problem with the relationship between Dirk Pitt Jr. and his sister?! Thankfully, it was explained that they had "girlfriends/boyfriends" but without that, the relationship was a little too odd. Just my two cents!

Bottom line, read this book as a Dirk Pitt fan. It's really important I think and it's also pretty fun.