The Chase
by Clive Cussler
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Book Reviews of The Chase
Book Review: Dirk Pitt type page turner? Not so much.
Summary: 3 Stars
During the years I was travelling around the country, I loved having a new Dirk Pitt novel to read. They were always exciting page turners. Even though you knew Pitt would escape the most difficult situations, it was fun trying to figure out how he would do it. This book is the story of an Ace detective chasing a murderous bank robber who seems to make no mistakes. Personally, I found the pace of the book exceedingly slow and had no problem putting it down when moving on to do something else.
Cussler clearly loves the real stories of old ships and classic cars. This story takes place in 1906 and he spends a lot of time describing the locomotive, the cars used by the characters, and the tools available to detectives in the early 1900s.
The characters I found to be rather one dimensional and the story predictable. The slow gathering of clues as they attempt to close in on the robber just felt tedious. I don't think this was Cussler's best work. But it is a readable tale, so in the end I gave it 3 stars instead of the 2 that I was seriously considering.
Book Review: Good Intro for a New Series
Summary: 3 Stars
he first of the Isaac Bell novels, the reader is introduced to a new era for Cussler - the end of the Wild, Wild West, when railroads brought civilization to the frontier.
The Butcher Bandit has been declared a ghost by local police across multiple states. He comes in, robs banks, shoots all witnesses, and disappears before anyone realizes he's been there. No one knows what he looks like, no one knows how he gets in and out of town, and no one knows where he will strike next. Can Van Dorn Detective Isaac Bell, with his blend of cutting-edge science and no-nonsense practicality, stop the Butcher Bandit before the body count climbs? The outcome isn't as clear as you might think.
While Cussler has adventure writing down to his own science, there's something missing from this book. It's fun and exciting, but there's something by-the-numbers here, and that takes away from some of the ultimate enjoyment of the book. Thankfully, the problem rights itself in the sequel, and this is an excellent start to a hopefully long-lived series of books.
Book Review: Loved It
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though this wasn't Dirk Pitt, it was a rousing adventure. Taking place at the turn of the 20th century, I loved the way he reveled in the technology and history of the times. I especially like his respect for the machinery.
I like the MC Isaac Bell and his agency. All the character descriptions are his classic positive characteristics for the good guys and negative characteristics for the bad guys. When the character is somewhere in-between, in that gray area, he likes to add something that makes them appear weak or not quite nice, especially the eyes.
I found myself buried in 1906 and even the description of the San Francisco earthquake was done well.
The chapters are relatively short and the writing style is breezy and easy. Couldn't ask for a better way to spend a few hours.
I've only found one Dirk Pitt adventure that I didn't think was up to par. This new series is getting off to a great start. I actually read the third one first and because of that, picked this one up. Highly recommended.
Book Review: Great - Not perfect though
Summary: 5 Stars
I do like reading Clive Cussler. He writes the types of books I love to read. Casual and action packed.
This "western" of sorts is based on one of my favorite eras or backdrops. The time when the western way of life mixed with the sudden and rapid growth of turn of the century advancements and architecture.
Cussler wisely included more than just trains and the usual. He included early automobiles, telegraphs, telephones, plumbing, and banking systems seamlessly to provide an immersive setting in this caper.
There are some minor complaints. You will most likely reach the correct conclusion on the ending within minutes of opening the book.
As mentioned earlier by another reviwer, the terrible earthquake of San Fransisco is poorly used as part of the plot. On the plus side, the descriptions and turn of events do make the earthquake and aftermath interesting. And it still provides a bleak mood as probably intended.
I recommend this book to almost anybody willing for a casual page turner. Perfect for travelers.
Book Review: Pitiful!
Summary: 1 Stars
If this is all it takes to become a successful, published author, we could all be rich! After I got a couple of chapters into the story, I re-checked the front to see whether this was a "young readers" book. The language was so simplistic, with silly conversations and settings, historical inaccuracies, poor continuity and an absence of editing. The water poured into the train "due to gravity" - really?!? "Out of the original eight-seven men, women, and children, only forty-five lived to reach California," Cussler tells us. They all made it to California - they just didn't make it beyond what is now Donner Pass. It was obvious for 200 pages before it happened that the 1906 earthquake was going to be part of the story - the clumsy foreboding really could have been omitted. Historical inaccuracies, poor sentence construction, and consistently written at a 4th grade level (or less) are just a few reasons why this will be my first and only Clive Cussler read. 404 pages of vacuousness. Cussler and his editor should both be out of a job!