The Mediterranean Caper (Dirk Pitt Adventure)
by Clive Cussler
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Book Summary Information
Author: Clive CusslerEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-04-06
ISBN: 0425197395
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780425197394
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Mediterranean Caper (Dirk Pitt Adventure)
Book Review: So Bad It's Good? No. Just Bad.
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm always game to check out a good thriller, and never having read Cussler, thought it was time to sample one of his early books. Originally published in 1973, this is the second in his "Dirk Pitt" series -- and I have to say, it is truly awful. Probably the best way to characterize it is as a really poor imitation of the James Bond films (not the books): indestructible manly hero, sex on the beach with willing beauty, outrageously silly plot, secret submarine base, and worst of all, the villain who explains everything to the hero instead of killing him.
Set in the early '70s, the book starts with some zany promise, as a German WWI biplane attacks an (fictional) American airbase on Thasos, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, about 75-100 miles east of Thessaloniki. The biplane efficiently destroys a bunch of F-105 Starfire Jets and C-133 transporters, without any response. (Apparently USAF bases of the time had no antiaircraft batteries. And the key to evading USAF radar is to use vintage aircraft -- so beware a North Korean strike force of Sopwith Camels!) Fortunately, Pitt happens to be flying a Catalina flying boat near the base at the same, and with the trusty aim of his rifle-totin' sturdy sidekick, manages to drive the biplane off. Pitt's been called in to investigate a series of strange accidents aboard a nearby scientific research vessel belonging the (also fictitious) National Underwater Marine Agency.
Of course, the strafing and the accidents are related, and soon Pitt is knee-deep in a ridiculous plot. Apparently inspired by the 1971 film "The French Connection", Cussler soon has Pitt chasing after a massive heroin smuggling operation. But wait, there's more! One word: Nazis. I'll refrain from saying any more, other than the key to the smuggling plot that has baffled Interpol for decades is figured out in a few minutes by Pitt sketching on a beach. Unfortunately, it also will have been figured out on about page 20 by most semi-intelligent readers.
The writing is just terrible, there's no other way to put it. Clunky descriptions, probably the worst dialogue I've read in several years, and cardboard characters. Plus, there's all kinds of stuff that Pitt does and figures out "off-camera", which are only revealed at the very end, which makes the reader feel rather cheated. I'll grant a writer one or two clever reveals in a story (the best I can think of is in Frederick Forsyth's "The Odessa File"), but these feel cheap. Many reviewers have commented on Pitt's rather old-fashioned take on women. However, in Cussler's defense, it was written more than thirty years ago, and it is in keeping with the genre. More importantly, with the regards to the scene where he slaps the beautiful woman and she proceeds to have sex with him, it's revealed at the very end that there is a good plot reason for her submission. It's still a laughably bad scene, but it does make some cockeyed sense within the scheme of the plot.
Overall, I like thrillers and I like junky adventure stories, but even within those genre considerations, this is poor poor stuff. Maybe Cussler's gotten better over time, but I'm sure not going to waste any more of my time finding out.
Summary of The Mediterranean Caper (Dirk Pitt Adventure)
Dirk Pitt rides a tidal wave of intrigue in this classic Cussler.
On an isolated Greek island, a World War I fighter plane attacks a modern U.S. Air Force base--a mysterious saboteur preys on an American scientific expedition--and Dirk Pitt plays a deadly game of hunter and hunted with the elusive head of an international smuggling ring.
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