Monday, March 30, 2009

Arctic Drift

Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler was originally published in 2008. My hardcover copy has 515 pages. This is the twentieth book in the Dirk Pitt Series, so at this point the characters are well established and developed through the whole series. It was an interesting storyline, but not as good as some in the past. Let's be honest, though, fans are going to read Cussler for the next Dirk Pitt adventure no matter what. It seemed to me that Dirk Cussler did a better job writing with Clive this time around, however, and that is hopeful. In the past, the Dirk Pitt Jr. and Summer Pitt characters could be more annoying than anything else. Their role was smaller this time and they weren't as bad. Note to either Cussler: If you're going to keep the twins around, continue striving to make them individuals. They need to break free of the twin thing, toughen up, and do their own research, independent of each other, with NUMA.
Highly recommended, especially for fans of the series

Synopsis from cover:
A potential breakthrough discovery to reverse global warming . . . a series of unexplained sudden deaths in British Columbia . . . a rash of international incidents between the United States and one of its closest allies that threatens to erupt into an actual shooting war . . . NUMA director Dirk Pitt and his children, Dirk. Jr. and Summer, have reason to believe there’s a connection here somewhere, but they also know they have very little time to find it before events escalate out of control. Their only real clue might just be a mysterious silvery mineral traced to a long-ago expedition in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. But no one survived from that doomed mission, captain and crew perished to a man—and if Pitt and his colleague Al Giordino aren’t careful, the very same fate may await them.
Quotes:

"The cry rattled through the ship like the howl of a wounded jungle beast, a mournful wail that sounded like a plea for death." first sentence

" 'It's something on the ship driving them mad'..." pg. 6

"With her disappearance, the saga of Fitzjames's mad crew would be obscured from history. But unbeknownst to her commander, the ship held a greater mystery, one that over a century later would impact man's very survival on the planet." pg. 18

"Ahead off the port bow, he noticed an unusually thick cloud rolling along the water's surface. Fog was a common companion in these waters, but there was something peculiar about this formation. The color was a brighter white than that of a normal fogbank, its billows heavier." pg. 23

" 'I fear we are at a tipping point, Jim, in terms of both the economy and the environment. Disaster awaits if we don't take the right steps.' " pg. 35

"Dirk had immediately pegged the inspector as a frustrated lawman trapped in a job too small for his ambitions." pg. 43

" 'When I met with the family, the deceased man's uncle kept crying that the Devil's Breath had killed him.'
'What did he mean?'
'He said that the devil had decided his time had come and cast down a cold white breath of death that killed him and everything around him.' " pg. 55

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