Flood Tide by Clive CusslertThe book starts out by retelling the story of a boat called “The Princess Dou Wan” as it sailed through some rough seas towards Singapore in order to be scrapped. The story recounts how the only survivors of the wreck clambered into a raft and sat in it waiting for the boat to land. They raft does eventually land and the people inside climb out onto the shore. This is the last we hear from this side of the story for quite some time.tThe story then transitions over to the main part of the story with Dirk Pitt coming into the picture as he is out on vacation in a friend’s cabin. After growing suspicious of the activities on the lake by the only other owner, he goes to investigate what is happening in the heavily guarded fortress of a home. The people from the other side catch him and warn him to stay away from the house. His cabin is searched while he is returning to it and this furthers his suspicions. He then calls in a favor from a friend for some dive gear. This dive gear leads him to a very gruesome discovery and while he is under the water someone very important to the story is literally dropped on top of him while he is diving and he helps rescue this person. This person turns out to play a key role in his uncovering of the truth. The events that follow lead to a very interesting and surprising conclusion.tI enjoyed this novel very much, as I have with most Clive Cussler novels. Something about the way he writes makes me enjoy the novels and the way the books draw one in really makes it something that one cannot put down easily. The way Clive Cussler writes seems to be a kind of twisty turvy kind of writing style as in each book there are usually 2-3 different main plot points that keep the reader interested. These new plots build out of the old ones and as such don’t seem out of place in the novel. This also helps to keep the reader interested as the story still follows one main plotline with strong other plots and their own twists and turns. Also the way he ties the whole story and each character’s plot lines together give the book a sort of “James Bond” feel. Being a ”James Bond” fan these books are a good way to provide a similar story and feeling while also have a slightly different writing style and new characters and plots. Critical Review of Flood TideWhen a hero whose name never appears in print without a registered trademark symbol beside it sets out on a new adventure, readers should know what to expect: a great deal of derring-do, outlandish adventures, and fantastical scenarios. For Dirk Pitt, reality is an inconsequential construct. What matters is the U.S. National Underwater and Maritime Agency (NUMA) superheros unflagging energy, wit, strength, sex appeal, and patriotism. In this tale of a Chinese billionaire who plans to divert the mighty Mississippi in order to expand his illegal smuggling ring, find a treasure lost at sea nearly half a century ago, and, incidentally, split the U.S. into three countries controlled by China, Cusslers American version of James Bond struggles to save the day. All his trusty sidekicks are here, including Al Giordino, a regular partner in Pitts underwater adventures, and Admiral Sandecker, the NUMA commander. This time theres a beautiful Chinese American INS agent as the love interest, and a mendacious American president, too. Flood Tide is a romp that will tickle Pitt and Cusslers many fans, as well as readers new to this author who may find themselves stranded on the tarmac or tanning on Caribbean beaches. –Jane Adams. When you pick up a book by Clive Cussler, you know what you are getting into. There will be nonstop action, some unbelievable developments, a couple of twists, maybe a little xenophobia, and of course, enough machismo to supply an Army.Flood Tide is no different. Opening with Dirk Pitt trying to get in a little fishing, and winding up saving a large number of illegal immigrants, it just gets better. This book is literally jam-packed with action and adventure as Pitt tries to stop a Chinese arch-criminal from carrying out his diabolical plan to make China the most powerful nation in the world(kind of like Dragon, only a few miles to the west). Theres an excellent sequence with the mercenary warship Oregon (now with its own spinoff series), a thrilling battle on the Mississippi river, and a search for underwater treasure. In fact, if I have a complaint about the book, its that its too sprawling. A little bit of the urgency bleeds away since Pitt and pal Giordino have time to travel the globe and do everything they must. In addition, after the huge developments in the middle of the book, the final showdown with the villain seemed a little weak. Nonetheless, for an excellent adventure novel, look no further than Flood Tide.My ResponsetI feel that the review above almost exactly describes my feelings towards this book. This book has quite a few moments where it seems like an “American version of James Bond struggles to save the day” and this is true in those certain moments, there are a lot of things that differ from a James Bond story. One of the most notable differences is the fact that in this story Dirk discovers the human trafficking organization himself and makes it is own mission to uncover the secrets, whereas Bond would be given a mission from MI6. There are also differences in the way the two handle certain situations. When Dirk breaks into the mansion on the lake he handles the situation differently than Bond. Where Bond would seek out the ring leader of the organization, Dirk avoids all contact possible to keep his knowledge of their operation covert. Another good point from this review is that, when one chooses to read a novel by Cussler, they should know what they are getting into in regards to the “nonstop action, some unbelievable developments,” and “a couple of twists”. This is generally true for many Cussler novels and holds especially true in novels about Dirk Pitt. These novels are action packed and very entertaining for the reader. The one complaint I would have with this novel is also shared by the review writer in that “if I have a complaint about the book, its that its too sprawling”. This book covers massive distances with its plot and bounces all over the place with the way dirk works to uncover the trafficking ring. It is almost as if Cussler tried to fit as many different plots into a single story to make the story larger. The book somewhat James Bond-esque, however Cussler puts his own unique spin on the characters and plot lines to create an entertaining, fast-paced, outcome.(Note; spelling and grammatical errors in quotation marks are taken as is from the author of the review and are left the way the author wrote them in the critical review section)
Dirk Pitt pertenece a una serie de novelas de aventuras... Generalmente, este personaje empieza teniendo unas vacaciones y de repente sucede "algo". Entonces este ingeniero naval que descubre barcos hundidos, termina adoptando el papel de Jack Bauer o John McClane: Mata a medio mundo con tal de hacer justicia y al final, cómo no, se queda con la chica. Todas las mujeres son hermosas, y tontas, y necesitadas de rescate, como suele suceder en estos libracos. En este caso, la mujer es una agente encubierta de Migración que está oculta como pasajero migrante en un barco y trata de tomar nota de todas las cosas terribles que hace el villano (un culerísimo, por cierto) llamado Qin Shong. Dos párrafos después la capturan, la medio desnudan, y la torturan. Debí hacer enfásis en el "trata de tomar nota." Mi momento preferido es cuando esta agente -en un giro totalmente impredecible-, le prepara de comer a un grupo de hombres musculosos y experimentados en la vida marítima: zanahorias rayadas y unos sandwiches de aguacate. La descripción del autor acerca de los sentimientos que tienen estos hombres al ver que les están dando comida que no es comida es peculiar e hilarante. (Aquí entre nos, yo sí me hubiera comido los sandwiches de aguacate... así con el precio al que está no es para ponerse los moños.)Lo más divertido de este libro son los capítulos finales, que son como una película de Michael Bay o de Roland Emmerich. Destrucción, angustia y saber qué demonios va a suceder. La solución a ese problema es tan satisfactoria como un Deus Ex Machina (lo cual he leído en artículos recientes... es más que aceptable y más que suficiente para la psique humana, aún cuando nos quejemos de los finales predecibles.)Lo que me incomodaba es la manera en que el autor presenta a los personajes chinos (los villanos de esta historia). Tal vez me hubiera incomodado más si no hubiera leído a Pearl S. Buck, quien también arroja cierta... luz a un pueblo que parece lejano y extraño. También hay unas líneas dedicadas a los mejicanos... sí, con jota, de acuerdo al traductor. Lo que está bien hecho y lo que es muy interesante, son todos esos pequeños detalles de la vida marítima en los Estados Unidos, ya sea como investigador o como cazador de tesoros. Por curiosidad eché un vistazo a la vida del autor y con todo lo chicle que pueda ser el libro, la serie o el personaje, el autor ha logrado llevar a la "vida real" ese sueño de estar persiguiendo barcos hundidos y sus tesoros. Eso es genial: Escribiendo logró completar esa otra pasión, y ahora ambas actividades se alimentan mutuamente. Otra cosa... este libro fue escrito en 1985 y se ubica en el año 2000. Tiene unas predicciones futuristas un poco extrañas. Asímismo el autor se ve forzado a crear un personaje especialista y experto en cada cosita que requiera una especialidad en vez de anticipar, pues, la existencia del internet o de la wikipedia. (Um, tal vez exagero... de hecho *hay un personaje que se inventa su propio internet de detalles marítimos, cartas de navegación y otros datos*, pero es exclusivo del personaje. Ya saben: Geek es dios.) Se pide leer con un poco de contexto. (No había pensado en eso... En la ficción el internet ya nos quitó la capacidad de crear personajes que se especialicen, cuando un imberbe de catorce años [o un huevón de 30] puede justificar su investigación, sus datos, su receta mágica, lo que se le ocurra a través de internet.)Este libro -como todos los de la serie- no tiene nada de espesura, es pura agua con azúcar y se debe disfrutar como tal. Al final me divertí, pero es hora de pasar al siguiente.
What do You think about Flood Tide (1998)?
This may be an odd correalation, but I've found that all of the longer Cussler novels are the best. For example, the last Cussler I read was Iceberg, and it was easily the worst of his novels. Now I've finished Flood Tide, a much longer novel, and it was much better. Was it perfect, no. Personally the female lead in this one was pretty one dimensional. She calls herself a brazen hussy at one point, and she's pretty much right. The main villain was ok, and his dastardly plan was too. Like always though, Cussler makes up for this with great action sequences which seem like they were taken from a summer blockbuster. Overall a good solid read.
—Chris
A novel with page-turning sequences and lots of dull areas. I did enjoy Cussler's misuse of words and original descriptions. Apart from disliking the hero, I found the 'Yellow Peril' theme, presented as more than a premise for an action adventure, disturbing.Cultural sensitivity: 'Through the doors of other rooms he could hear the strange, twangy sounds that Orientals call music.'Yellow Peril: 'Time is on our side. Not only will we erode America from the outside, but with the help of your own countrymen we will eventually cause it to crumble from within. If nothing else, future division and internal race wars will seal your fate as a great nation. ... One day, sooner than you think, your coastal states and the Canadian provinces will be an extension of China'. ... 'You paint a grim picture for humanity,' said Julia, visibly shaken.
—Ailish
Do you like books filled with action and adventure all over it? Well, if you don't, please stop reading this review, because it was comepletly full of it. With great imagery, we follow a story of a man who always stumbles onto something huge and dangerous, but this one is about a mad man who gets money by taking illegal immagrants into the U.S border and its up to Dirk Pitt to stop it.If i did have to choose any bad parts though, it would be how it might have gone a little slow in the beginning of the book for this type of genra, but don't worry caus it jumps right back at you on the next couple of chapters. And sure it had a few flaws to the plot in my opinion, but if i had to reccomend a book from this author, Clive Cussler, it would most surely be this book.
—Nate
