If I’d not been assigned to read this for my "Master Class" workshop for professional fiction writers, it is unlikely that I would have picked it up, because it is not my favorite genre. However, of all the genres in the reading assignment thus far, it has been my favorite.Cussler’s writing is refreshingly clean from vulgarity, which makes the reading much more enjoyable.It is fairly well-written. His voice is very utilitarian – not overly flowery – just tells the facts in almost a “down-home” manner. I can almost hear Uncle Jesse (Dukes of Hazzard) narrating it at times. He includes lots of interesting details about the setting (including the type of car used by Bell, etc.). He did his research. Plenty of stuff is of course made up, but he did a good job getting the setting right.The tale is interesting, though it dragged a little in the middle third. It became clear, before it occurred, that the earthquake was coming (because of my own familiarity with the setting). It was off-putting that for about 50 pages, in the middle of the book, the character “Curtis” suddenly became “Carter” and the name was used interchangeably, sometimes just a couple of lines apart. This is a copyediting error, not likely any fault of Cussler’s. Obviously the character’s name changed from one draft to the next, and many of the changes were not caught. There was one other name switcheroo (Stuart the kid became Warren), and there were a few other typos, too. But the story is still entertaining.Some of the dialogue seemed transparently designed to explain things to the reader, as if the speaker were quoting a Wikipedia article for the sake of the reader, rather than just saying something to another character - what we call "too much exposition." The plot was a little predictable in some places, but overall it was a very nice story. I would recommend this book to others – for instance, Dad might enjoy it.
My first Clive Cussler, but I have to say I was interested in reading a Cussler book after having watched the movie Sahara--and eventually, I'd like to read that book just to see all the differences between movie and book. From the get go, I was hooked since this was historical fiction. I tried not to read much description about the book so I could be surprised. I really enjoyed it all the way through. I read through some reviews after finishing, and one point that I could see that was made was how some of the historical information was disseminated throughout. For me, I loved the descriptions and technical information given, such as with the one railway car Bell used for this final pursuit of "The Butcher Bandit." I also enjoyed his descriptions of the great earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco. For those who criticized the way Cussler's writing isn't historically accurate, my response is this: It's called fiction, historical fiction more specifically, for a reason. I personally think he made the story work by mingling in the science part of "the chase" as well as both antagonist's and protagonist's intelligence. The one thing that I had to put aside and suspend my "belief" was just "how perfect" Isaac Bell appears to be. Bell reminded me of such old Western tv characters like Marshall Matt Dillion of the Gunsmoke fame (so sad, too, is that I just saw where James Arness died on June 3, 2011). Although the story does the "flashback" thing to an extent, starting from 1950 and jumping back to 1906, this book had me hooked--I wanted to find out what happened to steam locomotive and the remains of three people with it that was found at the bottom of a very deep Montana lake.
What do You think about The Chase (2007)?
At times I wondered if The Chase were written for a child. Info dumps trash up dialogue so stilted it often felt like I was reading narrative. And oh my head, the unnecessary repetition..."I don't believe it," Bronson blurted in utter disbelief....Good lord almighty!The real crime, however, is that it wasn't as exciting as I expected for all the praise Cussler has received. It's part mystery, suspense, thriller, action, romance, historical fiction and detective story - an overflowing melting pot of genres - and none of them struck much of a chord in me. I'm not saying I was bored out of my mind, I did manage to finish the book after all, but by the end I must say I felt let down. Cussler does have his fans though, and if you like technology, you'll find he adds in plenty of unnecessary, early 20th century details about the very specific cars, trains, motorcycles, guns that he drops into his novel. Maybe it works better in some of the other series he's done. Here he also wedges in as much west coast, period-appropriate history as he can, some of which works and some of which does not: - The San Francisco earthquake and resulting fire of 1906 = Sure.- Actor John Barrymore pops up as a young thespian = Ok, but a bit forced.- Jack London reports on the scene = Out of left field on the necessity scale.- An explanation of the Donner Party = Inserted as smoothly as a rectal exam.Cussler's characters are somewhat wooden, though not terrible. However, in his world, stalwart women do not cry, while stalwart men do not show their anger. There is no cross-breeding of emotion. His main character, a detective working for a Pinkerton-esque company, is a cocky rich guy. I don't mind cockiness, at least not as much as the rich part. I mean, the man can buy whatever he wants or needs, and that makes things pretty darn easy for him. And that just might be the main issue I had with The Chase...The thrill is gone.
—Jason Koivu
This is the first book in Clive Cussler's new Isaac Bell series, but the second that I've read. It's another solid character for him, but moves away from the sea and to trains as the travel mode of choice. It appears from the first two books of the series that he introduced a new plot format, wherein the story takes place for the most part in the early years of the 20th century, with foreshadowing in the introduction, and then the ending itself, taking place toward the middle of the century. I'm curious to see if that continues in the future novels in this series.
—Jerome Statema
Clive Cussler is a man who has an obvious love for cars, trains, and the possibilities of history. I say the possibilities becasue he always mixes fact and unknow to come up with new possibilities for history. In most books he has characters that live in the present but are effected by historical events. This book however does not follow his standard format. This book takes place before, during and a little after the great San Francisco earthquake back at the turn of the century. It is a race between a detective and a bank robber to see who will come out ahead. Of course there is a race against time in a fancy car and trains racing across the continent, but would it be a clive cussler novel without these. I definately enjoyed the new territory that Cussler explored with this novel. I am hoping he will venture back more fully into history again as opposed to the small chapters he typically devotes at the beginning of his other novels. Don't get me wrong, I love the other stuff... just really enjoyed the new as well.
—Jenni
