Clive Cussler's ARCTIC DRIFT: Discussion & Spoilers

[Procutus]

Arctic Drift, the 20th Dirk Pitt novel by the Grand Master of Adventure, Clive Cussler (along with son Dirk Cussler) was released this past Tuesday.

We had a pre-release discussion several months back, so now that the book is available, I decided see who else besides me reads it.

Although Cussler has long been one of my favorite writers, what drew me to this one in particular was the subject of his historical prologue: The missing arctic expedition lead by Sir John Franklin in 1845, in search of the fabled Northwest Passage.

Thus far, I've only read the prologue, but it was fun reading the names of historical individuals I was familiar with. This one has a bit of an eerie start.

I'm be back with further impressions a few chapters in.

 

[Lonemagpie]

I'll probably be waiting for the paperback - I just picked up The Chase for £1 on Saturday, so that first...

 

[Procutus]

^

I've got a copy of The Chase sitting on the headboard of our bed, along with a number of other titles waiting to get read. Being a long-time Dirk Pitt fan, I wanted to read AD first. But since The Chase is the first solo novel that Cussler has written in a number of years, I'm anxious to see how it compares to his earlier stuff.

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Grand Master of Adventure?

Does that make Brannon Braga the Grand Master of science fiction?

Or is it one of those self-bestowed titles?

He should try maverick in that case.

 

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He should try maverick in that case.

Actually, if memory serves, I believe that title was bestowed upon Clive by a fan website dedicated to his novels. The moniker has since stuck, because I've seen him referred to as that a number of times since.

As long as his novels entertain, I feel he's earned it.

 

[Procutus]

A few random thoughts here, now that I'm about 220 pages into it:


A lot of what's happened to this point has been setting the stage for the political climate, and a mystery involving a rogue ship. Pitt himself doesn't show up until Page 84 and his role in things has been minimal to this point. He finally gets out into the field on Page 216, so I think that's about to change.

The twins have had a number of scenes, so I suspect that much of the action will revolve around them.

Giordino, along with Jack Dahlgren show up on Page 148, testing a new sub. I was a little disappointed that Cussler didn't have Joe Zavala working with Al; I'd love to have Austin and his team play a part in a Pitt novel, but I don't think that's going to happen.

All in all, I'm enjoying it, and I think the action is about to gear up to normal Cussler-levels.

 

[Kirby]

I picked up my copy at lunch the other day, and I plan on cracking into it this weekend. I always look forward to a new Cussler novel, I just hope he had the good sense to leave himself out of this one.

 

[Procutus]

^

Well Kirby, I hate to disappoint you...

 

[Procutus]

A few other familiar faces have appeared throughout the course of the story so far, including Sandecker, Gunn, St. Julien and Hiram Yaegher. I'm still hoping for at least a reference to Austin and the Special Assignments Team, but it seems unlikely.

The action is beginning to pick up, and the connection to the Franklin Expedition has been made.

 

[Nardpuncher]

I would love every much to want to read this, but I don't like the inclusion of the twins.
This is another example of why some things are best left unchanged. It's just a series of high adventure...keep pumping them out the way people like and they'll be a success.

 

[Nardpuncher]

I checked and apparently this book is #3 on the hard cover best seller list. Good for Clive!
I still miss the old stuff.

 

[Procutus]

I still miss the old stuff.

Yeah, I know what you mean, in many ways, I think I liked earlier novels like Raise the Titanic, Night Probe! and Cyclops more than some of the more recent stuff (though Valhalla Rising was pretty damn good).

BTW, I love your avatar!

 

[Apophis]

I'm a new Clive Cussler reader. Having been intrigued by the movie Sahara, I picked up Atlantis Found and loved it. Since then I've read The Navigator and Valhalla Rising (excellent book, though the last chapter felt tacked-on). I am currently reading Polar Shift (which is quite good so far).

I am a bit confused by the timeline of the characters. Sometimes Dirk Pitt is the director of NUMA, sometimes a field agent. And what are the Oregon Files?

 

[Procutus]

^

To answer your question about Pitt, he became Director of NUMA at the end of Trojan Odyssey, when Admiral Sandecker accepted the position of Vice President. All novels prior to that, Dirk served as NUMA's Special Projects Director.

As for the Oregon Files, it's a separate spin-off series based on characters first introduced in the Pitt novel Flood Tide. It's not a bad series, but I can't quite get into it with the same enthusiasm as I do the Pitt and Kurt Austin novels.

Any other questions, fire away. I've read all of the Pitt novels, so I'll do my best to answer them for you.