Very enjoyable (Atlantis Found - Clive Cussler)

Member Name: zOOm

Product:	Atlantis Found - Clive Cussler
Date:	05/05/01 (148 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast paced, Interesting plot

Disadvantages: Plot has gaps, MIstakes

Atlantis found – Clive Cussler

This is the first Clive Cussler book that I have read and I find it quite good. Like every author Cussler has a hero and his hero is Dirk Pitt – a member of NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency). This book happens to be one of the new ones in the Dirk Pitt series (I think there are more than 15).

The plot is built around a strange find (a skull carved out of obsidian – volcanic glass) and some ancient writings in a cave. Unfortunately the scientists that discover the cave are under attack from unknown terrorists who are determined to keep all this info secret. Enter Dirk Pitt. He saves the day and starts chasing the bad guys. The story unravels slowly about a Fourth Empire (or the Fourth Reich!!!), descendants of Nazi soldiers who escaped at the end of WWII and settled in Argentina.

The ruins? They belong to a civilisation that lived a long, long time ago. They were the rulers of earth while most other civilisations were still in the Stone Age. Unfortunately they got wiped out by a great catastrophe. The carvings on the walls are descriptions of what happened.

The Nazi’s last act was to steal the entire wealth of the country at the end of the war and transport it to Argentina. They used this money to build a huge business empire and advance incredibly in technology – they have invented and used nano-technology and also genetic engineering.

The book is written well and keeps the suspense and the excitement high throughout. The author I mainly read is Tom Clancy and if I was to compare the two I would say that Clancy goes into much more detail about explanations (hence thicker books). Although Clive Cussler does not give too much detail into surroundings and other descriptions it is enough for you to visualise the events without making it boring to read.

There are lots of killings that go on and they are all cold blooded without any remorse. Cu
ssler also adds in some cheeky lines like when Pitt is sent on an assignment he asks whether Jack Ryan (Tom Clancy’s hero) and James Bond are coming too. He also has a section where the characters actually meet him! I have never seen that before in a novel, but I did think it was a nice touch.

There are some mistakes though, both technical and philosophical. For example, all the members of Fourth Empire are genetic copies of each other (hence they look exactly the same), but the FBI can still identify them from their photographs???? Also, the Fourth Empire is saving up all of its money but at the same time it’s coming up with a plan that will make sure money will never be needed??? (I can’t reveal what that is because then I’ll ruin your enjoyment).

One bad thing is that he puts timelines on the story and it would be OK if this was for fictional characters, but he does it for real people as well and it loks really bad when he misses badly - the example I found is that Prince Charles was to have be crowned the King of England back in April!!!

Coincidentally Clive Cussler happens to be the Chairman of NUMA. (You can check their website). Not bad self-promotion I think!

Still, I found it very interesting to read and do think that Cussler is a very good writer. Will definitely buy more books written by him.

Summary: