- Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (4 July 2002)
- ISBN-10: 0141009691
- ISBN-13: 978-0141009698
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 11 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,997,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Valhalla Rising (A Dirk Pitt Novel)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Dirk Pitt, Clive Cussler's aging but still potent superhero, returns in Valhalla Rising, the 16th adventure in this popular series about the director of special projects for the National Underwater Maritime Administration (NUMA). Pitt's NUMA survey ship happens to be in the vicinity when the world's newest and biggest cruise ship founders and sinks, giving Pitt the chance to stage the daring rescue of nearly 2,000 passengers. Among those who perish is a famous scientist whose revolutionary engines powered the ship to her watery grave; while Pitt is unable to save Dr Egan, he rescues his beautiful daughter Kelly from the sea, and later from a murder attempt aboard the rescue vessel.
Pitt and his trusty pal Al Giordino track the sinking to the boardroom door of a multinational conglomerate called Cerberus, whose evil CEO has designs on the world's oil supply. He'll do anything to keep Egan's advanced engines and secret formula for frictionless oil off the market--even sabotage another vessel, this time a luxury passenger submarine. By the time our heroes have foiled the mastermind's nefarious plots, they've also uncovered the existence of a working submarine nearly a century before one actually existed--irrefutable proof of a Viking landing on the Hudson River--and the remains of the British sailor who inspired Jules Verne's Captain Nemo. A solid page-turner that even features a cameo appearance by the author himself, Valhalla Rising snaps, crackles, and pops with Cussler's usual brio. --Jane Adams, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
In the latest adventure of NUMA special projects director Dirk Pitt a luxury liner suddenly catches fire and sinks on her maiden voyage. Dirk Pitt races to rescue the passengers and find out the cause of the disaster - but he has no idea of the bizarre chain of events about to engulf him.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mr. Clive Cussler has entertained readers with Dirk Pitt throughout, what is now, a collection of eighteen novels. It is a remarkable run by any measure, and while some of the novels are better than others, they are all great fun. Mr. Cussler created a main character that not only he clearly would like to be, but an individual that all his male readers would like to claim a piece of for their own. I would imagine most of his readers are male, however he has also included remarkable female characters, that while often the target of cliché male observations, give as good as they get. And he carries on the tradition of the good guys winning, and often has the villains receive their comeuppance in a stylish manner at the hands of the hero. Judge, jury, and executioner may not be constitutional, but it is a great deal of fun.
Prior to starting, "Valhalla Rising", it would not hurt to refresh your memory with many of the major themes of past books. It is not imperative, but several references are made and it adds to the enjoyment if the details are fresh in the reader's mind. This should not put off anyone from making this his or her first Dirk Pitt adventure, quite the contrary. While everyone would rank his or her favorites differently, I think this latest work from Mr. Cussler would make anyone's short list. For those aware of the real life exploits of Mr. Cussler and his work of salvaging ships, he brings some of this into his novel, which added a dimension I greatly enjoyed. If you have read Jules Verne, it again will add to this book's reading experience.
When I first read the jacket I was inwardly groaning when I read the word "monsters". I had trouble imagining how that word would play out in the book. However, have no fear, for while this book, like all of Mr. Cussler's work, requires a suspension of disbelief, there is nothing any more outrageous than earlier works. There are some minor points in the book that are weak, and the author did not endear himself to the Air National Guard, but again the points are very minor. There was one error, however it can be rationalized, and again is not detrimental to the book.
The book starts with not one, but multiple historical events which are all neatly tied together at the conclusion. The book is a lengthier novel and every bit of space is required to bring this latest round the world adventure to readers. Had he so chosen he could have easily extended the book by an additional one to two hundred pages. For when he starts this saga, it is millennia in the past, not a century or two.
With fiction, conventional issues like time do not restrict the Author. He can write about his characters and their adventures indefinitely. Many Authors continue to write, long after their characters should be retired, they don't know when to stop, like a great boxer that leaves not as a champion but as a beaten memory. Mr. Cussler clearly has no plans to retire this series, but he has also taken a step that is not only smart and savy, but will allow for this series of novels to continue for as long as he writes. I think he deserves a great deal of credit for this, and he brings it to pass with a slick ending to this book. In fact, I find myself looking forward to the next installment with greater interest than I have for some time.
For great fun, and pure escapist fiction, there are few who compare with Mr. Cussler.
Prior to starting, "Valhalla Rising", it would not hurt to refresh your memory with many of the major themes of past books. It is not imperative, but several references are made and it adds to the enjoyment if the details are fresh in the reader's mind. This should not put off anyone from making this his or her first Dirk Pitt adventure, quite the contrary. While everyone would rank his or her favorites differently, I think this latest work from Mr. Cussler would make anyone's short list. For those aware of the real life exploits of Mr. Cussler and his work of salvaging ships, he brings some of this into his novel, which added a dimension I greatly enjoyed. If you have read Jules Verne, it again will add to this book's reading experience.
When I first read the jacket I was inwardly groaning when I read the word "monsters". I had trouble imagining how that word would play out in the book. However, have no fear, for while this book, like all of Mr. Cussler's work, requires a suspension of disbelief, there is nothing any more outrageous than earlier works. There are some minor points in the book that are weak, and the author did not endear himself to the Air National Guard, but again the points are very minor. There was one error, however it can be rationalized, and again is not detrimental to the book.
The book starts with not one, but multiple historical events which are all neatly tied together at the conclusion. The book is a lengthier novel and every bit of space is required to bring this latest round the world adventure to readers. Had he so chosen he could have easily extended the book by an additional one to two hundred pages. For when he starts this saga, it is millennia in the past, not a century or two.
With fiction, conventional issues like time do not restrict the Author. He can write about his characters and their adventures indefinitely. Many Authors continue to write, long after their characters should be retired, they don't know when to stop, like a great boxer that leaves not as a champion but as a beaten memory. Mr. Cussler clearly has no plans to retire this series, but he has also taken a step that is not only smart and savy, but will allow for this series of novels to continue for as long as he writes. I think he deserves a great deal of credit for this, and he brings it to pass with a slick ending to this book. In fact, I find myself looking forward to the next installment with greater interest than I have for some time.
For great fun, and pure escapist fiction, there are few who compare with Mr. Cussler.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt® (not pronounced like the bread product, to the best of my knowledge) is only one of several personality simulacra which festoon this book, which in turn can only truly be described as a mass dumping of toxic waste at sea. Cussler, you see, really likes treasure and ship wrecks and all who sail on them - so if you buy yourself a copy of Valhalla Rising, you should prepare yourself to encounter multiple cut-and-paste versions of the following "characters":
Thirty or forty ship's captains, all with with grey beards, clear blue eyes, ruddy cheeks, peg-legs and parrots (well, three out of five's not bad).
A host of the most ridiculously named characters, about one of which our hero has the gall to say "Sounds phoney" - this coming from someone whose name reads like it was lifted from a medieval Scottish autopsy report.
Twelve or so females, all representative of the "hot" sub-group, none representative of the "suffragette" sub-group, all of whom - regardless of whether they are divers, oceanographic specialists, administrators, pilots, computer-generated AI interfaces (yes, really) or MEMBERS OF CONGRESS - like nothing more than to cook and clean up after their men.
And, of course, there is Clive Cussler - who manages to appear not just as himself, saving the day in a striking example of Deus ex Litericha; and not just in the form of his obvious hero fantasy persona, Dirk Pitt®, he that is damply lusted after by all women but who somehow never quite finds the time to take advantage of this, yet who DOES have plenty of inclination to cram himself into close quarters with all sorts of strapping, backslapping, super-masculine sailors (and there's NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT - just admit it, man); no, Cussler appears not JUST in these forms, but also in the form of his fantasy persona's juvenile CLONE, Dirk Pitt Jn®, a carbon copy of this ageing neutered sex-pot who can only be the product of a skin-cell fertilisation program or immaculate conception - but through whom, as only the second link in a divine chain, we can be assured of an infinite procession of adventures still to come...
IT'S TERRIBLE. Hilariously bad at times - at one point I snorted in derision so hard I had to run for a tissue - but still TERRIBLE. Avoid it like a plague rat - unless you don't mind laughing until you scream.
ALTERNATIVELY - if you're a member of the no-brains-required, "don't take it so seriously, man", DAN BROWN readership, then feel free to quote-mine this for my ringing endorsement:
"Dirk Pitt® ... is ... Clive Cussler's ... immaculate conception" - FOUR WHITE STARS
Thirty or forty ship's captains, all with with grey beards, clear blue eyes, ruddy cheeks, peg-legs and parrots (well, three out of five's not bad).
A host of the most ridiculously named characters, about one of which our hero has the gall to say "Sounds phoney" - this coming from someone whose name reads like it was lifted from a medieval Scottish autopsy report.
Twelve or so females, all representative of the "hot" sub-group, none representative of the "suffragette" sub-group, all of whom - regardless of whether they are divers, oceanographic specialists, administrators, pilots, computer-generated AI interfaces (yes, really) or MEMBERS OF CONGRESS - like nothing more than to cook and clean up after their men.
And, of course, there is Clive Cussler - who manages to appear not just as himself, saving the day in a striking example of Deus ex Litericha; and not just in the form of his obvious hero fantasy persona, Dirk Pitt®, he that is damply lusted after by all women but who somehow never quite finds the time to take advantage of this, yet who DOES have plenty of inclination to cram himself into close quarters with all sorts of strapping, backslapping, super-masculine sailors (and there's NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT - just admit it, man); no, Cussler appears not JUST in these forms, but also in the form of his fantasy persona's juvenile CLONE, Dirk Pitt Jn®, a carbon copy of this ageing neutered sex-pot who can only be the product of a skin-cell fertilisation program or immaculate conception - but through whom, as only the second link in a divine chain, we can be assured of an infinite procession of adventures still to come...
IT'S TERRIBLE. Hilariously bad at times - at one point I snorted in derision so hard I had to run for a tissue - but still TERRIBLE. Avoid it like a plague rat - unless you don't mind laughing until you scream.
ALTERNATIVELY - if you're a member of the no-brains-required, "don't take it so seriously, man", DAN BROWN readership, then feel free to quote-mine this for my ringing endorsement:
"Dirk Pitt® ... is ... Clive Cussler's ... immaculate conception" - FOUR WHITE STARS
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Clive Cussler has done it again! He has released another brilliant Dirk Pitt novel, combining historical fact and fiction. This time it involves Vikings and submarines.
Cussler's stories all have some essential ingredients that make them successful - beautiful women, historically significant missions, evil villains, one of Cussler's collection of classic cars, and a cracking story with great action and witty conversations between the characters.
Valhalla Rising fits all of the above criterea perfectly, and, apart from Raise the Titanic and Sahara, it is his best Dirk Pitt adventure yet. Make sure you pay attention to the prologue, as it plays a vital part in the adventure, and watch out for the nice twist at the end.
Cussler is the master of adventure, and his books are getting better with time!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Valhalla Rising
Totally preposterous, utterly unbelievable, completely over the top and all the better for it!
Dirk saves 2000 people from a burning cruise ship! Read more
Dirk saves 2000 people from a burning cruise ship! Read more
Published 6 months ago by An avid reader
Mostly mindless
As the Dirk Pitt series continues, Cussler pays less attention to serious plot elements and serves up a more puerile sort of entertainment. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. G. Battle
Not Cussler's best. A bit silly in a lot of places.
This is my fifth Cussler book now (in no particular order). It's the standard fayre of good guys against big secretive nasty guys and OK as a holiday read. Read more
Published 23 months ago by D. J. Brown
best yet
This is the best Clive Cussler novel I've read so far with my introduction to Dirk Pitt. It's fast, exciting, imaginative and you never know what's coming next to excite you! Read more
Published 24 months ago by R. P. Kerr
Fantastic!
This was the first Clive Cussler book I read,and it got me hooked.I've now read about 19 or 20 of his books and this is deffinatley one of his very best. Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2009 by CAB1
This rocks!
I got this as I heard so much about it, but had never read it before, so when I get the chance: Bam!
Published on 18 May 2009 by Mr. K. T. Mccartney
Worse than Tec Wars by William Shatner
This is, without exception, the worst book that I have ever read. I picked it up a couple of weeks ago on holiday as the weather was poor and there was no other Engish language... Read more
Published on 10 Sep 2008 by Eric Liddle
Corny but great
This is without a doubt one of the worst books i have ever read. Its basically Flemming on acid. Having said that I've given it 4 stars because its a great read! Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2006 by james russell
A Whale of a Tale or Two . . .
Ever since there have been ships, the ocean has inspired tall tales about sea serpents, mysterious dangers, lost adventurers, pirates, disaffected geniuses, and exotic locales. Read more
Published on 17 July 2004 by Donald Mitchell
A Whale of a Tale or Two . . . .
Ever since there have been ships, the ocean has inspired tall tales about sea serpents, mysterious dangers, lost adventurers, pirates, disaffected geniuses, and exotic locales. Read more
Published on 9 July 2004 by Donald Mitchell
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