Pacific Vortex, The first Dirk Pitt adventure

Since we have so many new members lately I thought I would take this as an opportunity to try something new.
Lets take a look at every book.
First up Pacific Vortex.Although it was the first written it wasn't released until after Night Probe.
What are your opinions?
What did you like or dislike in each book?
How would you rate it?

I like PV.It's a simple start for Clive.It doesn't have the complicated plot lines of the later novels but it's still an enjoyable read.
This is also our first introduction to 3 of the main characters.Dirk on page 1,Al on page 186 and Sandecker on page 40.Rudi is mentioned but does not appear physically in the book.
It has been said on another thread that this book may have been heavily edited or heavily rewriten by either Clive or an editor.
On a scale of 1-10 I would rate it as a 7.


What are your thoughts on the start of the Dirk Pitt saga?

What a better way to start a series! Good guy falls for beautiful woman. Loses woman. Battles evil guy. Starts his heroic mission to save innocent people and battle evil-doers. It's the only way to kick-start the hero complex. But this one is humble and not egocentric. And he has a best friend with whom each are comfortable with and the humour of their close relationship comes out as we learn about both as they have adventure after adventure and unlike some heroes fall down and get hurt but get back up and dust themselves off. With Al and Dirk you not only learn their depth of character but you care for them more and more and root for them. Also they do get mad as in some stories Dirk does get murderous without pity. And despite the plots that Dr. C puts Al and Dirk in they are not overwhelmed by the complexities but can simplify it for us readers but they reveal the human nature at both its basest and goodness. And now that they have grown older and continue they have learned along the way. I still love these two guys and the situations they manage to get themselves in and out.

This post has been edited by tonym5 on Sep 25 2004, 09:05 PM

Raise The Titanic was my first Cussler novel. After that I read Night Probe. As time went by I collected them all. I must say that I like each and every book, but I enjoy the more complex plots in his later novels. I too would give PV a 7. The plot may be simple but I love the way Clive fleshes out his characters and locations. I'm able to visualize what he's writing and to me that makes it a entertaining read.

Talk about consistancy! I also would rate PV a 7. His later books being better overall in my opinion.

I too love Dr. Cussler's writing technique. While I do not place myself in the story, as I read I can visualize what is happening as if I were watching a movie. The way he describes the characters, the surroundings, the events that are occurring, it is easy to forget you are reading a book. That to me is the sign of a great writer. Good literature beats a video tape anyday.

In a sense, the way Dr. Cussler writes is responsible for all the debate on who is and who should play the characters in a movie. He describes them so well, we each have this visual image that we keep of the characters throughout the series. As we "know" what they look like (in our minds), any deviation from that image hits us wrong.

Clive Cussler is simply the best!

Like others, I cracked open the pages of this novel knowing it was the actual first novel, and knowing that it wasn't supposed to be up to the 'standards' of the later Pitt novels.
That being said, I still found the book an enjoyable read. Sure, the plot was fairly staightforward, not something we're used to in the later novels, but it was still a great action/adventure story, and kept my intrest the entire way though. (Then again, all Cussler books have done that thus far...)

I just reread PV about a month ago and would have to agree with all of you. It is straightforward and it doesn't take as long for Clive to flesh out his charactters. It's still a great read. The thing that amazes me is even though it was written in the '60's and edited for release in the '70's it still reads like a modern novel. When I read it it just didn't seem like it was out of date. A solid 7.

Cheers

PV has everything. It was a good book. I couldn't put it down. I read it in one night. Although it wasn't published for a long time after it was written it has all you could want in a Dirk Pitt novel. They only get better.

That is what I wanted to say.......Thanks

I'll give it an 8

My rating for PV ia a perfect 10! As I started with Night Probe then PV I Would also give Night Probe a 10 too!!!!

Pacific Vortex has the bones of a great story, and works well in the Dirk Pitt universe, but after just rereading it, I completely understand why it took a while to see the light of day.
The action is first rate. Most of the characters are very realistic, and I especially like the undercurrent of tension between Pitt and Boland--they are obviously cut from different cloth, but at crunch time, they're in it together. PV also features what I believe to be the first occurence of the "I'll pull the spear out on 3. 1...2...(pull)" which has turned up once or twice in various movies. This also might be the first time Navy SEALs ever turned up in a mainstream action novel.
Where I think this story falls short... if you'll pardon the pun... is it's length. We hardly get to know the villain. Delphi has a lot of presence and would be a great foil, but isn't even revealed until the last third of the story. There isn't enough development of the Dirk & Summer romance for me to find it credible, much less life-changing for Pitt. I also would like to know more about the seamount and some of the technologies Delphi used; for example, the guns and rebreathers the bad guys use are mentioned, but not really described at length.
That is not to say I really want to see it turned into a thousand page technical manual (a la Clancy) I like it fine for what it is. It gets a 7, not because it's bad, but because on my scale, Deep Six alone rates a 10 while my least favorite Dragon, gets a 4.

I'd have to give PV a 8/10

A well written book.

Although I have to say I enjoyed other books such as sahara and inca gold a smidge more.

PV is the very first Cussler book i ever read, and i didn't really read much of anything before it. This book got me hooked on Cussler. Afterwards i read every one of his books in order (except for the first couple). It was the best book i ever read at the time, but after reading all the other Pitt books, it was definately overshadowed. I also recently re-read it. I still enjoyed it, but it is more simple, and a little too short. I'd give it an 8 because it got me reading everything else, but he's done much better too.