Pacific Vortex!: A Novel (Dirk Pitt Adventure)

As an avid Clive Cussler reader I was not disappointed with this early Dirk Pitt story. I enjoyed reading how he met Summer but am still mystified how he managed to have twins with her when she disappeared before they got together. Still never let details stop a good story. From the start Clive Cussler introduced the mystery when the submarine disappeared in the "Hawaiian Bermuda Triangle" and never lost the plot which is a sign of a good writer. I expected this early story to pale in comparison to his current standard but it never did - I was very reluctant to put the book down. I really recommend this book and if you like Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino then this is a great starting point even though Al doesn't feature as much as later books.

I loved the movie “Sahara” so when I discovered it was actually based on a book by Clive Cussler, I decided to give the Dirk Pitt series a try. The premise of this book was interesting to me because I like mysterious things like the Bermuda Triangle. I usually judge a book by how much “skimming” I end up doing and how easy it was to put down. I’m happy to say that I did hardly any skimming in this book. There were only a couple parts that I found to be a little boring. I also found myself wanting to find out what happened next, so it wasn’t that easy to put down. I really enjoyed reading a book that contained the two main characters from one of my favorite movies. The story was interesting and held my attention. I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Clive Cussler is an amazing author, and this book was very intriguing. I thought his idea regarding the Bermuda Triangle was rather brilliant, who knows? Could be. However, I personally believe there are other things going on there. This was a good book, and I enjoyed it very much. I still think Sahara was the best. I also think that Matthew Maconahey and Steve Zonk and Penelope Cruz should team up for other Clive Cussler books and continue making them into movies. I watch Sahara every time I see it is on TV, and it does not matter if it is half over. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie as much as the book.

Excellent story introducing Dirk Pitt.

STORY BRIEF: Dirk was a major in the military and can fly planes. Currently he does special projects for an underwater marine agency. For thirty years, ships disappeared in an area called the Pacific Vortex, north of Hawaii. Recently a nuclear submarine named Starbuck disappeared there. Dirk sees a yellow canister floating in the ocean. He grabs it and takes it to Navy headquarters. It contains a message from the Starbuck. Dirk accompanies a Navy group to try to find the sub and figure out what happened. Someone tries to kill Dirk. REVIEWER'S OPINION: This was the author's first book, but he didn't publish it right away. After his sequels proved successful, he went back and published this at the urging of his friends. The author tells us that this is not as well developed as his later books. He wrote more than 20 Dirk Pitt books and more than 20 other fiction books. This book has a swashbuckling adventure feel. There is not a lot of thought to it. It's about bad guys, danger, bravery, some fighting, and escape - accessorized with a beautiful woman. It reminds me of movies. I prefer books over movies because I like the depth in books - characters, motivations, and plot development. This did not do enough for me to want to read more in the series. However I already purchased the sequel so I will be doing one more (The Mediterranean Caper). Dirk is a smart tough guy, but I prefer Jack Reacher (the Lee Child books). I think you can read these novels out of order based on other reviewers' comments, so if you want to try this author, I'd suggest reading one of the other books first. In this book Dirk meets Summer. If you are reading this for back story on Summer, don't expect much. There are three brief scenes with Summer. First she tries to kill him, then she tries to help him. Apparently they love each other but that is not developed. There is no relationship development. Apparently she has a role in future books. There was one line that had me chuckling. Dirk is flying a plane with a group of Navy men going on a dangerous mission, possibly-probably to die. Dirk wants to ease their nervousness so he tells his copilot friend to "get back in the main cabin with the others and act like a bored bus conductor." I liked another scene. A woman appears to be seducing Dirk. She knees him in the crotch and plans to inject the contents of a syringe into him. But his instinctive reaction upon being kneed is to lash out with his fist which knocks her unconscious. Then he spends the next several minutes recuperating from his crotch hit, and then he sees the still-full-syringe in her hand. That was a fun scene. DATA: Story length: 346 pages. Swearing language: mild, including religious swear words. Sexual content: No sex scenes or language, but Dirk thinks about his desires for women and sex. When he sees a desirable woman, his first thought is wondering how soon and how much effort will it take to have sex with her. Setting: current day Hawaii and the Pacific Ocean. Copyright: 1983. Genre: action adventure thriller.

Though written as the first Dirk Pitt novel, it was published as the 6th installment of the Pitt adventures. For those interested in the series, this would be the one to start with. After an advanced nuclear sub turns up missing, Pitt an underwater expert discovers a series of ships missing in the Bermuda Triangle of the Pacific named the Pacific Vortex. Not only must Pitt find the sub before the Russians do, but discover who or what is behind the disappearance of these ships in the first place. Very interesting read and great entertainment.

I just read this book for the third time (first time in 1986 at the tender age of 11, then again in 2004), and true to form, just like Cluve Cussler's other vintage Dirk Pitt novels, it is nearly impossible to put down, fast-paced, fill with action, intrigue, mystery, oceanographic technical wizardry and the wonder of the sea, romance with lovely ladies, and laugh-out-loud humor (especially in Pitt & Giordino's banter wth one another and their defiant and smart-alecky remarks to the villains). Even though Cussler wrote the book in the early 1970s and published it in 1982, it barely seems dated at all (even with the lack of cell phones, Internet, etc.). Just a couple of nitpicks here keep me from giving "Pacific Vortex" a full 5 stars: (1) It seems hard to believe that a technologically savvy Air Force officer like Major Pitt would carry such an obsolescent--albeit still deadly--pistol like the 1896 Broomhandle Mauser as his primary sidearm. Indeed, in later books, Pitt instead relies on his trust Colt M1911 .45 caliber autopistol as his go-to-handgun (yes, the M1911 is over 100 years old, yet is still a viable sidearm this day thanks to ever-modernizing features and add-ons). Moreoever, Cussler never tells us the caliber of Dirk's particular Mauser. Also, Cussler indicates that this Mauser "Schnell Feuer" uses a "50-shot clip," when all my research showed it used either 10- or 20-round magazines (both stripper clips and detachable magazines). (2) SPOILER ALERT!!!! SPOILER ALTERT!!!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!!! In the later novels, we're told that "Pacific "Vortex's" femme fatala, Summer Moran, was Pitt's most passionate, and for many years, only true love (until Maeve in "Shockwave" and eventually Congresswoman Lauren Smith). Yet in this book, there is no torrid love scene--or any love scene period--between Dirk and Summer. Sure, they exchange a few passionate embraces and smooches toward the end, but that does not equate to actual lovemaking....yet somehow we find out 20+ years and abuot a dozen books later that Summer somehow mothered Pitt's children. If this were a standalone novel, no big deal, but when you look at the series as a whole, this becomes a gaping plot hole. But enough nitpicking already! Read this old-school Cussler/Pitt adventure and enjoy it to the max like I did! P.S. After so many later Dirk Pitt novels wherein "Leigh Hunt" is an ill-fated mariner or aviator in the Prologues, it is interesting to see Leigh Hunt--or Hunter in this case--last throghout the length of the present-day storyline of the novel.

I got this book for Christmas and just started reading it and, of course, in true Clive Cussler fashion, I hate to put it down to go to sleep at night. Although this book was published later, it was Dirk Pitt's first adventure. I wish I had known that, I would have read it first; however, it does not take away from any of the other Dirk Pitt novels. The story is set in and around Hawaii, which I love because I lived there for many years so I know all of the roads and locations (so far) that are mentioned in the book. As a longtime resident, I appreciate the accuracy and truthfulness of the Hawaii locations because it makes it more real, more believable to me. I'm definitely a Clive Cussler fan and this novel, like all the others I've read, does not disappoint.