Inca Gold

Quite how I've avoided Cussler's work for so long I have no idea. It's exactly my kind of thing. So, having finally succumbed to the adventure master himself, what's he like?

Inca Gold is your typical treasure hunt, no more, no less. Good guys vs Bad Guys...who's going to get it first? Cussler sets it up nicely - there's a nice degree of historical fact that never gets boring, a decent enough main protagonist in Dirk Pitt, who, while being somewhat of a caricature, is exactly what one would expect in a frankly, cartoonish-style adventure.

The plots rolls along in convincing enough fashion, although the trials and tribulations that Pitt faces along the way don't really stretch him - I found myself just wanting ahead to the final face-off with the baddies. I thought the plot dragged slightly along the way, and finally petered out with a whimper, not the bang that I was expecting. Woeful ending for this type of story, in my opinion.

I'd rate this as an ok novel - nothing is special. The prose is hammed up in places in excruciating fashion ("Pitt descended once more into the dark waters of death" - ouch!) and at no point do I feel like this is really a serious thriller - that would be like viewing "The `A' Team" as a documentary. No, this is `diet adventure' - no great insights into the dark side of human nature, no complex characters, no real tension. Just a camped-up romp through various set-pieces until the fizzled-out ending. It is a page-turner, and it's not really bad, but it gives the impression that `read one Cussler, read them all" and while it was all good fun, I don't feel it that necessary to pick up another one after this.

Too far fetched (0/1 people found this helpful)

Ok its fiction so the author can make up what they want, but Dirk Pitt's ability to defy death is just a bit too far fetched for me.

The description of old cultures and their treasures is well done and interesting but this book has no suspense or surprise. The plot does race along but it's all too predictable. There are no twists or turns or clever endings etc. It's a treasure hunt. Good guys versus bad. It just didn't do it for me.

This is the first Cussler I have read and it will remain the only one.

Inca Gold (2/3 people found this helpful)

I actually read this whilst travelling through South America, and Peru in perticular and its surprisingly accurate. The places described in the book are just as amazing as they sound!!!

This was the first Clive Cussler book i read, and as soon as my 25 HOUR bus trip finished through Peru (which i managed to read most of the book in) i went out and bought Fire Ice. Which is another excellant book.

Is'nt that a German beer? (8/9 people found this helpful)

If you'd have asked me two months ago who Cive Cussler was I,d have said "Is'nt that a German beer?" But that was then.Ask me now and I'll tell you he's the award winning author of 16 bestselling novels and the Chairman of the highly respected NUMA(national underwater and marine agency) that he founded himself.But enough of the man behind the book,lets have a look at the book itself.

Inca Gold is the 12 book in this phenomenally successful series and the first that I have ever read.As the title suggests the main plot revolves around a hoard of lost Inca treasure or Huascars treasure to be more precise.

The tale kicks off thre hundred years in the past but soon shoots forward to the year 1998 where Dirk Pitt(hero of the story and main character in nearly all of Clive Cusslers novels)recieves desperate call for help from an archaeological expedition deep in the Andes.Pitt,director of special projects for NUMA,who was nearby mapping the ocean floor onboard his vessel the Deep Fathom,rushes to help.

From here on in Pitt is dragged into a fantastic and dangerous adventure in the search for the treasure,that brings him to many exotic locations around the globe.

To say too much of the plot would spoil it, so all I'll say is that it involves the hunt for the remains of a wrecked Spanish galleon,a stone demon and an underwater river.To find out how all these are connected you'll have to read the book,which I hugely recomend you do.The plot is cunning and inventive,the action fast paced and exciting.In fact there's nothing really wrong with it.

To be honest,I enjoyed the book twice as much because I had a genuine interest in many of it's themes.Scuba-diving,sunken and wrecked ships,lost treasure,etc.If those kind of things don't strike you as interesting or exciting then you might not enjoy it as much as I did.But all the same you should give it bash.You might be surprised.

Maybe not Cusslers best? (1/2 people found this helpful)

After a recommendation from several people of this being 'Cussler's best ever book' i was sceptical, i had only ever previously read 'Raise the Titanic' and i was bit wary of Dirk Pitt's seemingly impossible evasion of death. i was surprised at how much i got out of the book. Dirk has the strength and the charm to get out of any dangerous situation alive, you just can't help but fall in love with this quit witted character. The only dissapointment with the storyline is the action packed, but not so well thought out ending.

But if you can put any hope of an educational read out of the window and come to accept that the impossible is, indeed possible in the world of Pitt and Giordinio. If you can concentrate only on the fast moving pace of this all action thriller then you will find it a good book. Accept the book for what it is - just fiction, but a great entertainer.

Clive Cussler

Reader Reviews:

Cartoon Entertainment! (1/2 people found this helpful)

Too far fetched (0/1 people found this helpful)

Inca Gold (2/3 people found this helpful)

Is'nt that a German beer? (8/9 people found this helpful)

Maybe not Cusslers best? (1/2 people found this helpful)

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