Clive Cussler's The Devil's Sea

Dirk Pitt® #26

by Dirk Cussler

DIRK PITT IS BACK, AND ON HIS SHOULDERS RESTS THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE PLANET . . .JOIN THE LATEST THRILL RIDE FROM THE GRAND MASTER OF ADVENTURE, CLIVE CUSSLER_________In 1959 a Skytrain plane flees Tibet - carrying a precious artefact - but after crossing the Himalayas it is never seen again . . .Sixty years later Dirk Pitt and NUMA are surveying near the Philippines when a rogue wave nearly sinks their ship. Diverting to rescue washed-away islanders, Pitt discovers the wave has raised a sunken relic - an ancient cargo plane.But before he can get to the bottom of one mystery, Pitt is hit with beat the Chinese military to find a lost hypersonic missile. Yet what should be a simple search and retrieve reveals evidence of a far more dangerous weapon.Because the rogue wave that almost sank Pitt and devastated the islands was no natural phenomenon. And the weapon that caused it is to be turned on a much bigger target . . ._________Praise for Clive 'The Adventure King' Sunday Express'Just about the best in the business' New York Post'Cussler is hard to beat' Daily Mail

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Thriller, Mystery, Action, Audiobook, Suspense

432 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2021

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, action-filled adventure with the Pitt family and NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency) team. Clive Cussler successful formula continues in The Devil's Sea.

Forget biochemical weapons. What if you can control ocean currents and make your own tsunami? Or Mach 25 cruise missile (twice as fast as what we have)? This installment is exciting. I love sea stories and you can count on that with Cussler's books. To top it off, Pitt's adult children Dirk Jr. and Summer are trekking in the Himalaya Mountain range. Scientists believe a rare material is needed to successfully weaponize the Mach 25 missile and such material can be found in an ancient religious idol that was lost in 1959 when Dalai Lama and Tibetan leaders escape from Tibet.

Solid adventure and I enjoy the history part; some true, some fiction, but very entertaining and made me read more on the web out of curiosity.

You can read the history that inspires the novel here:
https://time.com/3742242/dalai-lama-1...

The Apr. 20, 1959, cover of TIME
Cover Credit: BORIS CHALIAPIN

[Scott Neumann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been a Clive Cussler fan for a long time , I had been reading him religiously ever since a friend of mines father gave me a copy of Iceberg when I was 12, but over the last 10 years or so started slacking off. The books became to formulaic, the plots were predicated on coincidence and in the case of the Dirk Pitt novels his children are annoying characters.

The Devil's Sea happens to be the first posthumous release of Cussler's without his input, so I decided to give it a try. Was I disappointed? No. Was I glad to be back in this world? Not really! Was it any good? Actually yes it was, but it was pretty much more of the same. It feels just like a Cussler novel. His son has been writing them long enough that their voices are pretty much the same.
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If you're a fan of international thrillers, fast paced action, and cinematic style action set pieces, then you can't go wrong spending some time in this world.

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clive Cussler's The Devil's Sea by NOT Clive Cussler

This is a very Corn Flake (formulaic) version of Adventure/Action...just plug in the same characters with different locations and just add water - LOTS of water. I felt a bit cheated since the book says this is Clive Cussler's The Devils Sea...but it isn't (see small print at the bottom of the cover). Yep, plenty of action kept the interest alive and it wasn't too bad of a read. It seems the Chinese are the bad guys in this story. Umm...how "current" of you Mr Cussler Jr. There were just too many unbelievable, coincidental moments, and too many ridiculous escapes from certain death. In fact, some of them were SO unbelievable, I laughed out loud at inappropriate moments...you know...like your embarrassing cousin does at the movies (while you try to pretend you don't even know him). The plot was ponderous with too many location swaps, and the ending ... well you don't have to have crystal balls to guess it. For me - 2 stars was about the most I could give it.

No more Cussler for me methinks.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would happen if...an oceanic exploration vessel could generate a man made tsunami? And employ it against any chosen adversary? Or what if there was a rare earth element found in a sacred statue that has certain thermodynamic properties that would allow it to be used to assemble a missile capable of Mach 25? These issues are addressed in this book. I found it captivating, and very hard to put down. Definitely one of the better thrillers I've read this year.

[Ray Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an author, I enjoy reading books that gear toward historic events. But this book caught my attention as I stopped to pick it up and glance through its pages at the bookstore. I am only about halfway through it, but I am enjoying it so far and Dirk Cussler is now on my short list of authors that I look for.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A CIA mission to evacuate the Dalai Lama instead takes relics from an important monastery but goes missing in the Himalayas, over 60 years later some of those relics appear on a plane in the Philippines right after a mineral survey ship causes a rogue wave with new technology that puts Taiwan in the crosshairs from squad of Chinese soldiers. The Devil’s Sea is the twenty-sixth installment of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series, the first exclusively written by Dirk Cussler after co-authoring the last eight.

In his first solo outing Dirk Cussler brought a tight fun narrative of two subplots that had connections with antagonists but independent from one another that showed off Cussler’s knowledge of the established characters and a great quality in prose. The antagonists are Chinese soldiers and intelligence operatives hunting down the remains for an experimental hypersonic missile while the others are after extraterrestrial minerals from certain meteorites needed to solve thermal issues with the missiles, ironically important Tibetan relics are made from these meteorites that happen to help China’s cultural assimilation of Tibet. This connectivity of the antagonists but also their independence from one another allows the teams Dirk & Al and the Twins to have their own adventures that are engaging and fun.

The Devil’s Sea continued the vibe of the Dirk Pitt series over the last eight installments as Dirk Cussler took solo control of the series, if this is a signal of how the series will continue then I’ll continue read it.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Dirk Pitt book released after Clive Cussler passed away. But, his son, Dirk Cussler, writes in the same style as his father. The book follows two separate but still a bit related plots. One has Dirk and Al and the other features Dirk's kids, Dirk and Summer. It has the familiar formula. I've mentioned before, but Cussler books are for light reading. Take the action and adventure and death-defying events at face value. I could have done without the political undertones but I guess it helps drive the plot to have very defined “good and evil” sides.

[Ted Barringer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am surprised this book rated the high number of stars after so many reviews. I read a few and most have the same thoughts I do, the book is lousy, it follows the same formula that all Dirk Pitt books have had for far too long, on and on, on and on.

I will say that son Dirk Cussler, in his first foray on his own, didn't stumble too badly, the problem is he didn't improve on the product now that he is out of the shadow of dear old Dad.

I am not sure who I am more disappointed in, Clive Cussler or James Patterson. I'll go with Mr. Cussler because at least Raise the Titanic, Iceberg, Pacific Vortex and a few others were all really, really good books. Now, they are just a series of chase scenes, impossible escapes from death traps that would have been far easier solved with a bullet to the head, you know the deal. It is tiring.

I actually was dumb enough to think that Cussler was writing the final books in all of his series, the first one being Final Option which had a great ending to the Oregon series, but now I see a new Oregon adventure has been printed. Not me, nope, I am done with all things Cussler, which is sad.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just Happening to be in the locale of Luzon, Dirk Pitt is tasked with finding a Chinese missile under the ocean. Meanwhile, Jr. and Summer have found a plane in the area, and after some heroics, find Tibetan artifacts inside the plane.

This has them after an artifact required to find the next Dalai Lama.

Has all the usual stuff, but replacing the usual insane billionaire with the Chi-Coms makes for a different sort of book.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it looks like Russia has been displaced from being the 'Big Bad' by Mainland China. Because that is where the latest threat is coming from that the Pitts and NUMA must deal with. The historic piece relates to some partisans trained by India to help protect and get the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders out of their homeland along with religious relics as China makes moves to take over the country back in the late 1950's.

Of course, there is some highly technical breakthrough that can be weaponized as well as some special aspect of those Tibetan relics - some were lost when the evacuating aircraft went down in the Himalayans.

NUMA and the Pitts save the day. Representatives of enemy eliminated and the secret technology is handed over to the Americans.

This is the first book that actually under the "Clive Cussler's" branding since Mr. Cussler's death last year. And his son does make sure he gets his token appearance providing a helping hand. We'll have to see how well this series - as well as the others - go without Clive's guiding hand.

2021-256

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always glad when one of my favorite series is handed off to a "legacy" author and I'm especially heartened to have the Dirk Pitt series stay in the family, keeping these fun, action thrillers going...The whole cast of the Pitt family and our NUMA favorites, right up to Adm. Sandecker. is in the effort to thwart rogue Chinese military elements from creating a hypersonic rocket and using a man-made Tsunami to wipe out Taiwan...Great fun!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The storylines are more parallel adventures than converging plot points, but on the whole it is a solid entry in the Cussler canon, and proof that the brand may well survive the passing of it's creator.

[Heitham Hammad · Rating 5 out of 5]

" My first time reading an audio book. I've always enjoyed Clive Cussler stories, and the narrative was great. Thanks DIRK!"

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun novel to read; I actually enjoyed it more than I hoped I would. The prior novels written by "the father-son team" never seemed consistent in their flavor as it were. The stories were inconsistent, the pacing and intensity were inconsistent. In my opinion, it seemed apparent if either Clive or Dirk was writing the entire book or splitting writing duties, especially in relation to Dirk Pitt Sr. and his behavior, if he was "acting in" or "out of character." I felt like with this novel, Dirk Sr.'s character remained largely consistent throughout the story itself as well as within the overall tone of the stories (well, up until Dirk started writing with his father). I suppose the character development was decent in terms of minor characters and supporting characters. I would say that if any "major character" (i.e. - Dirk Sr., Al, Summer, or Dirk Jr.) had any kind of development, it would have been Summer. She seems to be on the verge of developing a "love interest," but it never truly seems to go anywhere or have any lift to it by the end of the story. It was kind of disappointing, in some ways.

The sonic device used to dig for undersea diamonds was quite reminiscent of the villain's mining equipment in Shockwave, as was the part of the plot involving diamonds. In this case, an Australian ship is looking for diamonds at the bottom of the ocean; the designer of this technology has an ingenious plan and partnership with Taiwan for his new tech to be used to defend Taiwan against invasion because of how it can create underwater instabilities that turn into tsunamis. It is pretty crazy how similar the technologies are, in some ways.

The Chinese are the villains in this piece, and they truly seem to have spies and assassins and special agents everywhere. In some ways, it is hard to believe that the heroes save the day by the end of the book, considering how prevalent and disciplined the numerous Chinese agents truly are. In some ways, it felt like overkill, to be honest, and I do not know how believable the story was with the Chinese being so omniscient and omnipresent. It was truly unreal.

It is funny how this book does seem to fall back on "the old formula" of Dirk and Al rescuing a beautiful woman and then said woman seems to "pal around" with the two over the course of the book. I actually thought she (Margot Thornton) was going to turn out to be a love interest for Dirk Jr. but that was not the case. It is amusing how prevalent sex was early on in the series, how Dirk would sometimes make love with two or three women over the course of the novel. Now that he is married, I am glad that he remains faithful to his wife, Loren, but it would also be nice to see her be on his team more than she is. it seems like up until the two were married, they often teamed up on various missions or interacted more with each other than they do now. Again, I'm glad that Loren and Dirk Sr. are married and the whole "will they, won't they" thing is "over," but it does still feel like an essential element has been removed from Dirk's character. I guess he had to grow up sometime.

It is also weird how "toned down the violence is" that Dirk and Al mete out. I still remember the awesome moment in Treasure where Dirk, Al, Rudi, and I think another NUMA guy fight something like forty terrorists in an abandoned mine in I think it was southern Argentina. It was a great scene. Or when Dirk shot the pistol out of Brian Shaw's hand in Night Probe!. It was pretty cool to have Dirk meet "James Bond" in the early books, the "early stages of his career." That element of intensity and surprise seems to be missing from these later books. Dirk and Al seem to be more like pacifists and no longer "the crack shots" they used to be (which is highly disappointing) (that they are no longer the crack shots they used to be, per se). Perhaps it is because Dirk is now the man in charge and has to behave more responsibly than he had in the past when he was just the director of operations or something? I don't know how to describe it, but it really feels like something is missing, some essential element that was in the first sixteen or so novels.

On the bright side, Dirk does not seem as prone to making poor decisions like he has been in the last couple of novels.

It was also funny to have a beautiful young woman running around with Dirk, Sr., and Al over the course of the novel. I know I started to say this above, but it was a bit of weird chemistry going on there, initially. The "tension" does die a pretty quick death, though, and Margot seems to become "one of the gang" (as Dirk was not willing to cheat on his wife and did not express any kind of interest in Margo that was more than platonic). There is even an amusing moment where Margot wonders about her feelings, about how they are "transforming" from what might have been "love at first sight" into something more along the lines of a strong platonic mutual respect or something like that. I mean, Dirk is running around a South Pacific Island with Margot at one point and she really might as well not even have been in that scene with Dirk. it was pretty incongruous. But kudos for her being a part of the team, even if only for a short while.

Overall, it was a fun novel to read. I liked it more than three stars but not enough to give it four stars. I would probably rate it 3.5 - 3.7 stars, maybe, so I'll generously bump it up to four stars. Especially as it was truly a fast read for me, and I had a hard time putting the book down. I am glad that I took a chance and read the book.

[Ben Denison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A typical Dirk Pitt novel, full of fun, adventure, thrills, and banter , but saying typical is a pretty big deal, because I don’t think it has dropped off from the younger Cussler taking over fro the elder.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can’t go wrong with Dirk Pitt. He’s always going to save the world. Lots of action and adventure as always and I love seeing how everything ties together.

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fast read besides being a fast-moving tale. Of course, we have Dirk Pitt and his buddy Al Giordano putting themselves out in the field doing sonar testing of their newest submersible mainly because neither of them can stand being in an office. They get asked to located debris from an unknown Chinese missile that exploded near them. Of course, they find most of the important pieces but have to deal with the Chinese mercenary soldiers who also have come to get the pieces. Leaving Pitt and Giordano to play their macho-man roles as if it was a fun adventure, despite getting their submersible sunk underwater, they find a way to jimmy the circuits to get it going again and rescued the fair maiden they had already rescued earlier. It seems her father's boat had been hijacked by the Chinese mercenaries and they were going to use the sonar array system developed by her father to destroy Taiwan, plus kill the US Vice President Sandecker along with the US battleships in the area.
Meanwhile, Pitt's son Dirk and sister Summer had found a cache of carved items in a crashed 47 airplane that had washed ashore on the island whose village they were helping by setting up a water filtration unit. Through the NUMA office, they find out that it may belong to a person located in India, but when they get there, they are told to go to Tibet instead, where they eventually give it to the Dali Lhama monastery, after consulting with the man who survived falling out of another similar airplane that was carrying a bigger more important figure. Using NUMA again, they closely pinpoint where the plane may have crashed in the Himalayas and decide to find it, not knowing another group of Chinese mercenaries was following them. They do find the figurine and after a clash where the Chinese managed to have the figurine for 6 hours, they managed a rescue of the figurine and their Tibetan friend and get the figurine back, plus get to meet the Dali Lhama in person.

[Tad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt has been going strong for almost 50 years. Dirk Cussler proves that Dirk and the series is in good hands with The Devil’s Sea. The story starts in 1959 when an important Buddhist artifact is lost during the chaotic Communist takeover of Tibet. Dirk Pitt discovers a crashed plane in the Philippines 60 years later that may hold the key to what happened. Pitt and his trusted companion Al Giordino are ordered away to recover a downed Chinese missile in the nearby Luzon Strait.

Dirk and Al are not the only ones searching for the missile as a rogue Chinese military team is also racing to find it and is willing to do whatever it takes to recover it first. As Dirk and Al search the depths of the Pacific, Dirk’s children, Summer and Dirk Jr., follow the lead on the artifact which takes them from the Philippines all the way to the Himalayas. All four are in a race against time to save a religion, a country, and perhaps the world.

These characters are iconic and Dirk Cussler’s previous experience writing with his father shows just what a good grasp he has on them. This story is filled with mystery, adventure, danger, and heroics. A true page-turner, this story has you racing along with the characters to find out if they will succeed and how they will overcome the many obstacles placed in their paths. Cussler creates a great adventure with lots of action and harrowing situations that let the characters shine as they ingeniously work their way out of danger. Tie it all together with a mystery that spans 60 years and you’ve got another great Dirk Pitt story.

The Devil’s Sea is a great story that will please both fans and newcomers alike. It’s one of my favorite reads of the year!

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

[Cynde · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful action adventure story written by Clive Cussler's son, Dirk Cussler. Near Taiwan is a section of the ocean known as the Devil's Sea, is similar to the Bermuda Triangle in the Atlantic, in that the currents are unpredictable and thing disappear or go badly when traveling through it. Dirk Pit, Sr. and Al Giordino are doing a geological survey in the area when a missile crash lands in the sea. They are told to try to retrieve the wreckage.
In 1959 a Buddhist artifact was lost during the escape of the Dali Lama from encroaching Chinese Communist in Tibet. The two incidents lead the group on a fantastic trail of danger. The twins, Dirk and Summer follow the trail leading to the lost artifacts, as their father encounters all kinds of trouble as they try to recover the missile parts. In typical Cussler fashion, the teams face seemingly insurmountable challenges , injuries and make new friends along the way.This was a nail biting read that I was unable to put down. So much fun and as with all Cussler books , it never disappoints and leave you wanting more!!!

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting book where you just have to keep turning pages. Two stories evolved separately but didn’t distract. It was easy to keep each straight. Always good to have our NUMA friends on hand and to continue their adventures.

[Deborah Wall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine adventure

This story included story about the Dalai Lama and the attempt to recover some of the ancient artifacts lost when the Dalai Lama fled Tibet. ItzI remember when that happened and Cussler's story seems very believable to me.

[Joel Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid entry into the Dirk Pitt library. At this point, the formula is pretty well established so don't expect any major characters dying or any life-altering events that will have any bearing in future novels. Still, an entertaining book.

[Charlie Ravioli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read a Dirk Pitt book in ages! My first one by the son. Was like catching up with an old friend. Pure, simple fun.

[Ewen Stapley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read - if not a little formulaic.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adventure, a disaster followed by an amazing escape. An adventure, a disaster followed by an amazing escape. An adventure, a disaster followed by an amazing escape. An adventure, a disaster followed by an amazing escape. An adventure, a disaster followed by an amazing escape.
Dirk Pitt can get them out of any nasty situation over and over again.

[Denis]

Clive Cussler has always been one of my fav authors. The Dirk Pitt series is the best.

[Dustin Colwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dirk continues his father's legacy with another exciting page turner. The series is in good hands.

[Hela By Aura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed book, very enjoyable on the go, the best commute read.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

[Lulu Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read