1948:
A ship carrying mysterious Chinese cargo sinks in an unknown
location without a trace.
2000:
Our hero Dirk Pitt goes on a vacation to a boathouse and
gets involved in a bedlam with Chinese shipping tycoon and smuggler Qin Shang.
And the story begins.
Like most Dirk Pitt adventures, Flood Tide also has foreign
evil forces conspiring against America. In this case, it’s the Chinese.
Personally I am not too fond of the country myself (check the sidebar of my
blog to know why); hence I did not mind reading about their defeat no matter
how fictitious and tattletale it sounds. On the other hand, America is full of
patriots and virtuous men who would bust their asses for the sake of humanity.
The characters in Clive Cussler novels speak with each other
in a very superficial, sarcastic manner even in the moments of dire crisis,
which makes the characters barely credible. They are always using idioms and
catchphrases and after a while it gets really annoying. Seriously, who talks like
that all the time? Dirk Pitt is so invincible and implausibly lucky that it
makes him almost a superhero. And as usually, Flood Tide also has a beautiful,
charming lady who leaves no stone unturned to get into trouble and give Pitt
ample chance to flaunt his heroics. The author tries his very best to build
searing chemistry between agent Julia Lee and Dirk Pitt, but not for once I
felt like rooting for their happy ending. In fact whenever this Julia woman
showed up in the novel, I felt like ‘Oh for the love of god, take this useless
woman away and let the story continue!’ I hate it when unnecessary romance
crops up in the middle of a high paced thriller only to hinder its progress.
Fortunately, Cussler is not overly fond of elaborate description of sex like
Sidney Sheldon. However he is not above the stereotypical chauvinistic approach
while depicting a female character. Julia Lee could have been an ordinary
looking but highly efficient, self-sufficient agent who did not need a man to
save her ass. But no, Julia is a super sexy, rather foolish, helpless woman who
always gets into trouble and in her leisure time she cooks gourmet food for
Dirk and his friends. How convenient.
If one thinks that Flood Tide is all about sea adventure and
treasure hunting, then one is in for a big disappointment. Yes, the plot
includes a lost ship as I said in the beginning. But there is not much mystery
about it and it only gets a small chapter in the end. The main plot revolves
around how the Chinese immigrants are a potential threat to the sovereignty of
United States of America and its people.
Hey, how are the red Indians, dude? Also, the climax is too hasty and
lacklustre. However, there is one thing about the story that I actually loved.
Fritz. Who is Fritz? Fritz is probably the only lovable character in the story.
And I will not totally dismiss this book just because Clive Cussler gave Fritz
ample importance.
I reckon this would be an ideal book for sailors and marine
engineers. The book is full of complex nautical terms and detailed descriptions
of different ships and boats and their mechanisms. At first I tried to follow
them, but after a while I was too baffled to bother anymore. I simply went on
skipping the tedious essay part which takes up almost one third of the story.
So far I read five books on Dirk Pitt adventure and this one
has the thinnest plot. I hope the next one will not disappoint me again and it
will live up to the level of the earlier ones.
Image courtesy: google image
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