Customer Reviews

Fire Ice

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Although Cussler is one of my faves, I struggled through this one mightily. I couldn't wait for the end; not because it was good, but because I knew that I was about to finally reach the finish line that seemed so far away. This book simply dragged on without interest.

This is a great book. It is innovative and captivating. Once I started reading this book I couldn't put it down. That is what makes Cussler a great author he throws surprises at you to make you keep guessing and interested. I would recommend this book to anyone because it suits everyones needs in a story.

In his third installment in the NUMA Files series, Clive Cussler delivers another exciting adventure packed with action, intrigue, and dangerous exploits.

Emanating from the Soviet Union, a mining and shipping tycoon has designs on overthrowing the current Soviet government believing himself to be the Tsar of Russia. To avoid the interference of the United States, he orchestrates a plan to create a massive disaster that would affect a large part of the U.S. eastern seaboard. On the continental shelf are pockets of a highly combustible compound known as methane hydrate or Fire Ice. Detonating this material would cause tidal waves sufficient enough to destroy major cities. Unbeknownst to NUMA officials and the American government alike, an even more insidious plan is in the works and time is fading fast to avert a catastrophic event that could have global implications.

Fire Ice is a fast paced and very entertaining read that will be sure to please Clive Cussler fans and anyone who enjoys a solid, well written adventure tale.

Fire Ice the third in a developing series of fiction from the NUMA files is without question the best yet.

As with the others there is a historic link to the plot that takes the reader a little while to connect the current plotline to. But that in my opinion is the best part of this well paced, thought provoking novel.

An excellent vacation read.

I feel that that great author , Clive Cussler has lost his way. I am now up to page 100 and am still looking for a plot. Along the way I have found this book plagued with excess adjectives, adverbs and side issues. I will continue doggedly to find a plot, but I am getting very weary of Kaela and Ivan who really don't contribute much. I suggest if you want to add to your Clive Cussler collection that you buy this used and try it out. I still recommend C.C. , but he is on probation!

Not my most favorite Clive Cussler book. I listened to the abridged audio version and didn't think it flowed as well as it could have. I thought things were a bit to choppy.

In this story you are given a possible link to the last days of the Czar's of Russia and the Kazaks that protected them.

Along comes the modern day Russian who wants to relive the rule of the Czar's and sees himself as the one to make it happen. How does this involve NUMA? Well as usual the story entangles a disappearing submarine, some underwater caverns and a fuel source from the ocean (Fire Ice) which can be more powerful than all other fuels we know if harvested correctly, it could also cause the east coast of the US to be under water after a title wave hits if it is done wrong.

A lot of your familiar characters are in this one though I do miss Dirk. But I do like Kurt Austin. If you are a Cussler fan I recommend this one thought it is not one of his best.

How sad, Clive Cussler is my all time favourite author. I have always found his books pure escapism and as my wife calls them "Big boys Hardy Boys" I have read all his works and I must say this is the first one I have closed without even finishing it. I just hope it was Paul Kemprecos and Clive Cussler(Contributor) and not as published on the cover. I hope I have not lost my all time favourite author.
I look forward to his next book....
Howard

Clive Cussler is, by far, my favorite author. I have enjoyed his books immensely over the years, since I was in elementary school. This book, however, can't be Cussler's. It just has his name on it and a few of his characters. Paul Kemprecos, teamed with Cussler, did well in "Serpent" and "Blue Gold," novels I truly enjoyed while waiting for the latest Pitt novel. But "Fire Ice" is so poor and obviously un-Cussler that I don't even know what to do with it. For the first time ever, I've stopped reading in the middle of a "Cussler" novel and put it down. I have yet to pick it back up, and it's been several months. It's much along the lines of the Tom Clancy Op-Center series - books with Clancy's name on them but with none of his style or skill. The same goes for the latest NUMA Files work. I can only hope that "Fire Ice" won't rub off on the next Dirk Pitt installment.......

Clive Cussler must have been watching the Discovery Channel on cable television and came up with a new idea for a story. Originally aired in 2000, this cable show presented a documentary on the cataclysmic effects of an undersea earthquake off the eastern seaboard of the United States. Interviewees theorized what would happen to the coast should such a natural disaster occur, citing historical proof of similar events several millennia in the past.

But if Kurt Austin were involved in such a theory, we all know that this natural disaster would be the result of a corrupt mastermind bent on some evil ploy that will allow him to control the world in some way. What if Cussler invented huge deposits of methane gas strategically-placed just below the seafloor? Evil, corrupt mastermind could plot to detonate this ready source of destruction! He'll never get away with it! Why? Because Kurt Austin is here!

Cussler comes up with another fun story that makes we engineers chuckle. His concoctions of scientific theory toy with our educated backgrounds, but to criticize the basis for his adventures would destroy the fun of the story. Get past all the obvious nonsense and enjoy the ride, all you fellow enginerds.

I have read every novel that Clive Cussler has written and thoroughly enjoy his writing style. All of his novels have been an 'escape from reality' for me. Yet, I must admit that all of his published work is not of equal quality. Or perhaps a better way of articulating it, all of them are not equal in the quality of "escapism." For example, I have read the other two novels that Cussler has co-written with Kemprecos. These include BLUE GOLD and SERPENT. They were OK, but they were not able to achieve the quality of Cussler's other novels. For example, I don't think that BLUE GOLD and SERPENT were nearly as well written as VALHALLA RISING and ATLANTIS FOUND. However, I think FIRE ICE is a great improvement and has that 'escape from reality' quality that I found in VALHALLA RISING and ATLANTIS FOUND.

To be more precise while reading FIRE ICE, I felt like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book. When a book takes me away to a different place, it is a grand experience and my favorite type of reading. I don't know what writing skills enable an author to accomplish this task, but feel sure that it has something to do with the disposition of the reader. For example, Cussler and Kemprecos are able to make a highly implausible plot a plausible plot. When this happens, I am locked into the novel and will not be able to put it down. ICE FIRE and most all of Cussler's novels have this important quality - the implausible becomes plausible.

The bottom line is FIRE ICE has a quality far superior to BLUE OLD and SERPENT. Let me know if you agree with me.