Valhalla Rising

Another likeable if totally implausible fantasy thriller from Clive Cussler in the Dirk Pitt series (we previously reviewed 'Atlantis Found' on GoodReads back in 2012).

This immediate successor to 'Atlantis Found' [#15 in the series] is not nearly as loopy but it does manage to weave in Viking settlers to early medieval America and Jules Verne's 'Nautilus' as well as a vintage dogfight over Manhattan into a tale of corporate attempts to overthrow the Constitution.

There is a lot in these stories that is formulaic (not least periodic statistics on particular feats of engineering) but, where it is so, Cussler does it well within an exciting flow of events that comes to a neat resolution with characters you will either like or loathe in show more very black and white terms.

But the real reason to enjoy these books is psychological - they are optimistic, decent and likable. Cussler is perhaps trying to preserve the best of the American dream against the many corrupt threats arising from ideologues or the greedy. If it is nonsense, it is feel-good nonsense.

Cussler (in this book) even does a Stan Lee by appearing at just the right moment in the South Seas on yet another finely engineered craft (a catamaran) to rescue our two heroes (Pitt and Giordino) and help them defeat a dastardly villain and rescue their shipmates.

That is not a spoiler because it is just one incident in a book of rollercoaster thrills, the villain is not the villain and no reader is in any doubt that the two heroes are not going to triumph from the first page of the book. The question is only by what ingenious means they will do so.

If there is a precusor in genre literature, it not the dour or brutal American thriller but the nineteenth century imperial adventure tale where doughty scions of the white race protected the West from a variety of perils in jungle, desert and bush.

There is an aspect of the book interesting in that context - the hero and his sidekick are effectively privileged state bureaucrats with a strong sense of duty. They do, however, have a commendable aversion to taking human life (unlike their psychopathic mass-murdering opponents).

Yet, despite the world or America (which can sometimes seem like the same thing to Americans) being brought to the brink of apocalypse or melt-down, there is not an ounce of fashionable pessimism in these books - though sometimes grief and sadness at the loss of a character.

The ultimate vision of the world is thoroughly optimistic despite the evil forces of chaos threatening it. This optimism arises from a combination of a belief in engineering, the values of honest state service, manliness and courage, and the essential decency of the good guys.

To the reader, the book is saying that you would be right to be afeard of the sort of immolation that Roland Emmerich dines on in his apocalypse movies but that you have no real need to worry because selfless death-defying heroes in the honest part of government are there to save you.

It is liberalism albeit one pickled some time long before identity politics and political correctness. The genders are clearly demarcated but within a framework of respect and equality. Women are as successful and brave as the men but also thoroughly feminine as the men are masculine.

Cussler has his cake and eats it on sexuality. There are no sex scenes but the men are effectively polyamorous while the women are always stunning, fashionable and educated - Dirk Pitt's 'primary' girlfriend is an undoubtedly courageous US Congresswoman.

If this is a fantasy, it is one for good people who want a better world that looks a little like a world that has already been lost. A nostalgia for old ships, cars and aircraft is recurrent. Great literature it is not. Great tale-telling it generally is. show less

A plot to monopolize North American oil and natural gas production leads to terror attacks on two ocean liners that have newly installed revolutionary engines that will destroy the oil industry as we know it, the only man to stop this plot is of course Dirk Pitt. Valhalla Rising is the sixteenth books of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series that finds the Pitt and NUMA attempt to foil this diabolical plan while attempting to find the secret lab of a reclusive scientist.

In the early 11th-Century, a fleet of ships from Iceland sail past Vinland to the entrance of the Hudson Bay and find sanctuary in a large underground cove that has a passage almost to the palisades above and is carved out by the explorers. The resulting settlement only show more last a few years before a conflict with the Native Americans results in its destruction. In the 1880s, a US Naval ship is destroyed by a metallic sea monster that has portholes in which the captain sees man face looking out at him. In 2003, Dirk Pitt spearheads NUMA efforts to rescue passengers on two ocean liners that were targeted by an oil and natural gas cartel’s CEO that wants to discredit the revolutionary magnetohydrodynamic engines installed on both by a reclusive genus scientist—that dies in the first liner’s disaster—to help his efforts control all North American oils resources and supplies then to shut out foreign oil. Along with figuring out where the deceased scientist’s lab was Pitt must deal with a plot to destroy the World Trade Center with a natural gas tanker while Loren Smith must deal with bribed officials to investigate the evil CEO in a Congressional hearing. After evidence from St. Julian Perlmutter found in Jules Verne’s home, Pitt finds the cove found by the Vikings that not only contains their longships but the actual Captain Nemo’s Nautilus with a prototype of the revolutionary engines that the reclusive scientist deciphered and improved. At the end of the book when Pitt attempts for the third time to propose marriage to Smith, he is interrupted by the surprise arrival of his until then unknown children, twins Dirk Jr. and Summer, by Summer Moran.

Let me start with addressing the WTC plot first by saying this book was originally published in August 2001, a mere three weeks before terror attacks so Cussler was not attempting to profit off a real-life situation. As for the actual events in the book and of the overall series, there are a lot of retcons throughout this book that void the events in Raise the Titanic! and add to the events of Pacific Vortex, especially the former with the introduction of the Pitt twins that were set up throughout the book by Cussler having Dirk think about how he was getting old. As to the actual narrative of the book, I found this book not up to Cussler at his best. The main antagonist is really the CEO’s terror cell leader who I did not mention above because he is not memorable compared to other characters that he shares traits with throughout the overall series. Honestly, this is more an investigation into the reclusive scientist’s life with stopping an evil plot as a side quest type of deal.

Valhalla Rising is a book that read like a mishmash of plots and events that were intended to build to the future of the series, but also discredited events from the previous books. This is the penultimate book that Clive Cussler solely wrote himself before his son Dirk would become his coauthor, which makes one wonder if the quality of this book and the next made his publisher want to give him help. Overall, not this is not the worst book of the series—far from it compared to the very first books—but things throughout the novel felt off. show less

This my fourth Dirk Pitt novel, after Sahara, Atlantis Found, and Flood Tide, and I have to say, this is the weakest of what I have read so far.

Don't get me wrong - Cussler is a solid author, and if you've read more than a couple of Dirk Pitt novels, you know what to expect - action, and lots of research. Cussler can really get into the specs of technology sometimes - the dimensions and details of the variety of vehicles and equipment as well as weaponry, in the story.

There's also Dirk Pitt being the unwitting, and willing hero. The first rescue he does in this book, he came across by chance. Then later on, he goes on more missions that have to do with the first rescue, revealing a nefarious corporation with of course, nefarious intent. show more And then you have Dirk Pitt and AL Giordino's cheeky attitude. All in all, it's a good read in that respect.

However, this book came with several cliches, and veered into the territory of science fiction. I found the bit with the suitcase-teleporter an unnecessary part of the story. And having women live in his place because they need his protection, having not one not two but three women in the same place, fawning over him... And the ending, where Dirk finds out that he has children... I'm sorry, but as much fun as this book started out to be, it became way too cheesy. show less

Well that's one heck of an opening. A ship on fire! Trying to fit thousands on a ship normally crewed by dozens! Mysterious baddies! Action on the high seas! One of the things I like most about these series.

Get through all that and... rescue in a submarine! More adventure! And a rescue by Clive Cussler! He gives them a bit more direct help than sometimes, but it works. Plus you get a line like this:

After the glasses were filled with Porfirio tequila-Misty preferred a margarita-Pitt told [Cussler] what he had in mind, but only as much as he thought was advisable under the circumstances. After all, he thought as he looked around the elegant yacht, no one in his right mind would risk destroying such a beautiful vessel in a desperate

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scheme.

Plotwise, it's a Dirk Pitt novel. Full of adventure and BIG DAMN HEROES. Science is mostly close enough to be believable (quantum teleportation almost surely doesn't work like that). Enjoyable enough tales.

One thing I really like seeing through these stories is the relationship between Dirk Pitt and Loren Smith.

They enjoyed the casual dinner, trading sarcasms and little jabs between them. It was a regular routine between two people of equal wit and intellect. Pitt and Loren contradicted the old maxim that opposites attract. They were as similar in their likes and dislikes as two people could be.

It's a bit frustrating that they never end up more 'permanently' together, but it does fit.

Finally... holy crap that cliffhanger ending. Turns out Dirk Pitt has kids?! With SUMMER?! We haven't seen her for decades/15 books.

I had been wondering how in the world Cussler would keep these series going. Pitt is getting older. There's only so long his body can realistically take the abuse he gets heaped upon him every book. And we've already established that in this universe, time keeps flowing and actions have consequences. This is... actually a pretty decent way to do it.

If only his kid hadn't been named Dirk Pitt too. It makes sense in universe, but that's going to get confusing. show less

As the Dirk Pitt series continues, Cussler pays less attention to serious plot elements and serves up a more puerile sort of entertainment. The villains of the piece are stereotypical as usual, Pitt is his usual indestructible self, his ability to escape certain death unwavering. Alas there is deception afoot in Valhalla Risiing, should you be expecting any Viking fiction then prepare to be disappointed. In fact not only does Cussler play pure lip service to the title and any related content, he unashamedly tinkers with the works of Jules Verne. Should readers be aware that Valhalla is almost a spoof then they'll be entertained, for Cussler's work is easy going and offers a rivetting Bond-lite approach to the adventure genre.

I think this would make a nice action series on USA, but it really isn't the book for me. I might like it a bit more if I'd started with the beginning of this series, but I doubt it. I don't care for the lead character too much, though I liked how the author wove in Viking runes found in North America.

This is simply a very good novel filled with all of the action, suspense, and frequent plot twists that have become Clive Cussler's trademark. In addition, after all of the action has been concluded, there is still a major surprise to be had in the last few pages. All-in-all, this book was a great read and very difficult to put down.