Serpent

I have read all of Cussler's books thus far and have enjoyed each and every one. At the beginning of this one, I was a bit wary because his usual characters (Pitt, Rudy, and Al) were not the main stars. However, I feel that the new guys (and gal) have proved themselves well. The historical information is great and was woven into an interesting and plausible story. One can believe that people like Halcon do exist and ARE in power. I always enjoy the tight spots the hero gets into and the ingenious ways they escape.

Serpent: a Novel from the Numa files was not what I expected. There seemed to be less action than in past stories and it got bogged down in the middle with all the archeology background. Usually, Cussler's books are difficult to put down. I fell asleep while reading on many nights while trying to get through this story. The ending also seemed rushed - everything was answered and cleaned up within the last two chapters. I'll take a break from Cussler and get my adrenalin flowing elsewhere.

The book begins in the prologue with a story based on a real shipwreck, the Italian luxury liner SS Andrea Doria, off the shore of Nantucket. Cussler devotes several pages to describing the events up to the collision with the MS Stockhom through the sinking of the Doria, building suspense and creating sympathy for the victims and survivors.
Cussler then whisks us away to Morroco to an archaeological dig including an underwater site. Here we are introduced to Nina Kirov, a tall, blond diver who is the owner, president and sole employee of her marine archaeological consultancy firm called Mari-Time Research. While exploring the shoreline and a hidden lagoon, she discovered a carved head with unusual, yet familiar features. She returned to show more the main camp, reported some of her findings--except the carved head. That she saved for a friend of hers back home for further research. Nina sent a sketch to her friend at the University of Pennsylvania. Early morning of her third day at the site, Nina narrowly misses being massacred with the rest of the dig team. She escapes by way of the water and is then rescued by ...
Kurt Austin, the Special Assignments team leader in NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency), is tall with blue eyes and nearly white hair. While rescuing the beautiful Nina Kirov from certain death, Austin unfortunately invites the assassins to finish her off and everyone else aboard the Nereus (a NUMA vessel). With odds of three to nine, Austin, his buddy Joe Zavala and the Captain of the Nereus manage to win against the ninja trained assassin. Like Dirk Pitt, Cussler has created another American James Bond in Kurt Austin.
Finishing up another NUMA assignment in the Yucatan of Mexico, Dr. Gamay Trout--another member of NUMA--has finally arranged a meeting with a VIP from the national anthropological museum in Mexico City. She asks Dr. Chi if there are any archaeological sites in the Yucatan that depict marine life. While Gamay is expecting to look at drawings of scallops, Dr. Chi showed her instead a nautical scene. While exploring the ruins, they stumble upon chicleros who loot Mayan ruins and sell the artifacts. These chicleros don't want their looting business interrupted by curious gringos. Dr. Trout and Dr. Chi have to escape more than once.
So what does an Italian luxury liner, archaeological dig in Morocco, and chicleros in Mexico have in common? That's what Kurt Austin wants to know.
Enter Don Halcon. He is the owner of Halcon Industries which is an umbrella corporation with many divisions. Halcon is also apparently a descendant of The Brotherhood--a group of fanatics formed in the 1400s to protect the honor of Christopher Columbus. A rumored artifact on the Andrea Doria, the carved head in Morocco and the nautical scenes in Yucatan all suggested pre-Columbian relations between the East and West. Don Halcon wanted it all eliminated and anyone who got in his way.
Clive Cussler is an excellent writer. I've only read the first two Dirk Pitt adventures, but I think I might prefer Kurt Austin and the NUMA files series. While Dirk Pitt comes across rough around the edges, Kurt Austin seemed more of a gentleman. Don't get me wrong, I will definitely read the rest of the Dirk Pitt series, but then will promptly move on to the NUMA files. I found Serpent hard to put down. Cussler's great style shines through even in a new series. show less

It's not a Dirk Pitt, but it's a reasonable story. I think I'll keep reading this series, as I do like the main characters. I reviewed his other new series - the Isaac Bell character - and liked it better than this.

The thing that I find attractive about this character is the believability of the main character, and his "normalness". Cussler likes to create larger than life main characters, and this one is life-sized. And I like that!

Ok. My first Cussler book, and everyone has told me the earlier ones he did by himself are significantly better than these later team-written books. i did at least read the first of the new NUMA series. It was fairly interesting and i did find myself wondering what was going to happen next, which is a good thing. Some of the background made me feel like i was missing the point as to why everyone cared so deeply about pre Columbian artifacts. There was eventually clarification at the end as to why, but i was bothered by the feeling i was lost. But best of all, i learned all about the sinking of the Andrea Doria which until I read this book, was just the name of a ship that sank that meant nothing more to me. Now i have delved deeper and show more have learned much more, one of my favorite aspects of reading books. A nice lighter read compared to a lot of the heavier things i typically read. and there will be more..... show less

Great plot, but lacked strength in emotional involvement and some story logic.
External actions were described to the nth degree, but how the characters felt about the carnage was missing. I also needed 24 hr. guards on the woman scientist and no guards were placed with her. The villains vowed to wipe her off the face of the earth and she’s allowed in the book to ride commercial flights and go to work as usual (until the next time the hero thought about her…at that time, the villain would reawaken a desire to kill her).

I actually enjoyed most of the book. The bad guy was a bit over-the-top, but then again, so we're the heroes! A fun read when your brain is too tired to concentrate.