Cyclops

Written by Clive Cussler

Narrated by Scott Brick

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Cussler is hard to beat' Daily Mail

The suspenseful eighth Dirk Pitt classic from multi-million-copy king of the adventure novel, Clive Cussler.

Dirk Pitt doesn't go looking for adventure: it finds him easily enough. His chance witnessing of an airship disaster - which nearly kills him - and subsequent discovery of the gruesome fate of the crew sets in motion the most nail-biting chain of events of his career. The hijacking on a golf course of one of the world's most powerful leaders; an exotic but outrageous undercover operation in the Caribbean; the sinister intrigue of a secret power base on the moon . . . Pitt's considerable resources and guile are about to be tested to the limit.

But when he finds a trail leading towards a fabulous treasure hidden fathoms deep in the ocean, Pitt realises he is on to something very special indeed. For somewhere in the raging waters lies the legendary lost lady of El Dorado, the golden prize that had already lured thousands to their graves . . .

'Clive Cussler is the guy I read' Tom Clancy

'The Adventure King' Daily Express

• Language: English
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Release date: Nov 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781405543637

Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler was the author of more than eighty books in five bestselling series, including Dirk Pitt®, NUMA Files®, Oregon Files®, Isaac Bell®, and Sam and Remi Fargo®. His life nearly paralleled that of his hero Dirk Pitt. Whether searching for lost aircraft or leading expeditions to find famous shipwrecks, he and his NUMA crew of volunteers discovered and surveyed more than seventy-five lost ships of historic significance, including the long-lost Civil War submarine Hunley, which was raised in 2000 with much publicity. Like Pitt, Cussler collected classic automobiles. His collection featured more than one hundred examples of custom coachwork. Cussler passed away in February 2020.

Reviews for Cyclops

[buffalogr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I very much enjoy reading stories with characters I've come to like and plots that are fun and surprising. Just when you thought the book was complete, there's another two hours to go. Even though the book is 30+ years old, the President pretty damn unhappy and almost killed our hero a few times. It could be 2020!

[danielstj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a surprisingly good novel by Cussler. Sure, there is the cheesiness and the Hollywood-style action, but that is part of its inherent charm and what makes it equally entertaining and fun at the same time. I quite liked it and feel this is among one of his better novels.

3.75- enjoy this fine adventure!

[mattries37315 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Off the coast of Cuba is a small isle and a shipwreck unconnected with one another until a wealthy financier off treasure hunting in his blimp disappears, soon they’ll connect everything from the moon to a lost Amazonian treasure. Cyclops is Clive Cussler’s 8th Dirk Pitt book in which his titular character flies the skies in an antique blimp, escapes then returns to a secret Soviet base, and save the city of Havana from a fiery fate.

A U.S. ship named Cyclops is carrying a legendary gold statue from a fabled Amazonian city when a rogue wave sinks the vessel in 1918, roughly 70 years later financier Raymond LeBaron with his two men crew goes searching for the ship in his antique blimp and disappear. Several weeks later, Dirk Pitt’s sailing race is ruined when LeBaron’s blimp reappears on a crash course towards a beach front hotel that Pitt stops thanks to help from people on the beach. But instead of LeBaron and crew in the blimp, there are three dead Soviet Cosmonauts that Feds quickly get from the Miami police after they learn from Fidel Castro that he put them in the blimp in a secret communique because he wants to separate from the Soviets. This is just something more on the President’s plate as he has just learned that a group of industrialists, government officials, and military officers had for two decades planned, constructed, and ran a colony on the moon with the colonists about to return after six years. Unfortunately for the secret group, the Soviets have found out about the colony and attempt to capture it only for the colonists to kill the Soviet soldiers who had only five days to prepare. Pitt is recruited by LeBaron’s wife to find her husband, but Mrs. LeBaron plans to fly to Cuba to give Castro the President’s answer but the Cuban military attacks the blimp resulting it in crashing into the sea close to the site of the Cyclops demise but they find the treasure is missing after diving the wreck but find a body of a old time diver. Pitt, Mrs. LeBaron, Al Giordino, and Rudy Gunn then make their way to a nearby isle off Cuba only to stumble upon a secret Soviet base. This base is a top secret listen station as well as the headquarters from a planned Soviet takeover the Cuba to install a puppet Communist government while planning the Americans. Pitt escapes, but the CIA spreads the story that he is dead as disinformation to the Soviets as they plan to attack the base and knock it out. But they move up the timetable after they learn the Soviet government wants to use the base to get a suddenly stuffed Space Shuttle to land in Cuba to take all the information from the moon colony. Pitt and the CIA capture and destroy the base just in time for the Shuttle to land in Keys though Raymond LeBaron dies, but on their return to the CIA transport Mrs. LeBaron puts a gun in Pitt’s gut and forces him to head to Cuba and Castro. The two make their way to Havana and the Swiss Embassy where they’re informed of the Soviet plan to assassinate Castro but they can’t find the supposed low yield nuclear, but after learning what the cargos of the three ships the Soviets sent to Havana were Pitt figures out the plan to firebomb the city. Pitt and roughly two dozen CIA agents hijack two of the Soviet ships and get them out as far as they can out of the harbor before the Soviet’s destroy them hours early that results in roughly 3000 casualties instead of essentially the entire city. Castro survives and kicks the Soviets out while accepting aid from the U.S. under the Red Cross then gives Pitt a ship with a crane after figuring out where Raymond LeBaron, who had found the Amazonian treasure to start his financial empire and killed his partner 30 years before, left it.

Unlike the previous two books, Cussler steered clear of Constitutional issues which was a welcome development however there were major chronological issues in connection with events in the last two books but that didn’t really matter much overall. Although due to the time period when this and other novels in the series were published, the Cold War aspect along with the horrible cliché Soviet characters and Communist world takeover agenda just drags down the enjoyment of the novel especially since real life showed that this was a paranoid American idea. Cussler’s characterization of women improved overall, though there were one scene which was gawd awful, with Mrs. LeBaron especially in relation with Pitt. As to the main character, Dirk came off as incredibly lucky throughout the novel though did have moments of brilliance that didn’t come off as Gary Stu.

Cyclops improves in quality over its predecessor as Clive Cussler works together three different story arcs into a fun, intriguing novel. Though the Cold War aspect and associated stereotypes connected with it got annoying, it didn’t ruin the book. Overall this is a fun action-adventure novel for anyone wanting to spend a few days reading.

[jonathan21-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am also one of those people that believe this was neither bad or good.It was a slow starter for me and only took off towards the middle.It had enough action in it for me ti give its rating

[davidlerickson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Repeating what I've said before, this isn't the top of the list for Cussler novels for me, but it was one of the better ones.

I very much enjoy reading stories with characters I've come to like and plots that don't go where you think will. This is an enjoyable read, definitely geared for men, as it's populated with superheroes, beautiful women and bad guys so cold you look forward to them getting their comeuppance in the end.

Start with a murder aboard a blimp, a missing millionare and a sea mystery, and you have the start of a new Clive Cussler novel. Quite entertaining.

I've lost count of the Cussler novels I've read, but I do have 3 more waiting for me on my 'too read' pile.

Well worth the read, moved along at a good pace, enough mayhem to keep things hopping and guest appearance by the Castro brothers. Would more could you ask for?

[fastawker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was one of my favorite Clive Cussler books so far. I am a person who reads 4 or 5 books at a time but when I started this one I couldn't put it down, I put away all the others in order to finish this one.

[df6b_mattw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book was one of the better ones Cusslers writen. Although, I was'nt quite sure about the plot at first. It was a great book though.

[sonicquack · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Cyclops is a Dirk Pitt yarn which includes not only far-reaching places, but far-out plots. Cussler extends the action across the world to Russia and out of this world in to space too. Dirk however is caught up in the domestic end of these elements, with action centred off the US coast and in to Cuba. Cyclops has multiple stories cascading in to one anotehr, as each strand wraps up, another tentacle emerges until readers are faced with at least three finales. The scope of Cyclops is it's undoing though - there's so much plot the characters are poorly conceived and the whole book becomes farcical rather than thrilling. That said, it has plenty of action and you will want to see it through until the end.

[miyurose_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't thrilled with this installment. For me, it was more Tom Clancy than Clive Cussler. Too much politics, not enough adventure! And it was missing that special brand of humor that usually peppers a Cussler novel. I was quite blah about it.