Crescent Dawn: A Dirk Pitt Novel

This book boasts plenty of adventure and bad guys to keep one on the edge of their seat, enlightening information about Christian, Muslim and Roman artifacts as well as the period of time from which the artifacts originate, and plenty of familiar people from Dirk Pitt's earlier adventures including Dirk himself, his wife Loren, Rudi Gunn, Al with his newest "toy", the Bullet, Dirk and Summer Pitt as well as plenty of nasty evil doers who are defeated by the derring-do capably carried out by Pitt, Al, and Pitt's son. In addition to defeating the bad guys our heroes find the time and resources to find a 1700+ year shipwreck and to foil a deadly explosion that would have left the Middle East in turmoil. A very rewarding read....

Clive Cussler has written another fast-paced adventure with "Crescent Dawn".In 327 AD, a Roman galley is sunk by pirates. The galley contained a cargo that, throughout the course of this book, will baffle both Dirk Pitt, head of NUMA, and Ozden and Maria Celik, terrorists who are interested in recovering items from the galley for political gain. Furthermore, the discoveries of the artifacts could serve as an embarrassment to certain members of the British establishment.In 1916, a mysterious explosion rocked the British cruiser HMS Hampshire. Field Marshal Kitchner, sailing on the Hampshire, had in his possession a Manifest, which contained a list of artifacts relating to Jesus. It is believed that the Manifest went down with the Hampshire.During the present day, a collection of mosques in Turkey and Egypy are rocked by explosions.All three of these events come crashing together as members of Pitt's NUMA team battle against the Celiks for control of the artifacts, but only one group will win.I've read several other books by Clive Cussler, but this is the first Dirk Pitt novel I've read, and I thought it was very good. Cussler has done a good job of character development in his "Oregon Files", "Fargo", and "Isaac Bell" series, and I thought the character development was good in this book, too. Its easy to root for Pitt and his team, while Cussler does an excellent job of creating the characters of Ozden and Maria Celik so the reader will develop an intense hate for them. I did. I thought the story was well laid out, and the action starts on the first page and doesn't let up until the end.I recommend this book to fans of action/adventure fiction. The story is good, and there are characters to root for and against.

I have been a fan of Clives since "Raise the Titianic" - a great book, a wonderful character in Dirk Pitt. But as others have said when you grow really big and other writers write under your banner it never the same. Its not really a Clive Cussler book, just like car shopping when the sales guy keeps saying . . . its just like the BMW but its not.This book is nothing but a boring history lesson, if I really wanted to know the history of Istanbul and more info about the middle east I would get a history book. Endless pages about history of the rulers, the city, the culture, it is everything but a Clive Cussler gripping novel of exciting adventure. Over 125 pages an only about 40 pages of real story the rest are a history lesson, the first Cussler book I gave on before the end.We miss you Clive come back to us !

Well, what can I say? I think most of what can be said about the book that is negative stems from the fact that this is the 21st book in the series, and it is getting a bit "old". Think of "I Love Lucy" after they moved to the country or "The Beverly Hillbillies" not long after they started airing in color, it's not so much the quality of the book its just that us experienced readers have seen most of it before, and I think that is what Cussler is attempting to do in these co-authored books is to bring something new to the table. I've read 2 of the previous books co-authored by Dirk Cussler, "Black Wind" and "Treasure of Kahn" and enjoyed them both. Were they as good as the first Dirk Pitt novel I read, "Dragon"? No, of course not, but it was in no way a "bad" book. This isn't the kind of book that, at least to me, will make you sit up all night trying to read it all, but it is a great "bathroom book". Just remember as well that with extremely few exceptions, you will most likely not like every book that a certain author writes, be it Clive Cussler or Stephen King or whoever.

It is incredible how so many story lines were going on at the same time. They all blended in splendidly. It was fun how the authors would take you to a near climax point and then juxtaposition you in another area/vein. A fun read!

So many of the Cussler books are very relevant to what's going on in today's world even though they were written years ago. Amazing! This was a good, fast moving book with a lot of surprises and changes in direction. It is a complex story with a lot of suspense and yet still contains enough reality that as you read, it can be imagined to be possible. Very enjoyable

Working through the series and continue to be entertained by its characters. Enjoyed the multiple plots and historical references as well as the action sequences. Cannot imagine what the next story will bring though I hope it all be as equally enjoyable.

Complex plot involving megalomania, murder, larceny and political intrigue. A self-aggrandize Ottoman heir plots to restore his family to power in Turkey. Ancient shipwrecks, Roman centurions, archaeologists and NUMA converge to prevent a political coup within the Turkish leadership.

It's hard to understand the religious hatred over this small area. Let alone the strong feelings of deeds done in the distant past. Historical facts of the last 200yrs are half truths or outrageous lies. (first 5 weeks of 2017 prove my point)Nice to see that the bad guys are just interested in money and power for a change, without delusion of a pure faith, twisted into darkness.All Religions in its pure form is basically good. the negative bits are put there by others for reasons lost to Time. Just like old laws we laugh at now, made sense at a point, kind of. Then the nutters take a generous view a twist it.As in this story, the actions in this story are broken down into facts proven by others. However its still difficult to understand why any of this was done in the first place... Still you are left with questions, that can't be verified.Very enjoyable story, that tries to delve into the complex world.

Another Cussler book in which my attention was grabbed right from the very start. I think that it must be something to do with the historical introductions that the Cusslers use to create an interest. However that may be, it certainly worked.On this occasion we have a distinctly Turkish interest with the Celik and Maria trying to reassert their “inheritance” to the Ottoman Empire. Additionally there are others who are seeking the wreck for financial rather than political purposes. Include in the developing plot the death of Lord Kitchener on the HMS Hampshire in 1916m something in which the Church of England may or may not have had a hand, and his apparent ownership of a mysterious document called The Manifest, the revelation of which could have great repercussions throughout the religious world, and you have a Cussler plot that can hardly go wrong. The pace is almost frenetic, but I am beginning to lose count of how many times Dirk saves the world, although not tiring of reading about him doing so. Al Giordino and Dirk’s twins, Dirk and Summer, also have their parts to play with the characters of the twins developing with each story.Now looking forward to the next one – Poseidon’s Arrow.

Another fine action adventure from Mr Cussler featuring the Pitt family against a megalomaniac Turk and his sister.As another reviewer has pointed out ,despite p228 you cannot see Buckingham Palace from Lambeth Palace. It reminds me of an old Music Hall song-Oh it really is a wery pretty garden And Chingford to the eastward could be seen; Wiv a ladder and some glasses, You could see to 'Ackney Marshes, If it wasn't for the 'ouses in between.Also pp215 and 229 have an exchange of letters between Lord Kitchener and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop begins his letter Sir and signs it Randall Davidson. The Victorians/Edwardian upper classes were sticklers for protocol.The letter would have begun "My dear Lord Kitchener" and ended R Cantuar or Randall Cantuar.Similarly Kitchener's letter would have started with My Dear Archbishop and not with "Excellency".

What can I say - I became addicted to Clive Cussler with one of his first book and have looked forward to buying his new editions upon publication. There have been a few lame dogs along the way - usually when he collaborated with another author but this one is on top form. It is action packed, with the usual tension that has won Cussler readers worldwide. It travels from AD 237 to present day terrorism and drags us, the reader along with it enjoying every minute of the madness and mayhem through which we travel. Yes a really good Dirk Pitt NUMA team novel. Do not hesitate with this one It really is terrific.  Crescent DawnCrescent Dawn

As a semi regular reader of Cussler, usually when looking for something undemanding when on holiday, I am becoming increasingly depressed by the quality of his work.This book must rank as one of his most disappointing. I have become used to the authors casual disregard of historic facts & reluctantly accept the need for these as a plot device but in this novel he has stretched things too far.HMS Hampshire didn't depart from Portsmouth 3 days before it's loss -with Kitchener & his staff on board rather she left Scapa Flow 3 hours before her loss.Similarly she really can't be described as one of the RN's most powerful ships - by 1916 it was clear that armoured cruisers were obsolete death traps for their crews.The plot is heavily contrived, research archaeology seems to Cussler simply to be a matter of looking at a fresco, visiting a library, a few happy coincidences and even the most involved historic mystery is solved.i do wonder how many more times the author will use the plot device of an ancient wreck found in a cave / glacier / ice sheet etc.To mitigate, as usual the plot moves at pace & the use of Istanbul as a setting is interesting but this book really is pulp fiction suitable only to allow one to put the brain into neutral whilst passing some undemanding hours.