God, I feel horrible for doing this. I've always been a fan of the Dirk Pitt series. But lately, they've just been getting worse and worse. Ever since Mr. Cussler started writing with his son, things have changed and not for the better.Let me put it this way. It's not that the book was badly written or anything. I just found the topic of the book so uninteresting. I'm also getting sick of his cliche plot twists and turns. You are never surprised when reading a Clive Cussler novel. You know what's coming and you know when it's going to happen. Dirk Pitt has also gotten old now. He's married. I know most guys get married at some point and I harbor no ill will toward Loren, but I always preferred Dirk as a bachelor and Dirk and Al Giordino as a pair. Now these books jump back and forth between Summer, Dirk Pitt Jr. and his dad. Al is hardly even in the books anymore. Neither is Rudy Gunn. It's disappointing and it's like the end of an era. Just to be clear, before you start hating on me, I have read every single Dirk Pitt novel. So before you send me hate mail, you should know this. I stuck with him through the good(Sahara & Inca Gold) and through the bad(Raise the Titanic & Black Wind). And Black Wind was no easy read(awful). My dad got me into the series when I was a pre-teen and I loved them. My dad stopped reading them awhile ago, but I wasn't ready to give up quite yet. Now I can officially say I'm done.I could not get through this novel. I made it about 180 pages before I put it down, and then I thought, "Why am I torturing myself? I hate this book." So I'm not finishing it. Life is too short to read things that make you miserable. It sucks because I own it in hardcover and I'm not even going to finish reading it.Maybe I've become a book snob. It seems like all I do anymore is read. And while I enjoy it immensely, maybe my tastes have changed. I've definitely gotten picky. I am so sorry Mr. Cussler. I will always return to your great novels. But I can't watch one of my favorite literary heroes go downhill like this. I think it may be time to retire Dirk Pitt. We can't have him diving wrecks with a walker and Depends can we?
