Book Review: Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler

Crescent Dawn by Clive Cussler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Records recovered from the ancient port of Caesarea, Roman artifacts aboard a sunken Ottoman gallery off Turkey, and two murderous siblings looking to resurrect the Ottoman Empire. Crescent Dawn is the twenty-first book of Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series and fourth with his son Dirk, finds the Pitt family in the eastern Mediterranean and Britain unknowing find evidence to an ancient mystery while coming across political terrorists and rogue archaeologists.

The plot begins first in 327 AD a Roman galley carrying cargo so important that a contingent of the Emperor Constantine’s own guard is aboard when it is attacked by pirates off Crete before jumping 1916 in which a British warship mysteriously explodes and sinks in the North Sea. In the present, important mosques in Egypt and Turkey are damaged by planted explosives that raise tensions amongst Muslims across the Middle East, but especially in secular Turkey where a popular fundamentalist Istanbul imam is convinced to jump into the upcoming Presidential election by Ozden Celik. Celik and his sister Maria are behind the mosque bombings are the heirs to the last Ottoman sultan and are attempting to resurrect their family’s place in the country while also grabbing up anything connected to the Ottoman family. While doing underwater explorations off Turkey and on the Israeli coasts respectfully, Dirk Pitt and Dirk Pitt, Jr., find historic discoveries but the elder Pitt’s gets him in the sights of the Celik’s due to its connection to Sulieman the Magnificent. Pitt and NUMA are instrumental in help prevent a massive terror attack in Istanbul by the Celik’s just days before the election and prevent the fundamentalist candidate from winning. Summer Pitt stumbles upon a manifest in England that dates to the time of Constantine and sheds new light on early Christianity through relics found by his mother Helena but finds herself followed and foiled by a rogue British archaeologist. It turns out all three Pitts have found things connected to the 4th century Roman gallery that is found in a cavern in Crete with numerous holy relics connected with Christ and the disciples.

This book continued the fantastic run of narratives since Dirk Cussler joined his father in writing the series, however this is the first that had some annoying plot holes. The biggest and most important for the narrative plot is how getting a fundamentalist Islamic candidate win the Presidential election of the secular republic of Turkey would lead to the Celiks once again coming to power, without really touching on this the Celiks are just psychopathic terrorist siblings of which Maria is the better character of the two. The secondary antagonist, Bannister Ridley, was a cleaver annoying—in a good way—character that added spice to the book. The Pitts being split up into individual stories before coming together at the end was smart decision because it allowed Dirk Jr. and Summer to grow as characters even though Pitt and Al Giordino continued to be the A-subplot.

Crescent Dawn continues the strong narrative installments since Dirk Cussler has joined his father in writing though a significant plot hole marred it slightly. Regardless of the usual clichés of the series, Clive Cussler’s signature franchise is going through its best stretch of books.

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Story Review: Star Wars by George Lucas

Star Wars by George Lucas

My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Based on earlier drafts of the industry changing film of the same name, Star Wars gave readers an early view of the film that would change media forever.  Though credited to George Lucas, it was ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster to very mixed results.

Not surprisingly the novel follows the narrative of the film, but with added scenes that help flesh out some of the backstory of characters and elements of the setting.  While these aren’t surprising, what is surprising is that the novelization is based on earlier drafts of the film script and before the film was edited due to important scenes that are radically different between the two.  These differences are not entirely bad, but they could have been better if they were well written.  Throughout the novelization the writing is dry or clunky and the dialogue somewhat wooden, if not for the fact that I knew the plot of the film and was able to power through it might have taken me longer to read the story.

The novelization of Star Wars is fine as Alan Dean Foster did an admirable job in fleshing out the backstory though the overall quality of the writing isn’t his best.  Personally, I would stick with the film as the novelization does not really add to the overall narrative.

Book Review: Watership Down by Richard Adams

Watership Down by Richard Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are many rabbits in popular culture, but none of them are as tough as the rabbits in this book. Watership Down by Richard Adams chronicles a colony of survivors throughout their adventures to create a new life for themselves while avoiding predators and rabbits that have gone off the deep end.

In the Sandleford warren, Fiver, a young runt rabbit who is a seer, receives a frightening vision of his warren's imminent destruction. He and his brother Hazel fail to convince their chief rabbit of the need to evacuate, they set out on their own, accompanied by nine other rabbits who choose to go with them. After eluding the Owsla, the warren's military caste that believe they are trying to spread dissent against the chief, they make their way out into the world. Hazel quickly and suddenly finds himself the leader of the travelling group. After a series of dangerous situations, they come across a rabbit named Cowslip that invites them to join his warren. At first Hazel’s group are relieved, but soon several of them—especially Fiver—believe something is wrong which is confirmed when Bigwig is nearly killed in a snare. Fiver tells the group that Cowslip’s warren is managed by a farmer who protects and feeds the rabbits, but also harvests several of them for their meat and skins. Hazel’s group continue their journey and are joined by Strawberry, a rabbit from Cowslip’s warren. Following Fiver’s visions, the group finds a safe place to settle, the titular Watership Down. They are found by Holly, the head of the Sandleford Owlsa, and Bluebell find the group and related the violent human destruction of their former warren. Hazel soon realizes the new warren needs does or it would eventually die out. With the help of their useful new friend, a black-headed gull named Kehaar, they locate a nearby warren called Efrafa, which is overcrowded and has many does. Hazel sends a small embassy, led by Holly, to Efrafa to present their request for does. Hazel scouts the nearby Nuthanger Farm finding two pairs of hutch rabbits that express willingness to come to Watership. Hazel leads a raid on the farm the next day and rescues the does and one buck but at the cost of Hazel getting seriously injured a hind-leg. The embassy returns with news that Efrafa is a police state led by the despotic General Woundwort that they barely escaped. However, Holly's group has managed to identify an Efrafan doe named Hyzenthlay who wishes to leave the warren and can recruit other does to join in the escape. Hazel and Bigwig devise a plan to rescue Hyzenthlay's group and bring them to Watership Down; Bigwig is sent to do the mission, with infrequent help from Kehaar, and the group escape using a raft. Again, Bigwig nearly dies in the escape attempt. Once they are at Watership Down, the Efrafan escapees start their new life of freedom. Shortly thereafter, the Owsla of Efrafa, led by Woundwort himself, attacks but their surprise is ruined by Hazel’s friendship with the field mice. Through Bigwig's bravery and loyalty, and Hazel's ingenuity, the Watership Down rabbits seal the fate of the Efrafan general by unleashing the Nuthanger Farm watchdog. After the battle Woundwort is missing and Bigwig severally injured while Hazel is almost killed by one of the Nuthanger cats but saved by the farm girl Lucy. The epilogue finds Hazel visited by El-ahrairah, the spiritual overseer of all rabbits and hero of the traditional rabbit stories told over the course of the book. He invites Hazel to join his own Owsla, which Hazel does after assurance of the warren's success and its future.

How can a nearly 500-page book about rabbits be so entertaining? Is this a children’s story or just literature? Honestly, I don’t care as this book was a fantastic read from the characters to the various adventures to the unique types of warrens that Adams has the rabbits encounter and create. In any case I will never view rabbits the same again, both in a good and a bad way (they are violent little furballs).

Watership Down is a fantastic book with not only adventures but stories of adventures that inspire said rabbits. Richard Adams crafted not only a great narrative but great characters that grew throughout the book. This book was recommended this book by a friend and now I can recommend it to others as well.

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Book Review: A Country of Vast Designs by Robert W. Merry

A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From a political has been to the first dark horse President candidate to the first President to preside over a war ending with the annexation of foreign territory, the last five years of James K. Polk’s life changed a lot about the United States. A Country of Vast Designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American Continent by Robert W. Merry reveals how America’s first dark horse President came to the White House and how he changed the office and the changed the nation through expansion to the Pacific.

Merry sets the stage to cover Polk’s presidency by setting up his election in 1844 with a history of the Jacksonian era to that point and place Polk and his main opponent Henry Clay occupied in it. After two electoral defeats, Polk’s attempt at a political comeback by being presumptive Democratic nominee Martin Van Buren’s running mate is upended with John Tyler’s decision to annex Texas that eventually resulted in the pro-annexation Polk to get the Presidential nomination instead of the anti-annexation Van Buren. His close victory over Clay appeared to call for Texas annexation and passed Congress just before his inauguration in March 1845. Merry then sets about explaining how Polk obtained his four goals for his promised single term (obtaining California, settling the Oregon dispute with Britain, lowering tariffs, and creating an independent treasury). The domestic priorities were covered in a few chapters, much of the book was on Polk’s negotiation Oregon and the situation with Mexico regarding Texas annexation, the border, and later the war. Polk’s administrative talents, working relationships with his cabinet (mostly Secretary of State James Buchanan), and relationships with members of Congress from both parties were detailed throughout the historical flow of events. Merry’s overview of Polk’s place in history amongst scholars and how he is viewed by the public is examined as an epilogue to a transformative single Presidential term.

Merry’s biographical work on James Polk is probably the best part of this historical examination of his presidency followed by his explanations of the internal fissures within the Democratic Party of the mid-to-late 1840s. His interpretation of Polk’s very hands on approach to day-to-day business in the White House on top of managing a foreign war culminating in his death soon after leaving office was well established. Also, his description of the Mexican’s internal political merry-go-round and factions leading up to and throughout the war was a welcome addition to the history. However, Merry’s analysis of the Whig Party and the slavery issue in this period are major issues of the book that should caution readers. The Whigs were portrayed as an elitist only view of America that only those it would benefit supported and that Henry Clay’s American System was soundly rejected, unfortunately the likes of Abraham Lincoln would disagree that the Whig platform was for elites and today’s debating of infrastructure improvements shows that in fact Clay’s American System still influences politics today. But Merry’s attempt to push the big blowup over slavery to being a result of the war with Mexico is problematic as Polk’s victory was the result of an anti-slavery party—the Liberty Party—costing Clay votes in New York and thus the election. It also paints over the fact that for over a decade John C. Calhoun had made every issue he could be about slavery to inflame fellow Southerners and that slavery itself was a banned topic in the House of Representatives because of the gag rule.

A Country of Vast Designs shows how during one single term the United States changed its trajectory both nationally and internationally. Robert W. Merry’s while providing a good biography of James K. Polk and the internal workings of his administration, but either misunderstands or completely misrepresents the opposition and the political role of slavery during this time thus giving a false impression to those not well versed in the era.

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