Sahara -- Clive Cussler

Sahara

Clive Cussler

(1992)

A Dirk Pitt Adventure

Age: 16+

Rating: 5 stars

After watching and enjoying the movie, I was delighted to discover there was a book. Yesterday, I read it... all 568 pages and found myself mentally applauding the author. He has such a gift for plot and characters, humor, gruesomeness, history and mystery and emotion. He kept me turning page after page. I love a good book. :-)

Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino have been buddies since childhood and they now have a bit of fame to their name for their deep sea adventures. But author Clive Cussler decided it was time for these two to take a break from the water and tread sand in the adventure of their lives.

Dr. Eva Rojas, a biochemist from California is in Cairo, Egypt with her colleagues from World Health Association. They were sent to study a plague that was severely affecting the natives of the Sahara Desert. From the symptoms, they suspected the plague was due to toxins and they suspect nothing more until Eva is brutally attacked and nearly killed by two men. Dirk happened to be in the neighborhood and rescued her (and took care of her assailants) but they are both puzzled. Why would someone want to kill Eva when she is only trying to save lives? Nothing seems connected so Dirk sees Eva and her colleagues off to the Sahara, albeit a trifle sadly since he's not sure when he's going to see her again. Little does he know!

Shortly afterwards, Dirk's boss, Admiral James Sandecker, is notified of a rapidly spreading water contamination. No one in higher power will listen to him, even though danger of extinction of all living creatures on earth is imminent. So he does the next best: he sends Dirk, Al and their friend, scientist Rudi Gunn, in a yacht to find the source. Enter into the world of adventure as this trio travels up river and meets all sorts of savory characters.

Characters:

Dirk Pitt: rogue, hero, ingenious. He's also thinks that he's God's gift to women, which is why he's not married. Lol. I appreciated the fact that he always thought first of those he loved, even when things seemed hopeless. I also appreciated his sense of humor. Probably the funniest part in the book was when he told the dictator General Kazim the truth about the rescue team and Kazim back handed him, accusing him of lying, so Dirk made up a story. Kazim believed that one.

Al Giordino: funny. This guy's sense of humor had me laughing out loud more than once. His timing is excellent... his personality helps with the laughs, too. He's also ingenious and very quick on his feet. The only thing I didn't like about Al was how mouthy he was. When you're in trouble, it's wise not to sass the bad guys and get them to beat you up. Unless, of course, you're three steps ahead of the bad guys when you mouth off.

Rudi Gunn: genius scientist. Very handy with guns, too. Nice to have around when you're in a pickle. My favorite line of his was, “Why me?” Oh! Did you know that when you wear a back pack around your front and dress yourself in a djellaba (a long flowing garment), it looks like you're fat?

Admiral James Sandecker: domineering, determined. This man will do what he knows is right, even if he's going to get into a serious amount of trouble for doing it. And he's pretty good at the manipulation thing, “Once you see the boat, I guarantee you will change your mind.” :-)

Dr. Eva Rojas: dedicated, beautiful and caring. Her personality was more dynamic in the movie but I still admired her character. She wished to help humanity, even if it was at great cost to herself.

General Zateb Kazim: dictator, evil. This man cared nothing about his people... in fact he cared for nothing except himself. He was a genius gone wrong and money helped him on his way.

Yves Massarde: And yet a more evil character! His ending was... fitting. The humor related to him was what made me laugh the most.

Colonel Marcel Levant: Commander of the United Nations Critical Response Team sent in to rescue Gunn and the group of people enslaved in the mines. He liked to call it his duty and he was very brave, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he gloried in the adventure and smoothness with which his team worked.

What I Liked:

1: The history and knowledge.

2: The humor.

3: The rich array of characters.

4: 99% of the book. ;-)

5: Even though the author had the Dirk and Eva sleep together, it doesn't go into detail... stops at the point when they find themselves alone. Thank you for that.

What I Didn't Like:

1: The fact that Dirk and Eva sleep together. It didn't help the story at all.

2: Occasional bad language. (It wasn't terrible.)

3: How bloodthirsty and callous Dirk and Al seem at times. (Ok.. I'm a girl...)

I do recommend this book and I'm looking forward to further adventures of Dirk and his crew. Read and enjoy! “The...humor never ends.”

Sahara

Sahara

(2005)

PG-13 for violence

Matthew McConaughey

Penelope Cruz

Steve Zahn

William H. Macy

Rainn Wilson

Delroy Lindo

My Rating: 4 stars

Even though I'm somewhat of a fan of Indiana Jones, I must say that I thought this movie was as good or better. It had all the elements of Indiana Jones: legend, action, (clean) romance, medical, desert, lots of humor, etc, etc, except that I found it to rely not only on action to keep the audience fascinated. The story actually slowed down at times and there were 'breathers' in which I could quickly review or just enjoy the humor.

Ever heard about treasure seekers? How about ocean treasure seekers? Dirk and Al are best buds from college, all through military and afterwards. They're both dedicated but Dirk is seriously obsessed with a armored ship that disappeared during the Civil War and was rumored to have been last seen on the rivers of Africa. The rumors seem ridiculous to everyone but Dirk, and he searches ceaselessly. Al, of course, accompanies Dirk everywhere and helps get them through the tough situations with his ready wit.

Around about then, they meet two doctors who are trying to get to a city that seems to be the source of a plague that kills painfully and seemed to be spreading very quickly. One of these doctors is a woman. A beautiful woman to boot, and she's about to get into some serious trouble as she delves more deeply into the source of the plague. Guess who has to save the her and get the bad guys?

What I Liked:

1: How fully one felt the land, the story, the characters. It was so well directed and filmed that it seemed like the viewer was there.

2: How clean the romance was. The only kiss is at the very end.

3: The humor was super clean, too. My favorite line is Al's, “Hi. How are you?”

4: There was not too much offensive language.

5: The beautiful landscape... desert can be gorgeous.

6: Great story... a bit of an intrigue, which I love.

7: Excellent bad guys.

8: Penelope Cruz's character was modestly dressed for 75% of the film. I found that refreshing. :-)

What I didn't Like:

1: There was some offensive language. I think that the movie could be have been made more family friendly with the lack of it.

2: Penelope Cruz's character should have retained her over shirt after she was kidnapped. It would have fit into the storyline better, since that was her regular wear.

3: The bikini scene at the very end could have been cut out. It was totally put in there for guys to look at. BUT, for worried Mum's and Dad's, that scene can be covered with no damage done. Also, it could be completely skipped over since it's the very last scene of the movie.

Do I recommend this film? Yes. For very conservative readers, even though Penelope Cruz is in a tank top for some of the film, the action is very brisk and the camera doesn't rest on her for very long. The language is not terrible. I would say it's cleaner than Indiana Jones or most other action type films. And the humor is great!