2007-11-06 Long, slightly confused but enjoyable.

Treasure is the second Cussler novel I have read. At exactly 600 pages it's not a short read and it is split into two stories.

The first story is Dirk Pitt's search for the great library and museum of Alexandria. Pitt knows that it exists and what the secret coastline looked like in 391AD but can he find the location in the world today?

The second story is about the rise of fundamentalist groups in Mexico and Egypt. These groups resort to terrorist activities and on three occasions Pitt encounters them and tries to foil their plans.

I found Treasure a bit hard going at times. It's enjoyable enough but the middle 300-400 pages are pretty much dedicated to beating terrorists and the search for the great lost treasures of Alexandria are put aside at the beginning of the book and the search doesn't restart until right at the end.

I grew up reading the classis books of Alistair MacLean and I think this is why Clive Cussler's work appeals to me. However, characters like Dirk Pitt are written in a very comic book larger than life style. Towards the end of the book I had lost interest in the original treasure hunt part of it as we'd spent so long dealing with terrorists.

Long and slightly confused. However, still enjoyable enough for me to continue reading his work. 6/10.