Well........ What can I say.
I enjoyed this book.
Like Foss I think my expectations were too high.I was sad that Dirk and Clive didn't recognize each other.Jack and Sarah are worthy additions as well.Most of the technical stuff went right over my head but the story,villian and of course the car chase were spot on.I particularly liked the bit with the iron,sort of reminds me of a certain egg flipper bit from another story. ;)
Nice to see a different villian this time instead of the usual Russian,Chinese,megalomanic bit.
I couldn't tell where Dirk stopped and Clive started(if they did at all).
The series is in great hands I know that.
Anything would have been an improvement over TO though.
8.5/10

Is there any official info on how much of the book was written by Clive?

I'm 3/4 through the book and I don't know if it's because I keep wondering "who wrote this bit" that I keep looking for the old familiar feel when I read.

Frankly - I miss Pitt and Giordino. It feels like the author has just decided to put Pitt through a time warp - start calling him Dirk - and carry on as usual - only the "new" Pitt doesnt feel like an old friend. Sure he's brave and strong and girls fall for him and he even has a long-time buddy with a bit of a smart mouth but it still feel like a "copy" to me (and isnt it?).

There seems a lot of technical paragraphs in this book (which I skip cos they go right over my head!) and not so much friendship or feelings (am I sounding like a female right now or what! ;) ). I miss the banter between Sandecker and Giordino, and Pitt and Giordino's easy comrardarie.

I read this book right after I read Inca Gold (which is my favourite) maybe that's the problem.
Maybe the last third will remind me why I love Cussler's work.
Maybe Pitt just "grew up" and I have to get used to it :)

I got Black Wind for Christmas and just finished reading it...took about a week, off and on. I thought the book was very good, and I couldn't tell the difference between the writings of Clive and Dirk. I would tend to believe that Clive wrote the parts that had dialog between Pitt and Giordino and Dirk wrote the parts with dialog with Dirk and Summer, and most of the storyline. Yes, there were a lot of technical descriptions, but it goes to show that Clive and Dirk did a lot of research before they started writing the book. I think the series is in good hands, and Dirk and Summer are starting to grow on me. I like it, though, when the author(s) include Sandecker, Gunn, Yeager, Pitt and Giordino, because I don't know if I could do a full book with just Dirk and Summer yet! Keep them all together, I say!

The techie stuff was easy for me, I enjoy that kind of stuff anyway... I did miss Dirk and Al though. All in all it was an enjoyable read they just need to get the old man (Dirk Sr.) more involved I think.

I really enjoyed the book. I could tell that Dirk wrote a large chunk of the book, hte book was that much better because of that fact. my thinking is you cannot have Dirk Cussler writing for his father, and Clive writing for Dirk Jr. Having Dirk Jr. taking over the "family business" gives Dirk C. more leaway in writing the character and creating the personas for bith Dirk Jr. and Summer. Now the only thing needed is a few younger characters to be developed.

I just can't get used to Sandecker being VP and Dirk being NUMA director. Yaegar and Gunn didn't seem to have been involved like they usually are. And there was virtually no Perlmutter!!!! <_< :unsure:

Perlmutter was in this book? Oh yeah for like 2 pages.
It was another Asian guy as the bad man, and Dirk Sr. and Uncle Al the the rescue again. However, it was entertaining, and I liked the car chase. Overall it was good! Of course I read the UK edition, there wasn't anything different than the US version was there? Oh wait, sorry, I started reading the UK version, then listened to the audio version. Still, I'd like to know if there are any differences, like PV.

7/10 th:

I loved this book! Dirk Cussler is clearly the perfect person to take over the Dirk Pitt Series! All hail Dirk Cussler :)

11/10

One very big disappointment for me with this book was the absence of Loren, the last few books had had Loren in fairly important roles and I think it was cheapeding the book to have them marry and she drops from sight! It just left me feeling empty after finally getting into the character of Loren in the preivos few books!

8 / 10

I liked Black Wind. Dirk Jr. is becoming a lot like his father, and Jack Dahlgren looks like a promising character (even though his name does sound like a beer). My guess is that Summer will be more of a Rudi Gunn type and occasionally join Dirk and Jack on several exploits. In some parts of the book (expecially near the end) I found some of the descriptions to not be clear. My mind had to keep rearranging the scenary until it finally became clear. I loved the final few chapters though.

It is strange for the admaril to be V.P. but it's the way it was set up for Dirk Sr. to take over Numa and for his children to move into his position. The absence of Loren was noticed. I hope Dirk will include her in future stories. I'd like to see some interaction between her and Summer and Dirk Jr. as a family.

I am on my second reading of this book. It is just as good as any others i have read but i do miss the comical banter between Dirk and Al but am sure that will lessen as DIrk C finds his feet following in the "master's" footsteps.......... I do agree that Loren was missing but like everything...things change with the times and we have to change with them.....all i can say is...when is the next one coming out??????? th: th:

Watch for Polar Shift and Dark Watch. I believe Polar Shift comes out in laye Aug. and Dark Watch comes ou late in the year. w:

I, too, thought it was odd that Dirk Sr. and Loren get married at the end of TO, but then she is AWOL in BW. Do you think this was another oversight on the part of the Cusslers, similar to to the magical appearance of Dirk's children in the first place?

Anyone know of plans for the next Pitt book? I'm not into the other series just yet.

Thanks!

I thought it strange that the meeting with the President and staff at the White house DID NOT include Sandecker in the meeting, nor was any mention of him made at the meeting. Would have been a great time to help us get used to him as VP. Instead his role was attending meetings at NUMA.

Good call, tong. Two of the major developments from the end of TO are not developed further in BW. I think we could have even seen more of Dirk Sr. in his role as Director of NUMA. I wonder if Dirk Cussler was already writing BW even while CC was writing TO, knowing some of what would happen in TO, but not all. Maybe CC threw in the wedding when it was practically too late to include Loren Pitt in BW. Something has to account for her absence and the downplay of Sandecker as the VP. Any other thoughts from the forum?

Erik

Very interesting point. Maybe Dirk Cussler has his own agenda in developing the young Dirk Pitt jr. and leaving most of the "older" characters well in the background. I'd even go as far as to say that the prominent role of Dirk Pitt sr. and Al towards the end of Black Wind was grudgingly accepted by Dirk Cussler into his story only to appease Cussler fans. I guess we'll find out in Dirk's next book.

Thank god Dirk Cussler did have Dirk Pitt Sr. and Al save the day in the end! If it wasn't for that, I would've given the book a 4/10 yike:

It wasnt that bad...

maybe a 5/10...but compared to other Pitt books, it wouldn't be higher than that (that's of course without the ending scene)

True, true. I liked the ending, but I thought it was too much like Sahara. The boat being blown up, and Dirk Jr. meeting up with Sarah in his classic car. :unsure:

Got it last Saturday and finishd it on Monday. I nenjoyed it thourouhgly. Although It was confusing to have two Dirk's. (or is that three ?)

I always loved the wise cracks between Pitt and Al, some of them have had me in stitches. I did feel thet Trojan Oddesy was a bit, I don't know ... not up to the mark is polite. However this was ....getting better again. Although if I read about Hirams kids at a private school once more........

I am now going to re-read Valhalla again.

I enjoyed this book less than any other Cussler book I've read. Granted all Cyssler books can be "out there" in terms of reality, but several times I kept scratching my head thinking, "why did they do that?"

1. You know that there is a bubonic plague like virus ready to be lifted off for the mainland US. Do you: jump in submarine (unarmed I might add) to try to beat the bad guys or...call in the big boys and blow that platform out of the sky with the F-16s that came hour later?

2. Why would a bad guy imploy such a far out James Bond like weapon to dispurse the plaque? Sounds like a crop duster/cessna rental would have done the same job with far less things to go wrong.....

3. The bad guys are trying to get away. Do you: follow them so low you are beside them in an unarmed blimp filled with helium or....do you follow them far enough to keep sight of them and call in the good guys to blast them?

There are so many more I can't even begin to type. What say the Cussler nation?

I suspected the handwriting was on the wall when I learned they were going to make a movie out of SAHARA. Sorry, I tried to read BLACK WIND, but wound up skimming the last several chapters. It just wasn't in the same in the same league as ANY Cussler book - and I've read and enjoyed them all. Maybe young Dirk (Cussler) will improve with age. yike: yike:

When aspects of a fictional book doesn't make sense or seems too unbelievable, it can distract you from the storyline to the extent that you start to think to yourself, do I keep going with this? On the other hand, if everything in a fictional book fell into place with the most obvious solutions and best case scenarios it would do nothing for ones imagination. In the case of Black Wind, I found myself picking holes in the storyline but in the end I was pleased with Dirk Cussler's debut book. I'm guessing Dirk will absorb critisism like yours and take it into account when writing further Dirk Pitt jr. adventures.

Welcome to the forum, rlatham and samsgram!

This book was pretty good.... Not up to the normal DP adventures but it was OK.

It seems to me that the DP adventures are starting fresh...... some sorta storylines set around a younger Dirk Pitt...

I was hoping Jnr wouldn't be too much like his ol' man. But it seems he's almost exactly the same.... I don't know I was hoping he'd have a "darker" streak to his personality.

Jnr's adventures are very similar to Snr adventure of last few books..... rescues a "nice lady"... have a couple "run ins" together.... and helps save the day.

for a first DP Jnr book.... i give it a 7/10.

I just finished and I absolutely loved it!! I read a few posts and comments how it wasn't as good (some thought it totally sucked). But I got the same warm and fuzzy feeling from BW that I got from the others. I think Clive had more to do (with writing) than most think. I give it a 8/10.

I just finished listening to Black Wind on unabridged CD and here are my thoughts:

1) I could tell a difference in character between Dirk Jr. and Pitt Sr. I like to describe it this way: Dirk Sr. would come up with a plan and then do what was necessary for his plan to succeed. Dirk Jr. comes up with a plan based on what is going on around him; it is constantly changing according to his environment. I guess the best way to say it is Dirk Jr. is guided by the plot but Dirk Sr. guides the plot. Make sense?

2) Jack Dalghren (or however its spelled!) was such a weak Al Giordino rip-off. I'm sorry, but I did not like his character at all.

3) The beginning was slow. In fact, I lost interest for a while and then finally continued it about a month later. The car chase was excellent and helped revive my interest in the book.

4) I think it is a very valid point that Dirk Cussler might have been writing Black Wind while Clive was finishing Trojan Odyssey. It sounded to me like he wrote it before Sandecker became VP and before Dirk and Loren got married, and then just drop a few hints at the events during his rewrite. My question is: why not just go back and develop it a little more into your own book? Did it have to come out so soon that care couldn't be taken to remain true to the Dirk Pitt canon?

All in all, I thought it was a worthy effort that got good halfway through. I hope that Dirk Cussler can find whatever it is that makes Dirk Pitt novels so good and help put Junior on the map.

- Andy

Just started reading Blackwind, I did not fancy the name Jack Dahlgren and I already miss Al Giordino.

The other thing I notice beside one spelling mistake so fare :) was that everytime I turn to a new chapter someone dies, the coast guards, the ambassador, the CEO of Semcon and there is along way to go :D

I didn't read the other posts and did not enter BlackWind Discussion forum as I don't want to spoil the ending :)

Just finished the unabridged audio book.

As a newbie to the Pitt books I found it very hard to under stand when Pitt was actually doing somthing, or if it was theother Pitt. Or was that Dirk or Dirk?

The book was great up to the launch scene, then I thought it boggeddown a bit.

It was my first attempt at Dirk Pitt and perhaps the wrong one to statr with? I am however a fan of the NUMA files with Kirt. I started CC' work with them and have gone through 4 books or so.

p: had to add it

well that depends Architeuthis... on wht you mean by Dirk Pitt. You see, with Black Wind, you've started the first Dirk Pitt Junior book. Dirk Pitt senior's adventures started a long time ago.

To get a feel for the real Dirk Pitt, you'll have to go back all the way back to the start. My suggestion is to start with Sahara. My favourite Dirk Pitt book by far. Work your way thru all the proceeding books.

with Black Wind, its really the start of a new series of books. Dirk Snr and Al Giordino will probably no longer take a (major) part in this series. Dirk an Al are the real heroes, whereas Kurt Austin series is just a spin-off of Dirk's adventure books.

I just finished Black Wind, and I thought it was absolutely great! Although I did find myself wondering which parts had been written by Clive and which parts by Dirk, they blended so perfectly.
I mentioned this before but I LOVED it when Dirk Jr. came to Warrenton, as that is where I'm going to college (right now in fact!) :) But I must admit I really did miss Al and Dirk, something about their banter in the face of disaster that I just love! One fact I really appreciated about BW was that there was very little cussing, as that is the one thing that bothered me in the earlier novels. <_<
So other than that... I'm looking forward to the next ones, I like both Dirk Pitt and Dirk Pitt Jr.!!!

Overall a good book with some very good ideas. I think BW is a very good base for Dirk Cussler to work from.

The good thing is that I am looking forward to the next DP (Snr, Jnr whatever!) adventure and why not, they are the best adventures around!

Cheers beer:

Andy

I totally enjoyed this book and the detailed research involved in the writing of this book!!!! I give it a 8/10. th:

9/10. Loved it and can't wait for Treasures of Kahn. th:

finished black wind round dinner time friday 05 January 07

its taken me longer to read black wind than any other clive cussler simply because of work and family comitments

the story and action upto the usual cussler standards
bit dissapointed in the lack of dirk snr and al as summer and dirk jnr dont sem to have the same rapour as the others

kang is a top notch villain i like him
thought he could have been killed a better though

at times i think the story lagged in places (maybe the cusslers got writers block :blink: )

i'm looking forward to reading treasure of khan now hope it doesnt take me aslong as i had to keep going back to remind me self on about what was happening

I enjoyed Black Wind. It had the feeling of Dirks early adventure in Mediterranean Caper.

Wow, just finished Black Wind after cautiously approaching it due to my interest in Dirk and Jack from Treasure of Khan.

How can anyone remotely dislike this book? It is Cussler's best after Inca Gold!

Dirk and Jack are two characters that shouldn't be so unique. As much as love Cussler, he has a certain way of writing his characters that stick with every one. I'm assuming that it must be Dirk Cussler that's responsible for these new characters getting a personality. Dirk Sr. and Al are without a doubt the kings of witty comebacks and one liners, but Dirk Jr. and Jack have a certain cynic undertone in their dialogue that's very refreshing. I was a bit miffed at Dirk being a car fanatic like his dad, although he does at least go for slightly more modern cars. I'm also curious as to how he managed to get so good with a gun, especially since he didn't spend time in the military like his dad. Jack, constantly berated at a Al-ripoff on the board, was a great new character. Sure he's in the sidekick role, but he's nothing like Al. Look at the scene where they meet up at the end; aside from being hilarious, it showed the difference in the two. I particularly got a kick out of how the two characters met, specifically the bit about skipping class to catch fish to impress women.

Speaking of Al and Dirk Sr, they're handled perfectly in this book. They've aged, heck, by Treasure of Khan they're 54 years old. These guys can't keep saving the world and they know that. The best bit is that when they're introduced, they have an epic quality to them, a past hinting at amazing adventures. Lets me honest, this is as much a jumping on point for new readers as it is a new adventure for old fans. By giving Dirk and Al that mystery, it entices the reader to look for the previous books.

Kang and Tongju were amazing villains. Kang's background and cover were unique and creative, and his methods were great. I am a bit disapointed in the chimera virus though, sooner or later the incurable virus would have reached Korea and Kang would have been screwed. The use of Japan as a cover was great though, and you could tell that if not for NUMA, Kang's plan would have gone off perfectly.

The car chase, the gunfights at the end, and the NUMA family were dead on in this book. Max was funny without bugging me (usually I don't like the hologram scenes), the tech was not at all confusing, and the new generation of heroes shows amazing promise.

9.5/10.

I was very skeptical in reading this book because of all the negative posts on it but I have to say I really liked it. It was a good book and probably deserves to be in the middle of the pack.

I do hope Dirk JR and Jack do evolve into more of their own characters. I can see where they resemble Sr. and Al a little too much but things change over time. Maybe Jr. can develop hobbies that are different than Sr.

I think that DC and CC were using the similarities to sort of bridge one generation to another generation. Times change and while we all will hate this but CC can't write forever. There has to be a changing of the guard. And if you are DC you wouldn't want to write your father's creations because you would always be compared to him nor get the credit you might deserve. By doing it this way DC is taking over an established franchise but he will have to change it through his evolution of writing styles.

I do wish Jr. actually had his own name (like James or something) because it does get confusing sometimes but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Now onto Treasure of Khan.