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I've been a fan of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels for years. When you're in the mood for some escapism a touch of indestructible, gung-ho American hero stuff can be just the thing. It is true that these books have never been very respectful of women - gung-ho American heroes often aren't. The women are mostly to be saved, to look gorgeous, and to find the hero irresistible.
But, after all these years, I had never read the first published of the series, "The Mediterranean Caper". Maybe the title had kept me away. I mean, "Caper" - seriously?
In this, Dirk Pitt's introduction, you find a very different Dirk Pitt. A brusque, moody and thoroughly unlikeable character. You don't get to far into the story before you find Dirk striking a woman for being sulky, then being intimate (this is a family forum) and expecting her to be thankful - and she is! As it turns out we end up with some explanation (albeit not entirely consistent with the plot) for the woman's behaviour - but Dirk receives no such redemption.
The rest of the book is more convoluted and predictable than necessary - all too obviously a first attempt.
I am thankful I had not sought out this book earlier. I doubt - even in my younger, less aware/sensitive, days - if I would have bothered reading any more. So you are warned: if you are interested in chasing up some Dirk Pitt novels, stay away from the first. You miss nothing (none of the books really rely on anything that's gone before), and most of the books that come later are much better. (I did give up on them once Cussler started co-writing.)
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