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Vixen 03

(Dirk Pitt #5)

Clive Cussler

3.85 · Rating details · 12,030 ratings · 303 reviews

1954. Vixen 03 is down. The plane, bound for the Pacific carrying thirty-six Doomsday bombs — canisters armed with quick-death germs of unbelievable potency — vanishes. Vixen has in fact crashed into an ice-covered lake in Colorado.

1988. Dirk Pitt, who heroically raised the Titanic, discovers the wreckage of Vixen 03. But two deadly canisters are missing. They're in the h ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Published July 25th 2006 by Bantam (first published January 1st 1978)

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Start your review of Vixen 03 (Dirk Pitt, #5)

Nov 06, 2009 John Shumway rated it liked it

This is the same comment for all the Dirk Pitt books:
Great set of books, I had to stagger these books into my reading rotation since they are so similar.
Dirk Series Book in less then 50 words.
(introduction to bad guy, introduction to hot chick, introduction to Dirk, Dirk gets in impossible dangerous situations to stop the bad guy, Dirk wins, Dirk gets the hot chick.)

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Oct 09, 2019 John McDermott rated it really liked it

Read this in that there Eighties ! Enjoyed it at the time.

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Dec 12, 2009 Lee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, dirk-pitt

When I feel like a quick, action-packed read, with a big screen cinematic ending - can't go wrong with Dirk Pitt. #5 came out thirty-five years ago, but, they're still a kick-in-the-butt fun time of a read. ...more

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Jun 10, 2017 Roopkumar Balachandran rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure

In early part of 1950's Dr.John Vetterly, a microbiologist, chemically created an artificial form of life that in turn was capable of producing a disease strain that was non detectable, unidentifiable bacteriological agent able to incapacitate a living thing within seconds of exposure and disrupt the vital body functions, causing death within three to five minutes it was named quick death shortly QD. Admiral Bass was given the task to dump the remaining 36 stainless steel canisters of QD in Rong ...more

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Feb 25, 2020 Eli Hornyak rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Another good Dirk Pitt novel, I’m still hooked. Can’t wait until I start the next one.

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Feb 05, 2008 Brooke rated it it was ok

Shelves: thriller, 2008

Vixen 03 flips back and forth between Dirk Pitt's discovery of a plane wreck in a Colorado lake and a civil war brewing in South Africa. The connection between the two is pretty clever, but unfortunately, the portions of the book that focus on the South African plot just drag. For a while, I forgot I was even reading a Dirk Pitt novel. Dirk's sections flew by in excitement, but the rest just did not mesh. After enjoying Raise the Titanic so much, I was surprised by how much of a step backwards ...more

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Apr 01, 2018 Debra Johnson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense, mystery, crime

Vixen 03 by Clive Cussler

Genres; Action/Adventure, Crime, Mystery, Suspense

4 Stars

It took awhile for me to find the copy of the one I read. I think I got it right.
I wish I still had my copies! But, alas, I have lost them through the many times I have moved. Through my own adventures, while worth it, caused me to lose those copies decades ago.
Al Giordino is still my favorite character in the Dirk Pitt series. ...more

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May 07, 2018 Ken rated it liked it · review of another edition

Another fun adventure in the Dirk Pitt series.
Following the events of the previous book, Pitt and he’s team are tasked with finding a military aircraft that disappeared 30 years ago.

The other half of the book features a civil war brewing in South Africa.

Compared to others in the series, this instalment is weaker. The fact that it referenced the previous story highlighted this.
The South Africa sections were interesting, but I was keen to get back to Pitt’s section of the book.

One for this that en ...more

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Mar 26, 2019 Matt rated it liked it

Shelves: adventure, 2019-reads

A deadly biological weapon thought long-lost is suddenly out in the world and a South African-planned black-op terrorist attack on the United States meant to discredit an insurgency to white rule intertwine with only one man finding himself at the crux to stop them. The fifth book of the Dirk Pitt series, Vixen 03, by Clive Cussler finds the intrepid NUMA Special Projects Director racing to first solve a mystery and then racing to save the nation.

An Air Force transport plane takes off in a Janua A deadly biological weapon thought long-lost is suddenly out in the world and a South African-planned black-op terrorist attack on the United States meant to discredit an insurgency to white rule intertwine with only one man finding himself at the crux to stop them. The fifth book of the Dirk Pitt series, Vixen 03, by Clive Cussler finds the intrepid NUMA Special Projects Director racing to first solve a mystery and then racing to save the nation.

An Air Force transport plane takes off in a January Colorado blizzard carrying a deadly cargo, but the storm results in the plane crash landing on top of a snow covered lake then sinking. The Pentagon, under orders from Eisenhower, alters the records of the plane to hide its deadly secret. Thirty-four years later in South Africa, Scottish naval captain-turned-farmer Patrick Fawkes goes to a meeting with the South African Defense Minister and discusses the feasibility of a black-op, which Fawkes explains is impossible yet during the meeting his family is murdered during an attack seemingly by the African Army of Revolution run by an American-born black against the white South African government. As a result Fawkes talks the Defense Minister into letting him do the black-op, which the AAR finds out about and gets the info to the American government though they regard it highly unlikely to take place. Meanwhile in Colorado’s Sawatch Mountains, Dirk Pitt is at the cabin of his current girlfriend, Congresswoman Loren Smith, when finds parts from an old aircraft in the garage that Loren believes her deceased eccentric father found while hiking. Bored while not having sex, Pitt begins investigating and stays at the cabin after Loren returns to Washington where she runs afoul of a black congressman who supports the AAR for his own political ends and attempts to blackmail her after getting racy photos of her and Pitt sleeping together. Pitt’s investigation results in him identifying an aircraft that shouldn’t be in Colorado but in the Pacific and along with his friend Al Giordino and an Air Force Colonel Abe Steiger investigate a nearby lake and find the wreck along with the body of Loren’s father—he supposedly blew himself up. Steiger is stonewalled in Washington while Pitt heads to his assignment raising a Union ironclad, but travels to Virginia to talk with the man who assigned the plane’s mission and finds out it carried a deadly biological weapon. Pitt finally informs his boss Admiral Sandecker and NUMA raises the aircraft but find that 8 out of the 36 shells are missing. Pitt, Giordino, and Steiger confront Loren’s neighbors who killed her father and sold them to an arms company for extra money. After conning the arms company Pitt and Steiger track down six of the eight, but the last two were accidently purchased by the AAR but really the South Africans for their terrorist attack. Fawkes with his unwitting black crew and the kidnapped AAR leader in an overhauled battleship go up the Potomac to within range of Washington and start bombarding the capital on December 7. The U.S. government “warned” by the South African Prime Minister launches an attack on the battleship since Fawkes doesn’t know he has two biological weapons. Pitt is able to get onboard the battleship and neutralizes one of the weapons, but the other was already loaded into a tube. The shell is fired, but do to it being a biological warhead it parachutes and a helicopter piloted by Steiger intercepts it and flies it out to the Atlantic. Pitt travels to South Africa to bury Fawkes and meets with the South African Defense Minister, who orchestrated the murder of Fawkes family and who sent the Prime Minister warning, is killed by a member of his own staff and a member of the AAR then buried in Fawkes’ grave.

Set a 1988, Cussler’s guess at the overall situation in the world was off but still made for interesting alternate history in which to set his book’s narrative. The two main plots following Pitt and Fawkes were well written while the two main subplots of the AAR and Loren Smith were underwhelming. Fawkes as a good tragic figure who setup by the Defense Minister was easy to guess, while Loren Smith’s first appearance as Pitt’s on-and-off girlfriend was just showing off Pitt’s sexual greatness and given his characterization in these early books isn’t surprising. The science behind the biological weapon was a little farfetched if one really thought about it, but overall it wasn’t the worst thing in the book. Critically nothing was bad, but there were a lot of things that alright.

Vixen 03 is a nice next installment in the Dirk Pitt series by Clive Cussler, building up on Raise the Titanic! Overall it’s a good book with only a few bits that were unfortunately off putting but nothing compared to earlier books. While the not the best book of the series I’ve read so far, it’s shows a lot of improvement on Cussler’s part. ...more

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Sep 14, 2020 Patrick rated it liked it

Too long and repetitive but a good read nonetheless....Go with "Deep Six" or "Iceberg" or for that matter "Sahara", chock full of historical fact & fiction. For instance, did you know Abraham Lincoln was not assassinated?" I thought not, he was actually captured by Confederate forces and taken aboard a civil-war frigate to the Sahara desert....fact or fiction? ...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Christian D. Orr rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Cussler fans, thriller fans in general

Vintage Cussler at his best, that grabs your attention and holds it no matter how many times you read it, and in spite of how old and dated (especially the South Africa segments) the material is. When I say "vintage Cussler," I mean Clive (and Dirk Pitt) at his old-school violent, bloody, profane, sexually-explicit best, not the toned-down PG-rated material (though still highly enjoyable) material he's been writing since the early 1990s (starting with "Dragon"). ...more

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Aug 24, 2019 AndrewP rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, read-in-2019, 2019-bookshelf-clearance

Another of the early Dirk Pitt novels and this one did not disappoint even some of the content and events seem a bit outdated now. A biological weapon lost at the end of WW2 is rediscovered and some of the stock is missing. This ties into a terrorist 'v' government plot in South Africa.

The story was not bad overall but there was a big coincidence that took some believing and the characters were not that deep.

I'm not sure when this was written but history has turned out otherwise in a couple of ...more

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May 15, 2019 Kevin Findley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, adventure

One word review: FUN!

I haven't read a Dirk Pitt book in quite a while. Back when he was at his most popular, it was Tom Clancy that sat on my shelves, Cussler was almost a side note. I enjoyed the book quite a bit, but realized that I couldn't remember too many of the characters other than Dirk within a few hours after finishing it. I guess that means it's not literature, but that's fine. I liked it, and you will too.

Find it! Buy it! Read it! ...more

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Nov 26, 2017 Shane Phillips rated it liked it · review of another edition

Chock full of 1970's race and sexist language. One of my favorites is when Dirk finds his lover waiting for him at his car. "Are you crazy? A luscious creature all alone in a Washington parking lot. It's a miracle you weren't assaulted and gang banged." Dirk is such a romantic. ...more

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Apr 21, 2018 Amy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure

The earlier Dirk Pitt stories are not as polished as the later ones, for obvious reasons. Grittier, more graphic, more heavy with the do-gooder speeches. I'm enjoying revisiting the old Pitt, to better appreciate the new one. ...more

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May 05, 2018 Mark Harrison rated it liked it

Pretty decent story as a long lost plane laden with a deadly poison nerve agent leads Dirk Pitt into numerous potentially life threatening situations. Less of the awful sexism that spoilt the earlier books and quite a good, gripping plot. Definitely an upturn for this series.

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Dec 02, 2019 Josh Rose rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2019

Properly mysterious and well paced. The only time it slows down and causes you to lose interest is when it gets into South African politics. Can't wait to get to the next one! ...more

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Dec 25, 2018 Neil rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: end-of-the-world, finished-in-2018, mystery, sci-fi, historical-fiction, fiction, alternate-history, action, adventure, clive-cussler-shelf

I love the cover of the “original” copy of the paperback. It is mysterious and has a supernatural aura about it, which is ‘sadly’ misleading, as there is nothing supernatural that occurs in this book. I still remember being haunted by the cover when I saw it as a young child; it sat on my uncle’s bookshelf and always drew my attention (this book and the paperback cover for Raise the Titanic!). Here you have this sunken aircraft with its windshield missing and yet there is an eerie orange glow fr ...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Neil rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery, clive-cussler-shelf, finished-in-2014

This was [and still is] an interesting, if dated book, in my opinion. My first acquaintance with this book was my uncle's bookshelf when I would spend the night at my grandparent's house - I was always fascinated by the covers of many of his paperbacks. This one was always eerie - the glowing cabin in an airplane at the bottom of a body of water. Always stood out to me. It still moves at fast pace and has all of the essential elements necessary for a Dirk Pitt novel to take place. It does have d This was [and still is] an interesting, if dated book, in my opinion. My first acquaintance with this book was my uncle's bookshelf when I would spend the night at my grandparent's house - I was always fascinated by the covers of many of his paperbacks. This one was always eerie - the glowing cabin in an airplane at the bottom of a body of water. Always stood out to me. It still moves at fast pace and has all of the essential elements necessary for a Dirk Pitt novel to take place. It does have dated references to blacks, South Africa, and attitudes towards sex and women.

The plot, as usual, starts out with a journey to yesteryear. In this case, it is 1954, when a MAT aircraft is taking off from Buckley, CO, during a blizzard. The aircraft crashes in the Rocky Mountains soon after take-off and disappears. The US Military and government hide the crash.

Jump to 'now' [1988] where we find our here, Dirk Pitt, enjoying an extended vacation with his love/lover, Congresswoman Loren Smith. He discovers some old aircraft parts in her father's garage, which sparks his inquisitive nature. Unable to let sleeping mysteries lie, he begins his quest to discover where the wreckage came from. He speaks with Loren's father's nearest neighbors for a bit before calling in the FAA. I enjoyed the description of Abe Steiger - essentially the 'twin' of Al Giordino. A chance remark by Abe points Dirk to searching the nearby lake, whereupon he discovers the sunken aircraft. When the Air Force and government refuse to investigate further, he absconds some of NUMA's equipment to bring the C-97 Stratocruiser to the surface. A friend in the FBI who loves crossword puzzles figures out who sent the aircraft on its final journey, and just prior to raising the aircraft Dirk pays the retired admiral a visit. He learns a horrible, undetectable, perfect, lethal pathogen [of sorts] was created in the 1950s and this bacterial strain still exists on an atoll in the Pacific. In order to determine if any of the canisters are missing from the downed plane, Dirk essentially forces his boss to ensure the aircraft will be lifted from the lake bed. Once raised, they discover eight canisters are missing.

Dirk, Abe, and Al confront the Rafferty's [neighbors of Loren's dead father] about Loren's father's death and discover how the canisters were brought to the surface. From there, they track the canisters down to a private weapons depot which has sold some of them to various buyers. They track down all but two of them.

Meanwhile, in South Africa, a ranch is attacked and the inhabitants brutally murdered. The husband/rancher/father is the only survivor, and the South African government convinces him to pilot a battleship up the Potomac River to attack Washington, D.C., in retaliation for the murder of his wife, children, and ranch hands. Crazy, right!?! The largest group of Black rebels will be blamed for this crazy operation.

Obviously, only a Black Congressman [Daggat] and a beautiful black woman [Felicia] are capable of supporting the leader of the largest 'resistance movement'; the leader of this movement is obviously a former black criminal [Lusana] who has seen the light and decides to become the Black Messiah. Poor Loren is deceived by her friend Felicia and invites Dirk to join her in a special 'love nest'; unbeknownst to the two of them, Daggat has hired a photographer to take pictures of them copulating for extortion and blackmail. Obviously it is up to Dirk to come to the fair Loren's rescue. Had this been a later book, I am sure Daggat would have had more than a pound of flesh removed for his attempted blackmail. In this earlier novel, Dirk lets the man off the hook with a promise to never attempt to blackmail him or Loren ever again.

A retired American battleship is purchased and refitted so that it can sail up the Potomac. Admiral Bass has given Dirk the information needed to ensure the pathogens in the chemical shells are safely disposed of. Parts of Washington, D.C., are destroyed. Yet, in the end, civilization [in D.C., anyway] is saved at the end of the story.

I think one of the best descriptions in the book occurs when Al and Abe are rowing a boat across the lake in Colorado while Dirk handles an underwater camera/sensor: Abe is described as showering Dirk with a four-letter stare before commencing with the rowing. I found it pretty funny. The author definitely had a way with wordplay in his earlier novels I had forgotten about - I think it is something definitely missing in his later [more recent] novels. ...more

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May 28, 2019 Eden Thompson rated it liked it · review of another edition

From my book blog www.JetBlackDragonfly.blogspot.com
Vixen 03 is a Dirk Pitt adventure novel by Clive Cussler. His action hero Pitt stars in over twenty of his fifty-plus novels and was introduced to many people in the fourth Pitt novel Raise The Titanic! in 1976. Cussler has several other character series on the go, written with other co-authors (meaning they are pumping at least one new novel every few months). The Pitt adventures always seem to follow the same blueprint, but always deliver as From my book blog www.JetBlackDragonfly.blogspot.com
Vixen 03 is a Dirk Pitt adventure novel by Clive Cussler. His action hero Pitt stars in over twenty of his fifty-plus novels and was introduced to many people in the fourth Pitt novel Raise The Titanic! in 1976. Cussler has several other character series on the go, written with other co-authors (meaning they are pumping at least one new novel every few months). The Pitt adventures always seem to follow the same blueprint, but always deliver as well. They are what they are - entertaining.
I've seen this book around since I was a kid, Vixen 03 followed Titanic in 1978 when I was eleven. I always liked the original cover of the plane under water and wondered what mystery was aboard.

Vixen 03 starts in 1954 with an exciting beginning, with a military plane on a secret uncharted mission going down for a crash landing in a snowy mountain clearing. Once the plane lands, they find the clearing was an ice covered lake, and he plane sinks.

Thirty four years later, Pitt is vacationing near the lake and discovers the plane, hidden all these years, and decides to explore it. He is the Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) and calls in his specialist team, as well as the Navy to explore it. The secret military cargo turns out to be canisters of a toxic biological weapon en route for testing in the Pacific, which no one wants to admit to. They decide to raise the plane in order to destroy the deadly cargo and discover several canisters are missing.
This leads to several other sub plots involving the African Army of Revolution trying to overthrow the government in South Africa, and a vengeful ex-Navy captain who steals a battleship equipped with the deadly toxin who wants to destroy Washington.

Cussler is the tops in adventure and has millions of fans. For me, Vixen 03 was completely far fetched but just what I expected. Exciting, plot rolled right along, decent characters. Pitt was an interesting hero, and for entertainment, it was good fun.
After seeing this book for so long, in my mind it was going to be all about the dive, the wreckage and the recovery. This is only a third of the book, the rest devolves into political wrangling and posturing towards the explosive finale. A little heavy on the South African overthrow plot - I wanted to stay with the wrecked plane myself. Loving books like The Poseidon Adventure from around the same time, I was hoping for something different, but still enjoyed it. ...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Feliks rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-thrillers

My second-favorite favorite 'Dirk Pitt' adventure after 'Raise the Titanic'. For some reason which eludes me, this chapter in the Pitt series is somehow not as talked-up as a few of the others; when in every category it ranks superior to all but his first. Of any Cussler title this one is surely the one you can go back to over and over.

Hey, I might not even re-read 'Raise the Titanic!' ever again, because that was truly such a singular, exalted, one-off experience. But in Vixen 03, what you hav My second-favorite favorite 'Dirk Pitt' adventure after 'Raise the Titanic'. For some reason which eludes me, this chapter in the Pitt series is somehow not as talked-up as a few of the others; when in every category it ranks superior to all but his first. Of any Cussler title this one is surely the one you can go back to over and over.

Hey, I might not even re-read 'Raise the Titanic!' ever again, because that was truly such a singular, exalted, one-off experience. But in Vixen 03, what you have is smoothness, finesse, and such adroit good storytelling that it continually re-appeals.

There are no 'bones sticking out' of this tale, no snags, no loopholes; no loose-ends. Everything within it is in perfect balance and harmony; well-proportioned blend of character and humour and action and suspense.

Its a story which stands very self-contained; indeed if 'Titanic!' had never been written this episode could easily swap in for a great introduction to the basic elements of a Dirk Pitt story.

There's just nothing to complain about. Pitt is flawless in this one, no mawkish quips or overdone bravado. The supporting characters too, keep their proper places.

Plot: plausible, (one of the last --if not the very last--plausible Dirk Pitt plot before the franchise turned sour) and it is sufficiently rich in context and detail to convince.

When I mention (above) that there are 'no bones protruding' what I'm referring to is this: other Dirk Pitt adventures to come later, always ask too much of us. They introduce us to inventions-which-haven't-been-invented-yet; and feature cameos by the "Prez of the United States" (almost any thriller will suffer from this), they introduce 'arch-villains', or spend too much time belaboring the obscurantist industry of undersea salvage.

Why, fer criminey's sake...in 'Night Probe!' Cussler tries to pass off on us, a special cameo by James Bond! Come on now, just silly.

Nothing of that sort of zaniness, when it comes to 'Vixen 03'. Its a sweet little thriller where its bombastic author--for once--shows some restraint and moderation.

...more

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Apr 03, 2014 Paul rated it it was ok

The storyline is not plausible in many ways, although the book starts with a good story. Many details in the book are technically implausible as well, as some of the actions were simply not possible (such as piloting a ship with a 22' draft up the Potomac).
Many or most of the weapons and aircraft mentioned were figments of Cussler's imagination, which also sucked some of the credibility from the book. The art on the front of the Bantam paperback is of a B-29 bomber, not a C-97 cargo plane as de ...more

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Nov 26, 2013 Barbara ★ rated it it was ok

Shelves: x-set-in-africa, zzz-cover-transpo-boat, mystery-thriller, read-2016, x-set-in-usa-colorado, x-set-in-africa-south-africa

Because of my love of the later Pitt novels, I grabbed this one without reading the premise. Boy what a mistake! This book was terrible. Heck I think Pitt appeared in only about 30% of it. Other than his time in bed with the congresswoman, Pitt actually plays a very small part of this book until the last 50 pages or so. I'm so disappointed as I usually love these books. I'll have to be more careful in choosing my books.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. ...more

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Jun 13, 2014 Greg Strandberg rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, favorites

I think this is my favorite Dirk Pitt novel.

It's one of the first we see his Congressional love interest, and we also get some good back story and glimpses of his hangar. But it's the gripping opening scenes and the tension with the lake that really sets it going.

Cussler really began to come into his own around this point, and it shows. I'll have to pick this one up again, and if you want to just sample one book by this guy, I'd say go with Vixen 03! ...more

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Apr 10, 2008 James rated it liked it · review of another edition

Another adventure series with wondrous escapes. Always a good non-thinking read. Interesting histories in Prefaces. Saw him at Murder by the Book party in Denver years ago. He was too busy to meet. Certainly has lots of silver hair.

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Mar 24, 2009 Ryan Burt rated it it was ok

I listened to this on Audio tape. Usually a big fan of Dirk Pitt. But he isn't even in this book for what seems like more then half of it. At one point I wasn't even sure it was the same book. The ending was good. ...more

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Feb 02, 2009 Steve rated it really liked it

I read this one twice so far. Great story!

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Jul 07, 2016 Paulo Goulart rated it really liked it

Shelves: aventura

Liked the structure, the parallel "stories" joining towards the end... And, as always, good action! ...more

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Aug 03, 2020 Casey Carlisle rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure

Misogynistic. Sexist. Discrimination. Transphobic. So many times I nearly threw up in my mouth. I figured ‘Iceberg’ as the only one of Clive Cussler’s early works as being problematic in this matter of insensitivity. But ‘Vixen 03’ is giving it a run for its money. Women are objectified just about every time they are in a scene. I hate to say it, but this was fairly typical of this James bond adventurer genre in the 70's. So I shouldn't be surprised. Thankfully Clive Cussler evolved as a writer Misogynistic. Sexist. Discrimination. Transphobic. So many times I nearly threw up in my mouth. I figured ‘Iceberg’ as the only one of Clive Cussler’s early works as being problematic in this matter of insensitivity. But ‘Vixen 03’ is giving it a run for its money. Women are objectified just about every time they are in a scene. I hate to say it, but this was fairly typical of this James bond adventurer genre in the 70's. So I shouldn't be surprised. Thankfully Clive Cussler evolved as a writer and this kind of writing is left in the past where it belongs.

This was the first novel I read after the news of Cussler’s passing, and I wish it had done a better in service of his legacy. I was really disappointed and searched for some redeeming qualities. ‘Vixen 03’ deals with themes of racism, nationalism, terrorism, and international espionage. And the premise sounds interesting, as do all of Clive Cussler’s novels. They promise adventure, action and intrigue. But to be honest this left the taste of disgust in my mouth.

The pacing terribly slow with frequent tangents around non-essential topics to the plot. So much time is spent building the South African contingent part of the story that Dirk Pitt was featured in less than half of the story. This did not feel like a Dirk Pitt novel, more like he swooped in at the end to resolve the mystery.

The plot itself is a good one, there are plenty of red herrings, heroics and a massively woven web of intertwined actions boiling down to a single event. If it weren’t for all of the inappropriate representation, I would have really enjoyed this fare.

‘Vixen 03’ was not the Dirk Pitt I’ve come to appreciate. He felt very one-toned. An un-killable saviour, putting his life on the line to save the world (*cough-America-cough*) I would have liked some nuance outside of all this male bravado. Thank goodness I know it gets better in later volumes of this franchise – a bit campier and stereotypical – but better and more entertaining.

The whole reading experience was marred by old-fashioned, politically incorrect attitudes.

I recommend you skip this one.
...more

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Jan 02, 2020 JP rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2020, listened-to

Vixen 03 was a surprisingly good listen. From the reviews, I expected something far worse. It's Pitt to the core, with crazy action scenes, ocean (more lake really) salvage, weird ships where they shouldn't be, and Pitt getting himself mixed up in situations he has no reason to be involved in. Oh, and a sprinkling of racism and misogyny. At least it's getting better?

Plotwise, the story of the doomed Vixen 03, it's discovery, and the involved salvage mission is the best part of the book. The fin ...more

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Goodreads Librari...: page count is missing	2	10	Apr 08, 2020 02:51PM
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SSG: Spy/Spec-Ops...: How well do you know your military transport helicopters?	7	11	Sep 07, 2016 02:23PM

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About Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler

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Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt, in 1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York, considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997. It was the first time Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt, in 1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York, considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997. It was the first time since the College was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed.

Cussler was an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship, Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea.

In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler was also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic Society in London. He was honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration.

Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. His past international bestsellers include Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey and Black Wind (this last with his son, Dirk Cussler); the nonfiction books The Sea Hunters, The Sea Hunters II and Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed; the NUMA® Files novels Serpent, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death and Lost City (written with Paul Kemprecos); and the Oregon Files novels Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha (written with Craig Dirgo) and Dark Watch (written with Jack Du Brul).

Clive Cussler died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 24, 2020. ...more