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Isaac Bell #1
The Chase
For decades, Clive Cussler has been delighting readers with novels filled with suspense, action, and sheer audacity. Now he does it again, in one of the wildest, most entertaining historical thrillers in years.
April 1950: The rusting hulk of a steam locomotive rises from the deep waters of a Montana lake. Inside is all that remains of three men who died forty-four years before. But it is not the engine or its grisly contents that interest the people watching nearby. It is what is about to come next . . .
1906: For two years, the western states of America have been suffering an extraordinary crime spree: a string of bank robberies by a single man who cold- bloodedly murders any and all witnesses and then vanishes without a trace. Fed up by the depredations of the "Butcher Bandit," the U.S. government brings in the best man they can find-a tall, lean, no-nonsense detective named Isaac Bell, who has caught thieves and killers coast to coast. But Bell has never had a challenge like this one. From Arizona to Colorado to the streets of San Francisco during its calamitous earthquake and fire, he pursues what is quickly becoming clear to him is the sharpest criminal mind he has ever encountered, and the woman who seems to hold the key to the bandit's identity.
Using science, deduction, and intuition, Bell repeatedly draws near only to grasp at thin air, but at least he knows his pursuit is having an effect. Because his quarry is getting angry now, and has turned the chase back on him. The hunter has become the hunted. And soon it will take all of Isaac Bell's skills not merely to prevail . . . but to survive.
April 1950: The rusting hulk of a steam locomotive rises from the deep waters of a Montana lake. Inside is all that remains of three men who died forty-four years before. But it is not the engine or its grisly contents that interest the people watching nearby. It is what is about to come next . . .
1906: For two years, the western states of America have been suffering an extraordinary crime spree: a string of bank robberies by a single man who cold- bloodedly murders any and all witnesses and then vanishes without a trace. Fed up by the depredations of the "Butcher Bandit," the U.S. government brings in the best man they can find-a tall, lean, no-nonsense detective named Isaac Bell, who has caught thieves and killers coast to coast. But Bell has never had a challenge like this one. From Arizona to Colorado to the streets of San Francisco during its calamitous earthquake and fire, he pursues what is quickly becoming clear to him is the sharpest criminal mind he has ever encountered, and the woman who seems to hold the key to the bandit's identity.
Using science, deduction, and intuition, Bell repeatedly draws near only to grasp at thin air, but at least he knows his pursuit is having an effect. Because his quarry is getting angry now, and has turned the chase back on him. The hunter has become the hunted. And soon it will take all of Isaac Bell's skills not merely to prevail . . . but to survive.
404 pages, Hardcover
First published November 6, 2007
About the author
Clive Cussler
782 books8,737 followersCussler 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 19, 2018
Was soll ich sagen.
Zuerst das Positive.
- Es liest sich flüssig.
- Der Autor hat ein ungemeines Wissen über den Stand der Technik dieser Zeit. Und auch über deren Anwendung.
- Die Idee, welche der Geschichte zugrunde liegt ist voll Potenzial - Krimi/Aktion/Historisch/Detektiv aber die Umsetzung hat mich nicht überzeugt.
Und das liegt vor allem am:
- Hauptcharakter. Isaak Bell ist super Reich, extrem Gut aussehend, ungemein klever, Besitzt 2 Autos (einen Preisgekrönten Rennwagen) und ein Motorrad, ein sehr guter Schütze....und so platt das es schwer in Worte zu fassen ist. Für mich verlor er von Seite zu Seite mehr an Sympathie - und leider waren auch die anderen Charaktere nicht 'farbig' genug um mich mit Begeisterung durch die Geschichte zu tragen.
Kurzweilig: ja
Aber ein zweiter Buch kommt für mich wohl nur bei starker Langeweile in Frage.
Zuerst das Positive.
- Es liest sich flüssig.
- Der Autor hat ein ungemeines Wissen über den Stand der Technik dieser Zeit. Und auch über deren Anwendung.
- Die Idee, welche der Geschichte zugrunde liegt ist voll Potenzial - Krimi/Aktion/Historisch/Detektiv aber die Umsetzung hat mich nicht überzeugt.
Und das liegt vor allem am:
- Hauptcharakter. Isaak Bell ist super Reich, extrem Gut aussehend, ungemein klever, Besitzt 2 Autos (einen Preisgekrönten Rennwagen) und ein Motorrad, ein sehr guter Schütze....und so platt das es schwer in Worte zu fassen ist. Für mich verlor er von Seite zu Seite mehr an Sympathie - und leider waren auch die anderen Charaktere nicht 'farbig' genug um mich mit Begeisterung durch die Geschichte zu tragen.
Kurzweilig: ja
Aber ein zweiter Buch kommt für mich wohl nur bei starker Langeweile in Frage.
September 23, 2018
Ich hab das Buch auf Seite 122 abgebrochen. Gefühlt ist nichts passiert und es interessiert mich auch nicht, was noch passiert
January 13, 2014
Das war mal etwas anderes von Clive Cussler. Nicht der typische maritime Abenteuerroman, sondern spielt Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts. Ich bin gerade fan von der Isaac-Bell-Serie geworden. Well done, Mr. Cussler. Er ist nicht ohne Grund mein absoluter Lieblingsautor.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews