Dirk Pitt Novel. The book opens in the early 1950's with an aircrew getting ready for a secret mission in a snow storm. The airplane crashes and is lost to history. Then we move to modern times where Dirk Pitt is on vacation with his girlfriend. While on vacation he finds the plane and wants to find out about the history of the plane. The book then looks at an anti-apartheid group that is fighting against South Africa's racist government. We then move on to see a plan the South Africans are putting into place to deal with the rebels. The climax of the book is Washington DC getting shelled by a battleship. I really love the history parts of the book. Those are my favorite parts. The suspense parts are good, but they are not as much my thing. Dirk Pitt, as always, seems invincible, but I still enjoyed the story. ( )

1954. Vixen 03 está caído. El avión, que se dirigía al Pacífico y transportaba treinta y seis bombas del fin del mundo, botes armados con gérmenes de muerte rápida de una potencia increíble, se desvanece. De hecho, Vixen se estrelló contra un lago cubierto de hielo en Colorado.
1988. Dirk Pitt descubre los restos del Vixen 03. Pero faltan dos botes mortales. Están en manos de un grupo terrorista. Su misión letal: navegar un acorazado setenta y cinco millas río arriba por el Potomac y volar Washington. Sólo Dirk puede detenerlos.

Januar 1954

[b:Vixen 03|41700|Vixen 03 (Dirk Pitt, #5)|Clive Cussler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1340904695s/41700.jpg|1272298] by [a:Clive Cussler|18411|Clive Cussler|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1225620641p2/18411.jpg]

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. ( )

[b:Vixen 03|41700|Vixen 03 (Dirk Pitt, #5)|Clive Cussler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1340904695l/41700._SY75_.jpg|1272298] 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 final conclusion with a retired battleship, retrofitted, and sailed up the Potomac to train their guns on Washington DC is ridiculous and would make an excellent blockbuster sequence. The plot about the African revolutionaries feels... rather racist and bizarre? I'm not actually sure, but it certainly feels very strange. That level of hatred between races and peoples is something that I thankfully have little personal experience with and felt odd in the story. It probably could have been traded out for any sort of terrorist group with little change to the plot.

Overall, a good book. Not quite as good as [b:Raise the Titanic!|41706|Raise the Titanic! (Dirk Pitt, #4)|Clive Cussler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439783780l/41706._SY75_.jpg|81973], but a fun listen nevertheless. ( )