Night Probe! by Clive Cussler Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Night Probe!
Book Review: A High Stakes Rocketing Ride!
Summary: 5 Stars
1914: United States undersecretary of state, Richard Essex, is traveling on the Manhattan Limited Train. With him is one of three copies of the North American Treaty. A document few government officials know about which will have an insurmountable effect on the future of the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. Meanwhile, on the very same evening and halfway across the world, Harvey Shields, deputy secretary of the British Foreign Office, carries a copy of the treaty with him while sailing on a ship called the Empress of Ireland. Coincidentally, the train carrying Richard Essex plunges through a gap in a bridge and sinks in the Hudson River, and the ship with Harvey Shields aboard collides with a coal collier and sinks in the St. Lawrence River. Neither man's corpse is recovered and the two copies of the treaty are gone with them. Canada's prime minister has the third copy, but since the treaty is not favorable to the Canadian's he destroys it. The matter is laid to rest. The North American Treaty is never to be. Those few officials who know of the pact keep their silence and the world never knows how close we came to rewriting history.1989: U.S. naval commander, Heidi Milligan, is writing a thesis when she comes across a letter written by Woodrow Wilson referring to the North American Treaty. Curious, she probes into the matter and discovers that even the most expert historians have no knowledge of any North American Treaty. When the word leaks out about Heidi's investigation, the U.S. and Great Britain do some detective work of their own and are stunned to learn that the treaty was indeed real. If a copy could be found, it would be valid even after seventy-five years. The United States would profit greatly from it but Great Britain would lose.
Could an intact copy of the treaty be found underwater after all these years? Call in Dirk Pitt, director of special projects for the National Underwater Marine Agency. Dirk and his men take on the task of attempting to recover the treaty for the U.S. despite the remote probability of finding it. Great Britain, on the other hand, wants to find it first so they can destroy it, rendering it useless to the U.S. Brian Shaw, a retired top-notch spy is hired to lead the British crew on their search. The race begins!
Cussler has put together a superb tale of mystery, espionage, history, and adventure. The action is non-stop as Dirk and his men battle it out underwater, on the ground, and in the air with British enemies. Expect lots of nail-biting tension as the plot twists and turns at an unrelenting pace. The surprise outcome will leave you breathless, shocked, and undoubtedly running back to the bookstore to purchase your next Dirk Pitt adventure.
Book Review: A gripping combination of action and international intrigue.
Summary: 5 Stars
Many brilliantly organized chains of events all converge in the explosive climax of Night Probe!, leaving the reader's heart pounding and forehead glistening with sweat. I couldn't put the book down. The creative but plausible scenario makes the plot frighteningly believable. Although the ending is somewhat different personally for Dirk Pitt, its an interesting decision that his heart forces him to make and makes for variety in Cussler's novels. Overall, a very great book.Book Review: A little too weird for me
Summary: 3 Stars
Night Probe! by Clive Cussler is a Dirk Pitt novel that was a very readable story. However the book was just a little too weird for me. The storyline involved several conspiracies that were just not plausable.
The story involves Dirk Pitt looking for the North American Treaty. Only 3 copies existed in the world and they were lost. One on a sunken ship, one on a missing train and one that was destroyed. Dirk Pitt must find this treaty in this book.
To make matters a little more interesting this treaty sold Canada to the US.
The book is a nice relaxing novel to read, but certainly not Cussler's best.
Book Review: A massive waste of my time
Summary: 1 Stars
I've always been fond of Clive Cussler books, although his more recent ones have had me groaning a lot because he keeps appearing in them as himself, never a good thing for any author.
Nightprobe, however, is his one duff effort. The concept of Great Britain signing Canada over to the US is so implausible that I actually laughed - no British Government would have done such a thing, especially as the War was supposed to be over "by Christmas", according to popular wisdom.
And given the fact that the US entered the war three years after the fictional treaty was signed, that would kind of make it obvious that the terms had not been adhered to. So why, after 70-odd years, would the treaty still be valid?
The other thing which increasingly irritated me is the fact that Cussler seems to have had no idea as to how the Empire worked. Britain couldn't have signed Canada away because it didn't own it - the Dominion of Canada had its own Government, as did Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. And the thought of George V signing Canada away is so laughable that it's totally implausible. Cussler seems to have had the notion that what London said the Colonies followed. Well, times had changed.
Read this book if you want a lesson on a silly plotline.
Book Review: A real page-turner despite some predictabilities
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading six Clive Cussler books, I still think that "Cyclops" is his best work. However, "Night Probe!" is a close second. My favourite part of Dirk Pitt's adventures is his underwater explorations. "Night Probe!" had several. These adventures made this book a real page-turner. There were several predictable outcomes that emerged throughout the story, but none of them took away the story's impact. If you haven't read "Night Probe!" yet, I suggest you read no further. I don't want to reveal parts of the story to those who haven't read it yet.......There were really only two things that I disliked about the book. One involves the love affair between Danielle (the Canadian Prime Minister's wife) and Villon. We discover halfway through the story that Villon's partner, Foss Gly, impersonates Villon and begins his own love affair with Danielle. Yet it never occurs to her that she was making love to two different men. Come on! Even if their faces looked identical, how could the rest of their bodies look the same, let alone their personalities. I couldn't help but shake my head at this improbable reality. If there was one part of the book that surprised me, it was the ending. I didn't think that any of the three copies of the North American Treaty would ever be found. I was surprised to see that the treaty in the train was found and in good shape. Being a Canadian, I found it very unsettling to hear of the U.S. President's plans to join Canada with the U.S. and have a "United States of Canada". No offense, my fellow American neighbours, but Canada should stand alone. Despite this personal grievance, it did not deter me from thoroughly enjoying "Night Probe!" What a great read.