This is the first Clive Cussler novel published for the Dirk Pitt universe. I wish I could say that this novel stood the test of time, but it really does not. This is actually the second Dirk Pitt novel I've ever read and prior to this I've read "Pacific Vortex", which was a long unpublished first book which Cussler wasn't really interested in every publishing until overwhelming demand from fans asked for it. Between "The Mediterranean Caper" and the "Pacific Vortex" I can understand why Cussler was hesitant to ever publish that first Dirk Pitt book. "The Mediterranean Caper" is an all around better book, but, it is, horribly dated. As a result, I feel like I have quite a bit to say about this book that is both good and bad. 
 First off, Dirk Pitt is a character designed to fit an action adventure mold. It's interesting to see that he pre-dates the worlds beloved Indiana Jones and I feel like I see some influence with the Indy character taken from the realms of Dirk Pitt. However, the blending and writing of Indy's character made him quite likeable, Dirk Pitt is just a jerk in this novel. So, why did I keep reading? Well, I feel that Cussler was attempting to write a likeable character, one that enjoys life and the adventure of it, but the amateur nature of the writing made it difficult to convey this idea. Dirk Pitt seems like an attempt to blend the action elements of James Bond with the sleuth and intellectual elements of Sherlock Holmes. In fact, Sherlock Holmes gets referenced in this book, so I'm hardly surprised I felt an attempt to blend in that character. Dirk Pitt's character flaws aside, his general background feels fairly shoddy at times. On the one hand he seems to relish reading, research, and studying one moment, then makes fun of the "egghead" scientists for being bookish people. Then he also makes fun of others for not knowing some of the more obscure historical information he knows. I think Cussler was trying to make Dirk sound witty and fun, but that's not how it comes off. He comes off as an uncooperative arrogant jerk. To make matters worse, every time Dirk is asked a question he responds with some type of sarcasm of cynicism. This just got annoying after a while. Its not witty and its not fun. It just sounds stupid after a while and you wonder if Dirk is ever actually able to answer any questions. I realize this is a first book, but I really do hope Pitt's character gets smoothed out over time. 
 I feel like Cussler had an idea in his head of the types of characters he wanted to blend, but actually executing that wound up being rather difficult. He clearly wanted a James Bond action vibe with those sort of Super Villain connotations you get from Bond stories, but he also wanted things to be a bit more realistic and generate really fascinating mysteries as we read in Sherlock Holmes. To top it off, I feel that he really wanted to create the team-up that we got with Holmes and Watson. This is an idea I love, since the trope of one man against the world is overused quite a bit. This also sets up the fun loving banter you'd expect from long time friends and in these situations the witty or sarcastic replies are funny, but the fact that Pitt does them with everyone is cumbersome. 
 In attempting to blend these two types of characters together, we've been given an ending that feels way overdone. (view spoiler)[Cussler attempts to craft an ending that satisfies in both the Holmes and Bond classic ending. He blends the villain "tell all" ending, with the well crafted explanation of Holmes, which might be harder to make work than it seems. In crafting the mystery certain realizations to Pitt are left out, but become clear at the very end, which is a classic Holmes style in mystery solving. So, when we get to the end for the big reveal Pitt does a solid portion of the explaining. Unfortunately, he's stuck in the classic Bond situation where he is captured by the villain of the story. Holmes never really does this explanation until the villain is in custody, or privately to Watson. It is in the Bond style that the villain usually reveals his plot to the hero, but with Pitt, we have the other way around. (hide spoiler)] I don't know... that kind of blend for an ending just didn't feel convincing in the end. 
 The things I really like about Dirk Pitt is the interest in history and crafting some sort of alternate adventure out of what is historically known. This isn't too new, but its something that Indiana Jones really went after when writing those movies and stories. If Cussler can just harness Pitt as a more likeable and realistic human being these stories could really go a long way. I won't stop at this first novel, because I do want to see if the character grows better over time. 
 The other really unfortunate piece of this novel is how poorly written the single woman is in this book. I realize this is the 70's, but lets face it, sexism is pretty hard to stomach in 2014 for me. Thankfully, her character is not an integral part of this book, nor does she show up that often, because I just find myself embarrassed for reading something this horrible at times. For example, (view spoiler)[when Pitt finds himself on a beach and is approached by a strange women, they get to talking. She starts telling him about her life and how her husband had died years ago and she is still sad about it. This is his response to that situation: "He reached over and gave her a hard backhand slap across the face... 
 ...Why did you strike me?" she gasped. 
 'Because you needed it, needed it badly,' he snapped. "That torch you carry around is as worn out as overcoat. I'm surprised someone hasn't taken you over a knee and spanked it off. So your husband was dashing,. So what? He's dead and buried, and mourning over him for all these years won't resurrect him from the grave. Lock away his memory somewhere and forget him. You're a beautiful woman - you don't belong chained to a coffin full of bones. You belong to every man who turns and admires you as you pass by and who longs to possess you.' Pitt could see his words were penetrating her weak defenses. 'Now you think about it. It's your life. Don't throw it away and play 'Camille' until you're withered and gray.'" 
 What was the end result of this? They had sex on the beach! This happens by page 40, and it really had me worried about what this book would be like. Luckily that was the only sex had in the book and the rest was focused on the adventure. Not that I'm against sex in novels... but this kind of demoralizing approach to it is just sickening at best. (hide spoiler)] The way she is written is almost as if Cussler really missed the point of the sexual revolution. Rather than considering that in the context of social and civil rights, he seems to have interpreted it as women really want to have sex with lots of men and its up to the men to take them. I mean, later in the novel she shows up only wearing a negligee for a large portion of the book, running around on the boat full of scientists, because that is literally all she has to wear. Its almost infuriating to read at times. I can stomach a lot of Pitt's jerkiness, but it is tough to deal with the womanizing of the 70's. I truly hope Pitt becomes a more modern hero in the future...