Book Review – Clive Cussler’s “Iceberg”
Published back in 1975, Iceberg is the second of the successful Dirk Pitt series of books written by Clive Cussler.
Iceberg opens with a Coast Guard aircraft flying a routine iceberg patrol flight over the frigid waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean. The spotters notice that one of the icebergs has a peculiar look to it, so the pilots bring the aircraft down for a closer look. Upon closer examination they see that entombed within the massive floating piece of ice is a ship.
How the ship got there is anybody’s guess. The crew of the Coast Guard aircraft drop a red dye pack on the iceberg and report their discovery to their superiors.
Admiral James Sandecker, director of NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency), dispatches Dirk Pitt and Dr. Bill Hunnewell on a top-secret mission to the iceberg. Pitt is forced to lie to the commander of a Coast Guard ship, claiming that the ship entombed in the iceberg is a Soviet spy ship disguised as a fishing trawler. The Coast Guard commander cooperates, and Pitt and Hunnewell use the Coast Guard ship as a launching point to fly their helicopter to the iceberg.
In reality, Pitt and Hunnewell are searching for a luxury yacht named the Lax. The Lax was on its way on a top-secret mission to the White House when it mysteriously disappeared a year ago.
Finding the iceberg at sea turned out to be more of a challenge. Pitt and Hunnewell had the coordinates and knew roughly where to find the iceberg when factoring in the currents and wind direction. The problem was that the iceberg seemingly vanished. The two went on a wild goose chase before realizing that somebody beat them to the iceberg and removed the red dye from the ice.
Pitt finally landed his helicopter on the correct iceberg, and after entering the ship, they found a chilling discovery. Not only had somebody beat them there, but the entire inside of the ship was charred. A fire of some sort killed the entire crew. The odd thing was that the crew was still seated in their normal positions, as if none of them bothered to stand up and fight the fire.
It’s later revealed that the owner of the Lax, a billionaire named Kristjan Fyrie, had developed a new underwater probe. This probe was said to be able to scan the ocean floor from the surface and detect what minerals and metals were just beneath the floor, all without the need to drill. This type of equipment is priceless to drilling companies.
After investigating the iceberg, Pitt flies Hunnewell to Reykjavik, Iceland, as part of his mission. Upon nearing the coast of the island nation, Pitt’s helicopter is intercepted by an unmarked black jet. Somebody on the jet opens fire with a machine gun, damaging Pitt’s tiny helicopter. Pitt is able to maneuver and ultimately finds a way to crash his chopper into the jet, knocking both vehicles out of the sky. Fortunately the impact occurs close to sea level, and Pitt survives the incident. He’s able to drag Hunnewell’s critically wounded body to shore. Hunnewell soon dies just after reaching the shore. His last words were, “God save thee . . .”
Local residents try to help Dirk Pitt and take him to a clinic. While being treated, two mysterious men arrive, impersonating local law officers. The doctor informs Pitt that the men are lying, and together Pitt and the doctor fight back, beating the men before they have a chance to kill Pitt.
While on Iceland, Admiral Sandecker has Pitt investigate Kirsti Fyrie, a long-lost sister of Kristjan Fyrie and now owner of his mining companies. Pitt soon learns that Kirsti is engaged to Oskar Rondheim, a ruthless businessman who enjoys personally inflicting pain and suffering upon innocent people.
Pitt later learns of an organization known as Hermit Limited. This organization aims to take over and control most of Central and South America by secretly controlling the mining industries in the weaker countries. And the plan by Hermit Limited almost works, too.
By the end of the story we’re treated to several brutal scenes in Iceberg.
One example has people brutally disfigured to simulate being in a plane crash. Part of Hermit Limited’s plan involved kidnapping several of the world’s billionaires and leaders, and having them killed in an unfortunate “accident.” This is designed to distract countries and world leaders while the real plans are carried out and Hermit Limited begins seizing power. To simulate injuries from a plane crash, the victims were made unconscious before Oskar Rondheim went around and viciously broke their bones in the arms, legs, ankles, back, etc. The victims were then left to die of exposure in the frigid northern Iceland tundra before rescue teams could find and treat them.
Another gruesome scene occurs in the end of the novel when Dirk Pitt finally gets his man. Earlier in the book, Pitt had to stand there and take it as he was literally beaten to an inch of his life. Later he finally gets his chance for revenge and then some. While Oskar Rondheim is still alert and conscious, Pitt systematically stomps on and breaks each of his arms and legs, leaving him in excruciating pain while he’s finally arrested.
As a whole, Clive Cussler’s Iceberg was a rather short but interesting read. The premise for Hermit Limited seems sound, and the setting in Iceland was pretty neat. This story was rather intricate as it involved a long list of characters, making it more of a memory challenge to keep track of who was who in the story.
Another interesting point was the mid 1970s terminology when Dirk Pitt disguised himself as a homosexual painter in a few scenes. It seems like people were a lot more blunt back then and not afraid of using certain terms. Kirsti Fyrie’s secret also plays along with that theme.
On a side note, this is the only Dirk Pitt novel not to feature his sidekick, Al Giordino.
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This article was originally published at www.chamberofreviews.com on April 21, 2012.