Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collections
Publication
New York Pocket 1994
Description
An action-filled chase through the Amazon jungle for 16th Century Spanish treasure. Joining in the pursuit are Dirk Pitt, the hero, his congresswoman girlfriend, the FBI, the Customs Service, archaeologists, a tribe of local Indians, smugglers and various thieves. There's plenty of treasure for everyone, the gold requiring 200 men just to lift.
User reviews
LibraryThing member gschattgen
I enjoy reading books that are adventure and move around the world showing different perspectives of peoples and cultures. Clive Cussler has written numerous books about the National Underwater Marine Association (NUMA) that have given me these perspectives.
I like how Cussler tells a story of some
Inca Gold is an excellent example of a classic Cussler book. In Inca Gold the plot takes place all over the world, sharing in the cultures from South American to European countries. I like that Cussler does not create random trouble for the characters of his books, instead he uses real time problems and increases the awareness of what they are. Like in Inca Gold there is a massive artifact smuggling organization that is trying to get their hands on billions of dollars worth of gold that an ancient Incan king hid when he learned that his brother was plotting to execute him. I like that Cussler can create a very realistic book without over-doing the details.
I am entertained by the style that Cussler uses to make his writing seem realistic but it is clearly unreal as the stories pop out. The style that he writes makes it easier for me to read more difficult books and makes comprehension of other writing come faster and smoother. I have read many of Cussler’s books and have enjoyed them all. All the other series, that I have read stop after three or four books with the main character dying or the author not wanting to write that story anymore. I like that the Dirk Pitt series just keeps going and he keeps reappearing. The adventure continues and the story is always a new untold tail. Another thing that I like about Cussler’s writing is that a lot of his stories are based on something that he has done in his life time. In his stories Dirk Pitt has a collection of antique cars and he gets a new one in every book. Cussler also has an antique car collection and the cars that are in the stories are cars that he has or has recently acquired. Cussler also bases the artifacts and locations of his stories off of what he does in NUMA, an organization that he created and is run primarily from the proceeds of the books he sells.
I like how Cussler can mix old relics with current time and make it all into one big adventure story. He can take an object from the past, anything from ancient Native American treasure maps to old atomic bombs and tie it into a story that has vivid descriptions of what is going on in the world at the time and how it all ties together.
When I read I like to get a feel for who is telling the story, where the story is going, and how I think it will end. With this I can begin to grasp how other cultures live and what they do to survive, along with some of the more important customs.
I like how Cussler tells a story of some
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past relic or artifact that will come to affect how the story will progress and what topics will be shared. I enjoy reading the intertwining stories that have the history in them and somehow always end up in the same place in the end. I like how Cussler describes his characters and how he makes them seem life like. It seems like you can actually have a conversation with them. In his books he often includes himself as a random character that will tell a story or be part of a race. I find it fascinating to picture Cussler and his main character Dirk Pitt having a conversation where Pitt has always seen Cussler before, but can never put a name to his face.Inca Gold is an excellent example of a classic Cussler book. In Inca Gold the plot takes place all over the world, sharing in the cultures from South American to European countries. I like that Cussler does not create random trouble for the characters of his books, instead he uses real time problems and increases the awareness of what they are. Like in Inca Gold there is a massive artifact smuggling organization that is trying to get their hands on billions of dollars worth of gold that an ancient Incan king hid when he learned that his brother was plotting to execute him. I like that Cussler can create a very realistic book without over-doing the details.
I am entertained by the style that Cussler uses to make his writing seem realistic but it is clearly unreal as the stories pop out. The style that he writes makes it easier for me to read more difficult books and makes comprehension of other writing come faster and smoother. I have read many of Cussler’s books and have enjoyed them all. All the other series, that I have read stop after three or four books with the main character dying or the author not wanting to write that story anymore. I like that the Dirk Pitt series just keeps going and he keeps reappearing. The adventure continues and the story is always a new untold tail. Another thing that I like about Cussler’s writing is that a lot of his stories are based on something that he has done in his life time. In his stories Dirk Pitt has a collection of antique cars and he gets a new one in every book. Cussler also has an antique car collection and the cars that are in the stories are cars that he has or has recently acquired. Cussler also bases the artifacts and locations of his stories off of what he does in NUMA, an organization that he created and is run primarily from the proceeds of the books he sells.
I like how Cussler can mix old relics with current time and make it all into one big adventure story. He can take an object from the past, anything from ancient Native American treasure maps to old atomic bombs and tie it into a story that has vivid descriptions of what is going on in the world at the time and how it all ties together.
When I read I like to get a feel for who is telling the story, where the story is going, and how I think it will end. With this I can begin to grasp how other cultures live and what they do to survive, along with some of the more important customs.
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LibraryThing member corgidog2
A good, not-too-involved read about archaeology and art thefts (of ancient civilations in Mexico).
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Pretty much classic Dirk Pitt adventure.
There is little substance and a high degree of unbelivability. Thin characters, typically evil bad guys with no remorse -and an inability to shoot prisoners when it would be sensible to do so, little cunning etc etc. I also really hate the little CC cameos
However it's also a fun read. There are few descriptive passsages, the action flows smoothly from one page to the next.
Dirk Pitt is one of those quintasenual heros, lives life to the pull faces every danger with curiosity enjoys fine wine / food / vehicles /women whenever the plot permits and rashly risks his own life to save innocents the rest of the time.
On this occasion he happens to be in the area when a mayday call goes out fro two archeologists trapped in a sinkhole in Peru. Pitt braves the murky depths, rescues the lost, but has to make his own way out because just as it was his turn the bad guys turn up.
One of Cussler's occasional narrative errors occurs here - although Pitt has previously been able to climb sheer walls this time he can't instead he manages to dig a belt buckle into solid rock as a piton? wihout a hammer? Maby Clive has confused Sandstone (soft) with Limestone (hard). Oh well it doesn't spoil the book.
Pitt then drives off the guards who've conveniently fallen asleep, fails to kill or capture then main bad guy and escapes with his rescued friends in the hellicopters that a whole company of mercenaries couldn't shoot down. Who needs belivability?
Subsiquent action takes place in Mexico as PItt and co hunt for the missing and hidden Peruvian treasure at the same time as the rest of gang he's just disrupted in Peru, unitl the big showdown in the underground cave.
As someone who has done a fair amount of caving, I found his cave descriptions somewhat poor - mostly there is too much light, you just don't get to see area underground - vision is restricted to the tunnel your light can throw. Too many pretty formations, and an unbelivably big river. Again it is all minor stuff, Clive could have got it right, but it wouldn't have made the book much better. The focus is on Pitt and how he overcomes all these challenges that life keeps throwing at him.
Enjoyable - particularly good for trains, airports etc anywhere you don't need ot think and do want to be distracted.
There is little substance and a high degree of unbelivability. Thin characters, typically evil bad guys with no remorse -and an inability to shoot prisoners when it would be sensible to do so, little cunning etc etc. I also really hate the little CC cameos
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that he slips into just about every book. It's annoying.However it's also a fun read. There are few descriptive passsages, the action flows smoothly from one page to the next.
Dirk Pitt is one of those quintasenual heros, lives life to the pull faces every danger with curiosity enjoys fine wine / food / vehicles /women whenever the plot permits and rashly risks his own life to save innocents the rest of the time.
On this occasion he happens to be in the area when a mayday call goes out fro two archeologists trapped in a sinkhole in Peru. Pitt braves the murky depths, rescues the lost, but has to make his own way out because just as it was his turn the bad guys turn up.
One of Cussler's occasional narrative errors occurs here - although Pitt has previously been able to climb sheer walls this time he can't instead he manages to dig a belt buckle into solid rock as a piton? wihout a hammer? Maby Clive has confused Sandstone (soft) with Limestone (hard). Oh well it doesn't spoil the book.
Pitt then drives off the guards who've conveniently fallen asleep, fails to kill or capture then main bad guy and escapes with his rescued friends in the hellicopters that a whole company of mercenaries couldn't shoot down. Who needs belivability?
Subsiquent action takes place in Mexico as PItt and co hunt for the missing and hidden Peruvian treasure at the same time as the rest of gang he's just disrupted in Peru, unitl the big showdown in the underground cave.
As someone who has done a fair amount of caving, I found his cave descriptions somewhat poor - mostly there is too much light, you just don't get to see area underground - vision is restricted to the tunnel your light can throw. Too many pretty formations, and an unbelivably big river. Again it is all minor stuff, Clive could have got it right, but it wouldn't have made the book much better. The focus is on Pitt and how he overcomes all these challenges that life keeps throwing at him.
Enjoyable - particularly good for trains, airports etc anywhere you don't need ot think and do want to be distracted.
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LibraryThing member hannahbond
This book is another typical addition to the Dirk Pitt series. An enjoyable romp, but after a while the MANY close calls of the invincible Dirk Pitt become a little tiring. There are no real surprises here, except that Clive Cussler writes himself into a very small vignette as the owner operator of
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a derelict lunch stop near Cabo. Show Less
LibraryThing member okmliteracy7
Inca Gold is filled with fast-paced excitement, as Dirk Pitt races from the Andes to Mexico in order to stop a family of art stealers from getting their greedy hands on the largest treasure ever known. Also, the oceanography facts, and the comedy bits make it interesting the whole way
Adam S.
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through.Unpredictable, you never tire of of Pitt racing from one scene to the next, always laughing in the face of danger.Adam S.
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LibraryThing member df6b_mattW
I loved this book. I love the Dirk Pitt adventures. A really good all aruond book.
LibraryThing member SonicQuack
Inca Gold starts off with a sequence befitting a grand finale. The 150 page opening scene is unlike any other previous Cussler style and sets the scene for an epic treasure hunt. Dirk Pitt and the usual NUMA cast find themselves embroiled in race to unearth the Incan treasure before the shadowy and
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evil Zolans. It's all typical Cussler - however at some point Pitt has become almost unbreakable. Realism is stretched to a transparent layer as Pitt moves from one escape from death to the next, taking an incredible beating and never stopping. It's entertaining of course and Dirk Pitt fans will lap it up, however Inca Gold isn't the most gripping entry in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member lollypop917
This was an entertaining read and a nice diversion. I was given this book to read by my mother in-law along with several others by Clive Cussler. I am easily drawn in by anything with an archaeological or historical theme and this seemed to fit. This book remained well researched with a decent
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amount of over the top action to keep you interested. I'm sure I will be borrwing more from her as she purchases all of the Dirk Pitt books. Great for anyone who likes adventure books. Show Less
LibraryThing member deldevries
Another good story from Cussler. Starts in the 1400s and ends in Mexico on a mountain near the border with AZ.
LibraryThing member jpsnow
This was my first reading of a Cussler book, and now I recall what attracted me to buy it years ago. It's a suspenseful story, with plenty of historical and geological elements. Though the Dirk Pitt character is especially two-dimensional, the plot and history are rich enough to make this a better
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than average vacation read. Show Less
LibraryThing member christinejoseph
good we just returned from St. John — this reminded me of around the island + back at Cin. Bay
Nearly five centuries ago a fleet of boats landed mysteriously on an island in an inland sea. There, an ancient Andean people hid a golden hoard greater than that of any pharaoh, then they and their
Nearly five centuries ago a fleet of boats landed mysteriously on an island in an inland sea. There, an ancient Andean people hid a golden hoard greater than that of any pharaoh, then they and their
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treasure vanished into history -- until now. Show Less
LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
This book reminded me about what I like about Clive Cussler books. Everything: the adventure, cheesy romance, nuanced and thriller plot-line, gunfights, showdowns- it's all here. I was thoroughly intrigued by the story and what it held and some of the pieces of dialogue were especially fitting and
3.5 stars
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appealing to me. This is one of Cussler's finer books and is not one to be missed. Read up!3.5 stars
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LibraryThing member mattries37315
The vast amounts of gold the Inca possessed at the time of Pizarro is legendary, yet even as the Spaniards plundered the riches they began wondering if they had found everything. Inca Gold is the twelfth book in the Dirk Pitt series by Clive Cussler as the titular character and his ever faithful
In 1532 a fleet of ships sails in secret to an island in the middle of an inland sea. There they hide a magnificent treasure vaster than that any Pharaoh would ever possess. Then they disappear, leaving only a great stone demon to guard their hoard. In 1578 the legendary Sir Francis Drake captures a Spanish galleon filled with Inca gold and silver and the key to the lost treasure, which includes a gigantic chain of gold, a masterpiece of ancient technology so huge that it requires two hundred men to lift it and a large pile of diamonds worth more than 200 billion dollars that belonged to the last Inca. As the galleon is sailed by Drake's crew back to England, an underwater earthquake causes a massive tidal wave that sweeps it into the jungle. Only one man survives to tell the tale. In 1998 a group of archaeologists is nearly drowned while diving into the depths of a sacrificial pool high in the Andes of Peru. They are saved by the timely arrival of the renowned scuba diving hero Dirk Pitt, who is in the area on a marine expedition. Pitt soon finds out that his life has been placed in jeopardy as well by smugglers intent on uncovering the lost ancient Incan treasure. Soon, he, his faithful companions, and Dr. Shannon Kelsey, a beautiful young archaeologist, are plunged into a vicious, no-holds-barred struggle to survive. From then on it becomes a battle of wits in a race against time and danger to find the golden chain, as Pitt finds himself caught up in a struggle with a sinister international family syndicate that deal in stolen works of art, the smuggling of ancient artifacts, and art forgery worth many millions of dollars. The clash between the art thieves, the FBI and the Customs Service, a tribe of local Indians, and Pitt, along with his friends from NUMA, two of whom are captured and threatened with execution, rushes toward a wild climax in a subterranean world of darkness and death – for the real key to the mystery, as it turns out, is a previously unknown, unexplored underground river that runs through the ancient treasure chamber.
This is the book that originally got me into the Dirk Pitt series—via audiobook—and over twenty years later it very much holds up as a fun adventure yarn that keeps the pages turning. While the book isn’t perfect for various factors, the first being that the “main” antagonist went from being clever conman that kills when necessary to a raging would-be killer in one scene in the middle of the book that was jarring especially since his main henchman was already a wanton murderer who took pleasure in it. Cussler switches with his female “lead” with Dr. Kelsey being replaced mid-book with Pitt’s on-off flame Loren Smith, but for once Smith is fully fleshed out and not giving off damsel-in-distress vibe like previous books. The main positive of the book is that all the subplots are not only intriguing but have good characters like Billy Yuma that tie into the main plot as the book reaches its climax.
Inca Gold is the book I personally feel that the Dirk Pitt series began hitting its stride at least what I remember from the late-90s to the mid-00s. Clive Cussler mixes characters, plot, and action to create a real page-turning adventure that will make you take a look around for more of his titular character.
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friend Al Giordino begin their adventure with going on a rescue mission in the Andes only to end up needing rescue at the end in the Sea of Cortez.In 1532 a fleet of ships sails in secret to an island in the middle of an inland sea. There they hide a magnificent treasure vaster than that any Pharaoh would ever possess. Then they disappear, leaving only a great stone demon to guard their hoard. In 1578 the legendary Sir Francis Drake captures a Spanish galleon filled with Inca gold and silver and the key to the lost treasure, which includes a gigantic chain of gold, a masterpiece of ancient technology so huge that it requires two hundred men to lift it and a large pile of diamonds worth more than 200 billion dollars that belonged to the last Inca. As the galleon is sailed by Drake's crew back to England, an underwater earthquake causes a massive tidal wave that sweeps it into the jungle. Only one man survives to tell the tale. In 1998 a group of archaeologists is nearly drowned while diving into the depths of a sacrificial pool high in the Andes of Peru. They are saved by the timely arrival of the renowned scuba diving hero Dirk Pitt, who is in the area on a marine expedition. Pitt soon finds out that his life has been placed in jeopardy as well by smugglers intent on uncovering the lost ancient Incan treasure. Soon, he, his faithful companions, and Dr. Shannon Kelsey, a beautiful young archaeologist, are plunged into a vicious, no-holds-barred struggle to survive. From then on it becomes a battle of wits in a race against time and danger to find the golden chain, as Pitt finds himself caught up in a struggle with a sinister international family syndicate that deal in stolen works of art, the smuggling of ancient artifacts, and art forgery worth many millions of dollars. The clash between the art thieves, the FBI and the Customs Service, a tribe of local Indians, and Pitt, along with his friends from NUMA, two of whom are captured and threatened with execution, rushes toward a wild climax in a subterranean world of darkness and death – for the real key to the mystery, as it turns out, is a previously unknown, unexplored underground river that runs through the ancient treasure chamber.
This is the book that originally got me into the Dirk Pitt series—via audiobook—and over twenty years later it very much holds up as a fun adventure yarn that keeps the pages turning. While the book isn’t perfect for various factors, the first being that the “main” antagonist went from being clever conman that kills when necessary to a raging would-be killer in one scene in the middle of the book that was jarring especially since his main henchman was already a wanton murderer who took pleasure in it. Cussler switches with his female “lead” with Dr. Kelsey being replaced mid-book with Pitt’s on-off flame Loren Smith, but for once Smith is fully fleshed out and not giving off damsel-in-distress vibe like previous books. The main positive of the book is that all the subplots are not only intriguing but have good characters like Billy Yuma that tie into the main plot as the book reaches its climax.
Inca Gold is the book I personally feel that the Dirk Pitt series began hitting its stride at least what I remember from the late-90s to the mid-00s. Clive Cussler mixes characters, plot, and action to create a real page-turning adventure that will make you take a look around for more of his titular character.
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LibraryThing member buffalogr
Another good story from Cussler. The usual characters--Pitt, the Admiral, Pitt's gal pal Congressman, and sidekick Al. A good adventure story backed up with some amount of archaeological research into the Inca civilization. The audio was somewhat distracting at times, switching voices in mid
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sentence--it's almost like they patched over some rough spots in the original narration. Fun read without much concentration required...on to book #13. Show Less
LibraryThing member Huba.Library
Another good story from Cussler. The usual characters--Pitt, the Admiral, Pitt's gal pal Congressman, and sidekick Al. It is a good adventure story backed up by archaeological research into the Inca civilization. The audio was somewhat distracting at times, switching voices in mid-sentence--it's
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almost like they patched over some rough spots in the original narration. Fun read without much concentration required. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 1996)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1994-04
Physical description
577 p.; 17 cm
ISBN
0671898558 / 9780671898557
Other editions
Inca Gold by Clive Cussler (Paperback)