Helpful Score: 2
I found this entry in the Isaac Bell series to be a little disappointing after really enjoying the first 3 books - especially "The Wrecker." I thought the characters in "The Race" were not very well developed and the plot was somewhat lacking. Although Cussler and Scott gave a lot of detail about aeronautics in the early days of flying, the thrill of being able to fly in these early days did not really come across. Some of the terminology that was used also got to be a little repetitive including the term "mechanician" instead of "mechanic." This is probably the correct terminology used in 1910 but it got to be a little annoying. Also, I didn't think Isaac Bell used his deductive reasoning very well in this story -- I would think he would have been able to easily see through the disguise of Marco Celere. Anyway, I still enjoy the Bell series and will probably read the next one when it comes out.
Here is Book 4 in the Isaac Bell series. The Van Dorn Detective Agency takes on an unusual job as a Protective Detail for a contestant in a cross country air race. Unusual, because the year is 1910, and the detective agency is usually solving crimes not protecting celebrities. But soon he will be dealing with murder, fraud, sabotage and much more.
Clive Cussler and Justin Scott have done a good job in taking us back to the turn of the last century where the people were a bit more naive, the English language used differently, and the struggles to move from place to place a difficult process. This time the authors let Bell "spread his wings" and buy his own monoplane.
The story itself is just a tad long and includes a large cast of ever-changing characters. However, the plot twists, while not complex, help to carry the reader through the entire race.
While the CD version allowed you to enjoy the many voices of Scott Brick, the book instead offers a number of nice illustrations by Roland Dahlquist as you enter new sections of the book.
Overall, I give this book 3 of 5 stars.
Clive Cussler and Justin Scott have done a good job in taking us back to the turn of the last century where the people were a bit more naive, the English language used differently, and the struggles to move from place to place a difficult process. This time the authors let Bell "spread his wings" and buy his own monoplane.
The story itself is just a tad long and includes a large cast of ever-changing characters. However, the plot twists, while not complex, help to carry the reader through the entire race.
While the CD version allowed you to enjoy the many voices of Scott Brick, the book instead offers a number of nice illustrations by Roland Dahlquist as you enter new sections of the book.
Overall, I give this book 3 of 5 stars.
Here's a twist in the Isaac Bell series by Clive Cussler. The race is exciting and non-stop (no pun intended) and will keep you turning the pages quickly. Enjoy this dip into history with Isaac Bell. You'll be anxiously awaiting the next book in this series.
Get ready for a fast book
What the author(s) do with this series: Clive Cussler and Justin Scott know how to write a book. This is part of the series called the Isaac Bell Adventures. This paragraph applies to all books in this series. Isaac is an investigator for a private firm who's motto is that the always get their man The books are set in the early 1900's and are based on the author's fascination with the leading technologies of the time â things like fast (by their standards) trains, automobiles and ships. New technologies are introduced like aeroplanes and talking pictures. Depending on the book, many of the social issues of the day are woven into the story such as strikes and strike breakers, gangs running businesses, stock speculators and manipulators as well as later in the series the storm clouds of what will become World War I. The author is skilled at bringing in the details of how society works in that era, such as how beef makes it to NYC, or how different strata of society operate in SFO
Do you need to read this series in order: Probably not, but I think you will miss out on the character development of the protagonist and his lady friend.
Triggers: there is an ample supply of violence, people die, from violence (fires, gun shots, bombs, crashes, knives, beatings, accidents). Some of the violence is directed at kids. In this story there is domestic violence â spousal abuse.
One would think that all that detail would make it a slow read, but that is not the case. The pages fly by, our erstwhile detective, Isaac Bell, is âon the jumpâ all the time. It's a super-fast story line, there is one crisis after another, one more bad guy to conquer and one more good guy to save. This isn't a bad thing at all, but sometimes as the reader you have to take a breath.
The race is about an airplane race across the country. In the background, the author describes all these towns and places and it's nice to see the contrast with the developed cities with the rural areas. The story is chock full of bad guys wanting to sabotage the flying machines, a love story of sorts and spurned lovers.
What the author(s) do with this series: Clive Cussler and Justin Scott know how to write a book. This is part of the series called the Isaac Bell Adventures. This paragraph applies to all books in this series. Isaac is an investigator for a private firm who's motto is that the always get their man The books are set in the early 1900's and are based on the author's fascination with the leading technologies of the time â things like fast (by their standards) trains, automobiles and ships. New technologies are introduced like aeroplanes and talking pictures. Depending on the book, many of the social issues of the day are woven into the story such as strikes and strike breakers, gangs running businesses, stock speculators and manipulators as well as later in the series the storm clouds of what will become World War I. The author is skilled at bringing in the details of how society works in that era, such as how beef makes it to NYC, or how different strata of society operate in SFO
Do you need to read this series in order: Probably not, but I think you will miss out on the character development of the protagonist and his lady friend.
Triggers: there is an ample supply of violence, people die, from violence (fires, gun shots, bombs, crashes, knives, beatings, accidents). Some of the violence is directed at kids. In this story there is domestic violence â spousal abuse.
One would think that all that detail would make it a slow read, but that is not the case. The pages fly by, our erstwhile detective, Isaac Bell, is âon the jumpâ all the time. It's a super-fast story line, there is one crisis after another, one more bad guy to conquer and one more good guy to save. This isn't a bad thing at all, but sometimes as the reader you have to take a breath.
The race is about an airplane race across the country. In the background, the author describes all these towns and places and it's nice to see the contrast with the developed cities with the rural areas. The story is chock full of bad guys wanting to sabotage the flying machines, a love story of sorts and spurned lovers.
