#9 Arctic Drift, by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler (Penguin Group)

One’s to do with horse-racing, and the other’s to do with maritime-based events – but both Even Money and Arctic Drift generate very similar reviews. I enjoyed books by both authors in my younger days, both authors have sold millions, both authors are now assisted by their sons and both novels are nowhere near as good as they should be, or as I remember previous books of their ilk.

It’s hard to criticise the good intentions of the plot of Arctic Drift – a thriller based on the need to avert global warming, a discovery of a rare mineral crucial to a solution and the requirement for some action man-type heroics by the leading man, a certain Dirk Pitt, a blend of James Bond and Poseiden, but even more handsome.

The problem is that I’ve read it all before. Sometimes, such familiarity is a blessing, a comforting dressing gown you can shrug on and in which you can instantly relax. At other times, it’s like an irritable scarf, which seems to be getting ever tighter, restricting your movement and stifling your growth.

Cussler regularly inserts himself in his novels, by calling a character by his own name, who usually comes to the aid of Pitt in a time of need to defy death. Apparently, on the first occasion he did this, it was meant as a joke and he expected it to be edited out, but it was left in and grows more annoying by the book.

The novel itself is one-paced, obvious (anything that happens or is discovered will turn out to be crucial 100 pages later) and any twists and turns are telegraphed well in advance. But if you like megalomaniacal villains, larger than life heroes with a generous helping of historically accurate shipwrecks, this is certainly for you.

In some ways, the story behind the book is more interesting. The agency to which Pitt belongs in the book, the National Underwater and Marine Agency, was actually founded by Cussler and has made a number of important discoveries, and I suppose if the books help fund such an organisation, who am I to moan?

So, rating time:

#9 Arctic Drift, by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler (Penguin Group) - 5/10

Next up: Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin (Corgi Books)

Click here for the full list of books so far, and their rating