Cussler, Clive
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1931-2020) US author, some titles in whose Dirk Pitt sequence of Technothrillers are of sf interest, beginning with The Mediterranean Caper (1973; vt May Day 1981). Supremely competent, irresistible to women, slightly sadistic, the James Bond-like Pitt is Special Projects Director for the (fictional) American National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), which engages in spectacular underwater salvage operations involving exotic technologies, frequently deployed Under the Sea. Some of the more interestingly sf-like titles include Raise the Titanic! (1976), filmed as Raise the Titanic! (1980) directed by Jerry Jameson (see Titanic), Vixen 03 (1978), which deals with the hunt for a "Doomsday virus", Pacific Vortex! (1983), which features human divers with artificial gills, Cyclops (1986), in which a secret Moon colony figures, Treasure (1988), a tale of Near-Future political manoeuvrings, Dragon (1990), Sahara (1992), Inca Gold (1994), Shock Wave (1996), set partly in a mysterious tropical-Island Keep deep in the Pacific, whose owners are responsible for a diamond-mining Technology which emits a sound-pulse fatal to animals and humans within a wide radius, and Atlantis Found (1999). But all titles contain some element of the fantastic.
An associated sequence, the Kirt Austin books written with Paul Kemprecos, features a very similar (though younger) near-Superhero protagonist, who is also a member of NUMA. Of these books, the most interesting in sf terms may be Lost City (2004) with Paul Kemprecos (1968- ), featuring a several-thousand-year old Secret Master family of arms dealers whose members are on a long Immortality hunt, hints of an Atlantis-like Lost World at the bottom of the Atlantic, where a life-prolonging enzyme is discovered, and environmental disaster (in Cussler's work, Ecological Disasters are normally threatened by foreigners plotting against America). The Oregon Files sequence, written initially with Craig Dirgo and subsequently with Jack Du Brul, is similar but less complexly plotted.
It cannot be denied that Cussler's simply-conceived patriotism, as expressed in almost all of his novels, gave a somewhat twentieth-century tone to his work; on the whole he seemed to make relatively little adjustment to a more complex world as the new century continued. [NT/JC]
Clive Eric Cussler
born Aurora, Illinois: 15 July 1931
died Scottsdale, Arizona: 24 February 2020
works (selected)
series
Dirk Pitt
- The Mediterranean Caper (New York: Pyramid Books, 1973) [Dirk Pitt: pb/Paul Bacon]
- May Day (London: Sphere Books, 1981) [vt of the above: Dirk Pitt: pb/]
- Iceberg (New York: Dodd, Mead, 1975) [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Raise the Titanic! (New York: Viking, 1976) [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Vixen 03 (New York: Viking, 1978) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Lou Feck]
- Night Probe! (New York: Bantam Books, 1981) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Lou Feck]
- Pacific Vortex!: The First Dirk Pitt Adventure (New York: Bantam Books, 1983) [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Deep Six (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Cyclops (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Treasure (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Dragon (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Sahara (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Inca Gold (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Shock Wave (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Flood Tide (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Two Complete Novels (New York: Wing Books, 2001) [omni of the above plus Cyclops: hb/]
- Atlantis Found (New York: G P Putnam, 1999) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Lawrence Ratzkin]
- Valhalla Rising (New York: G P Putnam, 2001) [Dirk Pitt: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Trojan Odyssey (New York: G P Putnam, 2003) [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Black Wind (New York: G P Putnam, 2004) with Dirk Cussler [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Treasure of Khan (New York: G P Putnam, 2006) with Dirk Cussler [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Arctic Drift (New York: G P Putnam, 2008) with Dirk Cussler [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Crescent Dawn (New York: G P Putnam, 2010) with Dirk Cussler [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Poseidon's Arrow (New York: G P Putnam, 2012) with Dirk Cussler [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Havana Storm (New York: G P Putnam, 2014) with Dirk Cussler [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Odessa Sea (New York: G P Putnam, 2016) with Dirk Cussler [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
- Celtic Empire (New York: G P Putnam, 2019) with Dirk Cussler [Dirk Pitt: hb/]
Kurt Austin/NUMA Files
- Serpent: A Novel from the NUMA Files (New York: Pocket Books, 1999) [Kurt Austin/NUMA Files: pb/Paul Bacon]
- Blue Gold: A Novel from the NUMA Files (New York: Pocket Books, 2000) [Kurt Austin/NUMA Files: pb/]
- Fire Ice (New York: G P Putnam, 2002) with Paul Kemprecos [Kurt Austin/NUMA Files: hb/]
- White Death (New York: G P Putnam, 2003) with Paul Kemprecos [Kurt Austin/NUMA Files: hb/Paul Bacon]
- Lost City (New York: G P Putnam, 2004) with Paul Kemprecos [Kurt Austin/NUMA Files: hb/]
- Polar Shift (New York: G P Putnam, 2005) with Paul Kemprecos [Kurt Austin/NUMA Files: hb/]
- The Rising Sea (New York: G P Putnam, 2018) [Kurt Austin/NUMA Files: hb/Mike Heath]
Oregon Files
- Golden Buddha (New York: Berkley Books, 2003) with Craig Dirgo [Oregon Files: pb/]
- Sacred Stone (New York: Berkley Books, 2004) with Craig Dirgo [Oregon Files: pb/]
- Dark Watch (New York: Berkley Books, 2005) with Jack Du Brul [Oregon Files: pb/]
- Skeleton Coast: A Novel of the Oregon Files (New York: Berkley Books, 2006) with Jack Du Brul [Oregon Files: pb/]
- Plague Ship: A Novel from the Oregon Files (New York: G P Putnam, 2008) with Jack Du Brul [Oregon Files: hb/]
- Corsair: A Novel from the Oregon Files (New York: G P Putnam, 2009) with Jack Du Brul [Oregon Files: hb/]
- The Silent Sea: A Novel from the Oregon Files (New York: G P Putnam, 2010) with Jack Du Brul [Oregon Files: hb/]
- The Jungle: A Novel from the Oregon Files (New York: G P Putnam, 2011) with Jack Du Brul [Oregon Files: hb/]
- Mirage: A Novel from the Oregon Files (New York: G P Putnam, 2013) with Jack Du Brul [Oregon Files: hb/]
individual titles
- The Adventures of Vin Fiz (New York: Philomel, 2006) [hb/]
links
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