Clive Cussler

Clive Cussler: Biography

Clive Cussler was born on July 15th, 1931. Clive passed away February 24th, 2020 at 88 years old. Clive Cussler was born in Aurora, Illinois, USA. Cussler attended Pasadena City College.

Clive Cussler was the author of the Dirk Pitt series which consists of 27 novels. The Dirk Pitt series started in 1973 with the novel The Mediterranean Caper / Mayday!. The most recently released novel in the Dirk Pitt series was The Corsican Shadow which was released in 2023. There are no upcoming novels for the Dirk Pitt series.

Clive Cussler also wrote the NUMA Files series which has 20 books including Serpent and Blue Gold.

Clive Cussler: Awards & Accolades

Clive Cussler won the International Thriller Writers Award, Thrillermaster, in 2006.

Clive Cussler books have been nominated for multiple awards, The Mediterranean Caper / Mayday! was nominated for the Edgar Award, Best Paperback Original, in 1974. Skeleton Coast was nominated for the International Thriller Writers Award, Best Original Paperback Novel, in 2007.

Clive Cussler: Lists & Other Mentions

• Flood Tide was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1997.
• Valhalla Rising was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2001.
• Polar Shift was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2005.
• The Gangster was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2016.
• The Rising Sea was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 2018.

Related Authors

The most common authors followed by users who also follow Clive Cussler are:

1. David Baldacci, author of the Amos Decker Series.
2. Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher Series.
3. Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.
4. John Grisham, author of the Jake Brigance Series.
5. James Patterson, author of the Women's Murder Club Series.

Clive Cussler: F.A.Q

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Edgar A.

2 years ago

Techno thriller has always been one of my favorite novels and the blockbusters novels of Clive Cussler has only heightened my passion for the genre.
I was first introduced to the author when I read Iceberg and The Mediterranean Caper which were pretty much traditional maritime thrillers. I feel that Cussler really came into his own with Raise the Titanic. The combination of high technology and high adventure that often involves sunken treasure, megalomaniacal villains, beautiful women and lost ships has made Clive one of those authors I can count on to deliver some thrilling stories.
Like Michael Crichton Cussler writes techno thrillers that are not set in military settings or make use of military plots. But where Cussler shines is that he makes use of outlandish plot devices and fantastic spectacles rather than scrupulous realism.
My favorite of his works are the Pitt novels which for their anything goes quality of an Indiana Jones or James Bond movie.

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Austin D.

2 years ago

Dirk and Al are incredible and I’ve followed all of their adventures and am proud to say that they’re two tremendously fearless characters I’d follow anywhere. They have some great wit. For readers that like adventure, intrigue, and an almost blasé attitude toward danger, the Dirk Pitt series is for you.

Clive is able to take an event from long ago hundreds, if not thousands of years ago, and weave it into a modern day story.

It’s only too bad that the movie made based off this series, called Sahara, didn’t do the character or the story justice. But then the book is usually better than the movie.

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Andrew M.

2 years ago

Clive Cussler’s debut novel in the Dirk Pitt series thrilled me with its intense plot, intriguing setting, and fascinating characters.
What really hooked me in the book was the remarkable desert settings.
The author has a way of mixing characters from the most cruel to the kindest ones.
Dirk Pitt is the present-day Indiana Jones.
If you are a lover of action-packed adventures, don’t miss out on the Dirk Pitt series. Clive Cussler’s work will leave you yearning for more.
All thanks to this list of books, I can now read all the books by Cussler.

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Kyler F

2 years ago

I was familiar with Cussler’s Dirk Pitt series but hadn’t read any of the books until after seeing the movie adaptation of Sahara. It was an enjoyable movie so I thought I would give the book a try; I’m glad I did, because as fun as the movie was the books are so much better. The characters relationships are full and real, and the adventures they get in to are always thrilling. Also, after reading a few Pitt books I found out that Cussler has another series, this one about an investigator name Isaac Bell at the turn of the century. This series I enjoyed even more, as seeing plots from today worked out in an earlier time period makes for fun reading, always trying to figure out how the heroes will accomplish their goal without modern-day equipment. A series definitely worth checking out. 

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Michael K.

2 years ago

I don’t know how I failed to notice the connection between ‘Sahara,’ the 2005 action-adventure movie, and Clive Cussler. For some reason, the novel passed me by. People hate the movie. And from what I’ve heard, Cussler wasn’t a fan either. I remember loving it. But I was a preteen when I first watched it. I don’t know if it holds up.

Every review I’ve seen thus far says that ‘Sahara,’ the movie, bastardized the novel. They also encourage Cussler fans who watched the movie to read the book. I’m still waiting for the book to arrive. I was tempted to read the eBook.

But these days, I’m making more of an effort to read physical books. I have found that it makes the reading process more engaging.

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Helka

6 months ago

The Fargo Adventures is by far my favourite series by Mr Cussler. The relationship those two have to each other is so welcoming and something I try to strive for in my own relationship.

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Edwrad Kaleta

3 months ago

I love Clive Cussler.I have read every book in every series except the Issac Bell series. Great author.

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The Little Man

2 months ago

It doesn’t generally matter which Clive Cussler series you read, each of his books generally follows a similar formula (with few exceptions):

• An evil villain or family threatens to take over the world
• A hero and sidekick risk life and limb to stop them
• A damsel (usually with a PhD) finds herself in distress
• And history + technology clash

I’ve long been a Cussler fan, but I think he really lost it when he started co-authoring books. His older, solo-authored books are the best, and the Dirk Pitt series outshines the others (though admittedly, The Oregon Files grew on me).

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