Clive Cussler was an adventure novelist and marine explorer best known for his novels, 20 of which became New York Times bestsellers.
Most of his works frequently feature the National Undersea Marine Agency (Numa), which is a fictionalized version of a real-life organization he founded. His books often follow themes of high-tech adventure, megalomaniacal villains, lost treasures, and beautiful women.
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If you loved Ian Fleming’s James Bond or George Lucas’s Indiana Jones, then you’ll definitely love Cussler’s most famous leading man, Dirk Pitt.
the 8 best books by clive cussler
cussler wrote more than 80 books during his career, so it can be overwhelming to choose which ones to start with. To help you out, we’ve put together a list of some of the best books he’s ever written. check them out below!
1. sahara (dirk pitt book #11)
North Africa is plagued by a disease that turns people mad and cannibalistic, and scientist Eva Rojas is working on a cure. Dirk Pitt, on a close mission to investigate a growing problem of marine pollution, narrowly rescues her from murder.
Working together, they must uncover ancient secrets while evading a marauding dictator and a ruthless industrialist who are after them.
2. treasure (dirk pitt book #9)
dirk pitt is on the trail of a priceless treasure: the most important treasures of the library of alexandria, which were kept secret and buried before the library’s destruction.
But he finds himself embroiled in an international conspiracy when he saves the life of the UN Secretary General from a plane crash. he finds himself fighting the world’s most feared assassins while trying to avoid world domination.
3. the chase (isaac bell book #1)
It’s 1906 and the western states of America are terrorized by a series of bank robberies that leaves all witnesses dead, while the culprit disappears without a trace.
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Now it’s up to Isaac Bell, detective extraordinaire, to find the culprit and bring him to justice. But there are some problems: the culprit is now hunting bells, and the chase leads them to a San Francisco that has just been rocked by a disastrous earthquake.
4. the kingdom (fargo book #3)
Professional treasure hunters Sam and Remi Fargo are on the trail of the “Theurang,” a sacred object said to be a life-size statue of a man-like creature, or the skeleton of the creature itself.
But they’re not the only ones looking for it, and wealthy oil tycoon Charles King will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Sam and Remi travel around the world, deciphering cryptic clues while evading the king’s deadly minions.
5. privateer (oregon archives book #6)
juan cabrillo heads the corporation, a mysterious private military company based in oregon, a high-tech ship disguised as a dilapidated freighter.
accept a task to locate us. Secretary of State Fiona Katamora, who has been kidnapped while she was on her way to important peace talks in Libya. While searching for Katamora, they must also discover the location of an ancient ship containing writings that can bring peace to the entire Middle East.
6. the adventures of vin fiz (lacey & casey book #1)
One of his lesser-known works, The Adventures of Vin Fiz is Cussler’s first attempt at a children’s book. Follow brothers Lacey and Casey Nicefolk, who have only one dream: to fly.
They are approached by sucoh sucop, a mysterious man with an enchanted box that can make toys come to life. The twins will soon fly cross-country to New York, but danger lurks everywhere, ready to test their courage many times over.
7. snake (numa book files #1)
cussler expands its lineup of the rugged men and women of numa. This time, he focuses on the adventures of Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala, two young men worthy of inheriting Pitt’s legacy of prowess.
In the book, archaeologists are being mass murdered and no one knows why. When Austin and Zavala rescue one of those archaeologists from a massacre, they find themselves embroiled in a sinister plot to cover up a historical error: Christopher Columbus did not discover the Americas.
8. The Hunters of the Sea: True Adventures with Famous Shipwrecks
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In his first nonfiction book, Cussler explores the world under the sea and describes his lifelong love of adventure, the sea, and ships in general, a love that clearly translates to his fiction books.
The book documents Numa’s search for nine famous shipwrecks and offers speculation as to why each ship sank. Its most famous recovery to date was the Confederate submarine Hunley, which some have called “probably the most important find of the century.”
do you need to read clive cussler’s books in order?
When it comes to reading clive cussler books, you really can start anywhere. each of his books, no matter which series they belong to, function as stand-alone novels. Sure, there may be a few references here and there to events and characters from other books, but they won’t destroy your reading experience.
Personally, I would do it by publication date. Cussler has a lot of books and there are also a lot of similarities between his series, so it feels like you’re reading one super long series instead of three or four. It’s easier to keep track of your books if you read them by publication date.
reading books by clive cussler
Known to many as the “grandmaster of adventure,” Clive Cussler has definitely led a colorful life. he was a soldier, a businessman, a car collector, a marine explorer, a drifter and a writer, all roles that shine in his books.
His books are definitely enjoyable reads. he has the delicacy and imagination to devise situations that border on the absurd, relate them to historical events, and then invent a story that makes his characters shine.
If you haven’t read any of his books yet, I recommend you do. Although they do get repetitive at times, you will always get that sense of adventure that you should always find in these types of stories.
do you have a favorite clive cussler book? Share it in the comments section below!
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