The Grand Master of adventure fiction. Cussler created Dirk Pitt — part James Bond, part Jacques Cousteau — and built an empire of ocean-spanning thrillers over five decades.
About Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler (1931–2020) was one of the most successful adventure novelists in publishing history, selling over 100 million books in his lifetime. He founded the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) as a real nonprofit organisation that has found over 60 shipwrecks.
His hero Dirk Pitt — dashing, resourceful, impossibly competent — became one of fiction's most enduring adventure heroes. Pitt debuted in 1973 and continued appearing in novels co-written with Cussler's son Dirk Cussler after Clive's death.
Cussler expanded his universe into five distinct series, each with a different protagonist and tone. The NUMA Files, Oregon Files, and Isaac Bell series attracted millions of readers who wanted the Cussler flavour without the deep-sea diving.
Start Here
Raise the Titanic!
Dirk Pitt at his most audacious — raising the Titanic from the ocean floor to recover a secret cargo. A perfect entry point to the series and one of the all-time great adventure premises.
Each series is standalone — start with Raise the Titanic! for Dirk Pitt, Serpent for NUMA Files, or The Chase for Isaac Bell. You don't need to read all series.
Over 80 novels across all series, including those co-written with other authors and posthumous releases completed by co-writers.
The Dirk Pitt series is best read in order. Other series are largely standalone. Dirk Pitt Jr. appears in the NUMA Files, connecting the universes.
Raise the Titanic! is his most famous. Sahara (the 11th Dirk Pitt novel) is often cited as the series peak — and was adapted into a 2005 film.