Clive Cussler Books in Order

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1. I started to read Clive Cussler books many many years ago and then stopped when marriage and children came along..just because life sometimes seems to get in the way. I recently just picked up a three book package and it seems that the characters are just old friends waiting for my return. Seamlessly I fell back under his spell as Clive continues to weave personalities and stories together that just keeps the reader involved. Thank you Clive for your brilliant adventure novels and keep well and continue to write for many years yet. The movies didn’t do justice to your immense talent.

   1. Peter…., I couldn’t have put it better! I too had read several of Clive’s novels years ago and then life took over! Just recently, I came across Pacific Vortex in a used book store (Book Exchange in Missoula, MT – wonderful place), and thoroughly enjoyed it, and of course, now I want to reread/reread his series in order so I searched for a chronological order, and came across this site…., just what I needed

   2. Oh my God, thank you for saying the movies didn’t do justice! I was so annoyed with the casting in Sahara, which is one of my favorite of his Dirk Pitt series, Matthew M. is like five foot seven and has that ridiculous southern drawl and Dirk is six foot three and a California boy without accent or inflection. So wrong! I do have to admit Steve Z. was suprisingly enjoyable as Al Giordino 🙂 Sorry to rant about the movie when this is about his books, but I can’t help expressing my disappointment with a movie I had been so looking forward to :/ I started reading Clive Cusslers books when my pops introduced them to me at thirteen, I was sick and out of school for three months, I have loved them since and supremely enjoyed all of them and every series he has done. I would encourage anyone of any age or sex to read them. Thank you for listening to my tirade. Enjoy!!

2. I lov dirk pitt adventures wid his friend Al…I can never get enuf of them..my fav early dirk pitt books…I hav read Tom clancy too but they r so very serious not lik cussler books with equal amounts of fun n adventure n seriousness n little bit a romance n even thou slightly far fetched still no Stupidity in the main characters, which I find is a huge blessing unlike some other books lik Painter crowe books for example….finished all pitt books n now starting on Oregon series but somehow I am not satisfied…I guess am spoilt for other characters after my fav character dirk pitt 🙁 …Nostalgic too..the excitement when I first laid my hands on a dirk pitt adv book..can anybody recommend me some other author?

   1. I too love the Clive Cussler books. Started with Dirk Pitt and now love the Isaac Bell series. Another favorite author of mine is Robert B Parker. His western adventure series is great. Also the Spenser series and Jesse Stone.

   2. I am still reading Clive Cussler’s books and love how he himself turns up in the stories, makes me laugh. If you want a non stop action book to read try Mathew Reilly you can just sail through the pages. Its like James Bond meets Indiana Jones mixed with Dirk Pitt .

   3. Joel C. Rosenberg has a good intrigue/international mystery series that I thoughroughly enjoyed. More on the medical mystery side is Robin Cook, although not really a series writer still good reads, and plentiful. I enjoyed David Morse as well, again not a series but still great books 🙂

   4. Yes…..Nelson DeMille writes similar books with a hilarious character named John Coery and HIGHLY recommend them. Personally, i think he’s equal to if not better than Cussler. So good I read then all!

3. AM AVID READER OF CLIVE CUSSLER STORIES .
   AM ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH READING THE 55 EXCITING ADVENTURES. THANK FOR THE CHRON. LIST ALTHOUGH I READ WHAT IS AVAIL AT LIBRARY IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER..
   I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME OF HIS BOOKS ON THE BIG SCREEN. MUCH BETTER THAN INDIANA JONES
   THNX AGAIN , BOB.

   1. Oh boy I’d love to see some of his books translated into movies as well!

      1. There are two movies, Raise the Titanic! and Sahara.

         1. Forget Sahara. Decent enough film with good actors, but totally miscast – young, slender, blond guy as Al Giordino???

            1. Slender?? I loved the way that was cast. Thought Steve hit the humor of Al perfectly. It was a shame the movie did not do well at the box office.
               Panama!

      2. I really hope that happens and I know exactly who should star in them.

      3. Of the two movies, Raise the Titanic is a MUST NOT see. Sahara was okay, but they took too many liberties and some of the casting was not exactly appropriate

         1. Believe it is on his own page. He said, there will NOT be another movie. He did not like what they did with the story/plot etc. and that the movie people were difficult to work with. Well, it is his to do what he wants to do, and at this minute, it is right, and publish stories.

4. I have read 41 Cussler novels. Love ’em all. My kids sort of make fun of me around Christmas, Father’s Day, and my Birthday ’cause there is always a Clive Cussler book on my wish list. I got hooked on Clive when I was waiting for my Wife at a shopping mall many years back, and saw a copy of INCA GOLD, bought it, read it, and was hooked on Clive ever since. My favorite Dirk Pitt stories are the early ones. I love the new Issac Bell and Fargo aventures. Clive just never runs out of good stories to share with us fans. As long as he keeps writing…I’ll keep buying. Well… Happy Reading!

   Ron

   1. To Ron, thats very interesting… I,too, got hooked after reading inca gold. My oldest kid and wife knows that CC is on my list for those days as well. It’s a blessing in disguise, cause then I don’t have to remember them all.

   2. I just out of the blue, picked up a copy of Devils Gate from the NUMA files one day last spring. Read it cover to cover in one day. That was my first and have been going broke ever since buying more of his books. I’ve now read about half of his collection since spring. Just can’t put them down. Most of his works seem to have one recurring theme. They kind of Hitchcockish like leave you hanging at the end of a chapter, so you have to keep reading to see what happens next. I’m not complaining, mind you. I think it’s great but once you start, you can’t put it down. But then again, all you hard core readers already know that. Happy reading

5. My son and I both love Clive Cussler novels, we have been reading them for many years, and can’t wait to read and swap them every time we find another one. With the list we can mark off what we have and haven’t read, mny thanks
   regards Keriane

6. I appreciate a writer who does not have to rely on four-letter words or sex scenes to tell a story. The Isaac Bell adventures are a favorite.

7. Hi..Dears

   Thanks for the info, Just I would like to know if is also worth to read them in different order, for example I would like to read Treasure and Treasure of Khan.

   But my existencial question is…, Do I have to read the previous books to read the ones I want to..??

   Do they take a following tale one after each other..??

   Or they just like separate histories independent one from each other..??

   Or just mention each other a little..??

   Your comments will be much appreciated….!!

   Thanks..!!

   1. Yes…. Many of Clive’s books refer to things that happened in earlier books, especially the original Dirk Pitt series. Reading one out of order doesn’t necessarily ruin the story, but it is nice to know what he is referring to in the present book you are reading.

      Another thing I really enjoyed in the Dirk Pitt Series is where Clive would write himself into the story and the character he would be. He would usually show up as an old prospector or a greasy garage station attendant…something like that.

      1. Not unlike Stan Lee of Marvel comics, who routinely “showed up” in obsure cameo roles in films based on his comics…cool touch! 🙂

         1. Yes, Kind of like one Alfred Hitchcock. Walking the dog in Psycho. Guess it was, see if you can find me, maybe where the idea for Waldo came from

      2. To Ron — I know he writes Dirk Pitt driving one of his cars, done it more than once now, but which book does Clive write himself into the story? As far as the grease monkey, or HEY, the old prospector, perhaps Clive borrowed that from the one and only Lone Ranger. Not many seemed to realize that was the Lone Ranger as the old prospector when he was trying to find one /gang of the “bad” guys. I just like to tell everyone who notices his book I am reading, that it is good against evil, and he gets to take the girl out to dinner. Now all of a sudden, is Summer his sister? working with him against Evil. Interesting twist, because it shows the females can do the same things Dirk does.

         1. Dirk Pit has twins named Dirk jr and Summer. Never knew about them. His girlfriend was named Summer. She left him to save her father and never told him she was pregnant with twins who she named Dirk and Summer. He thought she was dead.

         2. Look for characters with the initials C.C., that is his way of writing himself in.

            1. Just found him, written in full name in Atlantis found. Comes as a sudden surprise, but, it fits. Recently obtained some Cussler hardbacks at a church yard sale. Complete with cover.I decided to see what they looked like, if no cover. Well, it’s plain, a simple cover and the initials on the front C C

      3. He also shows up on occasion in the Fargo adventures.

         1. Clive first wrote himself into the story in Sahara as a prospector which was bumped into in the desert

            1. Actually Clive first wrote himself into Shock Wave as a Mining Engineer.

            2. Sorry you are correct.

         2. AND his latest that I have found, is in Black Wind as a boat/fisherman in the Far East

   2. HI DAX – Careful he might name a character after you. — OK Treasure and then Treasure of Khan. Treasure is one of his first nine books. written in 1988 —- Treasure of Khan (in Dirk Pitt series) is nine books later written in 2006. —- From what I have done – and I am currently reading T of Khan – Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, and Trojan Odyssey SHOULD BE read before reading Treasure of Khan. There are events that happen in the books before T of Khan and are referenced in the later books. So, in this case, the reading in order can be beneficial.

8. Thank you very much for that list ! It’ s an excellent and difficult work ! I am a huge fun of Cussler’ s, having read most of his books. Being a doctor myself, a psychiatrist to be exact, I tend to be extremely upset when my books are not in the proper order. Perhaps I am an OCD case myself. Thanks to the woman cleaning my office, an excellent assistant but a little careless regarding my books order, I have had to rearrange my library countless times until now. The books may indeed be read on their own, out of order but in my experience it’ s much more fun to read each series in order or else you always get the feeling that you’re missing something you wouldn’t want to. I think the same applies to every writer’s work, at least in my opinion (my other favorite writers are Tom Clancy and in my younger days James Hadley Chase. So I can’ t really tell you how much I appreciate your work. I think it’s a very nice gift to all of us compulsive readers. Thank you so much!!!!!!

   1. If Cussler is the “guy [Tom Clancy] read[s]”, why can’t Clancy take note that it doesn’t need foul language and explicit sex scenes to make a cracking story? I’ve stopped reading Clancy novels. I can’t get enough of Clive Cussler, though.

      1. My thought also Big Al, I’m a reader of all mysteries, read one of Clancy’s and decided no more. Love Cussler’s have read and collected most of them. I’m now 80 years of age and just found one I had missed Flood Tide which I’m reading now. Found another one I need to read Shock Wave. Will always be on lookout for any I have missed.
         Sheila

         1. To give you a hint / help Thrift books plenty of Cussler to keep you happy. Good price, and for a set amount, free shipping. —-Also Goodwill – Also Amazon, but, they do not have the free shipping and are only agents. Click on a book on Amazon, and it takes you to someone’s store. Hope it helps. and that means everyone who loves Cussler.

            1. Big Al hi ! Just read your comment ( yes I know, I am only two and a half years late , sorry about that ) and I must say I am in totally agreement with you . I stopped reading Clancy novels at about the same time you wrote it and for exactly the same reason ( pure coincidence surely but cause and effect absolutely identical : – ) . I am 65 now , still teaching and practicing as a Prof of Psychiatry and still a Cussler addict , more than ever really …I’ ve read every single book he’ s written ( yes I have found all his books by now ) at least twice , sometimes , I must confess at the expense of my own small projects.
               So glad we share the same views on the subject. Once again my sincere thanks to Mystery Sequels for a superb work. Still my favorite site and main source of info.

9. I’m glad to see the list. This way I can go back through my milk crate full of his books and see what I have missed. Just finished Striker, it not only was a great yarn, but gives me hope that the working class with prevail even today. although young Dirk one is my favorite, this Isaac guy is right up there.

10. Thanks for the list. I am a fan of Clive Cussler books. They are interesting, exiting, fun to read, have great characters and are not full of blood and gore. They are books that anyone, regardless of age, male or female or education can read and enjoy. They are what books should be.

    Ed Swinfd

    1. That’s exactly how I feel about the books of Clive Cussler as well, I’m so glad that I’m not alone here. Thank you for your kind comment!

    2. I started ready Mr Cussler at age 16 with Mediterranean Caper and am now 81. Am rereading, reading new ones, enjoying every word and wish to thank this wonderful author for so much pleasure

       1. Don’t think Clive has been writing books that long…….Got your dates a bit wrong I think…..

          1. He did publish his first novel in 73, but he has been writing since 1965. Dates are correct.

       2. To Joanne Burroughs:

          YOUR dates and ages are NOT correct, and they can’t be.

          This is why:

          If you were REALLY only 16 years old when you started reading Clive Cussler’s books (in 1973 – since you could NOT have started earlier, as his 1st book was not published before that – unless by some remote chance you read it before it was published?), then you must have been born in 1957. Therefore you can’t be any more than 59/60 years old, now.

          If you REALLY are 81 years old NOW – as you claim – then you MUST have been much more than 16 years old when you started reading Clive Cusslers books.

          It is really simple Mathematics:

          Since you claim you ‘started at 16 and you are now 81’, then you believe you have been reading his books for 55 years.

          Since 1st publication date is 1973 and it is now 2016, then Clive Cussler has been ‘published’ for 43 years, which is TWELVE YEARS less, than the time you claim to have spent reading his books – therefore your claim is impossible.

          So did you borrow the TARDIS from Dr Who and spend TWELVE YEARS in the future in order to achieve this?

          Or perhaps you are the ‘re-incarnated HG Wells’ and you used your own ‘Time Machine’????!!

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