noise."In Memory: Clive Cussler · 2:20am Feb 27th, 2020
One of my favorite authors died recently: Clive Cussler.
I read a lot of his books back in the day, before I got into this fandom. Just out of curiosity, I started counting how many I had on my bookshelves, stopping after I passed two dozen. I don’t have all of them (there’s like, a billion), but in terms of books owned by author, I’d say my top five are Stephen King, Robert B Parker, Allistair MacLean, Piers Anthony and of course Clive Cussler.
For those who are unfamiliar with him, he found a niche to write in, that of a nautical adventurer, in the form of Dirk Pitt who works for a government agency called NUMA. The majority of his stories related to the sea in some way. He also liked classic cars, many of which made an appearance in his various novels.
Besides the classic cars, he spent much of his money searching for shipwrecks, including the Hunley, the Civil War submarine. He wrote two books specifically about that, titled The Sea Hunters and The Sea Hunters II. Each one has a dramatization of how the ship (usually) was lost, and then a second chapter regarding Cussler’s hunt for it. He wasn’t always successful, of course; in one case when looking for a lost locomotive, he discovered a century-old insurance fraud. That’s The Lost Locomotive of Kiowa Creek, if you’re interested.
It’s rare that I go out and buy a biography/autobiography of an author, but in Cussler’s case, I did. It’s also rare that I mark inside a book in any manner, but in Cussler’s case I did.
Unlike most writers who muddle around until they figure out what they’re doing, Cussler had been in advertising before he got into fiction writing (and many other things; it really helps having a diverse set of interests and jobs if you’re gonna be a writer, although it’s certainly not required). He figured out a potential market that nobody was writing stories in, and decided that was where he’d plant his flag. Since he wasn’t just getting started as a novelist, he “leaned heavily on Allistair MacLean.”
[In case you forgot a couple paragraphs back, Allistair MacLean is own of my other top-four authors in terms of books published; in fact, I think I own at least one copy of every novel he ever published, as well as many of the ones that were published after his death.
You won’t be surprised to know that MacLean also wrote sea stories, many of them drawing on his service in the Royal Navy in WWII, including the infamous convoy PQ17.]
I never tried to copy Cussler’s style, at least not as far as I’m aware of. I’m sure some stuff has unconsciously slipped in, and of course Clive--Gina and Peggy’s friend in Colorado--was named after Mr. Cussler. I did find my own niche to plant my flag in, and that’s slice of life. Took me a bit to figure out that that was where I belonged, but that’s okay.
There’s surely some influence from all his novels in the Sea Swirl stories with her diving. I don’t actually know much about diving, and honestly I’m not sure I’d actually enjoy doing it, but I do enjoy reading about it.
Likewise, I don’t collect classic cars (some of my daily drivers have become classics, but that’s through no fault of my own). Although to be honest, if I made lots of bits publishing ponyfic, I probably would.
Searching for lost shipwrecks isn’t financially lucrative, and at the end of The Sea Hunters*, Cussler said “My philosophy has always been that when my time comes, and I’m lying in a hospital bed two breaths away from the great beyond, I’d like my bedside phone to ring. A big, blonde, buxom nurse, taking my pulse for ebbing vital signs, leans over my face, picks up the phone, and holds the receiver to my ear.
“The last words I hear before I drift off are those of my banker telling me my account is ten dollars overdrawn.”
I hope that actually happened.
*Counting (roughly) the number of Cussler novels I have, and trying to find both The Sea Hunters (for the end quote) and Dirk Pitt Revealed (for the mention of Allistair MacLean) reminded me why bookstores and libraries usually have some sort of order they put their books in, rather than my method of mostly remembering where I put it last.
There was also a great quote at the beginning of The Sea Hunters about a man with a similar philosophy in life, Alan Pegler. A successful plastics factory owner, upon learning that the Flying Scot was to be scrapped, he bought it, restored it at his own expense, and undertook a world tour with it.
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That turned out to be financially ruinous for Mr. Pegler, and he lost everything in the ensuing bankruptcy ... except the train, which he donated to a nonprofit foundation, and it is still in operation.
According to Cussler: “At the bankruptcy hearing, the rather stern judge admoinshed Pegler: ‘Your downfall arose from your unbounded enthusiasm for railways. The Flying Scot has been your folly.’
“Pegler, incredibly cheerful under the circumstances, answered, ‘Of course I cannot say that I do not regret losing all my money, my house, my country manor, my villa in Italy, my Bently and my Volvo, and being left with only what I stand up in. But I do not regret one moment buying the Flying Scot. It was saved and that is worth it all.’”
I read Raise the Titanic back when it originally came out. Remember, I live in the middle of Kansas. Loved it, even after the Titanic was really found in far worse shape.
I recently reread a few of his books, Raise the Titanic included (I honestly love the movie, even if Cussler loathed it). He had an interesting an engaging style of writing, they were very much airport or beach books, but that isn't a bad thing really. They were fun no matter what.
I own every Dirk Pitt novel now. I will miss his writing as I've been reading his books for over twenty years. I still remember reading the Mediterranean Caper after my dad gave it to me in High School. Took years to read everything in order. God Speed Mr Cussler, you will be missed.
I've read a few of his books (far fewer than you), and I stopped because he wrote too well. Dirk frequently was involved with things that should have had permanent repercussions in society, but there wasn't evidence of them in the later books. Older now, I am far more familiar with the pulp / episodic style, where there is the intention that the reader never need familiarity with the other works, and that every book is more or less an in media res of Dirk's life.
Still grated on me though.
Also, RIP Kazuhisa Hashimoto.
^^vv<><>BA
Dirk Pitt was and remains one of my favorite literary characters. I wish there had been more stories, and that the universe had been a bit more consistent, but I'm glad I was there for them. I think I have all of the Pitt novels at home. I'll raise a glass to his memory tonight.
I’ve read the first four books of the Isaac Bell series. In the first book, The Chase, the climax is the hero chasing down the villain. The villain on a private train, hauling just his specially built carriage, and the hero on a commandeered steam engine. An absolutely thrilling story.
Farewell Mr. Cussler.
I only read three of his books: Flood Tide, Valhalla Rising, and Atlantis Found.
well this is hart braking.
I own every Dirk Pitt novel and several dozen more and got to meat Mr Cussler at a book sighing one time.
a vary nice person who loved to tell story's.
a little known fact is that Dirk Pitt in named after his son Dirk.
a bit of FYI the movie sahara is on amazon prime for free.
I was just about to head off to bed and thought Id check one last time.
Im not sure if the book I saw on the shelf a month or so back was The Last, but it would fit.
Return To The Titanic?
RIP Mr Cussler.
Mr Crowley is waiting in the Blower Bently.
Eh, I will admit Clive never took off with me, but my heart goes out to his family.
THIS MAKES my very SAD I have read every one of Clive Cussler's book and eagerly awaited the next one the last book was in the Oregon File series "The Final Solution" His next book was slated to be released in about 2weeks. He had been sharing the writing of alot of his books with others for more than a couple of years..
Truthfully with the publishing cycle and editors needing time to look things over the book in March is likely still going to be released. Amazon only lists it and the book slated for May last year there was 2 further releases ending in November
5210300 What Hollywood did with "Raise the Titanic" and "Sahara" compared to the books is a travisty
NUMA being the National Underwater and Marine Agency. I never read his books but I always saw displays of them in bookstores. Time to head to the library.
So was Theodore Geisel
better known as Dr. Seuss, although he first published stories BEFORE his career in advertising
But advertising IS fiction writing
5210280
I read it long after, when it was well-known that raising the Titanic in any form would be impossible (and financially ruinous). Still enjoyed the book. Fiction is allowed to deviate from reality, after all. Last time I checked, there aren’t any pastel ponies in Kansas.
5210285
I never saw the movie myself, at least not as I can remember.
I did enjoy Sahara, even if the book was lots better.
He did, and you’re right about them being airport or beach books. I feel the same way about Parker; you can read his books in whatever order you want whenever you’ve got a couple of hours to kill.
5210288
I can’t claim the same, although one day I surely will.
I can’t remember what the first Cussler book I read was. Might have been The Sea Hunters; I think I got that from my grandpa after he’d read it. I never worried too much about reading them in order.
And wow, now that I think about it, I’ve also been reading Cussler books for over twenty years. Time flies...
5210291
Huh, that’s a complaint I’ve not heard from a reader yet.
That’s not a bad style of writing, honestly. Especially when you’ve got a lot of stories with the same main characters. It saves the reader from having to read them in a particular order and getting confused if they don’t. Kind of like Anthony’s Xanth novels, although I never liked how Anthony spent so much time explaining the setting for first-time readers. Obviously, a lot of TV works on that principle, too.
5210292
I am rather surprised at the number of people who like My Little Pony fanfiction and Clive Cussler novels. I thought I was the only one. I think I've read all of his books.
Cussler was up there with authors like Michael Crichton in writing thrillers. The plot lines were researched enough to be believable--intellectually, you know that it probably wouldn't work that way, but it was not so implausible so as to break the immersion in the story.
I always liked the way he wrote villains. They were a lot more diverse than your typical Bond villains (though always rich and powerful people, that pretty much being a requirement in the genre). And they always got what was coming to them.
I liked the signature structure of his novels: Prologue 1 detailing something that happened in ancient times, Prologue 2 detailing something that happened a few decades ago, and then the main story, which works the elements of the first two prologues into the main plot in an interesting manner.
With the amount of books he sold, I doubt he could ever accomplish that.
5210295
Me, too.
I never got the feeling that the universe was inconsistent, barring the general lack of consequences from one novel to the next. Kind of like James Bond, now that I think about it.
You could raise a glass, or you could have some real style and do a Panama.
5210297
I haven’t read any of those, although I will say that a commandeered steam engine raises my intrigue.
5210298
I believe I’ve read all of those, and I know for a fact I have all of them.
5210297
I thought the Isaac Bell series was an interesting diversion. It's fun to see how the mystery/thriller genre changes when the heroes don't have access to jets that can take them anywhere in the world in a day, or satellites that can track the person of interest.
5210357 Speaking of which, I need to make a teaser blog post...
5210300
That’s the feel I got from him, that he’d be just like that in person. Like, some celibs are not the same in person as what they put out to the world, but I always felt like Cussler was the kind of guy who’d love nothing more than to trade sea stories with you.
I did know that!
Ooh, I might have to re-watch it. Not the best novel adaptation, but it’s got some great moments.
5210291
I remember counting three nuclear bombs detonated through the course of the Dirk Pitt novels.
And in a bunch of the novels, he has the United States adopting the metric system. A laudable goal, but not one that would ever happen.
But realistically, you can't set your novels in an alternate history unless you're writing alternate history. It only confuses a new or casual reader who thinks a novel is set in the current world, and then they see something that isn't true. ("What do you mean, there's still an East Germany?")
5210306
That’s fair. There’ve been a few authors that friends have recommended and they just weren’t my cup of tea, not only IRL but also here on FimFic.
I do hope that he at least had the big, buxom nurse by his side in the end.
5210360
Back when I had a Netflix DVD subscription, that movie was never available.
I didn't think the actors matched how I viewed the characters, from reading the books.
And I've read several of them at an airport or beach.
5210323
Signs that you’re old--the beloved authors of your childhood are dying of old age.
From what I understand, part of the reason for co-writing was that he wasn’t as passionate about it as he had been in the past (and let’s be honest, the fact that he was still active at all in his late 80s shows quite a love for the craft), so he’d chosen to pass on his legacy.
Yeah, I’d expect that most if not all of the announced books will still be published; the one that’s near to release is likely very nearly done or completely done short of printing--not sure what the turnaround time is for normal publishers, but certainly on Lulu it’s only a couple weeks at most.
There were a number of MacLean novels released after his death, written by other authors, which varied wildly in quality. Given that to my understanding, Cussler worked closely with his co-authors, I’d expect much higher quality going forward, and honestly wouldn’t be surprised if some of the more popular franchises (for lack of a better word) continue with the co-author as solo author, at least for the near future.
5210339
Yes, indeed.
If you like my writing (and I presume you do, since you’re here), I’d recommend starting off with The Sea Hunters I and II. Historical fiction, actual facts, and personal experience, all wrapped up in one neat bundle.
5210351
Clearly I made a mistake, not getting into advertising.
You’re not wrong. . . .
At least my shameless self-promotion involves cute ponies.
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5210385
I assumed it was just to make more money. When I see a book coauthored between a big name author and someone else, I assume the someone else did most of the writing, and wonder just how much input the big name author had.
Now, I'm seeing books published with a big name dead author's name prominent on the cover, with books that may be tangentially related to the author's past work, but where they certainly had no input. It's like book publishers are using authors' names as a brand.
5210371
One of the things I both love/hate about writing MLP--there’s access to powerful magic, but at the same time, they haven’t got electric toasters. There’s just something fun about writing about older tech and the limitations thereof (not to mention the genius ways that people in the past did things with the tech that they did have). Plus writing it well involves diving in lots of very interesting rabbit holes, and I am very much in favor of that.
They didn’t exactly for me, but after a few watchings, I grew to accept it.
As have I. I can’t remember which specific ones, though. I do distinctly remember that I read all of Pet Semetary while waiting in lines for the roller coasters at Cedar Point, though.
5210393
I don’t know. I mean, it could be like a master/apprentice type of thing, where in the first book, the author had virtually control and the co-author had very limited input, and then as he gained skill, he got more and more control of the book until it finally reached the point where the famous author only checked his work and proclaimed it good. Admittedly, in a purely cynical sense, it was to make more money, but that isn’t necessarily wrong. That’s a YMMV question, but think of other non-creative things, like family-owned companies going to a new family member, for example.
In some cases, they certainly do. I think some of the Clancy novels have gone that route, and it was also the case with some of the MacLean novels published after his death. I guess the question is whether it’s worth reading what’s essentially fanfiction for a series you enjoy, y’know?
5210368
If only I had a Calliope to detonate.
As for the consistency, my main issue is that things would be occasionally be brought up, and at other times totally forgotten about. Like how Magnetohydrodyanmic engines are a consistent form of maritime propulsion after Valhalla Rising, (and a stunning bit of technobabble) but the teleportation technology and frictionless oil discovered in the same book are never mentioned. Meanwhile, there was a series of books, ending with Deep Six! where the US was going to buy Canada, but stopped because the president was removed from office - so clearly there have been some attempts at canon.
(Pre-emptive edit: I've always wanted a Dirk Pitt cinematic universe god damnit)
Although, even with all that, these books were amazing. Only Clive Cussler could come up an evil plot that is: 4th reich Nazis cutting off the Ross Ice shelf to destabilize the rotation of the earth so that the world will end, leaving them as the only survivors because they've holed up in mile-long superships.
I will give that the movie version Sahara was better than Raise the Titanic. I challenge anyone that didn't read the book to explain the final scene in Sahara
Biscuit, you're cool and I'm drunk!
5210385. The mass media tends have a longer lead up time on releases. Also consider they are releasing the audio book on same date.
I know a couple of his books were co-authored by his son Dirk
I have quite a few of his books and have read many more through the local library.
He will be missed.
I just have no words, the first Cussler book i read was my dads copy of Dragon. I even got my grandfather (a man almost as old as Mr Cussler) hooked by leaving behind my copy of The Chase. Guess its time to reread some of my favorites
😢
Ohhhh! I had lost this author! Read a book or two, moved, and could never remember who had written them.
Thank you for the info I remember realy enjoying the NUMA book I read.
5210393
Most of the Conan the Barbarian books weren't written by Howard
A LOT of Cthulhu stuff wasn't written by Lovecraft
Frank Baum wrote the first 14 Oz books, the rest were written by others (There's at least 43.)
Some of those authors hadn't been born when Baum died)
Same with Tolkein
Same with Asimov's Foundation books
IDK that Sci-fi started the trend, but we've certainly done our share of it
Ah, my condolences. I remember reading and/or listening (I think both) to some of his works years ago, and enjoying them.
5210428
Mile long superships were Habbakuks? As for where you get the material from, the UK alone throws out enough waste paper each year to make over 100 million tons of material better than WW2 Pycrete? Thats just the hull and internal bracing, which is a fraction the actual payload capacity.
I forgot which story it is where Pitt finds the Grave of Ghengis Khan, but if they ever make a movie of it, they should put a statue of Mr Cussler in there.
Clive Cussler was one of those writers that got me interested in writing. He will be missed, though his stories will help to keep his memory going for generations to come.
It always amused me how he always managed to write himself into Dirk's adventures and was the only recurring character other than the main cast over the years.
5210495 Actually he appeared in some of the others though not as regularly the NUMA files usually as little bit DUES EX MACHINA. Usually with Clive Cussler is either his dog or donkey Mr Periwinkle depending on the situation. Then you have Leigh Hunt a friend was killed off in a number of books occasionally the pre-story a bit of history that sets the story
That's sad, I enjoyed reading his books. Knowing how to have fun and make money doing it, what a rare combination.
I think his Isaac Bell stories are where I first heard about Pinkertons from. It was in a much more positive light than most sources...
I've read quite a few of his novels, almost all of them I think.
There's one I can't remember the title, where Byzantine ships ended up in the Rio De Janeiro with the contents of the Library of Alexandria... I re-read it a few years ago after a long gap of learning about myself and the real world, about writing in general and deprogramming from a right wing upbringing. I was kinda appalled at how shlocky it was, and the rampant sexism.
They can be good books but wow, eventually you realize that Dirk Pitt was his self-insert and then they just kinda get a little gross