Action/Adventure Aficionados discussion

Clive Cussler has many books on the shelf. Over 20 of them are his Dirk Pitt Series. This is a place to discuss his writing, the man himself, the books you have liked and read the one's you haven't ... All things Clive Cussler.

Most people know Clive Cussler wrote himself into his books in brief cameo appearances. How did that work for you?

Do you have a favorite?

At first, I kind of liked the cameos but I found the statement on the back of his books "He's a lot like his character Dirk Pitt" to be a little much. Still, he was no ordinary guy, I'll give him that.

I haven't read all of his books. I started with "Raise the Titanic" when I was in high school. I checked it out from the school library and by midnight the same day (don't tell my mother I was up that late on a school night) I was hooked.

My favorite is Treasure followed closely by Inca Gold. Cussler's a smooth fast read that takes off like a roller coaster. It's fast, fun and you can't get off till it's over. My mother calls him "The American James Bond."

You know as much as I love AA books I've never actually cracked open a Cussler.

Which one would you recommend to start off with Hugh?

I'd start with eitherRaise The Titanic!or Pacific Vortex!. I found Raise the Titanic to be the book he found his real voice in, but Vortex is the first one. They really don't have to be read in order (though some things from previous missions do show up in each story, there self-contained, more or less).

My all time favorites are book:Inca Gold|198332]and Treasure I wasn't too fond of Iceberg.

bear in mind that Cussler wrote in the near future. So when he was writing in the 70s and 80s he was guessing at what our 90s would look like. He didn't get it all right. It won't take away from the story. I just found it amusing when he missed the fall of the Soviet union.

Shockwave is the last one I read (order wise) Sahara is the last great one, in my opinion.

Thanks Hugh! I'm a bit anal when it comes to series so I'll probably start with Pacific Vortex.

My sister wanted me to read The Book of the Dead and see if it was any good before she did. So I of course had to read the five books before it...thankfully I found I love the Pendergast series or I would have been a tad upset with her.

My mother loves the Pendergast series too. She's been after me to read it sinde forever.

Let me know how the earlier books turned out. I usually read them that way, but I started in the middle by accident (High School) and then my mother (again, an avid reader of action, fantasy and Sci-fi) kept sending them to me out of order Cause that's how she had them.) So, I read them out of order. I'm betting their just as good or beter in order.

And my mother marked Sandstorm as one of her favorites too (my review of it anyway). So, that means it's good. MOther's never wrong (if found wrong, see rule number one).

I haven't read any Clive Cussler books, but I will definitely try to read him soon.

Hugh (The other Hugh) wrote: "My mother loves the Pendergast series too. She's been after me to read it sinde forever.

Let me know how the earlier books turned out. I usually read them that way, but I started in the middle..."

You should definitely read the Pendergast series. You'r mother is never wrong after all. :)
They start off as horror but become something closer to action/adventure. Very fun to read. One of the coolest characters, IMO.

Traci, your right, mother is never wrong. :{)>

I read Relic and Reliquary but Mother tells me that Preston and Childs don't really get into the Pendergast character until a couple books down the road.

I really liked Relic and Reliquary. What book do you think is the first real Pendergast Novel?

Lady D, as for Clive Cussler. On the surface it seems like the James Rollins books but once you sink your teeth into it, you'll realize that its just a fun read, not quite as complex and the characters are more formulaic. One of my guys on my last ship (Navy) called them "Harlequin" for men. (meaning its a fun read but not a super great award winning piece of work. But it is a fun read!) The lead females tended to come across like 007, James Bond Heroines, well certified on paper, but in reality still Damsels in distress (with degrees in Nuclear physics).

My mother's a strong female lead herself and she likes Cussler books so they can't be that bad.

So which book has a lot of Pendergast? I've seen the movie for The Relic, so I don't feel the need to read the book.

Lady D, the movie is one of the better at matching the book for a "B" movie but it's a far better read than a movie. (Help me out here people?) It's still worth reconsidering a read.

Reliquary is the sequel. (the movie might not connect all the dots for you to go to the second book).

Pendergast isn't even in The Relic movie. But you can skip the first two if you want. The third The Cabinet of Curiosities is the one where he becomes the main character. And it's still one of my favorites of the series.

I might just start with The Cabinet of Curiosities then. I get lazy when I've watched the movie to read the book. :)

Cabinet of Curiosities and Still Life With Crows are my two favorite Pendergast novels. I've got the latest, Cold Vengeance, on my shelf to read.

WB Alice, I already have cabinet of curiosities on my to do list.

I just know you'll enjoy it Hugh! Still Life With Crows freaked me out so much I couldn't read it after dark- still give me the creeps thinking about the end.

Oh, good to know. It's serial killer creepy? Serial killers freak me out!

Note to self. Take back the boxed set of Jack Daniels Books by Konrath that you got Lady D for Christmas.

I did buy the first Jack Daniels book. I thought it was supposed to be humorous. I guess we'll see how creep it is. :)

I love cracked up at the first interduction of "The Fee-bees" the cops are funny, the villain(s)... "not so much."

I would say that Jack Daniels, despite her fauls (she's very human) makes a good, strong female character. (maybe one of the best.) ... then there is Mother.

That sounds like my kind of read. Mother is completely in a class of her own. She has a lot of good parts in Area 7 too.

I hope she's not leaving her good parts lying around like she did whith the Whales.

And tell me if you think the part where Jack Daniels goes to the Dating Service isn't the funniest thing (flash back for some of us) in a long time?

(view spoiler)[ She gets mildly wounded in Area 7, but nothing so bad as in Ice Station. (hide spoiler)]

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "[spoilers removed]"

Jack Daniles gets pretty beat up through the course of her books too, but she keeps geting back up. (She's a really fun character for a female character. Odd she's written by a man? Think that makes any difference?

It depends, Hugh. I think a writer can write either sex if they understand people, and don't assume that the opposite is/isn't a certain way.

I agree. I've read other people's review/critique of Konrath who thought he did a pretty good job of writing Jack Daniels. I've got a girl (daughter) I'm always looking for good books with strong female characters. I always thought that male and female writers could manage either sex too, I just wondered if I was fooling myself with the rest of the male schauvanist slobs.

Not that my girl's reading Jack Daniel any time soon.

How old is your daughter? I've read alot of girly young adult and younger books. (Okay I still do on occasion) I could recommend some favorites.

She's 6 working on 26. I'm stockpiling and approved reading list for later.

Oh, you can never start too early? The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread is very cute and good for her age. Howl's Moving Castle is one of my favorite books and might be okay but I'd read it alone first.

Thank you... I'm taking notes. Gabi likes her princesses, and she likes to read. I figure I can handle the Bubba-nator (son) he's 4.

I finished Clive Cussler's Spartan Gold a while back. I did the audio book. The narator sounded good at first (all English Narators with Constipation seem good) but he kept squashing the punch lines of what was likely humorous banter.

Other than that. It was a smooth read. I like the idea of a married Hero/Heroine team though I had a feeling I was reading the treasure hunter's version of "Heart to Heart" from the 70s (TV show, Robert Wagner)

I thought it was both kinder and gentler as well as better written than some of his Dirk Pitt Novels.

I still rate it 3.5 stars and make no mistake about it. I enjoyed the story. The historical mystery was actually one of his better ones.

So I enjoy Clive Cussler books, but have only read from the Dirk Pitt Series. Anyone have any suggestions as to which of his other series I should venture into next?

Spartan Gold is the only one I've read outside of Dirk Pitt. A husband and wife team of treasure hunters takes on the Russian Maffia!

I think it was pretty good. Not sure if it's better than Dirk Pitt, but it was fun, and the mystery from history was pretty cool. (The ending dedumont?(SP) was kind of cool.)

This one is Spartan Gold

Safe to say all of them are good. if you want to continue in a sorta Dirk Pitt fashion,try Kurt Austin. Some say he is the new Dirk Pitt. My personal favorites are Oregon Files with Jaun Castillo and The Issac Bell series. I know some folks just read one story line,but in truth, I love all of Clives world.

Also currently reading Spartans Gold.This is the best arc if you want low violence and a puzzle to watch them solve.

Markm wrote: "Also currently reading Spartans Gold.This is the best arc if you want low violence and a puzzle to watch them solve."

I agree with that.... It seemed filled with "Safe violence" ... but the puzzle was the most fun. (Reminded me of the old show "Heart to Heart" from the 70s and 80s. (or 80s) Stephanie Powers and Robert Wagner.

Hugh, you had me at Russian mafia.

Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "Hugh, you had me at Russian mafia."

You say the sweetest things Lady D:

({P-{D>)

LOL!

I love the Dirk books. The early books are a bit silly and you can see Cussler's writing mature as the years went by. I enjoyed "Inca Gold" and of course "Sahara".

Treasure was pretty good too.

Here's a blurb for Inca Gold.

Inca Gold

For Clive Cussler fans such as myself, I'm posting the following link on the first successful combat submarine that dates back to the Civil War, has finally been restored and on display. For those who ask what that has to do with Cussler, the answer is simple: Cussler led the expedition that located the Confederate sub.

http://news.yahoo.com/complete-civil-...

Attention, Clive Cussler fans on the group. Our August group read discussion will be a book written by this author. You can go to the nomination thread to suggest your favorite book by July 7th.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

I would like to nominate "Pacific Vortex" book 1 in the Dirk Pitt series
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36...


Dirk Pitt's first, most terrific adventure! Dirk Pitt, death-defying adventurer and deep-sea expert, is out to the ultimate test as he plunges into the perilous waters of the Pacific Vortex � a fog-shrouded sea zone where dozens of ships have vanished without a trace. The latest victim is the awesome superb Starbuck, America's deep-diving nuclear arsenal. Its loss poses an unthinkable threat to national defense. Pitt's job is to find it, salvage it, before the sea explodes. In a furious race against time, Pitt's mission swirls him into a battle with underwater assassins-and traps him in the arms of Summer Moran, the most stunningly exotic and dangerous toward disaster, Clive Cussler plummets his hero onto an ancient sunken island-the astonishing setting for the explosive climax of Pacific Vortex

I have read every book written by Mr. Cussler and own copies of almost all of them, I am currently on a quest to own first editions of every title. Dirk Pitt is my favorite but will continue to get the books the day they are published through the Poisoned Pen bookstore. Hard to pick a favorite title but, Inca Gold or Raise the Titanic are great choices if you are not starting at the beginning. Read on everyone!!!