Cussler’s main characters are Dirk Pitt and Al Giordano of Numa (National Underwater and Marine Agency). He’s written others, collaborating with other writers (who are even worse writers than he is) but I want to focus on the Dirk Pitt series.
It may be thought of as sour grapes for me to criticize the writing of Clive Cussler when you consider that the author has become a multi-millionaire and his books have sold over 90 million copies, nevertheless that’s what I’m going to do!
Cussler has a successful formula – which is why I like reading his books for the most part. They all start the same way. Sometime way back in history, an event occurs – a treaty is written and then lost, a tomb is found and then lost, a ship with treasure escapes its pursuers and then disappears, etc. Then, to present day (near future, though, five years or so after the year in which Cussler is actually writing the book), and some monomaniacal criminal genius is searching for this lost treasure, finds it, and can turn it to his advantage if not stopped by Dirk Pitt, Al Giordano, and the forces of Numa.
In the present day, there’s always some archaeological or research team working in the exact location where the missing item is thought to be, invariably with a beautiful woman scientist as one of the crew, and invariably another member of the team is a traitor, actually in league with the enemy.
Dirk Pitt is usually nearby, conducting some research for Numa, hears that a research group is in trouble, and goes to the rescue.
Now, it may sound like I'm making fun of the formula, and in a way I am...but it's also enjoyable. I do like reading about all the historical stuff, and how it has relevance in the modern day....
But sometimes I just have to grit my teeth at Cussler’s prose. I think how much better his books would be if he was a bit of a better writer.
Consider this passage from Flood Tide (1997:
The chilling fingers of revulsion touched the back of Pitt’s neck as he saw a number of women and several children scattered among the sunken field of the dead. Many of them were elderly. The icy, fresh water running down from the glaciers had maintained the bodies in a state of near-perfect preservation. They appeared to be lying peacefully, as if asleep, slightly indented in the soft silt. On some the facial expressions were tranquil, on others the eyes bulged and the mouths were thrust open in what was their final scream. They lay undisturbed, unaffected by the frigid water temperature and the daily sequences of light and dark. There was no sign of decay.
As the submersible passed directly within one meter of what looked like an entire family, he could see by the folds of the eyes and features of the faces that they were Oriental. He could also see that their hands were tied behind them, their mouths taped and their feet roped to iron weights.
So, what’s wrong with those paragraphs? Well, first of all, he’s right about one thing. Fresh, cold water will preserve the flesh on the bones of corpses…if there are no fish in the lake to eat them, they will look undisturbed. (I learned that from Nevada Barr's A Superior Death!)
But what about the rest of it?
The chilling fingers of revulsion touched the back of Pitt’s neck as he saw a number of women and several children scattered among the sunken field of the dead. Many of them were elderly. (Many of the children were elderly?)
The icy, fresh water running down from the glaciers had maintained the bodies in a state of near-perfect preservation. They appeared to be lying peacefully, as if asleep, slightly indented in the soft silt. (No. If they are tied to weights, as Cussler states later on, their bodies will continue to float – they won’t lie on the lake bed!)
On some the facial expressions were tranquil, on others the eyes bulged and the mouths were thrust open in what was their final scream. They lay undisturbed, unaffected by the frigid water temperature and the daily sequences of light and dark. There was no sign of decay. (Isn’t that what “in a state of near-perfect preservation” means?)
As the submersible passed directly within one meter of what looked like an entire family, he could see by the folds of the eyes and features of the faces that they were Oriental. He could also see that their hands were tied behind them, their mouths taped and their feet roped to iron weights. (directly seems kind of superfluous). (If their mouths are taped, how can some of them have mouths “thrust open” in what was their final scream?)
That type of prose is used in all the books.
Cussler does try for "strong" women characters in his books, but fails. On one occasion, Dirk's main squeeze (when he isn't squeezing someone else) is a congresswoman, who allows herself to be blackmailed rather than have compromising photos of her and Dirk published. This woman has known Dirk for how many years? Obviously, all she has to do is tell Dirk and let him sort it out. Or better still, instead of letting herself be blackmailed, say "Publish and be damned." But instead Cussler has her knuckle under, which diminished her character for me.
My own favorite among the Pitt books is Atlantis Found, followed by Raise the Titanic. Night Probe is also enjoyable.
The book I absolutely dislike is Sahara, in which people are driven mad by drinking radium-laced water, and turn into mindless cannibals. Pitt has his revenge on the man responsible by having him drink radium laced water, so that he ends up dying the same way. But…the whole book is just way to unpleasant. [I liked the idea of a kidnapped President Lincoln... but the rest of it... ich) (And why movie makers decided to choose this particular novel of Cussler’s to adapt just makes no sense. Night Probe would have been much more fun. Or even Atlantis Found, which would have drawn lots of Atlantean enthusiasts!)
Dirk Pitt books
1. Pacific Vortex! (1983) [The first Dirk Pitt book written, unsold until after success of Raise the Titanic.]
2. The Mediterranean Caper (1973)
3. Iceberg (1975)
4. Raise the Titanic! (1976)
5. Vixen 03 (1978)
6. Night Probe! (1981)
7. Deep Six (1984)
8. Cyclops (1986)
9. Treasure (1988)
10. Dragon (1990)
11. Sahara (1992)
12. Inca Gold (1994)
13. Shock Wave (1996)
14. Flood Tide (1997)
15. Atlantis Found (1999)
16. Valhalla Rising (2001)
17. Trojan Odyssey (2003)
18. Black Wind (2004)
19. Treasure of Khan (2006)
20. Arctic Drift (2008)
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