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BIOGRAPHY Cussler is the father of Dirk Cussler , who co-wrote '' Black Wind '' ( 2004 ) and the December 2006 release '' Treasure Of Khan '' ( 2006 ). WRITING The first two Pitt novels, '' The Mediterranean Caper '' and '' Iceberg '', were relatively conventional maritime thrillers. The third, ''Raise the Titanic!'', made Cussler's reputation and established the pattern that subsequent Pitt novels would follow: A blend of high adventure and high technology, generally involving megalomaniacal villains, lost ships, beautiful women, and sunken treasure. Cussler's novels, like those of Michael Crichton are examples of Techno-thrillers that do not use military plots and settings. Where Crichton strives for scrupulous realism, however, Cussler prefers fantastic spectacles and outlandish plot devices. The Pitt novels, in particular, have the anything-goes quality of the James Bond or Indiana Jones movies, while also sometimes borrowing from Alistair MacLean 's novels. Pitt himself is a two-dimensional, larger-than-life hero reminiscent of Doc Savage and other characters from Pulp Magazines . Life Imitating Art As an underwater , several of which (driven by Pitt) appear in his novels. In what started as a joke in the novel ''Dragon'', and that Cussler expected his editor to remove, he now often writes himself into his books, at first as simple cameos, but later as something of a Deus Ex Machina , providing the novel's protagonists with an essential bit of assistance. Art Imitating Death His 2001 novel ''Valhalla Rising'' featured a sci-fi Viking mythology set in Tarrytown and other locations of the Hudson River Valley of Westchester County , New York . Valhalla, New York is famous for its sea of graveyards near Kensico where many famous personalities are buried. The name of the community came from a 19th Century fan of Richard Wagner and her own interest in Norse Mythology . In 1994 , Mark Guglielmo drew attention to the connection between Vikings and Valhalla, when he murdered his wife in Florida and then disposed of her bisected corpse twenty miles apart in the Hudson River and at a location near Bedford , while attempting to imitate portions of a Viking funeral. CINEMATIZATION The first attempt to film one of Cussler's novels — ''Raise The Titanic!'' (1980) — was a critical and commercial failure. Its failure was widely attributed to a weak script and the casting of Richard Jordan as Pitt. Paramount Pictures released '' Sahara '' on April 8, 2005, starring Matthew McConaughey as Dirk Pitt , Steve Zahn as Al Giordino, William H. Macy as Admiral Sandecker, and Penélope Cruz as Eva Rojas. Cussler and the studio have filed Lawsuit s against each other in a disagreement over whether the film departs too severely from the novel. {Link without Title} BIBLIOGRAPHY Dirk Pitt adventure novels
There is also a Dirk Pitt reference book:
NUMA Files adventure novels (co-authored with Paul Kemprecos ) This series of books focuses on Kurt Austin, head of NUMA's Special Projects division and his adventures. Some characters from the Pitt novels appear such as Sandecker, Rudi Gunn, Hiram Yager and St. Julian Perlmutter. Pitt makes brief appearances in the first book, "Serpent" and "Polar Shift."
Oregon Chronicles adventure novels (co-authored with Craig Dirgo on first two, Jack DuBrul on the second two) This series focuses on "The Oregon," introduced in "Flood Tide." While appearing to be a decript tanker, it's really a high-tech advanced ship used by the Corporation, under the leadership of Juan Cabrillo. The ship is run like a business, with its crew shareholders, taking jobs for the CIA and other agencies to help stop terrorism and other crimes. The crew is adept at disguises, combat, computer hacking and more to aid their missions.
Childrens Book
Non-Fiction (co-authored with Craig Dirgo ) RECURRING CHARACTERS NUMA
Friends, etc. Easter Eggs
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