The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 28 books · 1973 to 2026

Clive Cussler

Thriller and suspenseAction and adventure

Dirk Pitt, special projects director of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, finds shipwrecks, lost treasure and global conspiracies with his friend Al Giordino. Later books are written with, and then by, Cussler’s son Dirk, and bring in Pitt’s grown-up twins.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Only the Dirk Pitt series is charted; NUMA Files, Oregon Files, Fargo and Isaac Bell are left out for now.

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Who appears in which book

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LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Clive Cussler books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Dirk Pitt

28 books · Set around the world · story order differsAction and adventure
  1. 1The Mediterranean Caper1973With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Iceberg1975With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Raise the Titanic!1976With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Vixen 031978With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Night Probe!1981With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Pacific Vortex!1983With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Deep Six1984With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Cyclops1986With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  9. 9Treasure1988With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  10. 10Dragon1990With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  11. 11Sahara1992With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  12. 12Inca Gold1994With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  13. 13Shock Wave1996With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  14. 14Flood Tide1997CrossoverWith Dirk PittJuan Cabrillo also appears in books by Clive Cussler & Jack Du BrulBuy on Amazon
  15. 15Atlantis Found1999With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  16. 16Valhalla Rising2001With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  17. 17Trojan Odyssey2003With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  18. 18Black Wind2004With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  19. 19Treasure of Khan2006With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  20. 20Arctic Drift2008With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  21. 21Crescent Dawn2010With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  22. 22Poseidon’s Arrow2012With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  23. 23Havana Storm2014With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  24. 24Odessa Sea2016With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  25. 25Celtic Empire2019With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  26. 26The Devil’s Sea2021With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  27. 27The Corsican Shadow2023With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon
  28. 28Obsidian Sky2026With Dirk PittBuy on Amazon

Characters

9 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

NUMA