Best Clive Cussler Books

The best books by Clive Cussler — 25 titles spanning Thriller, Mystery, averaging 4.23 BLT stars.

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Clive Cussler is the king of the adventure thriller — a writer who treats the ocean floor, lost civilizations, and forgotten history as his personal playground. His Dirk Pitt series, anchored by barnstorming set pieces in books like Sahara and Raise the Titanic, runs on pure momentum: globe-trotting plots, audacious salvage operations, and heroes who crack wise while defusing bombs. Cussler's prose is breezy and propulsive, more interested in the next reversal than in psychological depth, which is exactly the point. He's not building characters; he's building roller coasters. The Isaac Bell series adds a period-adventure flavor — early twentieth-century detective work with the same larger-than-life energy. If you want literary fiction, look elsewhere. If you want to spend a long weekend racing through underwater discoveries and geopolitical intrigue with a cold drink in hand, Cussler is your man.

Clive Cussler's highest-rated book in our collection is The Sea Wolves (4.47 BLT stars). Browse the full list below.

Where to Start with Clive Cussler

  1. 1
    The Sea Wolves cover

    The Sea Wolves

    Isaac Bell • Book 13

    by Jack Du Brul, Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.47 BLT Score (4.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.41 Goodreads (4.8K)
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  2. 2
    The Heist cover

    The Heist

    Isaac Bell • Book 14

    by Jack Du Brul, Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.35 BLT Score (3.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.39 Goodreads (3.6K)
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  3. 3
    Trojan Odyssey cover

    Trojan Odyssey

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 17

    by Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.32 BLT Score (20.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (20.0K)
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  4. 4
    The Cutthroat cover

    The Cutthroat

    Isaac Bell • Book 10

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    ★ 4.30 BLT Score (6.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.04 Goodreads (6.0K)
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  5. 5
    Raise the Titanic cover

    Raise the Titanic

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 4

    by Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.29 BLT Score (30.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.99 Goodreads (30.2K)
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  6. 6
    The Iron Storm cover

    The Iron Storm

    Isaac Bell • Book 15

    by Jack Du Brul, Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.29 BLT Score (2.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.44 Goodreads (2.2K)
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  7. 7
    The Wrecker cover

    The Wrecker

    Isaac Bell • Book 2

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    ★ 4.29 BLT Score (11.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.05 Goodreads (11.9K)
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  8. 8
    The Race cover

    The Race

    Isaac Bell • Book 4

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    ★ 4.28 BLT Score (8.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.02 Goodreads (8.4K)
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  9. 9
    The Assassin cover

    The Assassin

    Isaac Bell • Book 8

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    ★ 4.28 BLT Score (6.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.07 Goodreads (6.3K)
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  10. 10
    The Thief cover

    The Thief

    Isaac Bell • Book 5

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    ★ 4.25 BLT Score (7.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (7.6K)
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  11. 11
    Valhalla Rising cover

    Valhalla Rising

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 16

    by Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.24 BLT Score (25.5K ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (25.5K)
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  12. 12
    Lost Empire cover

    Lost Empire

    Fargo Adventures • Book 2

    by Clive Cussler, Grant Blackwood

    ★ 4.24 BLT Score (10.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.97 Goodreads (10.9K)
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  13. 13
    The Spy cover

    The Spy

    Isaac Bell • Book 3

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    ★ 4.24 BLT Score (10.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.97 Goodreads (10.4K)
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  14. 14
    The Bootlegger cover

    The Bootlegger

    Isaac Bell • Book 7

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    ★ 4.23 BLT Score (6.1K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (6.1K)
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  15. 15
    The Gangster cover

    The Gangster

    Isaac Bell • Book 9

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    ★ 4.23 BLT Score (6.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (6.2K)
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  16. 16
    The Chase cover

    The Chase

    Isaac Bell • Book 1

    by Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.21 BLT Score (20.1K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (20.1K)
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  17. 17
    Atlantis ontdekt / Vixen 03 cover

    Atlantis ontdekt / Vixen 03

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 15

    by Clive Cussler, P. Cramer, W. Sanders, R.K. van Spengen

    ★ 4.21 BLT Score (29.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.03 Goodreads (29.8K)
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  18. 18
    Sahara cover

    Sahara

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 11

    by Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.21 BLT Score (60.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.99 Goodreads (60.6K)
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  19. 19
    Pacific Vortex! cover

    Pacific Vortex!

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 1

    by Clive Cussler, Michael Pritchard

    ★ 4.17 BLT Score (25.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.8 Goodreads (25.4K)
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  20. 20
    The Striker cover

    The Striker

    Isaac Bell • Book 6

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    ★ 4.14 BLT Score (6.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.02 Goodreads (6.6K)
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  21. 21
    Treasure of Khan cover

    Treasure of Khan

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 19

    by Clive Cussler, Dirk Cussler

    ★ 4.14 BLT Score (16.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (16.2K)
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  22. 22
    Mayday! (The Clive Cussler Library) cover

    Mayday! (The Clive Cussler Library)

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 2

    by Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.12 BLT Score (24.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.81 Goodreads (24.3K)
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  23. 23
    Spartan Gold cover

    Spartan Gold

    Fargo Adventures • Book 1

    by Clive Cussler, Grant Blackwood

    ★ 4.12 BLT Score (16.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.86 Goodreads (16.6K)
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  24. 24
    Iceberg cover

    Iceberg

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 3

    by Clive Cussler

    ★ 4.11 BLT Score (25.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.86 Goodreads (25.8K)
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  25. 25
    Medusa cover

    Medusa

    NUMA Files • Book 8

    by Clive Cussler, Paul Kemprecos

    ★ 4.10 BLT Score (9.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.06 Goodreads (9.9K)
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How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

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