Pacific Vortex

Dirk Pitt® #1-20

by Clive Cussler, Paul Kemprecos (Collaborator), Dirk Cussler (Collaborator)

as listed

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

About the author

Cussler began writing novels in 1965 and published his first work featuring his continuous series hero, Dirk Pitt, in 1973. His first non-fiction, The Sea Hunters, was released in 1996. The Board of Governors of the Maritime College, State University of New York, considered The Sea Hunters in lieu of a Ph.D. thesis and awarded Cussler a Doctor of Letters degree in May, 1997. It was the first time since the College was founded in 1874 that such a degree was bestowed.

Cussler was an internationally recognized authority on shipwrecks and the founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization (named after the fictional Federal agency in his novels) that dedicates itself to preserving American maritime and naval history. He and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers discovered more than 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites including the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, the Confederacy's Hunley, and its victim, the Union's Housatonic; the U-20, the U-boat that sank the Lusitania; the Cumberland, which was sunk by the famous ironclad, Merrimack; the renowned Confederate raider Florida; the Navy airship, Akron, the Republic of Texas Navy warship, Zavala, found under a parking lot in Galveston, and the Carpathia, which sank almost six years to-the-day after plucking Titanic's survivors from the sea.

In addition to being the Chairman of NUMA, Cussler was also a fellow in both the Explorers Club of New York and the Royal Geographic Society in London. He was honored with the Lowell Thomas Award for outstanding underwater exploration.

Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. His past international bestsellers include Pacific Vortex, Mediterranean Caper, Iceberg, Raise the Titanic, Vixen 03, Night Probe, Deep Six, Cyclops, Treasure, Dragon, Sahara, Inca Gold, Shock Wave, Flood Tide, Atlantis Found, Valhalla Rising, Trojan Odyssey and Black Wind (this last with his son, Dirk Cussler); the nonfiction books The Sea Hunters, The Sea Hunters II and Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed; the NUMA® Files novels Serpent, Blue Gold, Fire Ice, White Death and Lost City (written with Paul Kemprecos); and the Oregon Files novels Sacred Stone and Golden Buddha (written with Craig Dirgo) and Dark Watch (written with Jack Du Brul).

Clive Cussler died at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona on February 24, 2020.

Reviews

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

PACIFIC VORTEX is bk 1 in Clive Cussler’s 20 book Dirk Pitt Maritime Adventure series (written prior to 1973, published in 1982).

MY RATING GUIDE: 4 Stars. I find this an enjoyable introduction to Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino’s Maritime Adventures (see Comments below).

1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/cute; 3.5= I enjoyed it; 4= I LIKED THIS A LOT; 5= I Loved it, it was great! (I seldom give 5 Stars).

In PACIFIC VORTEX, the reader is introduced to protagonists Dirk Pitt, Al Giordino and a few members of the NUMA group. While vacationing, Pitt discovers a large capsule floating in the waters off Hawaii. The contents adds evidence to the disappearances of a variety of ships gone missing from the area in the past 60years. Where are the ships and crew now? Who or what caused their disappearance? Did the crews from the ships have any prior warning of any danger? Why is there a lack of SOS coming from the ships?

Comments ~
1) As a scuba diver I always enjoy reading Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino underwater sea adventures (as well as NUMA w Austin & Zavala) - filled with diving, ROVs, mini-subs, underwater surveys, etc. The action and fast pace of Cussler’s Dirk Pitt novels are basically Ocean centered Indiana Jones-type adventures. Bk1, PACIFIC VORTEX begins the Dirk Pitt (and Al Giordino) series which now features 20 books.
2) I first read PV years ago. Later books refer to certain pivotal characters featured in PACIFIC VORTEX - particularly SHOCK WAVE, VAHALLA RISING and the books that follow.
3) Due to the character development from book to book, I prefer reading Cussler’s books in order but each title can be read and enjoyed as a Standalone title.
4) PACIFIC VORTEX begins the pattern (in the series) of building action to a climax and then quickly breaking away to different locations, frequently, which both builds and breaks the tension and results in several plots developing and progressing simultaneously. Boredom is seldom an issue while the reader may be required, occasionally, to suspend credibility and simply sit back and enjoy the ride.
5) It’s interesting to note that during his life Clive Cussler was deeply involved in the salvaging of historic ships. He was the founder of a non-profit organization called NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency) with salvaging and history preservation its purpose and 60 ships located.

Readers who might enjoy Clive Cussler novels are those who:
1) Prefer action/adventure rather than personal drama or angst in their novels.
2) Enjoy the heroes conquering every manner of danger or challenge and have no problem setting aside implausibility for the fun of a good story.
3) Enjoy a good sea adventure which hopefully includes one or more of the following: scuba diving, underwater mining, cave diving, remote underwater vehicles, deep sea diving, underwater search and/or salvage operations, maritime treasure hunting, submersibles of various sorts, underwater adventures, battles, etc.
4) Enjoy a cast of light-hearted yet dedicated and determined characters and professionals persevering through challenging adventures as their expertise develops and grows over time.

PACIFIC VORTEX is the beginning of all the Cussler adventures which follow (in 5 separate series). I’ve always found PACIFIC VOTEX great fun, even as Cussler’s writing matures and is refined over time in the books that follow (there are several references in PV to smoking and other activities which Cussler drops in later books. Pitt’s personal description is also tweaked along the way). Readers who enjoy PACIFIC VORTEX (which Cussler states “as his very first Pitt adventure” has its faults) might be interested in checking out his four other series and/or his separate nonfiction maritime salvage titles as well.

Besides the 20 Dirk Pitt Adventures, I particularly enjoy the OREGON series (a contemporary maritime “white shirt” mercenary Action series) and Cussler’s 20 book NUMA series (an off-shoot of the DIRK PITT series with several overlapping characters, including Pitt, Giordino, Admiral Sandecker and the general NUMA crew/friends). The 3rd Cussler series features Isaac Bell, an early 20th century detective who becomes involved in various Maritime mysteries. I have not yet read this 13 book series. The 13 book Fargo Adventures series features Sam and Remi, a husband and wife team who delve into secrets under the sea. I have read only one book from this series.

READER CAUTION ~ The focus in PACIFIC VORTEX is on the adventure of fictional Maritime events.
PROFANITY - Yes. Strong language is used.
VIOLENCE - PG. Similar to Indiana Jones.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - Closed door; no details.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read a Clive Cussler as he was my late husband's favourite authors, & I love action thrillers. I am always drawn to stories based around military & civilian transportation, so this submarine story looked like a good place to start my Clive Cussler journey ...

Right from the outset I fell in love with Dirk Pitt, he is charismatic, handsome, fearless & has an eye for the ladies - everything a 007 fan like myself loves in a fictional hero. The story is fast paced, intriguing and in places very James Bond-esque.

I enjoyed the way Clive Cussler described the characters and made them believable and relatable, & even the bad guys were intriguing, but I was glad to see that Dirk gave them a run for their money. This book was written in the early 70s', but the action & environment are timeless; this is a straightforward good vs evil type of story - not many twists & turns, just good old-fashioned explosions, shootings, chases and bad guys getting what they deserve.

This is the first Clive Cussler book I have read - my husband had the physical book, but due to sensory issues I decided to purchase the Kindle version, & I know this is the start of a great adventure. It was nice to read a good old-fashioned action story without all the modern technology & political correctness.

[Ceemo Elinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in a bookshelf in my grandfather’s office. He was a Army veteran (paratrooper), and always had tons of stories to share. He gave me my avid appreciation of books, which I still have to this day. I will never forget him. He loved reading spy stories. He had all of the Tom Clancy books, which I hope to get into soon. He was a massive fan of Clive Cussler, and also had most of his books. He recently passed, and his wife my grandmother said I could take any books I wanted.

To be honest, I was kind of skeptical at first. I haven’t really read a ton of ‘heavy duty’ spy books. But this book was amazing. I can’t really say more than that. It was just pure amazing.

[Quincy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written story! The storyline had my eyes glued to the pages. This book is great for readers who like adventure, action and adrenaline boosts. I particularly enjoyed the formal manner of writing by Clive Cussler, which perfectly fits the perspective of the Naval characters. Good book overall, although the unfeminist way the protagonist would sometimes talk/think about women was for me a bit uneasy to read.

[Marianne Barron · Rating 4 out of 5]

GJenlest en gammel favoritt. Testet Dirk Pitt på øret fra Audible. Funket flott som ei kule det også :)

[Enoch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book. Nothing like reading an adventure book where the good guys always win.

[Fletcher Backshell-Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would die for Gio

Very jack reachery which I loved

[Oldmaster1818 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It could have been so easy to write a corny ending and ruin the story. Instead, Clive Cussler showed the fragility and humanity of Dirk Pitt. Well done!

[George Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

IDK, I’ve read a few ocean adventures and I did not find this compelling enough to try another Dirk Pitt story.

[Lowri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have liked this book so much if there was less muscles and chicks and cool hero talk. The mystery was great, the villain/hero relationship was cool, the mountainous car chase was thrilling even. I just hated that Adrienne was written as that type of girl & that Summer was written as the evil version of that type of girl. Dirk and Summer hardly spoke the whole book to be in love by the last sequence ? I’m not buying it. There’s so little clothing in the last chapter/sequence also ? Totally un-needed. All of the back and forth between Dirk and Al? Great I loved their companionship. This was clearly written with the male gaze in mind and I’m not complaining about that at all, but I was just more locked in on the mystery and all the interesting little caveats that went along with it. Will I try another Dirk Pitt? Perhaps. I can’t say it was awful but I’m just not the type for the female characters’ writing style.

[Obi Ama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredibly well done adventure. One of my favorites.