Clive Cussler, Author of Sahara

[JStarr]

That new film "Sahara" (with Matthew McConaghey and Penelope Cruz) is based off a novel by a writer that I've followed for years named Clive Cussler. The previews make the thing actually look big enough to cover a Cussler book and do it some justice. One other Cussler book was adapted for a film, and with pretty dire results: 1980's "Raise the Titanic" with Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, Anne Archer, and Alec Guinness. By all accounts, the movie was pretty terrible, and most of the action and intrigue of the book got sucked out to fit the thing into a two-hour film. Cussler was so pissed that he claimed he'd never sell another of his books to Hollywood again, so I was surprised to hear that this one was getting the green light.

As far as the books go, I've always described them as "James Bond meets Indiana Jones." The main man, Dirk Pitt, is your typical ladies' man/classic car buff who lives in an abandoned hangar at a Washington D.C. airport, but is never home, because he's frequently out salvaging ships and saving the world. Incidentally, Cussler draws a lot from his own research, as he himself is very into exploring and salvaging ships and actually went on one of the expeditions to explore the Titanic.

Great stuff if you're into adventure stories. He's onto three different series now, and up to about twenty or so books, so there's lots to choose from. Anyone else checked out Clive's stuff?