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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, 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. Pitt himself is a two-dimensional, larger-than-life hero reminiscent of Doc Savage and other characters from pulp magazines.
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. A second attempt is underway, however, as Crusader Entertainment attempts to put together a cinematic version of Sahara starring Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz as Dirk Pitt and Eva Rojas, with support from Steve Zahn as Al Giordino and William H. Macy, presumed to be taking up the role of Admiral Sandecker. This movie's fate is already troubled, however, with Cussler himself suing the company over script changes.[1]
As an underwater explorer, Cussler has discovered more than 60 shipwreckA shipwreck is the remains of a ship after it has sunk or been beached as a result of a crisis at sea. Causes Ships are lost for many reasons, including: failure of the ship's equipment instability navigation errors bad weather warfare and piracy Equipmen sites and has written non-fiction books about his findings. He is also the founder of the National Underwater and Marine AgencyThe National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) in the United States is dedicated to "preserving maritime heritage through the discovery, archaeological survey and conservation of shipwreck artifacts. (NUMA), a non-profit organization with the same name as the fictional government agency that employs Dirk Pitt. Cussler owns a large collection of classic carsAn automobile usually called a car (an old word for carriage) or a truck is a wheeled vehicle that carries its own engine. Older terms include horseless carriage and motor car with "motor" referring to what is now usually called the engine. The act of ope, several of which (driven by Pitt) appear in his novels.
There is also a Dirk Pitt reference book: