Adventure Author Clive Cussler Dead at 88

News has reached us of the dead of US author Clive Cussler, who brought many adventures to life with a huge collection of novels to his name, including the Dirk Pitt novels of which he wrote twenty-five.

Writing on Twitter this morning, Clive’s wife said “It is with a heavy heart that I share the sad news that my husband Clive passed away [on] Monday.” The cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but at 88 years-old, the author certainly led a full life.

During his writing career Cussler published around eighty books, including several series and was known for his adventure writing, selling more than one hundred million copies in his lifetime.

His novels always included an adventure and so did his life, known as an underwater explorer he founded the National Underwater and Marine Agency, which has discovered more than sixty shipwrecked sites and numerous other notable underwater wrecks. His own sense of adventure saturated his works, and he become the go-to author for those (often men) looking for adventure from their armchairs.

Cussler’s works inspired various other works of fiction and adaptations in film, television, other novels and even video games can be found.

In his personal life, Cussler married his wife Barbara Knight in 1955 and they remained married for nearly 50 years until her death in 2003. Together they had three children. He is survived by his second wife Janet, three children and four grandchildren.