A few times in my reading career I’ve come across books that read as if they’ve just barely hit their publishing deadlines. The Kingdom is one such book.
This book felt tremendously short, which of course is a very subjective opinion. Compared to other Cussler novels, however, The Kingdom specifically lacked the antagonist’s subplot, an addition to the story which generally takes us readers into the evil lairs of criminal masterminds nearly as often as we see the protagonists in action. Though the antagonist in this novel utilized his colorful family to do his dirty work all over the world—a lithe Chinese assassin for a wife and their Asian-featured blonde twins—their roles in this novel were comparatively minor when looking at the full breadth of Cussler’s other novels written throughout his career.
This particular story follows Sam and Remi Fargo to the Himalayan borderlands between Nepal and Tibet (a favorite location of mine) where they seek Shangri-La and the theurang, a golden statue that might give clues to humanity’s earliest ancestors. They also search for a missing friend, chase possible ghosts, hunt golden relics, and fashion a dirigible out of a parachute and jet-fuel infused reeds. Certainly, this adventurous couple accomplishes a lot in this book, but for the reasons mentioned above, it still felt lacking.
In 2011, Cussler co-authored four books, giving him a pretty full docket, so it’s not like I can blame him for falling behind in his publication schedule. How long has it taken me to write a single novel? Six years? But when he’s got the help of an experienced author like Grant Blackwood to add meat to the bones of his fantasies and to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s, there really should be no excuse. Perhaps this is why Cussler later swapped out Grant Blackwood for Thomas Perry as co-author for the next Fargo Adventure installment. It’s all speculation on my part, but while I like to imagine that the Cussler production house is a smooth, well-oiled machine, it’s got to have its kinks here and there. This time, it’s here.
Incidentally, 2011 wasn’t a completely horrible year for Clive Cussler, for that’s the year he co-authored my favorite Isaac Bell novel, The Race, with Justin Scott. I guess this just goes to show that not every book’s a winner, and not every working relationship can last forever. I look forward to seeing how Thomas Perry affects this series in Book 4, The Tombs.
©2017 E.T.
Read More from Clive Cussler:
Dirk Pitt Adventures:
1. Pacific Vortex! (1983)
2. The Mediterranean Caper (1973)
3. Iceberg (1975)
4. Raise the Titanic! (1976)
5. Vixen 03 (1978)
6. Night Probe! (1981)
7. Deep Six (1984)
8. Cyclops (1986)
9. Treasure (1988)
10. Dragon (1990)
11. Sahara (1992)
12. Inca Gold (1994)
13. Shock Wave (1996)
14. Flood Tide (1997)
15. Atlantis Found (1999)
16. Valhalla Rising (2001)
17. Trojan Odyssey (2003)
18. Black Wind (2004)
19. Treasure of Khan (2006)
20. Arctic Drift (2008)
21. Crescent Dawn (2010)
22. Poseidon’s Arrow (2012)
23 Havana Storm (2014)
24. Odessa Sea (2016)
25. Celtic Empire (2018)
Isaac Bell Adventures:
1. The Chase (2007)
2. The Wrecker (2009)
3. The Spy (2010)
4. The Race (2011)
5. The Thief (2012)
6. The Striker (2013)
7. The Bootlegger (2014)
8. The Assassin (2015)
9. The Gangster (2016)
10. The Cutthroat (2017)
11. The Titanic Secret (2019)
12. The Saboteurs (2021)
Kids:
1. The Adventures of Vin Fiz (2006)
2. The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy (2010)
Nonfiction:
1. The Sea Hunters (1996)
2. The Sea Hunters II (2002)
3. Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt Revealed (1998)
4. Silent Killer: Submarines and Underwater Warfare (2011)
5. Built for Adventure (2011)
6. Built to Thrill (2016)
NUMA Files:
1. Serpent (1999)
2. Blue Gold (2000)
3. Fire Ice (2002)
4. White Death (2003)
5. Lost City (2004)
6. Polar Shift (2005)
7. The Navigator (2007)
8. Medusa (2009)
9. Devil’s Gate (2011)
10. The Storm (2012)
11. Zero Hour (2013)
12. Ghost Ship (2014)
13. The Pharaoh’s Secret (2015)
14. Nighthawk (2017)
15. The Rising Se (2018)
16. Sea of Greed (2019)
17. Journey of the Pharaohs (2020)
18. Fast Ice (2021)
19. Dark Vector (2022)
20. Condor’s Fury (2023)
21. Desolation Code (2024)
Oregon Files:
1. Golden Buddha (2003)
2. Sacred Stone (2005)
3. Dark Watch (2005)
4. Skeleton Coast (2006)
5. Plague Ship (2008)
6. Corsair (2009)
7. The Silent Sea (2010)
8. The Jungle (2011)
9. Mirage (2013)
10. Piranha (2015)
11. The Emperor’s Revenge (2017)
12. Typhoon Fury (2017)
13. Shadow Tyrants (2018)
14. The Final Option (2019)
15. Marauder (2020)
Fargo Adventures:
1. Spartan Gold (2009)
2. The Lost Empire (2010)
3. The Kingdom (2011)
4. The Tombs (2012)
5. The Mayan Secrets (2013)
6. The Eye of Heaven (2014)
7. The Solomon Curse (2015)
8. Pirate (2016)
9. The Romanov Ransom (2017)
10. The Gray Ghost (2018)
11. The Oracle (2019)
12. Wrath of Poseidon (2020)
13. The Serpent’s Eye (2025)