The Oregon Files #14
It has been a few years since I read and reviewed a book from one of my favorite adventure novelists, Clive Cussler. He died four months after this book was published (and about one month before COVID shut down our country) so this was among his final (if not the final book) he published while living. I wonder if his co-authors will continue his legacy, much as Tom Clancy’s have?
Of all Cussler’s series, the Dirk Pitt Adventures are the oldest and arguably the best. My vote, though, for the runner-up second-best is The Oregon Files, mainly for how its unique “Corporation” is able to use disguises and intrigue to fight America’s most covert battles.
Every book in The Oregon Files starts out the same—a rickety old tanker ship and a salty, filthy peg-legged sea captain meeting some port authority and successfully hiding the fact that their ship is the fastest in the world for its size and holds more fire power than any port can handle. I figured this one would be the same, but boy was I wrong.
The main plot of this installment is that The Oregon has a doppelganger, a copy-cat ship that’s wreaking havoc throughout the seas in order to tarnish The Oregon‘s reputation. In fact, I was wondering of Cussler was off his rocker when the ship I thought was The Oregon shot up some smugglers in cold blood, and they turned out to be CIA! I thought, “Why’s he giving his heroes such flaws so late in the game?
This book also enters the new age by including Deep-fake technology as part of the plot, though most of the action remains hand-to-hand and mano-y-mano. That’s why we read this stuff anyways, right? Cussler’s formula never seems to fail.
Overall, the new twists make for an entertaining read, and I feel a bit inspired to look for more Cussler tales to enjoy in my down time. I don’t tons of free time, but that’s why I love my Libby app.
©2021 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)