Clive Eric Cussler (born July 15, 1931) was an American adventure-fiction novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, based on the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than 20 times. Cussler's books have been published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries. In total, he is the author of more than 80 books. His novels have inspired various other works of fiction in the form of films, TV, other novels and even video games. Cussler lived in Arizona and died on February 24, 2020, at the age of 88.