Dirk Pitt Books in Order
Dirk Pitt contains 28 books, published between 1973 and 2026. The first book is The Mediterranean Caper / Mayday! (1973) and the newest is Obsidian Sky (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 28
- Published
- 1973–2026
- Confirmed
- 28 of 28 titles
- Pages on record
- 10,752 in 22 of 28 books
- Reading time
- 179–269 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 10,752 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 22 of 28 titles with a page count on record.
Dirk Pitt is a Clive Cussler adventure series built around underwater exploration, terrorism and the sea. The 28 books start with The Mediterranean Caper / Mayday! (1973), followed by Iceberg (1974) and Raise the Titanic! (1976). Clive Cussler is credited on 25 titles. The three most recent, The Devil's Sea (2021), The Corsican Shadow (2023) and Obsidian Sky (2026), are credited to Dirk Cussler, and the series remains ongoing. Catalogue subjects also include marine biologists and suspense.
How many Dirk Pitt books are there?
Dirk Pitt has 28 books, released between 1973 and 2026.
Dirk Pitt Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 28 Dirk Pitt books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The Mediterranean Caper / Mayday!1973 · confirmed 3/41973–3/4
- 2Iceberg1974 · 352 pages · confirmed 3/419743523/4
- 3Raise the Titanic!1976 · 448 pages · confirmed 4/419764484/4
- 4Vixen 031978 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/419783843/4
- 5Night Probe!1981 · 345 pages · confirmed 3/419813453/4
- 6Pacific Vortex1983 · 270 pages · confirmed 3/419832703/4
- 7Deep Six1984 · 535 pages · confirmed 4/419845354/4
- 8Cyclops1986 · 473 pages · confirmed 3/419864733/4
- 9Treasure1988 · 547 pages · confirmed 3/419885473/4
- 10Dragon1990 · 602 pages · confirmed 3/419906023/4
- 11Sahara1992 · 704 pages · confirmed 3/419927043/4
- 12Inca Gold1994 · 577 pages · confirmed 3/419945773/4
- 13Shock Wave1996 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/419963203/4
- 14Flood Tide1997 · confirmed 3/41997–3/4
- 15Atlantis Found1999 · 532 pages · confirmed 3/419995323/4
- 16Valhalla Rising2001 · 528 pages · confirmed 4/420015284/4
- 17Trojan Odyssey2003 · 463 pages · confirmed 3/420034633/4
- 18Black Wind2004 · 530 pages · confirmed 4/420045304/4
- 19Treasure of Khan2006 · 552 pages · confirmed 3/420065523/4
- 20Arctic Drift2008 · confirmed 4/42008–4/4
- 21Crescent Dawn2010 · 548 pages · confirmed 3/420105483/4
- 22Poseidon's Arrow2012 · confirmed 3/42012–3/4
- 23Havana Storm2014 · 452 pages · confirmed 3/420144523/4
- 24Odessa Sea2016 · 486 pages · confirmed 3/420164863/4
- 25Celtic Empire2018 · 464 pages · confirmed 3/420184643/4
- 26The Devil's Sea2021 · 640 pages · confirmed 3/420216403/4
- 27The Corsican Shadow2023 · confirmed 3/42023–3/4
- 28Obsidian Sky2026 · confirmed 3/42026–3/4
Dirk Pitt Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Dirk Pitt books run from The Mediterranean Caper / Mayday! (1973) to Obsidian Sky (2026), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Dirk Pitt in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Dirk Pitt books in order?
You should read the Dirk Pitt books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Dirk Pitt book also stands alone.
What order should you read Dirk Pitt books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with The Mediterranean Caper / Mayday! (1973), the earliest published title. After it come Iceberg (1974), Raise the Titanic! (1976), Vixen 03 (1978) and Night Probe! (1981); the numbered table above continues from there.
What is the newest Dirk Pitt book?
Obsidian Sky (2026) is the newest Dirk Pitt book released so far.
Is there a new Dirk Pitt book coming?
No next Dirk Pitt book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Printable Dirk Pitt Books in Order Checklist
A printable checklist of all 28 books in publication order is on the Dirk Pitt reading checklist, with a tick box beside each title.
Dirk Pitt at a glance
- Still running
- Dirk Pitt is still running, with a title published as recently as 2026.
- Release pace
- Dirk Pitt books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 10,752 pages across the 22 of 28 books with a recorded length, a median of 507 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Dirk Pitt books, 6 of 28, were published in the 1990s.
- Corroboration
- 5 of the 28 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
- Attribution
- Of the 28 titles, 25 are credited to Clive Cussler and 3 to Dirk Cussler.
What the Dirk Pitt books are about
26 of the 28 Dirk Pitt books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: pitt, dirk (fictitious character) is tagged on 16 of 26. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Pitt, dirk (fictitious character) 16 of 26 books
- Action & adventure 13 of 26 books
- Adventure stories 10 of 26 books
- Thrillers 7 of 26 books
- Marine biologists 3 of 26 books
- Suspense 3 of 26 books
- Terrorism 3 of 26 books
- Underwater exploration 3 of 26 books
- Antiquities 2 of 26 books
- Ficción 2 of 26 books
- Fiction in English 2 of 26 books
Other series by Clive Cussler
Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Oregon Files books in order 19 books
- NUMA Files books in order 22 books