Best Clive Cussler Audiobooks

The best Clive Cussler audiobooks — 25 titles ranked by listening experience across Thriller, Mystery, averaging 4.23 ABR stars.

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Clive Cussler is the king of the adventure thriller — a writer who treats the ocean floor, lost civilizations, and forgotten history as his personal playground. His Dirk Pitt series, anchored by barnstorming set pieces in books like Sahara and Raise the Titanic, runs on pure momentum: globe-trotting plots, audacious salvage operations, and heroes who crack wise while defusing bombs. Cussler's prose is breezy and propulsive, more interested in the next reversal than in psychological depth, which is exactly the point. He's not building characters; he's building roller coasters. The Isaac Bell series adds a period-adventure flavor — early twentieth-century detective work with the same larger-than-life energy. If you want literary fiction, look elsewhere. If you want to spend a long weekend racing through underwater discoveries and geopolitical intrigue with a cold drink in hand, Cussler is your man.

Clive Cussler's highest-rated audiobook in our collection is Spartan Gold, narrated by Scott Brick (4.12 ABR stars). Performed by Scott Brick, Ron McLarty, David Purdham. Rankings here weight the listening experience — narrator performance and Audible ratings factor alongside reader scores.

Where to Start with Clive Cussler

  1. 1
    Spartan Gold cover

    Spartan Gold

    Fargo Adventures • Book 1

    by Clive Cussler, Grant Blackwood

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.12 ABR Score (21.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.86 Goodreads (16.6K) ★ 4.3 Audible (5.1K)
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    Treasure hunters Sam and Remi Fargo chase Napoleon's lost gold pillars originally stolen from ancient Delphi, following clues hidden on rare wine bottle labels.

  2. 2
    The Chase cover

    The Chase

    Isaac Bell • Book 1

    by Clive Cussler

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.21 ABR Score (24.6K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (20.1K) ★ 4.35 Audible (4.5K)
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    Detective Isaac Bell hunts a serial bank robber across 1906 America in this period thriller that Scott Brick narrates with the perfect blend of determination and period atmosphere.

  3. 3
    The Wrecker cover

    The Wrecker

    Isaac Bell • Book 2

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.29 ABR Score (15.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.05 Goodreads (11.9K) ★ 4.47 Audible (3.3K)
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    Scott Brick's gruff delivery suits this 1907-set thriller where detective Isaac Bell hunts a saboteur targeting the Southern Pacific Railroad. Old-fashioned adventure with modern pacing.

  4. 4
    Lost Empire cover

    Lost Empire

    Fargo Adventures • Book 2

    by Clive Cussler, Grant Blackwood

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.24 ABR Score (14.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.97 Goodreads (10.9K) ★ 4.45 Audible (3.2K)
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    Treasure hunters Sam and Remi Fargo chase Aztec gold from Tibet to Argentina while dodging a secret society. The globe-hopping adventure stays coherent thanks to clear chapter transitions.

  5. 5
    The Race cover

    The Race

    Isaac Bell • Book 4

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.28 ABR Score (10.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.02 Goodreads (8.4K) ★ 4.51 Audible (2.5K)
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    1910's first transcontinental flying race offers $50,000 to whoever crosses America in under fifty days, but someone's sabotaging the aircraft. Scott Brick captures the early aviation excitement and detective work.

  6. 6
    The Spy cover

    The Spy

    Isaac Bell • Book 3

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.24 ABR Score (13.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.97 Goodreads (10.4K) ★ 4.46 Audible (2.8K)
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    1908: Isaac Bell investigates a battleship designer's suspicious suicide while international tensions mount toward world war. Scott Brick captures the period's mix of technological optimism and political paranoia.

  7. 7
    The Assassin cover

    The Assassin

    Isaac Bell • Book 8

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.28 ABR Score (8.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.07 Goodreads (6.3K) ★ 4.5 Audible (2.3K)
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    Detective Isaac Bell hunts a sniper murdering Standard Oil's enemies across America's early oilfields. The investigation weaves through Rockefeller's monopoly and the dangerous politics of black gold.

  8. 8
    The Gangster cover

    The Gangster

    Isaac Bell • Book 9

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.23 ABR Score (8.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (6.2K) ★ 4.46 Audible (2.4K)
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    Detective Isaac Bell forms a special Black Hand Squad to combat Italian organized crime terrorizing 1906 New York. The gangsters seem omnipresent, making every street corner potentially deadly in this historical thriller.

  9. 9
    The Cutthroat cover

    The Cutthroat

    Isaac Bell • Book 10

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.30 ABR Score (8.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.04 Goodreads (6.0K) ★ 4.57 Audible (2.0K)
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    Isaac Bell investigates what appears to be a simple runaway case until the aspiring actress turns up brutally murdered. This 1911 New York thriller pits the Van Dorn detective against a killer targeting young women with stage ambitions.

  10. 10
    Trojan Odyssey cover

    Trojan Odyssey

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 17

    by Clive Cussler

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.32 ABR Score (21.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (20.0K) ★ 4.59 Audible (1.8K)
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    Dirk Pitt discovers he has grown twins while investigating mysterious deaths in the Caribbean, and Scott Brick's familiar voice guides listeners through Cussler's most personal adventure yet.

  11. 11
    The Bootlegger cover

    The Bootlegger

    Isaac Bell • Book 7

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.23 ABR Score (8.2K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (6.1K) ★ 4.49 Audible (2.1K)
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    Isaac Bell hunts international saboteurs through Prohibition-era America after his mentor takes a bullet. This Van Dorn Agency adventure spans from bootlegging operations to a conspiracy threatening the detective's own past.

  12. 12
    The Thief cover

    The Thief

    Isaac Bell • Book 5

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.25 ABR Score (9.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (7.6K) ★ 4.5 Audible (2.0K)
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    Detective Isaac Bell races to protect European scientists with a revolutionary invention aboard the Mauretania, their technology worth killing for in 1910.

  13. 13
    The Striker cover

    The Striker

    Isaac Bell • Book 6

    by Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.14 ABR Score (8.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.02 Goodreads (6.6K) ★ 4.48 Audible (1.9K)
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    Young Isaac Bell witnesses a mining accident that reveals union sabotage, launching him into a case that will define his detective career. Brick captures Bell's inexperience perfectly.

  14. 14
    The Sea Wolves cover

    The Sea Wolves

    Isaac Bell • Book 13

    by Jack Du Brul, Clive Cussler

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.47 ABR Score (5.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.41 Goodreads (4.8K) ★ 4.75 Audible (778)
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    Scott Brick handles the period dialogue and nautical tension with his usual polish while Isaac Bell races to stop German U-boats from turning the tide of WWI.

  15. 15
    Valhalla Rising cover

    Valhalla Rising

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 16

    by Clive Cussler

    Narrated by Ron McLarty

    4.24 ABR Score (26.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (25.5K) ★ 4.52 Audible (900)
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    Revolutionary cruise ship engines fail catastrophically in the middle of the ocean, launching Dirk Pitt into an adventure involving Jules Verne nautical lore and corporate conspiracy.

  16. 16
    Pacific Vortex! cover

    Pacific Vortex!

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 1

    by Clive Cussler, Michael Pritchard

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.17 ABR Score (26.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.8 Goodreads (25.4K) ★ 4.56 Audible (749)
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    Dirk Pitt's first adventure plunges into the fog-shrouded Pacific waters where ships vanish without trace, including America's nuclear submarine Starbuck.

  17. 17
    Raise the Titanic cover

    Raise the Titanic

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 4

    by Clive Cussler

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.29 ABR Score (30.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.99 Goodreads (30.2K) ★ 4.75 Audible (362)
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    Dirk Pitt must accomplish the impossible—raising the world's most famous shipwreck—to secure a rare element that could change the balance of global power. Scott Brick captures every moment of this audacious underwater adventure.

  18. 18
    Mayday! (The Clive Cussler Library) cover

    Mayday! (The Clive Cussler Library)

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 2

    by Clive Cussler

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.12 ABR Score (24.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.81 Goodreads (24.3K) ★ 4.52 Audible (460)
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    Classic Cussler underwater adventure with Dirk Pitt investigating a mysterious plane crash in the Pacific—Scott Brick keeps the pacing relentlessly propulsive.

  19. 19
    The Heist cover

    The Heist

    Isaac Bell • Book 14

    by Jack Du Brul, Clive Cussler

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.35 ABR Score (3.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.39 Goodreads (3.6K) ★ 4.75 Audible (328)
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    Detective Isaac Bell attends a 1914 meeting on President Wilson's yacht about the new Federal Reserve system, unaware he's walking into a massive financial conspiracy. Brick's authoritative narration suits the historical thriller perfectly.

  20. 20
    Blue Gold cover

    Blue Gold

    NUMA Files • Book 2

    by Clive Cussler, Paul Kemprecos

    Narrated by David Purdham

    4.09 ABR Score (12.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.99 Goodreads (12.1K) ★ 4.31 Audible (587)
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    Kurt Austin investigates whale deaths that lead to a billionaire's plot for world domination through water control. David Purdham keeps the high-concept adventure moving at breakneck pace.

  21. 21
    Iceberg cover

    Iceberg

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 3

    by Clive Cussler

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.11 ABR Score (26.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.86 Goodreads (25.8K) ★ 4.48 Audible (332)
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    Dirk Pitt investigates a luxury yacht's crew found burned and frozen inside a massive iceberg, uncovering an international conspiracy.

  22. 22
    The Iron Storm cover

    The Iron Storm

    Isaac Bell • Book 15

    by Jack Du Brul, Clive Cussler

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.29 ABR Score (2.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.44 Goodreads (2.2K) ★ 4.73 Audible (227)
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    Detective Isaac Bell battles mysterious anarchists bringing Great War brutality to America while serving on a presidential mission that Scott Brick handles with wartime intensity.

  23. 23
    Atlantis ontdekt / Vixen 03 cover

    Atlantis ontdekt / Vixen 03

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 15

    by Clive Cussler, P. Cramer, W. Sanders, R.K. van Spengen

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.21 ABR Score (30.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.03 Goodreads (29.8K) ★ 4.6 Audible (253)
    More about this pick

    Two classic Dirk Pitt adventures showcase Cussler's range, from underwater archaeology to military conspiracy, proving why this adventure series became a benchmark for the genre.

  24. 24
    Treasure of Khan cover

    Treasure of Khan

    Dirk Pitt® • Book 19

    by Clive Cussler, Dirk Cussler

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.14 ABR Score (16.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (16.2K) ★ 4.65 Audible (138)
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    Dirk Pitt faces his most audacious adventure yet, connected to Genghis Khan's legendary conquests. Scott Brick guides listeners through Cussler's signature blend of historical mystery and modern action across nearly 18 hours.

  25. 25
    Medusa cover

    Medusa

    NUMA Files • Book 8

    by Clive Cussler, Paul Kemprecos

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.10 ABR Score (10.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.06 Goodreads (9.9K) ★ 4.62 Audible (74)
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    NUMA's Kurt Austin investigates a secret government lab studying jellyfish toxins in Micronesia before a bioweapon threatens global catastrophe. Scott Brick's commanding presence matches the high-tech underwater adventure and international conspiracy perfectly.

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →