The ''Oregon Files'' is a series of novels written by author
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have been listed on ''The New York Times'' fiction best-sell ...
and several co-authors.
Craig Dirgo was a co-writer for the first two titles,
Jack Du Brul was a co-writer for the next seven titles, Boyd Morrison took over as co-writer starting with book 10, and
Mike Maden writes the 16th, 17th, and 18th book after Clive's passing.
The books follow the mysterious "Corporation" and its leader Juan Cabrillo. The title of the series, "Oregon Files", comes from the name of the corporation's ship, the ''Oregon''. The ship's name is based on the former name of the
TS ''Empire State VI'', which originally had the name SS ''Oregon'' before entering into government service as a training ship for the
United States Maritime Service
The United States Maritime Service (USMS) was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 as voluntary training organization to train individuals to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the ...
.
Books
The crew of the ''Oregon'' first appeared in ''
Flood Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables ...
''. The main ''Oregon Files'' series consists of:
*''
Golden Buddha'' (2003)
*''
Sacred Stone'' (2004)
*''
Dark Watch'' (2005)
*''
Skeleton Coast'' (2006)
*''
Plague Ship'' (2008)
*''
Corsair'' (2009)
*''
The Silent Sea'' (2010)
*''
The Jungle
''The Jungle'' is a novel by American author and muckraking-journalist Upton Sinclair, known for his efforts to expose corruption in government and business in the early 20th century.
In 1904, Sinclair spent seven weeks gathering information ...
'' (2011)
*''Mirage'' (2013)
*''Piranha'' (2015)
*''The Emperor's Revenge'' (2016)
*''
Typhoon Fury
Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have been listed on ''The New York Times'' fiction best-sell ...
'' (2017)
*''
Shadow Tyrants'' (2018)
*''Final Option'' (2019)
*''Marauder'' (2020)
*''Clive Cussler's Hellburner'' (2022)
*''Clive Cussler Fire Strike'' (2023)
*''Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier'' (2024)
Overview
The ''Oregon'' is a high tech ship owned by a private secret service organization called 'the Corporation'. It is disguised as a rusty old tramp steamer. It mounts five cranes - three fore, two aft – only two of which are operational, one each fore and aft. To add to its appearance of authenticity, this disguise is highly detailed. This includes a fake mess hall, and a captain's cabin specially designed to be utterly repulsive, with features including specially designed chemicals to keep people away, a dysfunctional toilet, and depressing paintings of clowns on black velvet.
In reality the ''Oregon'' is an extraordinarily sophisticated intelligence-gathering vessel with luxury facilities and top-of-the-line technical capabilities. It is equipped with a
moon pool
A moon pool is an equipment deployment and retrieval feature used by oil platforms, marine drilling platforms, drillships, diving support vessels, fishing vessels, oceanography, marine research and underwater exploration or research vessels, and ...
for launching two minisubs, an Olympic swimming pool (in one of its ballast tanks), state-of-the-art medical facilities, and powered by a pair of revolutionary
magnetohydrodynamic drives. It also uses an array of underwater vectored-thrusters to give it unparalleled maneuverability for a ship of its size. ''Dark Watch'' gives its dimensions as 560 feet long, with a 75-foot beam and a gross weight of 11,585 tons.
The ''Oregon'' is also equipped with a suite of armaments that rivals most military capital ships, including: French-built
Exocet
The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from Warship, surface vessels, Submarine, submarines, Helicopter, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Etymology
The missile's name was given by M. Guil ...
anti-ship missiles, two torpedo tubes below the waterline (firing Russian-made TEST-71 and later Type 53-65 torpedoes, though Cabrillo has stated he would have preferred American
Mk48 ADCAP), 20 mm multibarrel Gatling-style
rotary cannons (probably
M61 Vulcan
The M61 Vulcan is a Hydraulic machinery, hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatics, pneumatically driven, six-Gun barrel, barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling gun, Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires 20 mm caliber, rounds at an e ...
s) mounted behind steel plates on its hull, and an array of
7.62 mm caliber M60 machine gun
The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO Cartridge (firearms), cartridges from a disintegrating Belt (firearms), belt of M13 links. There are sev ...
s concealed in dummy oil barrels welded onto her deck (also known as their
boarder repellents) that are all remotely operated with the most sophisticated
fire-control system
A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a hum ...
s. As well as these, the Oregon carries Russian-built cruise missiles of an unspecified type, a 40 mm
Bofors
AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms manufacturer BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years.
History
Locate ...
autocannon (later replaced by a
Metal Storm
Metal Storm Limited was a research and development company based in Brisbane, Australia, that specialized in electronically initiated superposed load weapons technology and owned the proprietary rights to the electronic ballistics technology ...
gun system), and at least one
Rheinmetall 120 mm gun of a similar type to that of the
M1A1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heavies ...
tank. Most novels talk about the 120 mm in the singular, however ''Dark Watch'' states that it has two – one on each side of the hull.
The ship's control center, located deep within its hull, is said to have the feel of the starship ''
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterpris ...
'', including a large, central command chair in which Cabrillo sits when on the bridge, which is colloquially referred to as "The
Kirk
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...
Chair".
Characters
Corporation members
Executive officers
*Juan Cabrillo: Chairman of The corporation. Formerly a
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
operative under Langston Overholt IV.
*Max Hanley: President of The Corporation/chief engineer. Formerly in the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
.
*Linda Ross: Vice President of The Corporation replacing Richard Truitt, previously Security and Surveillance Specialist. Formerly an intelligence officer aboard a
US Navy Aegis Guided Missile Cruiser.
Current crew members
(In alphabetical order)
*George "Gomez" Adams: Helicopter pilot. Former
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
160th SOAR.
*Rick Barrett: Assistant chef.
*Monica Crabtree: Supply and logistics coordinator.
*Chuck "Tiny" Gunderson: Chief pilot, fixed wing.
*Michael Halpert: Finance and accounting.
*Cliff Hornsby: General operations.
*Julia Huxley: Medical officer. Formerly the senior medical officer at the
US Naval base in San Diego.
*Pete Jones: General operations.
*Hali Kasim: Communications/general operations.
*Larry King: Sniper/general operations. Former
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
1st SFOD Delta.
*Franklin "Linc" Lincoln: Head of general operations. Formerly a
US Navy SEAL.
*Marion "MacD" MacDougall Lawless III: General operations replacing Jerry Pulaski.
*Raven Malloy: Shore operations. First appears in book 12,
Typhoon Fury
Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have been listed on ''The New York Times'' fiction best-sell ...
.
*Judy Michaels: Pilot.
*Mark Murphy: Shipboard weapons and technology specialist/general operations.
*Kevin Nixon: Magic shop specialist.
*Jim O'Neill: General operations.
*Tracy Pilson: Pilot, amphibious plane.
*Sam Pryor: Propulsion engineer.
*Gunther Reinholt: Propulsion engineer.
*Eddie Seng: Director of shore operations/security and surveillance specialist replacing Linda Ross. Formerly a
US Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
then
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
operative.
*Eric Stone: Control room operator/general operations/chief helmsman.
*Russ Kefauver: Intelligence Analyst and former
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
forensic accountant.
*Dr. Eric Littleton: Oregon's biophysical lab director.
*Mike Lavin: Chief armorer and retired U.S. Army armament/fire control maintenance supervisor
*Bill McDonald: Senior armorer and former
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
paramilitary operator.
*Amy Forrester: Physician's assistant and former Navy combat medic.
*Maurice: Chief steward. Formerly of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
.
Retired crew members
(In alphabetical order)
*Carl Gannon: General operations.
*Bob Meadows: General operations.
*Richard Truitt: Vice president of The corporation.
Deceased crew members
*Jerry Pulaski: General operations.
*Mike Trono: General operations/helicopter pilot in training. Former
US Air Force Pararescue.
*Tom Reyes: General operations.
Antagonists
*
Golden Buddha:
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Stanley Ho, Ling Po, Marcus Friday, Winston Spencer
*
Sacred Stone: Aleimain Al-Khalifa, Halifax Hickman
*
Dark Watch: Anton Savich, Shere Singh
*
Skeleton Coast: Congolese Army of Revolution, Daniel Singer
*
Plague Ship: Responsivists, Zelimir Kovac, Thom Severance, Adam Jenner (a.k.a. Lydell Cooper, Ernst Kessler)
*
Corsair: Unnamed terrorist leader (alias Suleiman Al-Jama)
*
The Silent Sea:
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, Argentinian 9th Brigade, Phillipe Espinoza, Jorge Espinoza, Raul Jiminez
*
The Jungle
''The Jungle'' is a novel by American author and muckraking-journalist Upton Sinclair, known for his efforts to expose corruption in government and business in the early 20th century.
In 1904, Sinclair spent seven weeks gathering information ...
: John Smith (a.k.a. Abdul Mohammed), Gunawan Bahar,
Al-Qaeda
, image = Flag of Jihad.svg
, caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions
, founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden
, leaders = {{Plainlist,
* Osama bin Lad ...
of the East, a
quantum computer
A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum mechanical phenomena. On small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of both particles and waves, and quantum computing takes advantage of this behavior using specialized hardware. ...
*
Mirage
A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...
: Pytor Kenin
*
Piranha
A piranha (, or ; ) is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the subfamily Serrasalminae, of the family Serrasalmidae, in the order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Although ...
: Admiral Dayana Ruiz, The Doctor (a.k.a. Lawrence Kensit)
*
The Emperor's Revenge: Sergey Golov
*
Typhoon Fury
Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have been listed on ''The New York Times'' fiction best-sell ...
: Salvador Locsin
*
Shadow Tyrants:
Nine Unknown Men
*
Final Option: Zachariah Tate
*
Marauder
Marauder, marauders, The Marauder, or The Marauders may refer to:
* A person engaged in banditry or related activity
** Piracy
** Looting
** Outlaw
** Partisan (military)
** Robbery
** Theft
Entertainment
* ''Marauder'', the second novel in th ...
: April Jin, Angus Polk and Lu Yang
*
Clive Cussler's Hellburner: The Pipeline
*
Clive Cussler Fire Strike: Heather Hightower, Jean-Paul Salan, Kalid bin Salman
*
Clive Cussler Ghost Soldier: The Vendor
Others
*Langston Overholt IV:
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
officer who funnels jobs to the corporation and provides covert information
*Fiona Katamora:
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State.
The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...
*St. Julien Perlmutter: Scholar with expertise on the marine history on nearly three hundred thousand ships and shipwrecks
*Dirk Pitt: Friend of Juan Cabrillo and head of
NUMA
Numa or NUMA may refer to:
* Non-uniform memory access (NUMA), in computing
Places
* Numa Falls, a waterfall in Kootenay National Park, Canada
* 15854 Numa, a main-belt asteroid
United States
* Numa, Indiana
* Numa, Iowa
* Numa, Oklahoma
* ...
References
External links
The Oregon Filesofficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oregon Files
Book series introduced in 2003
American novel series
Novel series
Novels by Clive Cussler