In the spirit of the Code, this blog points to a concrete connection between Clive Cussler’s “The Oregon Files” and its inspiration. Clive Cussler was an avid reader of Doc Savage and the "Skipper" series was apparently an additional feature of Doc Savage pulps. Obviously, Clive Cussler was drawn to the concept of converted freighters that was part of the "Skipper" series and that inspired The ship in Flood Tide and ultimately the “The Oregon Files”. det:


Adventures in Plagiarism

In planning the second Challenger Storm novel (”Sons of Poseidon”), I devised something new for Storm and co. to utilize in the story: a mobile, seagoing base of operations, housed in a tramp-steamer (a boat inspired by the Venture in the Recent “King Kong” remake. The Godspeed would be full of 1930’s high-tech gadgets, weaponry, a small plane that could be launched from a catapult, and a mini-submarine. In short, it was a pulp-era James Bondian thing, and I thought it was a cool invention that I came up with. Gave myself a gold star and everything.

Then last night, the roof fell on that idea.

I had picked up my only original copy of Doc Savage (”The Boss of Terror”, if you must know) and was thumbing through it while digging on that wonderful old pulp smell. I had never really looked at the issue closely so I was happy to see Bill Barnes and The Skipper stories as back up features. I had only heard of them and wanted to check them out, so I started skimming.

And discovered that I was ripping something off without knowing it.

This is The Skipper’s entry from Jess Nevins’ directory of pulp heroes:

“Captain John Fury was the Skipper, appearing in an eponymous magazine from 1936 to 1937. Assisted by his first mate, “Marlin Spike” Briggs, his second mate, “Hurricane” Dan Belmont, “Grump” Rollins, and a friend, Peter Doom, the Skipper piloted the Whirlwind, a tanker converted into an armed cruiser. Very armed; the Whirlwind was packed to the gills with guns and torpedoes and mines. During the pre-War years the Whirlwind was the scourge of pirates and all oceanic wrongdoers. During the War the Whirlwind successfully fought the Axis ships. Fury himself is a merciless scourge of criminals and evil, being brutal when he needs or wants to be and even engaging in torture if the ends, for him, are justified.”

The story I began reading last night also mentioned that the Whirlwind was also equipped with a submarine and planes.

Ack. I hate when I do this. I have a perfectly good idea, then find out that it’s not as original as I thought. In agitation, I labelled myself an accidental plagiarist and began to think about scrapping the idea for the Storm novel…

Until I discovered today that I’m not the first one.

Take a gander at this Wikipedia entry regarding Clive Cussler’s “The Oregon Files” series, particularly this passage:

“Juan Cabrillo is Chairman of the Corporation, a special US Government-sponsored group that operates out of a ship called Oregon, a marvel of scientific research equipment bristling with state-of-the-art weaponry - but disguised as a heap of junk. Cabrillo and his crew of mercenaries with a conscience are able to cross the high seas in their ‘rusting’ tub unmolested, seeking out those beyond the arms of the law and dealing out justice to any who would plot chaos on a global scale.”

After more research, I discovered that the two fictional ships also share a unique propulsion system: Fury’s Whirlwind used a kind of aquatic ram-jet which sucked sea-water in the front end and shot it out the other side. Cussler’s Oregon, however, uses an electromagnetic system for it’s speed.

All of this made me rethink the concept within the MARDL universe.

So what if it’s a similar concept? So what if it’s been done before? Well… what hasn’t? Most pulp entertainment (indeed, most entertainment in general) is derived or copied from other sources. How’s the saying go? “Art is dead”?

And anyway, my concept has differences from theirs: The boats in “The Oregon Files” and “The Skipper” series only look like hunks of junk; in my version, the boat really is a piece of crap, and there is no fancy propulsion system. It works better anyway for my stories, as I try to stay somewhat realistic.

And now, I can say my concept of the Godspeed is a tribute to those other cool ships.

http://miamiaerodrome.wordpress.com/2008/0...-in-plagiarism/


If any Oregon Files fans out there can come up with any other connections to the "Skipper" series, I'd like to hear about them. Could even be similar characters or events. beer:

That word "plagiarism" is thrown about a bit too freely in the literary world, and almost always by those who have failed to capitalize on their "original" idea. I am reminded of Lewis Perdue, a writer of modestly (very modestly) successful thrillers, who made a bid for greater notoriety, not by writing a better novel, but rather by suing Dan Brown for plagiarism because certain elements of The Da Vinci Code bore a passing resemblence to things in one of his novels--we're talking generalities here; clues hidden in paintings, a conspiracy within the Church.

Enough about that. The sad simple fact is that purple prose is all but extinct. Cussler has not plagiarized this dead art form, but rather resurrected it. The Code talks at some length about the pulp roots of the Dirk Pitt books, so its hardly a stretch to believe that Cussler may have also drawn some inspiration from this other source.

But it's also an axiom that there is nothing new under the sun. Really, doesn't it kind of make sense that Cussler, who is clearly drawn to the maritime environment, would create a character like Cabrillo who operates entirely on the high seas? Or that he would make use of clever camouflage to conceal a heavily armed, high-tech vessel (remember the Martha Ann from Pacific Vortex?)

I could go on, but then what would be the point of writing the Code 2...oops...did I say that out loud??

Red Alert! Sandecker;redhaired Summer Moran;redhaired Cap Fury;redhaired.
You guys are on the right track. A young Dr Cussler is influenced by Cap Fury and the Whirlwind AND he likes the redhaired hero thing to. b:

My wife has red hair, but she was born after the creation of Sandecker's character. Do you think he'll sue her for plagiarism? :lol:

I always love to see connections like these and to learn about what influenced an author's work.

If you're looking for more proof that original art is an oxy-moron, take The Simpsons for example. For nearly two decades it has been one of the most successful and popular shows on TV, but almost every episode is a parody or "homage" to something that's already been done.

Speaking of red hair, don't forget Van Dorn from the Chase.

On the subject of connections, here's a few notes I took down a while ago after I read that book.

The dark locks and opaline green eyes of Dirk Pitt have been replaced by blonde hair and mesmeric violet eyes but basically both are of the same height, weight and physical fitness. Their facial looks are described has not being handsome but with craggy features. Both men hail from well to do families and both work for red-haired founders of agencies with connections in Washington that includes the President of the United States of America. The most glaringly obvious similarities are that both men are enthusiasts of outstanding motor vehicles. While Bell is strolling about Denver, his interest is piqued when he spots a Cadillac store and muses about his Locomobile racing car and latest V-Twin motorcycle. Pitt and Bell began their adventures in their 30's but the big difference is that there is a 60 year gap between them.

Connections ...




Doc Savage pulp mag with the hero battling with a large white dog. Reminiscent of Clive Cussler's first published book, The Mediterranean Caper det:

Doesn't Gamay Trout have red hair as well?

beer: