I had previously posted on Clive Cussler, the “master” of the techno thriller, who has gone from writing his Dirk Pitt novels to kicking off several other series co-written by others.
One of the more recent of these is the Fargo Adventures, of which there are eight out so far:
- Spartan Gold (2009)
- Lost Empire (2010)
- The Kingdom (2011)
- The Tombs (2012)
- The Mayan Secrets (2013)
- The Eye of Heaven (2014)
- The Solomon Curse (2015)
- Pirate (2016)
The first three were co-written by Grant Blackwood, the fourth and fifth by Thomas Perry, the sixth and seventh by Russell Blake, and the eighth is by Robin Burcell. For such a short series, there have been several changes of authors, more so than the others. As these co-writers have written other books, it’s not clear to what degree these were co-written with Cussler, and no idea why the changes in co-authors.
We meet the Fargos in the first book: Sam and Remi Fargo, a multi-millionaire married couple. No children so far. Married couples in techno-thriller series are rare, especially with both being involved with the action. Sam owned a successful software company, and cashed out early, taking the millions earned from the sale and established a foundation the couple now runs. They are now professional “treasure hunters,” however, all their finds are turned over to the local governments. Any rewards they receive go back into their foundation for charitable work.
They have no organization behind them. Their home in California serves as their base. There they have some assistants, who mainly do research and provide them with information. The main one is Selma, assisted by a younger pair named Peter and Wendy. Depending on the book, Selma is the main one helping out, and Peter and Wendy may help (too often they just get mentioned in passing). In the sixth book the Fargos are assisted by a down-on-his-luck British archaeologist named Lazlo. He also appeared in the seventh book as well.
Surprisingly, there is little information on the appearance of the Fargos. Some reviewers even noted this, complaining that in the first books, we got more information about their exotic meals than their appearance. That element seems to be absent in recent books, which points to differences in the co-writers. But we still get little info on their appearance.
Also, as I noted in my Cussler post, there is never any mention or hint of NUMA or other Cussler characters in this series. So this makes this series very much stand alone. There is also not the nautical element that was so prevalent with Cussler’s main series (Pitt, NUMA Files, and Oregon Files). Could be this was done to appeal to a wider or different audience? Cussler did make a cameo appearance as a character in the first few books, like his other series, but this has been dropped.
Because the series deals with ancient civilizations, there are times when different thriller writers are dealing with the same civilizations around the same time (Vikings, the Huns, Tibet, Mayans, etc). Sometimes this gets tricky trying to keep them straight. Villains are usually rivals after the same treasure.
Spartan Gold kicks things off with the Fargos finding a Nazi mini-sub in a Maryland swamp. This leads to a wine bottle that is part of a set that had information leading to Napoleon’s Lost Cellar. More puzzle-based than subsequent novels from the other authors, Spartan Gold has the Fargos, as well as a ruthless Ukrainian crime lord, on the trail. As the first novel, we learn a lot about the Fargos’ background and their associates, which are often overlooked in subsequent books.
Lost Empire also deals with a puzzle, as the Fargos find a bell from a Confederate ship sunk off the east coast of Africa, that somehow ties in with Mexico and the Aztecs, and run afoul of some bad guys wanting to keep it all a secret. The Kingdom has the Fargos in Tibet, looking for a millionaire’s lost son, and finding a puzzle chest, an ancient balloon, and danger.
Attila the Hun, or at least his tomb, is the focus of The Tombs. The Fargos wind up questing across Europe to find it, also dealing with a Hungarian crime lord after the same thing. A new “character” is introduced: Zoltan the guard dog. But he stays at their home in subsequent books. Mayan Secrets is about the Mayans (big surprise!), when the Fargos find a new Mayan codex, which reveals something that certain people want. This book also revealed that Sam Fargo has CIA experience, which I can’t recall being mentioned previously.
In The Eye of Heaven, the Fargos are in the Arctic when they discover a Viking vessel locked in the ice that contains Aztec artifacts. They are off to learn more, dealing with a ruthless collector they recently crossed. And as noted, we are introduced to Lazlo.
Set in the Solomon Islands, The Solomon Curse has the Fargos assisting another researcher who has discovered a previously unknown sunken city. On a quest to learn more about this, the Fargos, joined by Lazlo, run afoul of the sinister person who is behind the rebel attacks on the islands.
As noted, the eighth, Pirate, has just come out. And it has a new co-author. I haven’t read it, so will be interested in seeing if there are any changes in the series or characters.
