The Oregon Files are a group of novels written by author Clive Cussler and co-author Craig Dirgo for the first two titles followed by co-author Jack Du Brul for the next seven titles. Starting with book 10 co-author Boyd Morrison takes over. The books follow the mysterious "Corporation" and its leader Juan Cabrillo. The "Oregon Files" come from the name of the ship on which the Corporation is based, the Oregon. The ship's name is based on the current State University of New York Maritime College training ship the TS Empire State VI. Its original name was the SS Oregon.
Books
The crew of the Oregon first appeared in Flood Tide. The main Oregon Files series is:
- Golden Buddha (2003)
- Sacred Stone (2004)
- Dark Watch (2005)
- Skeleton Coast (2006)
- Plague Ship (2008)
- Corsair (2009)
- The Silent Sea (2010)
- The Jungle (2011)
- Mirage (2013)
- Piranha (2015)
- The Emperor's Revenge (2016)
- Typhoon Fury (2017)
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 it is an extraordinarily sophisticated intelligence-gathering vessel with luxury facilities and top of the line technical capabilities. It is equipped with a moon pool 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 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), 20mm multibarrel Gatling-style rotary cannons (Probably M61 Vulcans) mounted behind steel plates on its hull, and an array of 7.62 mm caliber M60 machine guns concealed in dummy oil barrels welded onto her deck (affectionately known as their border repellants) that are all remotely operated with the most sophisticated Fire-control systems. As well as these, the Oregon carries Russian-built cruise missiles of an unspecified type, a 40mm Bofors autocannon (later replaced by a Metal Storm gun system), and at least one Rheinmetall 120 mm gun of a similar type to that of the M1A1 Abrams tank. Most novels talk about the 120mm 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, including a large, central command chair in which Cabrillo sits when on the bridge, which is colloquially referred to as "The Kirk Chair".
Characters
Corporation Members
Executive Officers
- Juan Cabrillo: Chairman of The Corporation. Formerly a CIA Operative under Langston Overholt IV.
- Max Hanley: President of The Corporation / Chief Engineer. Formerly in the US Navy.
- 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 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 Medial 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 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.
- Judy Michaels: Pilot.
- Mark Murphy: Shipboard Weapons and Technology Specialist / General Operations.
- Kevin Nixon: Magic Shop Specialist.
- 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 then CIA Operative.
- Eric Stone: Control Room Operator / General Operations / Chief Helmsman.
- Maurice: Chief Steward. Formerly of the Royal Navy.
Retired Crew Members
(In alphabetical order)
- Carl Gannon: General Operations.
- Bob Meadows: General Operations.
- Tom Reyes: 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 Combat Controller.
Antagonists
- Golden Buddha: China, 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, Argentina, Argentinian 9th Brigade, Phillipe Espinoza, Jorge Espinoza, Raul Jiminez
- The Jungle: John Smith (a.k.a. Abdul Mohammed), Gunawan Bahar, Al-Qaeda of the East, a quantum computer
- Mirage: Pytor Kenin
- Piranha: Admiral Dayana Ruiz, The Doctor (a.k.a. Lawrence Kensit)
- The Emperor's Revenge: Sergey Golov)
Others
- Langston Overholt IV: CIA officer who funnels jobs to the Corporation and provides covert information.
- Fiona Katamora: United States Secretary of State
References
External links
- The Oregon Files official website
