When Adventure Is Added to One’s Reading List

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Sometimes readers just want to escape with an adventure novel.

The book might also contain literary flourishes and/or social commentary and/or other bonuses, but a page-turning plot is key. Plus of course protagonists to root for and villains to root against. Are the heroes facing danger voluntarily or involuntarily? What are the chances of survival? Is there some kind of quest involved? Etc.

Last week I read Louis L’Amour for the first time — specifically his late-career novel Last of the Breed. A riveting book that relates the saga of Joseph “Joe Mack” Makatozi, a U.S. Air Force pilot of Native-American descent whose plane is forced down in the Soviet Union during the 1980s. He escapes prison and embarks on an incredible journey across the bitterly cold Siberian wilderness under hot pursuit.

Jack London is known for his adventure novels set in Canada’s frigid Yukon — including his gripping canine classics The Call of the Wild and White Fang. But also taking readers for quite an adventure ride is London’s sea thriller The Sea-Wolf.

Very exciting as well is Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

Much of Herman Melville’s work is too deep to fit solely in the adventure category, but some of his novels — such as Typee — are more adventure-focused than literary/philosophical.

Alexandre Dumas’s The Count of Monte Cristo? One of the most exciting sagas in fiction, with an amazing escape and a huge revenge element.

Among the other memorable adventure novels I’ve read are H. Rider Haggard’s She, James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone, Kate Quinn’s The Huntress, Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Richard Matheson’s Hunted Past Reason, Alistair MacLean’s Where Eagles Dare, Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander, Zane Grey’s Boulder Dam, Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and several very famous titles from Jules Verne.

Obviously, novels can cross categories. For instance, Verne’s work is mostly considered sci-fi, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are fantasy fiction, but all also offer breathless adventure.

Your thoughts on adventure novels — including those you’ve read?

Earlier this week, the great podcaster/blogger Rebecca Budd posted another of her wonderful audio interviews — this time with me. 🙂 We discussed blogging, other kinds of writing, the “memoir” that will star my charismatic cat Misty, and more. Rebecca’s questions stimulated a very nice conversation. 🙂

My literary-trivia book is described and can be purchased here: Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time.

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column for Baristanet.com every Thursday. The latest piece — about a welcome measure to ban gas-powered leaf blowers and a NOT-welcome other decision — is here.

109 thoughts on “When Adventure Is Added to One’s Reading List”

    • Thank you, Mary Jo! Glad you liked “The Great Alone”! It was indeed a totally gripping novel. Kristin Hannah is an extraordinary writer. (I just finished another of her novels, “Firefly Lane,” which will be part of my next post — up in an hour or two. Another superb book by Ms. Hannah.)

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  3. Psychic Adventures or Psychic Tourism?

    Remember those meandering routes of kids and pets from home through neighborhood and back that would sometimes take up the entirety of a Sunday comic of “Family Circus”?

    Have recently read Haruki Murakami’s “Killing Commandatore”, a hulk of a novel that is one part adventure, one part mystery,one part fantasy, yet suffused with realism throughout, the most realistic bit of all being the narrator’s eventual return to the realm of the unremarkable and quotidian: his ordinary life.

    It was a compelling read over many hundreds of pages, while it lasted, but left, in my mind, a sense of deep letdown, precisely because after many enigmatic and fantastic events, fortuitous coincidences, correspondences and a heap of portentousness, much was left unresolved and unexplained. It was as if, by the most circuitous and twisting route possible,one leaves yet eventually arrives home, very nearly none the wiser for it, despite all that happened from start to finish.

    I had a similar reaction to Pascal Mercier’s “Night Train to Lisbon” a few years back, wherein a mild Swiss teacher impulsively leaves home and work behind him after a mysterious encounter with a strange woman on a bridge, learns Portuguese so as to find and talk to her, travels to Lisbon, buys a slim book that leads him instead to uncover the story of an enigmatic poet/doctor and his survivors via arduous detective work. Then, for no better reason than he left, he returns home and to his old job, richer in experience but, apparently, hardly richer in insight. And he never does look up that Portuguese woman he encountered on the bridge, though he has her phone number with him on all his travels from home and back.

    No matter where you go, there you are.

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    • Thank you, jhNY! Very interesting discussion about those two books. Novels (adventure or otherwise) that don’t have a certain logic, that don’t end neatly, etc., can be quite intriguing but often unsatisfying — the feeling you seemed to have had.

      And, yes, I remember those circuitous Sunday “Family Circus” comics. 🙂 They were brilliant in their way! I knew cartoonist Bil Keane well when I covered that field; he even put my family in one of his Sunday strips. 🙂

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      • For the protagonists in each, the described ‘adventure’ was unique, unlike anything done prior– uncharacteristic. Yet, by each novel’s end, they had returned to their ruts, perhaps in preference to change.

        As to your second paragraph: Wow!

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  4. I’ve never read Charles Portis’ “True Grit” , I’ve only seen the John Wayne film, but I’m fairly certain that it could be considered an adventure novel.

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  5. HI Dave, I saw this title and thought “oh no, I don’t read adventure” and then I remembered that I do. As a girl I loved the Willard Price adventure series, as well as The Three Investigators, and The Hardy Boys. As an adult I do sometimes read adventures as I believe that James Bond by Ian Fleming fits in there and I’ve read all of those. Is Rebecca a thriller? A gothic dark thriller? What about The Last of the Mohicans? I am currently ploughing my way through The Fountainhead and wondering if I should have read this in my early adulthood. Maybe I would have recognised myself in Howard and it would have saved me some angst and personal anxiety. Probably not though as I don’t think I would have recognised the frustration of being an individual earlier in my life without my experience.

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    • Thank you, Robbie!

      What an adventure novel is indeed has a fairly wide definition. It can include thrillers, spy fiction, certain YA series, etc.

      I do think “The Last of the Mohicans” and certain others of James Fenimore Cooper’s Natty Bumppo novels (such as “The Deerslayer”) can be considered adventure books.

      As for your last point, when in our lives we read a novel can indeed affect how we react to it. I’ve certainly noticed this when liking some books better when I reread them many years later — including “Moby-Dick” and “The Scarlet Letter.”

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    • Gosh! You’re reading The Fountainhead? I read that many years ago – it was hard work but I ploughed through to the end. I think nowadays I’d have ditched it quite early on. Good luck!

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  6. What an exciting topic! Adventure can cover all sorts of genres I suppose from fantasy through to modern day war so…although I probably won’t get beyond the first and second wars.

    So, where shall we begin?? My first thought was another Alistair MacLean ‘HMS Ulysses’ (1955), which is just a terrific read and a particular favourite. I keep meaning to reread it and I may get to it on my holidays next year (I’m not going on a Baltic cruise mind, just across the Channel to France). Operation Mincemeat has been quite popular in recent years – I’ve not read the Ben Macintyre book, but I have read Ewan Montagu’s “The Man Who Never Was” (1953) and also Duff Cooper’s “Operation Heartbreak” (1950).

    A couple of other honourable mentions of watery adventuring – ‘The Cruel Sea’ by Nicholas Montserrat (1951) and also ‘The Wreck of the Mary Deare’ by Hammond Innes (1956) – although it’s been quite some time since I’ve read those. I shall also chuck in John Buchan and ‘The Thirty Nine Steps’ – mostly because I live close to where it was set.

    And to throw a bit of a curveball out there, what about ‘The Eagle of the Ninth’ by Rosemary Sutcliffe (1954) – and it’s not even 20th Century based but we have to go all the way back to the Romans for that one! Even though it’s aimed at children it’s a terrific read.

    A friend was at a crime writing festival over the weekend which was littered with very well known authors including Andrew and Lee Childs – so I suppose it’s relevant to mention them in light of your theme this week! Are they adventure or more action?

    I will finish on ‘The Lost World’ by Arthur Conan Doyle (1912)! I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet…? What a fun read that is.

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    • Thank you, Sarah, for the MANY great examples of adventure books! I agree that some of them can kind of cross genres into being partly war novels, partly thrillers, partly crime fiction, etc. I’ve read most of the Jack Reacher books, and, while they’re more thriller than adventure, there’s a lot of adventurousness in them. 🙂

      Any novel made into an Alfred Hitchcock movie — i.e., “The Thirty-Nine Steps” — is worth mentioning. 🙂 Great film, by the way; I’ve yet to read the book.

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      • Ha! Yes, I got a bit carried away there.

        I’ve just finished (finally) the Hitchcock/Truffaut book. Really fascinating to read, not least because, I learned that, Hitch mined so many books for his films. I’m not sure there were too many original screenplays to be honest! And just think – of the 50 odd films he made there were so many more that didn’t make it from the novel format. I wonder if they ever will now as I imagine the Hitchcock Foundation must still own the rights to them….perhaps?

        Have you seen ALL of the 39 Steps movies? I know of at least 3, but perhaps there are more lurking around!

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    • Never read the book, but I am a big fan of the movie “The Cruel Sea”, starring Jack Hawkins. Quite the series of wartime adventures,punctuated by unscheduled dips in the brine.

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  7. Hi Dave,

    You did it to me again 🙂 One of my first thoughts was Dumas. I probably would have gone with “The Three Musketeers” over “The Count of Monte Cristo” but both novels are a lot of adventurous fun!

    But my go to for adventure has to include dragons or magic or powerful swords, or all of the above. I’m currently reading Glenda Larke’s “The Heart of the Mirage” which doesn’t have dragons (yet) but has all the other good things an adventure story needs. Plus some grey lines between the good guys and bad guys which is adding to my enjoyment of the characters. I’m looking forward to seeing where Larke takes it in the next two books ❤

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    • Thank you, Susan! “The Three Musketeers” indeed works (as do that novel’s sequels). 🙂 Swords galore, among other things.

      And dragons definitely add to adventures! Smaug in “The Hobbit” is one great example of that. “The Heart of the Mirage” sounds very interesting!

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  8. The Great Alone is one of my favorite Kristin Hannah books – kept me pretty riveted right through to the end. And of course you know how much I love Count of Monte Cristo, and I love the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings as well! I also might add Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce onto this pile, quite the unique adventure story and some very charming characters 🙂

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  9. I had to ponder this.
    Most of the adventure novels I have read, are all mentioned here.
    In thinking about it, I realized that the main character of the adventure does not have to win the day, or survive it. In Moby Dick, Ahab is taken by the great whale.

    My suggestion here is “We the Living” by Ayn Rand.
    It is a cross over adventure/romance.
    The adventure part is Kira’s (protagonist) 2 attempts to escape from post-revolutionary Russia. (1922-1925)

    It’s a grinding tale of oppression and poverty. Rand describes the era, and Kira’s life in Russia so well, that I wanted to escape.

    The ending is a hopeful, somewhat exciting flee across a freezing winter terrain. My heart broke.

    I read this book around 1999.

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    • Thank you, Resa! Very true that an adventure novel doesn’t always conclude with the protagonist still alive. Often a “happy” ending, but not always.

      You described “We the Living” very well! Attempted escapes can be as adventurous as can be.

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      • Oh wow! Really interesting story.

        Agree or not with Ayn’s POV, she was not a shallow writer.
        I read “We the Living” in preparation for a movie I did for “Showtime”.
        It’s called “The Passion of Ayn Rand”.
        It starred Helen Mirren as Ayn.
        When dressing a character, especially in a docudrama, I like to go deeper than the script. In reading “We the Living” I got a sense of where she came from.
        I did masses of research for that film.
        I got to meet Barbara Brandon, whose book the movie was based on.
        She (&Nathanial Brandon) were Ayn’s earliest followers of what became “The Collective”.
        IMO, it was an odd oxymoron event, even an hypocrisy.

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        • Exciting that you worked on that Ayn Rand project! And impressive how dedicated you were in doing research!

          Rand is an author I haven’t been quite able to bring myself to read (when there are many other authors I can read, whether I agree with their views or not). But maybe Rand someday. I guess Neil Peart was into her work when he was a young man; hence early Rush songs such as “Anthem.”

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        • Hi Resa, what an interesting description ‘an odd oxymoron event’. Through those words I can understand exactly what you mean.I read Anthem a few years ago and I thought it was excellent. I am enjoying The Fountainhead and I understand the passion and single mindedness that drives Howard. He is for me, a very relatable character. I admire your research and I will find the film. I don’t watch a lot of films but this sounds fascinating.

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          • Thanks, Roberta!
            Yes, Rand makes strong points of view through Howard.
            “The Passion f Ayn Rand” is an interesting film, fabulous actors, great costumes 🙄 fab photography and on.
            No big car chases, special FX etc.
            Worth a watch, especially because it sticks factually to the book by Barbara Brandon, who lived it.
            She was on set overseeing the veracity.
            Definitely a joy to work on.

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    • Thank you, Rosaliene! Nice to have memories of reading an author one’s parent liked. (Not a memory I have because neither of my parents were much into book reading. 😦 ) And I can see how crime mysteries might often have more layers than adventure novels.

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  11. You have a great list and great observations, Dave. From my early days, I’d have you add all the other books by Alistair MacLean. Our school library had most of them, and I checked them out one after another.

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  12. You made me really curious, Dave, about Last of the Breed by Louis L’Amour and his adventures, so that I have marked down the title. I would like to add SHANTARAN and his adventures by Gregory David Roberts.
    As far as your very interesting conversation with Rebecca is concerned, I tried to write the following comment, but didn’t succeed to send it and therefore try to add it here:
    Thank you very much Rebecca and Dave for this insightful converation and for the capability of you both to involve people into your many different topics :):)

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  13. Even some literary classics that are not considered adventure novels have elements of adventure in them. Examples include “Great Expectations” and “Adventures of Huckelberry Finn”.

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  14. Some adventure novels that I’ve read over the years included “Around the World in Eighty Days”, “White Fang”, “Mutiny on the Bounty”, W.H. Hudson’s “Green Mansions”, and “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, although the last book may be considered a mystery rather than an adventure story.

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  15. I definitely have to watch Rebecca Budd’s podcast and catch your interview. In my beginning years as a reader, I started out with Bullfinch’s Mythology, which, of course, is chockful of adventure stories. Some notable women’s adventure stories include Rumer Godden’s Black Narcissus and Isak Dinesen’s Out Of Africa. As far as adventure horror stories King’s The Body; Jackson’s The Haunting Of Hill House. Sci/fi Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles and Dick’s Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? Great theme, thanks Dave. Susi

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    • Thank you, Susi, for all those adventure examples! Adventure/horror is definitely a thing; those two genres often mesh quite well — as do adventure/sci-fi. And Shirley Jackson is one heck of a memorable writer. “The Haunting of Hill House” (as you mentioned), “We Have Always Lived in the Castle,” and of course her short story “The Lottery.”

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      • I think of adventure stories as stories of self discovery, that they include travel to foreign lands and/or unfamiliar enviroments while on a quest for something whether that “something” is money, power or freedom. Re: your interview, I agree 100% that blogs are, indeed, a great way to express one’s creativity and the most user friendly way to do just that of all the various forms of social media. I’ve had 3 blogs; however, I wanted to reduce my digital foot print. Consequently, I ended up deleting 2 yet the other one I cannot find since I don’t recall the user name or password or if it was wordpress,tumbler or blogspot. Perhaps the cyber gods cancelled it then again it may be floating around like some lost space craft having adventures of it’s own without me *sigh*. After a month or so, I found I had absolutely nothing to add to any of my blogs, preferring commentary vs content. Your blog is amazing as you always seem to come up with some great theme. Maybe I’ll create an ASMR-type of blog with just sounds and graphics.

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  16. Thank you for a great post, Dave. I will be back for the follow-up discussion.

    As a Canadian, I grew up on the “gripping canine classics” of “The Call of the Wild” and “White Fang”. And let’s not forget the short story, “To Build a Fire” YIKES!! I read “The Count of Monte Cristo” in my grade 8 math class behind my mathematics text. My teacher was not not amused when I said that “count” was in the title, which is closely associated with math.

    I had never heard of Louis L’Amour (isn’t that a great name “L’Amour”) before I met Don. In Louis L’Amour, I found a remarkable storyteller. His themes of honor, courage, and the triumph of the human spirit resonated with me. It was easy to determine the identify of the villains.

    Adventures provide escapism from the comfort and safety of home. I believe that the primary focus is the quest with emotional complexities coming in secondary. The unpredictable twists and turns of the plot keep us on the edge of our seats, eagerly turning pages to discover what lies ahead. Adventure novels allow us to live vicariously through the courageous and daring protagonists, experiencing their triumphs and setbacks as if they were our own.

    My latest adventure read was “The Last Mona Lisa” by Jonathan Santlofer, which is a gripping and intricately plotted thriller that took me on a thrilling journey through the art world. Set in present-day New York City, the story revolves around the mysterious disappearance of the iconic painting, the Mona Lisa, from the Louvre Museum in Paris. The protagonist, Luke Perrone, an art detective with a troubled past, is tasked with unraveling the truth behind the theft.

    Thank you again, Dave, for joining me on TTT to share your insights and give us a preview of the upcoming “Misty Adventure.” I know there will be lots of twists and turns in the narrative.

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