Favorite Adventure Book

[Fool of Atlantis]

What are your favorite adventure books?
Mine are:King Solomens Mines by H.R Haggard
Kidnapped by R.L Stevonson
Timeline by Michael Crichton
20 000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

[00Kevin]

Bill and Ted's Excellent Comic Book Issue 7

[Gregoire Defence]

Definitly King Solomon's mines, and it's sequal
Allan Quartermain

[Fool of Atlantis]

I did't know there was a sequal to King Solomen's Mines. Was it any good?

[Marcus Petrius]

Baudolino by Umberto Eco.
Basically it's Last Crusade but without Nazis and it's set around 1200 AD. The only bad thing about the book is the total lack of Nazis ;), but there are some other nasty Germans in the book.

Mike

[Junior Jones]

How do you define an adventure book?

Does "Lord of the Rings" count? Because those books are great. I first read them long ago, but when the movies came out I re-read them and was reminded how awesome they are.

[Magda]

I would have to say Angels & Demons and The DaVinci Code. These two books were probably the best adventure/thriller books I have ever read. I highly recommend them to anyone who is open-minded and loves art/history.

[Indy_Jones88]

My favorite action/adventure/suspence/thriller books r naturally the Indiana Jones novels written by Rob McGregor, Micheal Ciaden, & Max McCoy. These r the best books, I cant put them down when i read 1. Strongly recommend them.

[Luckylighter]

I really like the Solomon Kane stories by Robert E. Howard, and the Anton Rider books by Bartle Bull--kind of like Indy reimagined as the Great White Hunter.

"Damnation Alley" by Roger Zelazny was fantastic, I could definitely read that again.

Does "The Old Man and the Sea" count?

"Cloud of Sparrows" was a great samurai adventure book--part one of a trilogy--by a Japanese author...and I can't remember his name right now.

And obviously, I love "The Lord of the Rings", but mostly I really enjoyed "The Return of the King" the most.

[Finn]

Well, apart from some of the already mentioned, I'd like to bring out a few more authors. (Btw, I never start naming titles, just the authors, since I read a lot and it would take ages to come up with every possible title worth mentioning.)

Wilbur Smith is one you might find worth looking to. This fellow tends to get sappy at times, but is generally likable.

There is a Spanish author Arturo Peréz-Reverté who has lot of mystique elements in his books, and also quite a scent of adventure. Especially <i>The Fencing Master</i> and <i>Seville Communion</i> (movie "Ninth Gate" starring Johnny Depp was made after this book) are worth mentioning.

And of course, if you fancy just some "turn-your-brains-off-and-enjoy-the-pace" reads, this thread can't be forgotten before mentioning the name of the modern adventure grandmaster, Clive Cussler.

Oh, and if you'd like to locate a book that is generally an Indiana Jones adventure with no Indiana Jones but fairly good copy, find <i>Sheba</i> by Jack Higgins.

[hffan2000]

i would also recommend anything by robert ludlum. there's also a trilogy by stephen lawhead called the celtic crusades. in it three generations of a scottish noble family who take part in the crusades and find certain religious artifacts.

[monkey]

The two names that come foremost to mind for me are Ludlum, and Cussler.

Ludlum was especially great back in the seventies, when the Cold War was still ......well, was still. I haven't read anything recent by him though.

Cussler is great!! What Finn said.....

And I'm going to have to check out some of the other authors mentioned in this thread.

I haven't read a good action/suspense novel in a long time.

[springer316]

anything by Steve Alten

[Webley]

The 181 adventure paced Doc Savage books by Kenneth Robeson.

[Pilot]

The term "adventure novel" covers a wide spectrum of types, including westerns. Some additional authors of adventure novels to consider are:
Jack Du Brul
James Rollins
F. Paul Wilson
David Morrell
Alistair MacLean
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Talbot Mundy
A. Merritt

[Luckylighter]

I mentioned in my earlier post the novels of Bartle Bull. I should have added that his last novel, "The Devil's Oasis", is the most Indyesque novel in his trilogy. It deals with Rommel, and Nazis in Egypt. The story borrows all the best aspects of "Casablanca" and "Raiders". There's even a bar that the characters frequent, very much like Rick's Cafe.

And the action is great, the atmosphere is fantastic, and locations are vividly described. It's as if Hemingway wrote an Indy story.

I highly recommend this book, as well as the others in the Trilogy--"The White Rhino Hotel" and "Cafe on the Nile--to every Indy fan out there. These books are real finds.

[Luckylighter]

I mentioned in my earlier post the novels of Bartle Bull. I should have added that his last novel, "The Devil's Oasis", is the most Indyesque novel in his trilogy. It deals with Rommel, and Nazis in Egypt. The story borrows all the best aspects of "Casablanca" and "Raiders". There's even a bar that the characters frequent, very much like Rick's Cafe.

And the hero, Anton Rider, is very much in the vain of Indiana Jones--he's an adventurer, hunter, guide.

And the action is great, the atmosphere is fantastic, and locations are vividly described. It's as if Hemingway wrote an Indy story.

I highly recommend this book, as well as the others in the Trilogy--"The White Rhino Hotel" and "Cafe on the Nile"--to every Indy fan out there. These books are real finds.

[monkey]

Hey Lucky,
I have never heard of this author or his books.

They sound fascinating!! I am very interested. I'm going to check them out.

Do you have any more info? When were they written...what decade?

Thanks,

[Fool of Atlantis]

I think I might check out Baudolino, I really need something to read

[Joe Brody]

Luckylighter,

I don't know if you're aware but Bull published another novel last year -- Shanghai Station, which is stylistically very identical to the White Rhino books but with a different set of characters. As with 'White Rhino' Bull is starting well before WWII and I'm wondering if he at some point hopes to tie the two plotlines together.

[vaxer]

My favorite adventure Book is Monsoon from Wilbur Smith. It's "a story of anger and passion, of peace and war. Action, romance and adventure shape a family's destiney as they contest a prize beyond any of their dreams...". It's an epic adventure that takes place in the 18th century were kingdoms, pirates, high seas, sword fights and tragedy all gather under the winds of the Monsoon. I was blown away by this book and I'd say it's a good summer book (cause it's pretty long).

[Finn]

Vax, you're right, Monsoon was great. Excellent ride that made me finish it in a weekend. Highly recommended.

[hffan2000]

i would also recommend anything by dumas. he wrote some truly great adventure novels and they definitely have enough action, romance and suspense to satisfy any indyfan.

[Luckylighter]

Originally posted by monkey
Hey Lucky,
I have never heard of this author or his books.

They sound fascinating!! I am very interested. I'm going to check them out.

Do you have any more info? When were they written...what decade?

Thanks,

They were published recently, like in the mid to late 90's / early 2000's. The last one was published in 2001. You can find them at pretty much any bookstore, like Borders Books and Music or Barnes and Noble.

[Joe Brody]

Monkey,

People who I've recommended Bull's novels to have told me that they found the first novel, White Rhino Hotel, to be the weakest. I don't agree with that view but it's something that I've heard more than once. Based on this feedback, if you happen on a copy of 'Cafe on the Nile' first, you may want to start there, then read 'Devil's Oasis' and then go back and read 'White Rhino'. Do you agree Luckylighter?

Today, most bookstores will most likely have Bull's most recent novel, 'Shanghai Station' on their shelves. While 'Shanghai Station' is the exact same type of action/adventure novel as the other three stories set in Africa, it's has totally different characters and is not as well-written. Monkey, if I were you I'd definitely skip 'Shanghai Station' until you read 'Cafe on th Nile' and 'Devil's Oasis.'

[matthiassatlure]

20,000 leagues Under the Sea
The Mysterious Island
The Count of Monte Cristo (does this count?)

Ehhh....more to come when I remember.

[Luckylighter]

Originally posted by Joe Brody
Monkey,

People who I've recommended Bull's novels to have told me that they found the first novel, White Rhino Hotel, to be the weakest. I don't agree with that view but it's something that I've heard more than once. Based on this feedback, if you happen on a copy of 'Cafe on the Nile' first, you may want to start there, then read 'Devil's Oasis' and then go back and read 'White Rhino'. Do you agree Luckylighter?

I couldn't agree more, Joe. I found "White Rhino" to be the slowest moving of the three books, and the one that took me the most time to read.