High-Class Adventure?

'sup /book/.

I'm looking for some good adventure novels.  At least, I guess so.  I had an urge to read something with Kings and Dukes, duels, feasts and subterfuge.  I read Once and Future King, figuring Arthurian legend might do it - but that was too much fantasy.  So I read Count of Monte Cristo, and that was spot on!  Riches, Nobility, duels, backstabbing, even going off to fight a war like it was a summer vacation.

So how about it, /book/?  What should I be looking for that would fit this kind of theme?

most of Shakespeare's major plays seem like what you're looking for

Well, there's always Dumas' other stuff. The d'Artagnan Cycle, which is The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne.

Robert Louis Stevenson's The Master of Ballantrae is fucking amazing.

I'm told Captain from Castile by Samuel Shellabarger is pretty decent. I've heard the same about Rafael Sabatini's Captain Blood.

Tale of Two Cities by Dickens?

No kings really, but how about H. Rider Haggard's She, King Soloman's Mines and Alan Quartermain. Along with Kipling, The Man Who Would Be King maybe?, would make some great adventure readings.

How about the Horacio Hornblowers or Patrick O'Brian books?

Black Tulipan (or somethin like that) read it in highschool and it was the best I ever read from Dumas

There seems to be a distinct lack of good modern adventure novels aimed at adults. Which is odd considering a lot of us grew up watching great adventure films, you'd think that it would translate into lots of adventure novels too.

However nearly all adventure novels seem to be aimed at kids or young teens, which may produce interesting enough reads but means they are unfortunately a bit light weight. Sure, if you want to go into fantasy or spy genres you'll find a few half decent adult adventures but why the hell are modern equivelents of the classic adventures like most of what >>3 mentions so few on the ground? (thinking about it as well most of those were aimed at the teen or child market at the time too).

OP here;

thanks a lot, /book/. I'll look into getting copies of those books.  I've already got a copy of Two Cities that I've never read for some reason, so I'll start with that.

Thanks again! <3

You will get kings, dukes, duels, feasts and subterfuges if you read A Game of Throne. It is set in a fantasy world, however. The fantasy aspect is amazingly modest. It consists mostly of historical reminders now and then. But I have only read the first book of the serie it belongs to and it most likely grow bigger over time.

I'd think you'd like Cervantes.

I second the Hornblower and O'Brian suggestions, and would add Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond and House of Niccolo series, and George Macdonald Fraser's Flashman Papers.

I might also add Arturo Perez-Reverte's Captain Alatriste novels, which I've not read yet, but anything with a Captain in the title is bound to be adventurous. Historical fiction seems like your best bet anyway.

>>5

Modern adult life is designed around getting people stuck in situations that they can't get out of.

"I can't move because the kids like it here already."
"I hate my job, but I don't know if there will be another one if I quit it. I have a family to take care of, I can't be taking risks like that."
"I don't think I married the right person, but I'll stick around for the kids' sakes."

Situations like that are the norm, and putting up with them is considered to be socially acceptable thing to do. Being an adult, after all, is all about responsibility.

One would think that this would mean that the average adult would read a lot more adventure stories, but in reality, they don't even want to admit that they hate where they are in life. For those that don't mind putting up with children's books, there is always that option, but the majority of adult readers wouldn't bother with an adventure novel set in modern times without any fantastical elements, just because of how implausible and naive the idea is in these days.

The closest thing we have are nonfiction travelers' stories. Personally, I don't find those to be interesting in the slightest, since they're all written by spoiled brats who can afford to take years off to travel the world, about how seeing The Colosseum or some shit changed them forever.

Anyways, yes I just realized that I bumped a thread that's been dead for a year, but I'm genuinely interested if anyone can prove me wrong by providing a modern-day adventure novel without any fantastical elements (so those spy novels don't count).

First, another author to consider would be Jules Verne - yes, there's a fantasy element in the speculative sci-fi of his books, but they aren't fantasy as such.

As to modern adventure for adult audiences, what of the late Dick Francis? The genre I suppose is crime thriller, but those I've read at least don't strain credibility too far the way some thrillers do.  Same is true of early Frederick Forsyth.

Another thought: the (ancient) historical novels of Mary Renault.

R. L. Stevenson's been mentioned. Another to consider is Walter Scott.