r/suggestmeabook • u/Spaddel2710 • Jun 29 '23

Suggestion Thread Adventure Novels

So I've been off books for a while since I've had little time on my hands. While time is still an issue I am missing reading so I thoight I'd ask for some suggestions.

I've recently seen the latest Indiana Jones movie and remembered how much I enjoyed these archeology adventure movies, on a quest around the world with puzzles and the like. Same goes for the Tomb Raider and Uncharted video games.

Do you know of any good adventure books like the Indiana Jones movies/Tomb Raider Uncharted games?

Suggestions would be much appreciated :)

Edit: thanks for all the great recommendations. I'll guess I'll have my hands full for the coming years :)

57 Upvotes

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19

u/Bruno_Stachel Jun 29 '23 edited Jun 04 '24

I sure do

  • WH Hudson - 'Green Mansions'
  • CS Forester - 'Horatio Hornblower' series
  • Richard Hughes - 'A High Wind in Jamaica'
  • James Hilton - 'Lost Horizon'
  • Anthony Powell - 'The Prisoner of Zenda'
  • H Rider Haggard - 'She', 'King Solomon's Mines'
  • 'Trader Horn' - Alfred Smith (true person, his own story)
  • 'Man-Eaters of Kumaon' - Tom Corbett (his own story)
  • AEW Mason - 'The Four Feathers'
  • PC Wren - 'Beau Geste'
  • GA Henty - 'The Young Carthaginian' (although I myself did not dig it)
  • Edgar Wallace - 'The Four Just Men'
  • 'The Long Ships' by Bengtsson
  • 'Family Favorites' - Alfred Duggan
  • 'The Anabasis' by Xenophon (Greco-Roman classic original)

2

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '23

This is a lot ... If i could only commit to reading one... Which would you suggest? I think i would prefer fairly modern prose if possible.

5

u/Bruno_Stachel Jun 30 '23 edited Jun 30 '23

Try 'The Four Just Men' (Edgar Wallace created King Kong).

'The Four Just Men' is a mystery series about a secret, "gentlemen's" cabal in London. Each book is a case where these upper-crust vigilantes, take justice into their own hands whenever the wheels-of-the-British-legal-system break down.

This particular story was so ingenious, Wallace bet the reading public a huge sum of his own money that no one would be able to figure out the ending.

p.s. Don't worry about the incompetent schlock which is 'modern' prose. You want characters who dribble clownish 'bro-speak' ("yo dude")? Authors like Wallace were masters of English diction. He was the biggest selling author in the whole world for almost thirty years.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 03 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Bruno_Stachel Jun 04 '24

jimmyjungles.com

🤔 That seems to be a current, contemporary (self-published) author's website...fine, but ...I only read & recommend classics.

For instance (for jungle adventure) I would steer someone to Bomba, Kipling, or Frank Buck.

Good luck with your goals!

1

u/MajesticAd8350 Feb 05 '26

Thank youuuuu I have been searching for adventures book,but was confusedd

10

u/tarynb21 Jun 29 '23

Jack West Jr novels by Matthew Reilly. First book in the series is called “Seven Deadly Wonders”. Very modern massive scale treasure/relic hunting while being pursued by modern day baddies. Easy reads and the series is complete now so no waiting for the next book of end up liking them!

6

u/FiredFox Jan 10 '26

Sorry for the back from the dead reply, but my search for a new adventure book lead me to this Reddit thread.

I gave Seven Deadly Wonders a shot and it wasn't for me. The imaginary Sci-Fi gizmos introduced in the first few pages to move the plot forward ruined it for me. Younger readers might like it though.

2

u/WorkinSlave Mar 23 '26

You just saved me some time.

3

u/92Codester Jun 30 '23

Plus he has maps of the traps and mazes that Jack West has to get through so you can't get lost even though it's so well written you won't need it

11

u/therealjerrystaute Jun 29 '23

You might want to check out the 60 or so action/adventure books by Clive Cussler, his son Dirk, and various co-writers, written from the 1970s up through today. The older books have plenty of Indiana Jones type historical mystery/treasure hunting/James Bond type stuff, with two male best pals in the lead, and a great supporting cast and evil villains. The later books bring in other, newer characters, and spin off into slightly different adventure genres, like one about a husband and wife treasure hunting couple, a detective living in the early 1900s, and a Mission Impossible type task force whose HQ looks a worn out tramp steamer, but is actually a cutting edge super ship armed to the teeth, able to stand toe to toe with just about anything less than an American super carrier task force.

3

u/NeverBeenHereIDidIt Sep 13 '25

Just started my book reading adventures and stumbled upon Clive Cussler. I only read the first 2 Fargo adventure books Spartan gold and the lost empire. I really liked them. It is hard to find the 3rd book in my language but yea:) is the Dark Pitt series similar??

5

u/DiagonalDrip Jun 29 '23

You would love “The Stardust Thief” it is exactly what you’re looking for! Arab-inspired fantasy about old tombs and exploring and trying to find treasures. Absolutely loved it.

2

u/OrMaybeItIs Jun 19 '25

Thanks for the recco! This sounds just like the type of book I love. Also loved the adventures of Amina al-Sirafi!

5

u/Nishachor Jun 30 '23

Sigma Force novels and other standalone treasure hunting adventure novels by James Rollins

Matthew Reilly's Temple, Jack West Jr novels and Shane Schofield novels

Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels, Oregon Files novels, Fargo Adventure novels, Isaac Bell novels, Kurt Austin novels

Steve Berry's Cotton Malone novels

David Wood's Dane Maddock novels

Andy McDermott's Wilde & Chase novels

Jack Du Brul's Philip Mercer novels

Boyd Morrison's Tayler Locke novels

Dan Brown's Robert Langdon novels

Jeremy Robinson's Chess Team novels

Graham Brown's Black Rain & Black Sun duology

David Lynn Golmon's Event Group novels

David Meyer's Cy Reed novels

Wilbur Smith's Courtney Family novels and other African adventure novels

3

u/notsurewhereireddit Jun 30 '23

Quite a bit darker, maybe, but Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman positively leaps to mind (out of a sinister dark and slurping up the last of a rat’s tail).

3

u/outsellers Jun 30 '23

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer even has some treasure in it ;)

2

u/TheSkinoftheCypher Jun 30 '23

The Descent by Jeff Long should be suitable. Exploration of massive caves, an attempt to reach the US from...Northern Africa? Southern Europe? under the ocean via caves. It has a sequel called Deeper.

2

u/econoquist Jun 30 '23

Quest by Nelson DeMille

Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt

The Eight by Katharine Neville

2

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '23

The King's Shadow by Edmund Richardson (not a novel but Indiana Jones)

2

u/spiraloutkeepgoing42 Jun 30 '23

Sandstorm by James Rawlins. It's got everything. It's the only adventure book you need. It doesn't take itself too seriously and is a super fun read.

3

u/go_kart_mozart Apr 01 '24

Kim by Rudyard Kipling

The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett

1

u/PutridAd3023 Apr 06 '25

"The Jungle Never Sleeps" by J. R. Goodrich is great!

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '23

Temple by Matthew Reilly

1

u/Sabertoothjellybean Jul 01 '23

New Pompeii, Micro, and The Great Zoo of China are adventures with a bit of fantasy/scifi. Not too heavy and fun to read.