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What are the best adventure books ever written?

I nominate Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. It may not be well written, but, oh boy, how do you root for Edmond Dantes in this book. Incredibly exciting. The best vengeance story ever written IMO. Too bad no movie adaption has ever done it justice.

I don't know about "greatest" Sem, but here are some of my favourite adventure writers:

Jack London, Conan Doyle (The Lost World) and Jules Verne (Journey to the Centre of the Earth). I grew up loving H. Rider Haggard too, especially King Solomon's Mines.

Oh and Kipling. So not PC.

I don't know about "greatest" either, but The Three Musketeers has been my best beloved book when I was young, to the point of taking up fencing for many years. I love the dynamics between the four heroes, with d'Artagnan so young and eager, and yet ready to manipulate his friends quite cold-bloodedly, although Atos was always my personal favorite.

I never managed to warm up to Count Monte Cristo. Seems like such a waste of energy to spend all those years trying to bring his enemies down.

And yes, definitely Kipling!

Kipling's Kim is one of the best adventures ever. And on a simpler scale, Captains Courageous--I read that over and over.

Conan Doyle, of course, and Verne. And Forester's Hornblower books.

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books are more sophisticated, I think, but they have that same wind-from-the-wide-world sweep to them, to the point where I'm careful as to when I pick up Master and Commander--it's a loooong commitment to reread that whole series.

I loved The Count of Monte Cristo. I don't know if I'd say it's the best adventure book ever written, but then I can't think of any others at the moment that's I'd say are better...

I've edited my post so as to propose to select the best adventure books, and not "the greatest", the latter term being, as has been noted, too subjective.

Queen B, I too love London and Jules Verne (my two favorite Verne were 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and its sequel, The mysterious Island, although it's been a long time since I've read them). Conan Doyle is good too.

Frelga: The Three Musketeers is very good too, but I do not enjoy it as much now as I used to enjoy it when I was a teenager, while I still find Monte Cristo uncannily compelling. Monte Cristo is more inventive, more complex, and more moving (and more melodramatic and implausible too, granted). And I find Monte Cristo's themes more interesting (injustice and retribution; is Dantès' vengeance right? Is he a human being anymore?).

I agree that the Count of Monte Cristo is a more complex adult story that sweeps across time and space. It has a sense of grandeur. The Three Musketeers is more immediately enjoyable. (You fence too, Frelga?) Years ago the BBC used to run classic serials at Sunday teatime and Dumas was often featured. Invariably they would use some Berlioz as the signature tune. Now whenever I hear the Corsair or the March to the Scaffold from Symphonie Fantastique I want to rummage in my bag for my epee . Has anyone noticed that Dumas' characters bite their lips till they bleed?
I nominate Treasure Island. It is short but grips like a vice. When I started to read it to my daughter as a bed time story she asked me to stop after the second page as it was too frightening. (Now of course she does parachute jumps and fire walks)

Treasure Island was blood-chilling. Brrr... very good book.

I really like the Three Musketeers, myself. My parents bought the book for me before I was even born...as soon as they knew mum was pregnant they started buying me books that I would only read years later. And true...I read the book for the first time when I was about twenty. Amazing.

I also have a soft spot for Captain Blood.

I suppose I should start The Three Musketeers then. I had it on my christmas list last year along with The Man in the Iron Mask, but haven't got to either of them yet.

Perhaps I should finish the 6 or so books that I have started first, though.

Actually, I find Monte Cristo as immediately enjoyable as The Three Musketeers. After all, Monte Cristo is in a way the first superhero. He seems all powerful (sometimes, the reader even wonders whether he has supernatural powers), he has multiple identities, nobody knows who he really is (apart from the reader who read his tragic story in the first 300 pages of the book), he punishes the bad guys and rewards the good guys. He is also immensely rich. The more I think of it, the more I think that he may have inspired Batman.

Amrunelen, read The Three Musketeers first. The Man with the Iron Mask is actually a part of the sequel to The Three Musketeers.

Yes and there's also 'Twenty Years Later'. Also excellent.

I feel like a good adventure book. I've not read the Count yet...

Rodia.... read it in French!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Superbe idee!

I wonder if the Institut Francais can help...

But right now I think it will have to wait because I need (NEED) to read Woolf's 'Orlando'.

Je te l'envoie - de toute façon je te dois un paquet.

I also would have put the two Jules Verne: 20.000 miles under the Sea and The mysterious Island on my list.

And maybe: Der Schatz im Silbersee. Only Germans will know this one.

A warning, Rodia: The Count is a fairly long book (1000 + pages) and it is so exciting that when you have started, you simply cannot stop reading!

I am not knocking the Count, you know. The book is absorbing. It's just that I was never able to love the principal character, nor did I ever wish to step into his world.

Also, I am having trouble finding an unabridged version in the States. At least the libraries all seem to have a truncated story. Does anyone know of a specific edition I should look for?

I know. It's just about impossible to find an unabridged one, I think.

In all of the bookshops I've looked in, I haven't found a single copy that was unabridged.

Semprini wrote:

Amrunelen, read The Three Musketeers first. The Man with the Iron Mask is actually a part of the sequel to The Three Musketeers.

Will do. I already knew that about The Man in the Iron Mask from seeing the movie, but I'm sure the book is much better.

I also found The Count immediately enjoyable and would like to reread it, but I guess I should do that after reading all of the other books that sit on my shelf untouched.

:)

Dumas and Verne, absolutely.
Rodia, next time I go to Spain, remind me to pick a "Capitán Alatriste" book for you. They're adventure novels set in Spain in the 17th century, sort of Spanish Musketeers stories, and very enjoyable. And they're making the movie, with Viggo playing the main character.

dhspgt, thanks for mentioning Watership Down. This was the first book that I ever read more than once. I think I read it four times in the space of about 18 months when I was about 10 years old. It led me into a whole realm of "Animal Fantasy" novels, if I can coin the phrase. I tried reading Shardik about 3 times afterwards before finally finishing it. I then looked for anything else in the same style that I could find. Some were good, some terrible and a few were excellent. So, my list of Animal Adventure stories!

Watership Down. Amazing
Shardik. Very good but not a suitable followup for WD. Definitely aimed at a more adult reader.
Duncton Wood. Superb. Probably my favourite in this style. Quite adult in tone and scope. Not a kiddies book!
Duncton Sequels. Very good. Never at the level of DW, but still excellent.
Animals of Farthing Wood. Good WD clone. Nice kiddies TV series made.
Black Fox Running Ok, nothing special.

Oh, and after that I picked up this book called "The Hobbit" and everything changed forever.

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