# I want to read an action adventure movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [April 26, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797 "2024-04-26T17:05:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/1 "2024-04-26T17:05:59Z")
My usual genre of choice is fantasy, but I’ve recently started reading action adventure. I’m really enjoying the treasure hunt, the top secret government agents, the exotic locales, the twist and turns, etc. I’m currently reading Sandstorm, which is the first Sigma Force novel by James Rollins. My tbr has a stand alone Rollins book, and one by Matthew Reilly. Who are some of the other authors I should look for? Do the Clive Cussler and Robert Ludlum novels still stand up after so many years? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/2 "2024-04-26T18:41:34Z")
It’s a little different from what you asked for, but the ‘Flashman’ novels by George McDonald Fraser are packed with action, adventure and humour. Our ‘hero’ is in fact a bully and a coward 😲 - but he manages to get involved in real historical events in the 1800s. The books are meticulously researched and well-written. [The Flashman Papers - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flashman_Papers) [Flashman (The Flashman Papers, Book 1) eBook : Fraser, George MacDonald: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flashman-Papers-Book-1-ebook/dp/B002RI9J2I/ref=sr_1_1?crid=KEE7W6YPE1VD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MGgmnJsNy4h_qYwFGYGCYwFEbzO5HsB-8ZckXDzqspjhuN-4VvJ1v6QRCrghgW9iy4aNUAQiPCSdhCcDSqscBPsPdaDVEpX2lkz_lxZfRjMZmz62NgVs3R-JtlaYRCjkS34hezFJCI0ib_xf12c6zWAhTgJePfjuVK-xj7QlPyjEzwHmmBPxAxM1nNdCSaE4WG12qs55LaHuoWCsiBx-W-_jJCap7zKDKJppTPLV6KM.OqOab3qlYiYUQjOGCdisHTvhso_8593PYdi19WRoVZE&dib_tag=se&keywords=flashman+novels&qid=1714156854&sprefix=flashman+novels%2Caps%2C70&sr=8-1) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/3 "2024-04-26T21:24:31Z")
Bernard Cornwell is a terrific action writer; most of his stories are historical. I highly recommend the Saxon Stories and the Sharpe series. Tons of action in both. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/4 "2024-04-27T01:44:22Z")
Robert Ludlum, Alistair MacLean, Ken Follett, Thomas Perry. I still like the Matt Helm and Johnny Fedora books (by Donald Hamilton and Desmond Cory, respectively), but they are a bit dated (as might be expected of early '60s secret-agent stories). ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/5 "2024-04-27T01:53:19Z")
Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October is pretty good. Clear and Present Danger has good action as well. The rest are… hit and miss. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/6 "2024-04-27T18:34:24Z")
The Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown is very good. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/7 "2024-04-27T18:43:08Z")
This is the first thing the OP made me think of. I’d call them “guilty pleasures” rather than “very good,” but he’s good at keeping you turning the pages. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/8 "2024-04-27T19:28:18Z")
By “read an action movie,” I’m guessing you meant novel, not a screenplay. “Point of Impact” by Stephen Hunter is about as good as it gets. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/9 "2024-04-27T22:32:15Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > The Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown is very good. I strongly disagree. Maybe bad fantasy? Lee Child’s Reacher novels are like potato chips- you know they arent good for you, but you cant help but read another. Fast and enjoyable. The new Amazon series is quite accurate. Not great lit by any means but still fun. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/10 "2024-04-27T22:52:02Z")
And do read the original Reacher… John MacDonald’s series starring an archetypal '60s beach-bum, one **Travis McGee**. Probably my favorite escapism. I mean, ‘Trav’ lives on a houseboat that he won in a poker game. And “takes his retirement on an installment basis” (earn enough money helping beautiful women and friends recover what they got cheated out of, take revenge on the bad guy, then spend a few months anchored off some picturesque Florida Key). ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/11 "2024-04-27T23:26:13Z")
Matthew Reilly writes STUPID STUPID STUPID action adventure novels but in an 80s action movie way so they’re actually great. Gorillas trained to fire machine guns show up in one of his books and are treated like they’re not that special, it’s awesome ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/12 "2024-04-28T00:40:19Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October is pretty good. Clear and Present Danger has good action as well. The rest are… hit and miss I read those as well as Patriot Games years ago. My problem with Clancy is probably the same as everyone else - 1. Very technical, often way too much, and 2. I don’t need or care to read 70+ pages of A-10 pilot’s life story, and not hear from him for the rest of the book. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/13 "2024-04-28T00:41:55Z")
How about the Preston and Child novels, or John Gilstrap? Anyone read those? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/14 "2024-04-28T01:10:19Z")
I am a fan of Aloysius Xingu Leng Pendergast. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/15 "2024-04-28T02:34:47Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > The Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown is very good. The only ones I’ve read are Angels & Demons, and Da Vinci Code. I enjoyed those well enough. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/16 "2024-04-28T02:37:56Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Tom Clancy’s The Hunt for Red October is pretty good. Clear and Present Danger has good action as well. The rest are… hit and miss. I’d say his novel Without Remorse is probably closer overall to action adventure than most of the Ryan-verse novels. But full agree, lots of hit and miss. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/17 "2024-04-28T03:01:44Z")
> [@Yodalicious](#): > > The only ones I’ve read are Angels & Demons, and Da Vinci Code. I enjoyed those well enough. I cant turn my brain off enough to enjoy his stuff. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/18 "2024-04-28T04:42:43Z")
One word: _Murderbot._ Well, it’s Sci-Fi, but it’s full of Fun Action… as much as you can have when your cyborg assassin protagonist has PTSD and some autistic/anti-social aspects. Plenty of humor, relationships and adventure ensues. (First book of The Murderbot Diaries: _All Systems Red,_ by Martha Wells. Being developed as a Netflix series, and there are great full-cast audiobooks for all seven books.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/19 "2024-04-28T05:30:42Z")
Some personal favorites: _The Day of the Jackal_ by Frederick Forsyth _The Eiger Sanction_ by Trevanian _Kahawa_ by Donald Westlake _Man on Fire_ by A.J. Quinnell _Triple_ by Ken Follett ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2024, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-read-an-action-adventure-movie/1000797/20 "2024-04-28T06:24:50Z")
if you dont mind westerns louis l’amour has over 700 books a lot of them are a bit tongue in cheek …he also has books in other genres also