# Reccomend me long literary action/thriller novels **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605 "2014-06-12T04:58:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/41 "2014-06-15T21:20:21Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > The work of [Iain Pears](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9833.Iain_Pears) may interest you. Both _An Instance of the Fingerpost_ and _Stone’s Fall_ are long, involving stories cleverly told. Similarly _The Dream of Scipio_ covers 3 historical periods but is not as long. His Jonathan Argyll series are of more conventional length. I second _An Instance of the Fingerpost_. Great novel. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/42 "2014-06-15T21:56:25Z")
Thirded ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/43 "2014-06-15T22:17:28Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I second _An Instance of the Fingerpost_. Great novel. Thirded. I adored it. Also Eco’s _The Name of the Rose_, but I’m going to have to try again to read _Foucalt’s Pendulum_. IIRC, I had a newborn the first time I tried, and just couldn’t focus on the novel. And McCollough’s Masters of Rome. I mostly like Ken Follett for quick, entertaining reading, but hated, hated hated _Pillars of the Earth_: stupid soap opera/morality tale set against the backdrop of a medieval construction project! (Which is a pity, because that had the potential to be interesting!) I also enjoy most of Leon Uris’ work - definitely action-packed, but often heartbreaking. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/44 "2014-06-16T00:25:36Z")
Personally I’d class \*The Name of the Rose \*and _Foucalt’s Pendulum_ as literary mysteries rather than thrillers. I enjoyed them both very much, but everything else by Eco has left me cold. The book I’m currently reading, Elizabeth Catton’s _The Luminaries_, is in the same category I think. It’s excellent thus far (I just finished the first part last night). I guess it’s kind of like a cross between \*Deadwood \*and _Foucalt’s Pendulum_. If it stays this good to the end I’ll certainly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Athabasca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Athabasca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athabasca)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/45 "2014-06-16T00:42:30Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Taken as a whole, the Smiley stuff definitely counts as a long and literary thriller. > > Umberto Eco’s _The Name of the Rose_ is worth a look for you, I think. This and this. Plus anything by Patrick O 'Brian. ---
**Author:** ![Athabasca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Athabasca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athabasca)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/46 "2014-06-16T00:43:54Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > You want sprawling? I highly recommend the [Masters of Rome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_Rome) series by Maureen McCullough, best known as the author of _The Thorn Birds_, which I haven’t read. But her seven Rome novels, of around a thousand pages each, cover the century of ancient Rome that gave us Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, and Augustus Caesar, along with non-Romans like Mithridates, Vercingetorix, Herod, Jugurtha, and Cleopatra. Lots of wars, lots of political intrigue, and lots of mostly accurate history. Maureen McCullough? You mean Colleen, no? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/47 "2014-06-16T00:51:22Z")
> [@Athabasca](#): > > Plus anything by Patrick O 'Brian. Good shout. The Aubrey/Maturin novels combined are the very definition of a long literary action/thriller, plus a load of other stuff. Jane Austen, with more explosions, as someone wise once said. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/48 "2014-06-16T01:08:10Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’ve never read any Ken Follett, so I don’t know whether any of his novels (a) fit the criteria the OP is looking for, and (b) are any good. I haven’t read much of his later stuff, but the early novels “The Key To Rebecca” and “Eye Of The Needle” were both good reads. Herman Wouk’s “The Caine Mutiny” should fit the bill for the OP (the book is much better than the movie). It wasn’t until recently that I found out that the story of the Caine (and especially the Captain Queeg character\*) were heavily based on real life events and people. \*so much so (with an additional unflattering detail or two) that I’m surprised Wouk didn’t get sued for defamation. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/49 "2014-06-16T03:12:55Z")
> [@Athabasca](#): > > Maureen McCullough? You mean Colleen, no? Sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of my palm smacking my forehead. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/50 "2014-06-16T03:46:05Z")
A couple of well-written alternate history thrillers: _Fatherland_ by Robert Harris and _Resurrection Day_ by Brendan DuBois. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/51 "2014-06-16T14:00:35Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > I loved [Quincunx](http://www.amazon.com/Quincunx-Charles-Palliser-ebook/dp/B00IBZ5ZL0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1402707717&sr=8-4&keywords=palliser) by Charles Palliser. Long, literary, and very suspenseful. Second this. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/52 "2014-06-16T14:10:50Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Stephen King’s _The Stand_. The unexpurgated version. One of my favorite books. Also King’s 11/22/1963. A book everyone should read. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/53 "2014-06-16T21:29:43Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > > [@Sage Rat](#): > > > > His countship was Italian and his nationality French. > > Details, details! Well he also had a Greek love slave. I imagine that would fall under your tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/54 "2014-06-17T04:59:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A couple of well-written alternate history thrillers: _Fatherland_ by Robert Harris and _Resurrection Day_ by Brendan DuBois. Loved the first, didn’t care for the second. > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Also King’s 11/22/1963. A book everyone should read. Well, I don’t know about _everyone_, but yes, I just finished it recently, and it was very good. Ooo, and I’ll add David Mitchell’s _Cloud Atlas_. A big, sprawling epic novel spanning several centuries, all about civilization and barbarism, kindness and cruelty, and the ties which connect us all - whether or not we notice them. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/55 "2014-06-17T07:28:29Z")
Nobody’s mentioned Michener yet? He’s probably most famous for _Hawaii_, but they’re all pretty good. My personal favorite is _Centennial_. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/56 "2014-06-23T15:06:28Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And all of Jennings’ historical novels are similar – even _Spangle,_ which is about a **circus!** (A circus touring 19th-Century Europe, so there’s lots to work with.) Picked it up based on this offhand comment – and I’m unable to put it down. Missed my stop on the train this morning (something I’ve never done in more than 25 years of public transportation) because I was so engrossed. It ain’t great literature, but _damn_ it’s readable! ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/57 "2014-06-23T15:16:45Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Well he also had a Greek love slave. I imagine that would fall under your tastes. It would, if she’s handled well. And often! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/58 "2014-06-29T17:22:12Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Picked it up based on this offhand comment – and I’m unable to put it down. Missed my stop on the train this morning (something I’ve never done in more than 25 years of public transportation) because I was so engrossed. > > It ain’t great literature, but _damn_ it’s readable! If you like that, try [_Raptor_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raptor_(book)) (the story of a hermaphrodite wandering adventurer in early Dark Ages Europe) and [_The Journeyer_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Journeyer) (Marco Polo’s story as told by himself). (It is from the latter that we get [this column of the Master’s](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3002/did-the-chinese-really-practice-death-by-a-thousand-cuts).) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605/59 "2014-06-30T02:16:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > If you like that, try [_Raptor_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raptor_(book)) (the story of a hermaphrodite wandering adventurer in early Dark Ages Europe) and [_The Journeyer_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Journeyer) (Marco Polo’s story as told by himself). (It is from the latter that we get [this column of the Master’s](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3002/did-the-chinese-really-practice-death-by-a-thousand-cuts).) Cool! Thanks! (Will definitely wait till vacation, though – reading a 900-page book in half an hour here, half an hour there is so less than ideal …) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-me-long-literary-action-thriller-novels/690605.md?page=2)