Action and adventure fiction is the epitomy of escapist reading. Browse all our articles, starting with the most recent, featuring books that contain elements of action and adventure, whether it is travel, charting new frontiers, hunting down others or being hunted themselves. Often there is some sort of peril to evade, mystery to solve and/or justice to deliver.
Recent stand out reads in this genre for us include The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang, Stuart Turton’s The Devil and the Dark Water and TJ Newman’s Falling, and then of course you can’t go wrong with the iconic bestsellers Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. All these novels are guaranteed to entertain. There is a book to satisfy everyone’s quest for adventure from the safety and comfort your favourite reading chair.
In The Winter Dark, Tim Winton’s lesser-known dark novella, fuelled by impending disaster features startling imagery and impressive dialogue. Read our full review. In The Winter Dark Book Synopsis When a man dreams things from the past, you’d think he’d be able…
All Her Father’s Guns Synopsis Cal Lyte, a gun-loving venture capitalist, is tired of paying alimony to his ex-wife Tabytha. Plotting to blackmail her and derail her campaign for Congress, he enlists the help of their daughter’s boyfriend, British academic Reid…
The Book of Lost Fragrances is a sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra–and lost for 2,000 years. The Book…
Glynis Ridley’s novel The Discovery of Jeanne Baret is A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe is compelling historian speculation based on fact. Read my full review. The Discovery of Jeanne Baret Synopsis: The year was…
The Eyre Affair Book Synopsis There is another 1985, somewhere in the could-have-been, where the Crimean war still rages, dodos are regenerated in home-cloning kits and everyone is deeply disappointed by the ending of ‘Jane Eyre’. In this world there…
Matthew Reilly’s Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves is more compelling, more action-packed and more intense than the previous Scarecrow outings. Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves Synopsis: An old Soviet weapons installation in the Arctic has fallen into disrepair. Known…
Cedardale Court Synopsis Cedardale Court is a neo-gothic murder mystery with enough fools and old flames to keep you happily mixed up for most of a long weekend. When Canner Connelly and his daughter, Chloe, move in with their Uncle Henry,…
In The Informationist Taylor Stevens has brought into the world a gritty and irresistible heroine who has enormous scope for future adventures — Vanessa “Michael” Munroe. The Informationist Synopsis Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private…
Louis de Bernieres’ Red Dog novel is a charming tale, the audiobook perfect for a long family car trip. Fiction based on a life-affirming Australian legend. Read my full review. Note: Not to be confused with Norman Bridwell’s iconic Clifford the…
Lenny Bartulin’s De Luxe is Book 3 in his entertaining Jack Susko Mystery Series. De Luxe Synopsis For once, Jack Susko is feeling pretty good: his secondhand bookshop is on the up, and the cops haven’t been around in ages….
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions Synopsis Classic of science (and mathematical) fiction — describes the journeys of A. Square and his adventures in Spaceland (three dimensions), Lineland (one dimension) and Pointland (no dimensions). A. Square also entertains thoughts of visiting…
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a modern classic. We discuss why in our novel & movie review and share favourite quotes.
The Truth About These Strange Times Synopsis Saul Dawson-Smith can memorise the sequence of a shuffled deck of cards in under a minute; he can recite pi to a thousand decimal places and he remembers every conversation he’s ever had. He…
Boomerang : The Meltdown Tour Synopsis Having made the U.S. financial crisis comprehensible for us all in The Big Short, Michael Lewis realised that he hadn’t begun to get grips with the full story. How exactly had it come to hit…
SNAP The World Unfolds Synopsis SNAP, a multinational celebrity TV show and magazine, is the holy grail for Maxie Gwenoch. When she snags the job as managing editor, she’s looking for fame, fortune and Jimmy Choos. What she finds is a…
Tancredi Synopsis : Tancredi was born on the same day that scientists discovered a new star. It was so small it had gone unnoticed for millennia. Stargazers named it Surprise, in the spirit of a little astrological joke. On closer inspection…
