For those that love action books, there are many great books by many great authors. Robert Louis Stevenson and Jules Verne released many amazing novels and while they have come to define the genre, they are others that have also contributed. That is why we will be making a list of the best action fiction books of all time. Keep reading to find out which books made the list.
Making these lists lets me dive into the history of the genre and look back at all the wonderful books that have been released over the centuries. Books like Gulliver’s Travels and The Three Musketeers were huge when they released but now, many people will neglect them.
In today’s day and age, we have so many books to choose from. That wasn’t the case back then and their reading options were limited. I think that says more about the times than the books. But we still wanted to highlight the books that shaped the action. fiction genre. You can see our selections below!
The Best Action Fiction Books of All Time
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
- Odyssey by Homer
- Congo by Michael Crichton
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
- The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
- The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
- Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
- Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
- Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
- The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas
- Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard
- Kim by Rudyard Kipling
- The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
- Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory
- Captain Blood: His Odyssey by Rafael Sabatini
- The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
- The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Let’s Go on an Adventure!
There are a lot of books that were released a long time ago. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, The Call of the Wild by Jack London, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne to name a few. Even Congo by Michael Crichton was released in 1980 and the author passed away in 2008 at age 66.
This genre isn’t as well regarded as it once was. You can easily find action fiction books but they aren’t as well regarded as they were in the past. That may be due to the quality of the books, the writing, or they don’t do enough. With a lot more competition, rising to the top isn’t as easy as it once was.
Conclusion
That is all for our best action fiction books of all-time list. What books should have made the list but didn’t? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy reading!
Enders Game/Enders Shadow…..OS Card
The Parsifal Mosaic…….Robert Ludlum
Twightlight Eyes……Dean Koontz
Intruders…..Stephen Coonts
The Final Flight….Coonts
The Pied Piper….Ridley Pearson
The Firm…..John Grisham
The Hunt For Red October….Tom Clancy
Just to add a few.
I think it comes down to what is defined as action fiction and that may overlap with other genres.
Really glad a couple contemporary books could make the list
Definitely think Candide should be the list
Where is Last of the Mohicans?