Fiction 101: Must-Read Adventure Books
Embark on Adventure: The Best Adventure Books for Your Summer Reading List
by Shelby D., Evening Supervisor
Welcome back to Fiction 101! This is where we talk about all things genre: from fantasy, to poetry, to mystery, and everything in-between. Last month, I talked about nonfiction. This month, our “Adventure Begins at Your Library” Summer Reading Program is underway, so I wanted to focus on adventure fiction to give you some suggestions to embrace the summer fun! Not signed up yet for the Summer Reading Program? It’s super easy on Beanstack and you can sign up at any point during the program. Start your reading adventure today!
Adventure fiction can span many other book genres and subgenres, but there are some things adventure fiction titles all share (for the most part). The book should be fast-paced and exciting — action is definitely a must! The protagonist will be brave — our adventure would end very quickly if they just went home and let someone else solve the problem. This brings us to our next defining characteristic of adventure fiction: a quest! No adventure novel would be complete without a quest to embark on. In addition, the courageous hero must also go on a metaphoric journey, during which they will learn and grow as the story progresses.
Ready to go on an adventure? To start your journey, here are some books I think embody the adventure genre:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
All of the Lord of the Rings books exemplify the adventure genre, but I think The Hobbit does so most of all. Bilbo embarks on an adventure to get his dwarven companions back home and reclaim gold from a fearsome dragon – I don’t think there is a more classic quest than that.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Adventure awaits Tristran Thorn as he leaves his safe village to cross The Wall into a world of magic and fairies in Stardust by Neil Gaiman. He is after a fallen star in order to win the heart of a woman in the village. I think this story is a good example of a classic hero’s journey for the Tristran at the beginning of the book is very different from the Tristran at the end of the book.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
In Mackenzi Lee’s The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, Henry “Monty’ Montague’s tour of Europe is supposed to be his last chance to live out his dreams of vice and fun because when he gets back home, he is expected to buckle down and manage his family’s fortune. The trip is very quickly derailed and turns into a harrowing adventure.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Piscine “Pi” Patel is the lone human survivor after a ship that is transporting zoo animals wrecks in the Life of Pi by Yann Martel. He survives 227 days with only the animals to keep him company, most notably a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
In the Memoirs of Lady Trent series, Lady Trent chronicles her life as the world’s foremost dragon naturalist. The first book chronicles her first adventure to the mountains of Vystrana in her quest to discover more about dragons.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a space adventure! Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the spacecraft Wayfarer. Adventure unfolds in the furthest corners of space, making this book a fun sci-fi adventure to read.
I’m a huge fan of adventure fiction! When I’m in a reading slump and struggling to finish a book, picking up a fast-paced adventure can get me back into the swing of reading. When I was a child, adventure fiction books really ignited my love of reading, so there is always something nostalgic about reading them as an adult. I personally love stories with dragons and magic – while they aren’t required components of a good adventure story, they do tend to feature heavily in the genre.
Be sure to join me next month where I’ll be talking about memoirs and autobiographies!
