Action/Adventure

[pshrynk]

I've been wanting to read some action adventure lately. there was a one season show on TV many years ago called something like "The Brass Monkey." It had Bruce Boxleitner as a pilot of a seaplane who spent a lot of time being shot at by Japanese soldiers and spies. I've been looking for somethin like that. Sort of a popcorn of the mind sort of read. Anything come to mind?

[DixieGal]

I have just the thing. I got it from Fictionwise. It's called Invasion from Uranus.

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I have just the thing. I got it from Fictionwise. It's called Invasion from Uranus.

I've got that one. It was funny! What I'm looking for, though is more of the Indiana Jones precursors. The bold, daring hero with the boon companions who sally forth to discover new vistas and also kick commie/Nazi/Imerialist butts.

[DixieGal]

Have you read the Alan Quartermane books? King Solomon's Mines, etc?

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Harry's put a lot of Haggard's stuff on MR - including all the Alan Quartermain ones

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

I've been wanting to read some action adventure lately. there was a one season show on TV many years ago called something like "The Brass Monkey." It had Bruce Boxleitner as a pilot of a seaplane who spent a lot of time being shot at by Japanese soldiers and spies. I've been looking for somethin like that. Sort of a popcorn of the mind sort of read. Anything come to mind?

Ummm, I think you are thinking Tales of the Gold Monkey staring Stephen Collins.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any particular book to recommend though, sorry.

--
Bill

[gollu]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Have you read the Alan Quartermane books? King Solomon's Mines, etc?

Just what I wanted to recommend when i saw the thread.

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Ummm, I think you are thinking Tales of the Gold Monkey staring Stephen Collins.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any particular book to recommend though, sorry.

--
Bill

Could of swore that was Boxleitner. Wiki says that it was originally called Tales of the Brass Monkey, but later changed, so I was sorta right.

[radius]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

I've been wanting to read some action adventure lately. there was a one season show on TV many years ago called something like "The Brass Monkey." It had Bruce Boxleitner as a pilot of a seaplane who spent a lot of time being shot at by Japanese soldiers and spies. I've been looking for somethin like that. Sort of a popcorn of the mind sort of read. Anything come to mind?

How about The Prisoner of Zenda (and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau) by Anthony Hope? You can find it here under the name "Ruritania Duology". Its a fast-paced, swashbuckling adventure. Think of it as The Three Musketeers-lite

If that's too early in time for you, there are some Robert E. Howard stories here at Mobileread too; I think the Costigan anthology might suit you.

If you were thinking more along the lines of serial pulp adventures, there are a number of stories featuring The Crimson Avenger, The Shadow, The Spider (there is a Baen CD for The Spider too), though sadly I don't think there is any Doc Savage available. Look for books uploaded by DrDrib and you will find a nice selection here.

Edit:

Oh yeah, you can also try King of the Khyber Rifles by Talbot Mundy about a secret agent for the British in India just after the turn of the century.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Could of swore that was Boxleitner. Wiki says that it was originally called Tales of the Brass Monkey, but later changed, so I was sorta right.

Actually, at about the same time as Gold Monkey, Boxleitner starred in a show called "Bring 'Em Back Alive," or some such, as an adventurer-slash-big game hunter or something. That's probably why you've confused them. It lasted an even shorter period than Tales of the Gold Monkey, which I loved to watch... my friends called it the "Jake and Jack show." "No, no, Jake... one bark means 'Yes'! Right, Jack?" "Woof!"

[Penforhire]

I have more of a military/political leaning when it comes to action thrillers. Tom Clancy rates highly by me. Most of my other "spy" novelists are not popcorn-weight.

I have two authors that are lower-brow, call them guilty pleasures, but in the same vein -- Brad Thor and John Ringo. Ringo's 'Paladin of Shadows' sequence (starts with Ghost) is definitely popcorn-weight but only palatable if you can endure excess patriotism and invincible heroes.

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

I have more of a military/political leaning when it comes to action thrillers. Tom Clancy rates highly by me. Most of my other "spy" novelists are not popcorn-weight.

I have two authors that are lower-brow, call them guilty pleasures, but in the same vein -- Brad Thor and John Ringo. Ringo's 'Paladin of Shadows' sequence (starts with Ghost) is definitely popcorn-weight but only palatable if you can endure excess patriotism and invincible heroes.

Unless you have a very strong tolerance for kinky sex and BDSM you might want to start Ringo's series with the second book, Kildar. Ringo himself has repeatedly said that he wrote Ghost because he couldn't write anything else until it was finished and he had no intention of publishing it.

One can also try Ted Bell's Hawke books - which are also action/adventure with politics and an invincible hero.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by radius

How about The Prisoner of Zenda

I've been spending too long in the Lounge - I read that as "The Prisoner of ZeLda"

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

I've been spending too long in the Lounge - I read that as "The Prisoner of ZeLda"

i'll take that as a compliment.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

Harry's put a lot of Haggard's stuff on MR - including all the Alan Quartermain ones

Not just "a lot" of Haggard's stuff, but all his fiction (60+ novels) is in my 16 volume Haggard series . To my mind Haggard is as good as any modern "thriller" writer, and he invented the genre of the "lost civilisation" which, I must confess, I have a real soft spot for.