Looking for new airport novels

Doitsu · 04-25-2019, 07:19 AM

I've recently re-read The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth and I'm looking for similar books published in the last decade.

IMHO, there are a lot wannabe Forsyths and Ludlums out there, but I haven't found one that I really liked.

pwalker8 · 04-25-2019, 10:03 AM

I don't that I've ever heard Day of the Jackal called an airport novel. There are a number of authors who write spy/assassin thrillers these days. Vince Flynn comes to mind, but Barry Eisler is another. Of course, Day of the Jackal was a classic of the genre, so it's kind of hard to come up with one that meets that standard, especially within the last 10 years. Forsyth wrote several others including Dogs of War and The Oddessa File. Tom Clancey was pretty close to Forsyth, but those were well over 10 years old.

Pajamaman · 04-25-2019, 10:05 AM

Fatherland by Robert Harris is excellent. His other books are competent, but that's his magnum opus IMO.

Also War of the Rats by David L. Robbins is excellent.

Just noticed they're a bit older than 10 years. Oh, well.

Doitsu · 04-25-2019, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

There are a number of authors who write spy/assassin thrillers these days. Vince Flynn comes to mind, but Barry Eisler is another.

I liked the original Vince Flynn books, but not the sequels written by Kyle Mills, who's a rather unimaginative author. IMHO, Eisler is OK, but not as good as Flynn. (I've also read most of the Gabriel Allon novels by Daniel Silva and most Clancy novels.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Tom Clancey was pretty close to Forsyth, but those were well over 10 years old.

That's my problem. Apparently nobody really writes good novels in this genre. Also Forsyth's last 2 novels read like they were written by ghostwriter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

Fatherland by Robert Harris is excellent.

I liked Fatherland, but his more recent books, e.g., Conclave, didn't captivate me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

Also War of the Rats by David L. Robbins is excellent.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

pwalker8 · 04-25-2019, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doitsu

I liked the original Vince Flynn books, but not the sequels written by Kyle Mills, who's a rather unimaginative author. IMHO, Eisler is OK, but not as good as Flynn. (I've also read most of the Gabriel Allon novels by Daniel Silva and most Clancy novels.)

That's my problem. Apparently nobody really writes good novels in this genre. Also Forsyth's last 2 novels read like they were written by ghostwriter.

I liked Fatherland, but his more recent books, e.g., Conclave, didn't captivate me.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

No, your problem is like many readers, you have managed to out-read the writers.

Most genres go in cycles. It's whatever is popular at a given time. I don't keep that much up with the thriller genre. I'm more of a SF&F guy who reads occasional thrillers. The big international thriller craze seemed to peak back in the 90's and early 2000's. There are several that I read during that time that I really liked, James H Cobb's original novels for example. I guess the Jack Reacher series is the big thriller these days, though it's not my cup of tea. Patterson and Baldacci are two authors I hear mentioned a lot as well.

HarryT · 04-25-2019, 01:51 PM

Patterson used to write good novels. These days he makes a living by just putting his name on other people's books.

Catlady · 04-25-2019, 01:52 PM

Possibly Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X novels? I haven't read these myself, but I enjoyed several of Hurwitz's standalones that are closer to the domestic suspense genre.

Also, Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 novels may be of interest. Again, not my thing, but I did read and enjoy his standalone The Farm.

ametzler · 04-26-2019, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doitsu

I liked the original Vince Flynn books, but not the sequels written by Kyle Mills, who's a rather unimaginative author. IMHO, Eisler is OK, but not as good as Flynn. (I've also read most of the Gabriel Allon novels by Daniel Silva and most Clancy novels.)
[...]

FWIW I have just read my first Vince Flynn novel (Transfer of Power), I thought it was quite bit pedestrian compared to Eisler's first Rain novel. I hope it gets better ;-) (Eisler does not.)

Tom Wood's Victor series is similar to Eisler. Jack Reacher works very well for me as a over-the-top but competently written entertainment. It is also a very reliable series, I have not yet (#19) hit the point, where the Author is earning to much money, valid input by the editor is ignored, and the books are just bloated money-machines.

Doitsu · 04-26-2019, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Possibly Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X novels?

I liked the first one, but each subsequent book got worse. (The last one is utter garbage.) IMHO, many of his standalone books are much better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Also, Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 novels

IIRC, I started the fist one, but never finished it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ametzler

FWIW I have just read my first Vince Flynn novel (Transfer of Power), I thought it was quite bit pedestrian compared to Eisler's first Rain novel. I hope it gets better ;-) (Eisler does not.)

IMHO, the quality of the books gets somewhat better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ametzler

Tom Wood's Victor series is similar to Eisler.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ametzler

Jack Reacher works very well for me as a over-the-top but competently written entertainment.

The Jack Reacher books are definitely very well written, but too much over-the-top for my taste.

pwalker8 · 04-26-2019, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ametzler

FWIW I have just read my first Vince Flynn novel (Transfer of Power), I thought it was quite bit pedestrian compared to Eisler's first Rain novel. I hope it gets better ;-) (Eisler does not.)

Tom Wood's Victor series is similar to Eisler. Jack Reacher works very well for me as a over-the-top but competently written entertainment. It is also a very reliable series, I have not yet (#19) hit the point, where the Author is earning to much money, valid input by the editor is ignored, and the books are just bloated money-machines.

I didn't discover Flynn until after he died, so I've been reading his books in chronological order rather than published order, thus I read American Assassin first, even though it was the 11th book actually published. Flynn definitely improves his craft quite a bit. I'm currently reading Transfer of Power and American Assassin is much better.

Pajamaman · 04-30-2019, 03:19 PM

Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas (Author)

Again older than 10 years, but not that well-known. Really, really exciting book, and probably fact. The movie Munich was based on it.

Also Willi Heinrich, The Cross of Iron and The Crack of Doom. Very old, but not well-known, and amazingly written. In fact, the prose style is really something special, and that's in translation. I could read them just for the exposition, then people start shooting.

lumpynose · 04-30-2019, 04:51 PM

A room full of night by Kenneth, T. R. I only have a few pages left. When you read the author bio you'll see that the author knows the topic.

crich70 · 04-30-2019, 07:13 PM

Have you tried Arthur Hailey? He wrote some pretty good long novels including "Airport."

Penforhire · 04-30-2019, 08:27 PM

I liked Barry Eisner more than the OP. But I’ll add Mark Greaney and Stephen Hunter to several other good recommendations in this thread.

Doitsu · 05-01-2019, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas

Sounds interesting. I'll check it out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

Also Willi Heinrich, The Cross of Iron and The Crack of Doom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumpynose

A room full of night by Kenneth, T. R.

Thanks for the recommendations, but I'm not really into WWII stories.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crich70

Have you tried Arthur Hailey? He wrote some pretty good long novels including "Airport."

Thanks for recommendation. I might check out some of his lesser known novels.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penforhire

But I’ll add Mark Greaney and Stephen Hunter to several other good recommendations in this thread.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check them out.

04-30-2019, 03:19 PM	#11
Pajamaman Wizard Posts: 2,827 Karma: 10700629 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Canada Device: Onyx Nova	Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas (Author) Again older than 10 years, but not that well-known. Really, really exciting book, and probably fact. The movie Munich was based on it. Also Willi Heinrich, The Cross of Iron and The Crack of Doom. Very old, but not well-known, and amazingly written. In fact, the prose style is really something special, and that's in translation. I could read them just for the exposition, then people start shooting. Last edited by Pajamaman; 04-30-2019 at 03:22 PM.

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04-25-2019, 07:19 AM	#1
Doitsu Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,584 Karma: 22735033 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle PW2	Looking for new airport novels I've recently re-read The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth and I'm looking for similar books published in the last decade. IMHO, there are a lot wannabe Forsyths and Ludlums out there, but I haven't found one that I really liked.

04-25-2019, 10:03 AM	#2
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	I don't that I've ever heard Day of the Jackal called an airport novel. There are a number of authors who write spy/assassin thrillers these days. Vince Flynn comes to mind, but Barry Eisler is another. Of course, Day of the Jackal was a classic of the genre, so it's kind of hard to come up with one that meets that standard, especially within the last 10 years. Forsyth wrote several others including Dogs of War and The Oddessa File. Tom Clancey was pretty close to Forsyth, but those were well over 10 years old.

04-25-2019, 10:05 AM	#3
Pajamaman Wizard Posts: 2,827 Karma: 10700629 Join Date: May 2016 Location: Canada Device: Onyx Nova	Fatherland by Robert Harris is excellent. His other books are competent, but that's his magnum opus IMO. Also War of the Rats by David L. Robbins is excellent. Just noticed they're a bit older than 10 years. Oh, well.

04-25-2019, 01:51 PM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Patterson used to write good novels. These days he makes a living by just putting his name on other people's books.

04-25-2019, 01:52 PM	#7
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Possibly Gregg Hurwitz's Orphan X novels? I haven't read these myself, but I enjoyed several of Hurwitz's standalones that are closer to the domestic suspense genre. Also, Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 novels may be of interest. Again, not my thing, but I did read and enjoy his standalone The Farm.

04-30-2019, 04:51 PM	#12
lumpynose Wizard Posts: 1,086 Karma: 6719822 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Palm Pilot M105	A room full of night by Kenneth, T. R. I only have a few pages left. When you read the author bio you'll see that the author knows the topic.

04-30-2019, 07:13 PM	#13
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Have you tried Arthur Hailey? He wrote some pretty good long novels including "Airport."

04-30-2019, 08:27 PM	#14
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	I liked Barry Eisner more than the OP. But I’ll add Mark Greaney and Stephen Hunter to several other good recommendations in this thread.