Looking for action-adventure Dr. Jones style literature!

June 18, 2011 6:59 PM

Help me find books (and authors) that are similar to Clive Cussler for a gift for my dad. Indiana Jones-ish derring-do! With author recommendations... where to start?

Father's Day is tomorrow, and my dad is having back trouble so I want to get him something for him to read while he recovers. He and I really enjoyed Clive Cussler books when I was a kid so can anyone recommend other authors that are similar in the action-adventure Indiana Jones type-ness (and the best book of theirs if possible).

He and I also liked Tom Clancy. I know he read Robert Ludlum but I did not.

Jack Du Brul and James Rollins have been recommended but I don't know which of their books might be the best. Are there better authors?

posted by OnTheLastCastle to grab bag (12 answers total)

Dale Brown and James Clavell comes to mind. I've read all of everything you mention and would again.
posted by kcm at 7:27 PM on June 18, 2011

Justin Scott
Craig Thomas
posted by Confess, Fletch at 7:30 PM on June 18, 2011

Vince Flynn is also a good author in this genre. I liked American Assassin, Extreme Measures and Protect & Defend, especially.

I rate Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly as one of the best books in the military action genre I have read recently. Ordered some other books by him.

Dale Brown is also a good author, but his recent books have been extensions of the same thing over and over. His early books are definitely great though.
posted by theobserver at 7:53 PM on June 18, 2011

He and I also liked Tom Clancy. I know he read Robert Ludlum but I did not.

Alex Berenson's The Faithful Spy is the best thriller I've read in since Patriot Games.
posted by Jahaza at 8:28 PM on June 18, 2011

Frederick Forsyth is good for that sort of thing.

Denser, but with lots of cool tech stuff and thrilling WW2 action, maybe "Cryptonomicon"?
posted by GriffX at 11:17 PM on June 18, 2011

Wilbur Smith, although his characters are almost laughably monodimensional most of the time.
posted by Happy Dave at 2:51 AM on June 19, 2011

Lee Child's Jack Reacher books! "Echo Burning" is my favorite.
posted by Carol Anne at 5:30 AM on June 19, 2011

Seconding Lee Child.

Other series to check out:

I wouldn't call any of these "Indiana Jones style". And, topically they're a little different than Ludlum, but they fit in that "Man-Fiction" genre and generally follow the same formula. I've included the name of the first book in each series below.

Barry Eisler's Rain series. (Assassin story) - Rain Fall
Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar series. (Sports Agent meets P.I.) - Deal Breaker
T. Jefferson Parker's Merci Rayborn series. (Southern Police Procedural) - The Blue Hour
Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series. (Detective novels) - The Black Echo

Vince Flynn and Brad Thor are also well known authors in this genre and their respective series follow the "bad ass spy saving the US from terrorists" business. Both authors are rather conservative in their political views and that comes through heavily in their books. Depending on you or your father's politics, they may or may not be a good choice.
posted by Jacob G at 6:22 AM on June 19, 2011

Vince Flynn and Brad Thor are also well known authors in this genre and their respective series follow the "bad ass spy saving the US from terrorists" business. Both authors are rather conservative in their political views and that comes through heavily in their books. Depending on you or your father's politics, they may or may not be a good choice.

I think what Jacob G means by "conservative" is that Vince Flynn believes that many state secrets deserve to remain secret and the security agencies are mostly moral. Also that too much Congressional oversight is by politicians who don't know anything about what it takes to protect the country. This comes across multiple times in the book (and strongly worded too).
posted by theobserver at 6:32 AM on June 19, 2011

Thirding Lee Child, a much better writer than many of the others.
posted by fivesavagepalms at 7:47 AM on June 19, 2011

Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser.
posted by cluck at 7:56 AM on June 19, 2011

You might try here for finding some ideas...I got this but you might want to play around. If you type a title in LibraryThing it will give you some good recommendations, too. Also, I typed in Clive Cussler at Fantastic Fiction and got many recommendations at the bottom under "Clive Cussler Recommends".
posted by snap_dragon at 3:00 PM on June 23, 2011