Action & Adventure Stories

Store Location

If pirates, jousting and horseback chases no longer appeal to you, you're too old or too boring. Adventure stories fell out of vogue among 20th century literary types who thought serious fiction had to be boring and depressing, but to those born with fire in their bones, adventure stories are deeply serious.

Not serious like existentialism or keeping a stiff upper lip, but serious like Robin Hood—devoted to protecting the downtrodden, committed to Maid Marian, sworn to fight injustice as long as a soul is in his body, always laughing and ready for a fight or a feast.

G. K. Chesterton wrote adventure stories because they best expressed the eternal joy that supported his generous frame. For those raised on Modern Adventure Stories, joy may seem an inappropriate word for an increasingly dark genre, but the fault lies with those who think adventures are forays into evil rather than romps with Gilbert Keith.

There's nothing evil about a good adventure. There may be bad guys (there ought to be), but if the Good Guy does his job there'll be more of his exploits to talk about than theirs. Because, should he be doing his job, the Hero will be sword-fighting, being clever, wooing, chasing and laughing to the detriment of his enemies on every page.

Average people don't have the adventures Heroes in Books have—they have the adventures of Modern Men in Books. But the way through the prosaic troubles of life isn't to immerse yourself in them, it's to let the Good Guys show The Way Out of Problems, and do your best to imitate them when you meet the less dramatic, but no less real, dangers of everyday existence.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

Did you find this review helpful?

Parent Categories

Fiction & Literature

Fiction by Genre

Action & Adventure Stories

50 Items found Print

Active Filters:

Nautical Fiction,

Hardcover

	Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies Hornblower Series #11 by C. S. Forester from Little, Brown & Company for 9th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $14.00 (1 in stock)
	African Queen by C. S. Forester from International Collectors Library for 9th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Black Falcon by Armstrong Sperry from John C. Winston for 6th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $18.00 (1 in stock)
	Captains Courageous Junior Deluxe Editions by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. for 5th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Captains Courageous Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Rudyard Kipling from Reader's Digest Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Commodore Hornblower by C. S. Forester 1^st edition from Little, Brown & Company for 9th-12th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Curse of Carne's Hold by G. A. Henty from Robinson Curriculum for 6th-10th grade in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
	Danger to Windward by Armstrong Sperry 1^st edition from John C. Winston for 5th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes, illustrated by Warrenn Chappell from Little, Brown & Company for 5th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $15.00 (1 in stock)
	ECL: Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Dick Cole from Classic Publishing Corporation for 4th-8th grade in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
	ECL: Treasure Island Educator Classic Library #1 by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Don Irwin Complete and Unabridged Edition from Classic Press in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
	Hidden Foe A Romantic Adventure of Inheritance by G. A. Henty from Robinson Curriculum for 6th-10th grade in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
	Hull-Down for Action by Armstrong Sperry from Doubleday & Company for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Innocent Voyage or A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes, illustrated by Lynd Ward from Heritage Press for 4th-7th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $7.00 (2 in stock)
	Jack Plank Tells Tales by Natalie Babbitt First Edition (first thus) from MDC Books for 4th-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	John Hawke's Fortune A Story of Monmouth's Rebellion by G. A. Henty from Robinson Curriculum for 6th-10th grade in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
	Lord Hornblower by C. S. Forester from Little, Brown & Company for 8th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Lost Lagoon A Pacific Adventure by Armstrong Sperry from Doubleday & Company for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Moby-Dick (retold) by Herman Melville, presented by Jane Needle, illustrated by Patrick Benson 1^st edition from Candlewick Press for 4th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Robinson Crusoe (abridged) Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Lynd Ward from Grosset & Dunlap for 5th-9th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Robinson Crusoe (abridged) Illustrated Junior Library Series 1 by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Lynd Ward from Grosset & Dunlap for 5th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Storm Canvas Junior Literary Guild by Armstrong Sperry from John C. Winston for 6th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Tales of Pirates and Buccaneers by Howard Pyle from Dilithium Press, Ltd. for 4th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Tim All Alone by Edward Ardizzone from Henry Z. Walck, Inc. for 1st-4th grade 1956 Kate Greenaway Medal in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
	Treasure Island Illustrated Junior Library Series 4 by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price from Grosset & Dunlap Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Treasure Island Illustrated Junior Library Series 3 by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price from Grosset & Dunlap Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Treasure Island Scribner Illustrated Classics by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth Deluxe from Atheneum for 5th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $18.00 (1 in stock)
	Treasure Island Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price from Grosset & Dunlap for 5th-10th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson from Junior Deluxe Editions for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Frank Godwin from Reader's Digest for 5th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by John Cameron from David McKay Company for 5th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by William Sharp from Grosset & Dunlap Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (2 in stock)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Edmund Dulac from Abaris Books for 5th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Igor Iljinski from Barron's for 4th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Treasure Island Scribner Illustrated Classics by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth Deluxe from Atheneum for 5th-9th grade in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB) $24.99
	Treasure Island Illustrated Junior Library Series 1 by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price from Grosset & Dunlap for 5th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by John Lawrence from Candlewick Press Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $15.00 (1 in stock)
	Treasure Island Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price from Grosset & Dunlap for 5th-10th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Treasure Island Rainbow Classics by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by C. B. Falls from World Publishing Company for 5th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson from Whitman Publishing Company for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated with stills from 1934 MGM film from Grosset & Dunlap Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Treasure Island Macmillan Classics by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by John Falter from Macmillan for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eleonore Schmid from New York Graphic Society for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi from Orchard Books for 3rd-7th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Two Years Before the Mast A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea by Richard Henry Dana Jr. from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. for 6th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Two Years Before the Mast (abridged) by Richard Henry Dana Jr. from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. for 5th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Wanderer by Sharon Creech 1^st edition from HarperCollins for 4th-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Westward Ho! The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the County of Devon~ in the Reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty Queen Elizabeth by Charles Kingsley from Dodd, Mead & Co. Historical Fiction for 8th-12th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Westward Ho! (abridged) The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, of Burrough, in the County of Devon~ in the Reign of Her Most Glorious Majesty Queen Elizabeth by Charles Kingsley, abridged by Elizabeth C. Moore and illustrated by Henry Pitz from Dodd, Mead & Co. Historical Fiction for 8th-12th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)

Shop

Support

Hours & Directions

Connect