Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers.

*Classic adventure books laying on the table.*

The literary world is truly blessed when it comes to listing down the best adventure books of all time. Dating back to the 8th century and jumping into this modern 21st century, there is a powerful adventure book promising its readers a perfect reading experience.

If you’re an aspiring author with some great ideas for your adventure book, it is fitting that you explore the components of all the most powerful ones of all time. But to get started and before you dive deep into the nitty-gritty, we have compiled a list of the most critical elements that make an adventure book, ‘best of all times.’

The Secrets That Make the Most Powerful Adventure Books of All Time

What makes a great fiction book? A powerful storyline, world-building, character development, and the most mind-tantalizing climax.

Exactly.

So, to make things easy for you to get started with the draft phase of your adventure book, check your idea against the following list.

A Plot: Engaging with High Stakes

The highlight of an adventure book is the sense of risk and urgency that accompanies the characters and builds the story. The plot that you need to work on must be paced adequately to keep the reader hooked till the very end. The key here is to maintain the excitement that convinces a reader to turn to the next page.

Perfect examples of such plots are Jack London’s The Call of the Wild or Mobby-Dick.

Characters: Powerful Histories and Development

No author can hope to conquer the hearts and minds of their readers without investing much of their time in creating strong characters. And adventure books are no exception. The protagonists and even the antagonists should be memorable.

Examples? The Hobbit and Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.

Setting: Exotic or Dangerous

One of the most crucial elements that is quite visible in all the best adventure books of all time is the setting. An effective book of this genre is one that effortlessly transports a reader to a dangerous, exotic, or otherworldly setting.

And the best example of this is, of course, Michael Crichton’s Jurrasic Park.

Themes: Exploration and Discovery

The central structure of an adventure book is mostly around exploration and discovery. It may revolve around new lands, powers, new concepts, or hidden secrets. This helps build intrigue among readers, making them stick to reading continuously.

To enjoy such themes, The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle is the perfect read.

Obstacles: Surviving Through Challenges

Obstacles or challenges are like the spices for an adventure book. They add the taste to a reader’s literary appetite, which makes them get excited as to how the protagonist tackles and handles the complex situations. Adding to the overall excitement of the read are the near-impossible odds.

If you have read Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe or The Road by Cormac McCarthy, you might already know what we’re talking about.

There is a constant build of suspense throughout the read with a timeless appeal to the story such as The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. These are the elements that have brought us the best adventure books of all time!

If you want to observe some of these elements in combination with the modern adventure, Jamison Shults’s Stellar Resolve, book 01 of the Star Seed Series is what you need to get your hands on.

Discover the Secret Behind the Best Adventure Books of All Time