Action/Adventure Aficionados discussion

When you read a great action book, do you read to see how they protagonists win or if they will? Some like their heroes safe throughout. No matter how dire, the team will always make it through with plucky attitudes (not to mention life, limb, and eyesight) intact. Others want a grueling ordeal that's guaranteed to bring heartache. Think of it as Lord of the Rings versus Game of Thrones.

Where do you stand? Do you like both? Does one make you want to sigh with contemptable annoyance? Does the other define the books you select?

I generally prefer my heroes to win. They tend to in series, of course. If they didn't, there wouldn't be another book. Sometimes it's a conditional win which can be really good. Some of the best books, the ones that stick with me for years, have the hero fail or win & die. I can really appreciate them, but I don't seek them out.

I want my heroes to win! Most definitely! I hate books that make me cry, and avoid them at all costs. And movies, too. My kids (and grandkids, now) all know that's the first question I'll ask about any movie recommendation. Even worse - when the dog dies.

Interesting. I'm much more of an IF they'll win. Nothing annoys me more than hearing about a "suicide" mission when 100% of named heroic characters survive unscathed.

I liken it to sports. If my team only wins, I come to expect it, and am much more upset at the rare loss. However, if there is a good chance they can lose, the win feels that much more satisfying.

Jim wrote: "I generally prefer my heroes to win. They tend to in series, of course. If they didn't, there wouldn't be another book. Sometimes it's a conditional win which can be really good. Some of the best b..."

The series comment is a good point, but I also like a revolving door of characters. This way, some can leave, but the new guard can fill in. As long as they aren't all shoehorned in at the same time in a mass exodus. Then again, I'm partial to standalone books versus series.

For me it definitely depends on the story. If it's a small group of characters struggling, fighting, and sacrificing to survive; I've probably gotten to know them pretty welI and definitely want them to make it in the end. If it's an epic tale with an extremely large list of characters, as in 'Game of Thrones', I don't get as attached to them all, and don't ever expect them all to survive. As far as the reality of it all...that's why I read, to escape reality. I don't care if it is the most impossible situation that no ordinary person would ever survive...That's what makes it exciting to me...to know that in this story, they might just do it.

In this genre, I definitely need some points to be real. I can deal with a Jack Reacher/Dirk Pitt/Matt Helm character, even an early Anita Blake, who get beat up & always wind up on top, but things like the guns, injuries, & such have stay within the bounds. Cussler & Lee are both really bad about running off into idiocy territory. Cussler didn't start out that way, but got that way. Lee started that way & got worse. Matt Helm got beat on the head too much, but otherwise Hamilton stayed inbounds.