Many Faces of Adventure Fiction

As anyone who follows me knows, I love adventure fiction. I read it, I write it, and it’s my favorite movie genre. One of the most important aspects of a believable adventure is getting the characters into the action realistically. I don’t generally seek out Christian fiction, but I’ve read two books recently that I enjoyed and they got me thinking. Shaken Blessing by Celeste Charlene and Love Takes Flight by Lee Carver both involve volunteer nurses or former nurses, who find themselves embroiled in amazing and emotional adventures as a result of their service, in one instance in Africa and the other in Brazil. The books are very different, but what they have in common is the reason why the characters find themselves in remote and dangerous places, facing challenges they couldn’t have imagined in their former lives.  Years ago I read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and had that similar feeling of being totally entranced by the adventures and people encountered as a result of missionary life.

So, even if you’re not normally a Christian fiction reader, but you love adventure, don’t discount this genre.  I can think of few better ways to insert normal people into extraordinary circumstances than through the theme of missionary and/or volunteer work. Not every great adventure has to be spun around a CIA agent or an archeologist.  People compromising their own comfort and safety to help others often puts them in situations bordering on the unbelievable.