Anyone have any good hunting-related fiction suggestions?

I'm a huge Wilbur Smith fan, but beyond that the selection seems pretty meager. I've found a few pieces that were very well-intentioned but not particularly well written.

Has anyone read this one,

http://search.barnesandnoble.c...wood/e/9781592284825

It might be worth putting on your list. I would also be interested in a "top ten" hunting novels list.

Here's another one I've yet to read, but which looks promising.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/378807.Big_Woods

I'm going to guess that Bill Quimby will have some good suggestions.

BuffNut:

If by "hunting-related fiction" you mean novels, I have not found one I would recommend other than Hemingway's. I also am a fan of Wilbur Smith's works, except for those based in early Egypt, but although most contain some hunting, hunting is not the main thrust of his plot.

Wink:
You posted two good, fun-to-read books for hunters, but I suspect BuffNut was looking for a novel. Again, i know of no contemporary hunting-based novel that I can recommend.

Bill Quimby

I think it's an untapped genre. Surely some creative author could create a whole series of novels with a hunting theme to them.

A Sportsman's Sketches (also called a Sportsman's Notebook) by Ivan Turgenev, really good stuff there.

quote:

Originally posted by BuffNut:
I think it's an untapped genre. Surely some creative author could create a whole series of novels with a hunting theme to them.

I agree. Unfortunately, although there have been more than a few contemporary books featuring collections of brief essays on hunting, we need a skilled novelist to bring us more stuff of the caliber of "The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber, the Snows of Kilimanjaro, and Something of Value. Although it fell short of those I've mentioned, the closest I've seen by a contemporary author was Brian Marsh's The Last Trophy.

Bill Quimby

I wish the popular hunitng magazines would take 'chances' on new writers who want to write about hunting in many forms and have a rotating column or spot to publish stuff from unknowns so that a) they can get their voice heard and b) let readers be a judge of good writing by their feedback. So many magazines rely on the same staff that even though the writing is good, it can get stale hearing the same voice all the time. Like reading new gun columns that just artfully re-write the manufacturers specs...

I agree with all of Bill's suggestions + had I spoken first that would be my call.However this subject + your wants are quite relative + thus could be served in a variety of other literary fashions.We understand that you are a fan of Wilbur Smith (ever read [Jungle Man] by P.J. Praetorious?) per se "Shout at the Devil". Much as Smith denies plagerisem;well read it + judge for your self.Good fiction....Russell Annebel (maybe),J.A. Hunter,fact I do so believe.Although there are so many out there I will still have to say that Ruarck's "The Old Man + The Boy" ranks WAY up there. If you have'nt read it yet then I envy you your first taste.

Thanks Norman - I have not read Jungle Man but will check it out. I do have Annabel and Hunter's stuff and love it, but those are actual experiences, not fiction (assuming you believe them). Same with Ruark, though I rank all of Ruark's writing very highly, with the exception of "Something of Value" it isn't really fiction but rather based on his actual experiences. I have "Something of Value" and have been "saving" it for the right trip.

I love "related" genres, like all the "shooting" related stuff that's out there right now. Stephen Hunter is a great novelist, though I much prefer his earlier work to the most recent stuff he's done - I think Hollywood may have gone to his head. And of course I started reading military fiction with Tom Clancy years ago and read everyone who followed, including W.E.B. Griffin, etc. Recently I discovered Vince Flynn, who I like a lot. But none of those guys have "hunting" as a plot device. Smith is really the only guy I've seen who regularly incorporates hunting into his novels.

I actually think a lot of the non-fiction stuff that we see in "Safari Press" every year is pretty good - there's no shortage of memoirs and other non-fiction hunting books, and I love all that stuff. But when it comes to fiction, I haven't really been able to find much.

By the way, I should also be careful to say that Hemingway doesn't count - that's real literature - I love that stuff too, but it's much classier than a Wilbur Smith novel.

I enjoy Russel Annabel's works. They were short story compliations, but entertaining. They were based in Alaska, as I recall. I'm pretty sure they were fiction or perhaps heavily fictionalized.
I also enjoyed the Ruark Afrian novels, Uhuru and Something of Value. His Old Man and the Boy books were entertaining.
There are a number of bird hunting books out there that must be fiction. I've never known a fisherman or bird hunter that were confined to truth. None of them has ever been honest about where the birds are! Grouse Feathers and More Grouse Feathers come to mind.
Bfly

Hello Buffnut, one other occured to me in the middle of the night. "Jock of the Bushveldt".

If anyone wants Cafe' on the Nile by Bartle Bull, I just finished it and will send it to you if you will buy me a beer at DSC next year.

I found it interesting. It's about a safari in Ethiopia during the invasion of the country by the Italians.

Thanks for the reminder Judge. I recommend that entire trilogy ,to whit; "The White Rhino Hotel, Cafe On The Nile,+ The Devil's Oasis". Search for these as they are out of print right now but well worth the read. If you like his style I recommend his next series (only 2)concerning the White Cossacks escape from Russia after the fall of he Czar into Shanghai. They are named,"Shanghai Station + China Star". Best of luck + good reading

Judge's stuff is worth reading.

A classic story of coming to age that deals with hunting is Marcel's Pagnol's "The Glory of my Father," and the film is worth watching as well.

A buddy of mine just came out with this one, but I will caveat and say I've not read it yet:
http://www.alaskafiction.com/m...les.html#devilsshare

There are sci fi novels with a hunting theme:

Time Safari by David Drake,
http://www.amazon.com/Time-Saf...cm_lmf_img_3_rsrsrs0

And Rivers of Time by L Sprague DeCamp
http://www.amazon.com/Rivers-T...2195X/ref=pd_sim_b_3

While both authors are not hunters - and it shows in some of the details - the stories are entertaining.