Can anyone recommend a great "man on the run" novel?

RightHoJeeves

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Basically I was just thinking about how much I love the film North by Northwest. The closest ones I can find are Eric Ambler novels. Anyone know of any others?
 

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A Matter of Honour by Jeffrey Archer springs to mind. I read it years ago, but in one sitting as I couldn't put it down.
 

Vito

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All of these novels involve a person-on-the-run or manhunt situation, in varying degrees. Just the titles and authors -- no summaries, reviews, or spoilers here...

The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
Six Days of the Condor - James Grady
No Country for Old Men - Cormac McCarthy
Marathon Man - William Goldman
Dog Soldiers - Robert Stone

And of course...Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
 

blacbird

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In addition to Rogue Male, with which I thoroughly concur, I'll also posit Household's Watcher in the Shadows, which I think I liked even better. Geoffrey Household simply was one of the finest writers of solid thirller novels who has ever lived.

caw
 
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rugcat

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The Thirty Nine Steps?
I would second this one.

It really set the template for the man on the run novel, at least in modern times. And there are just so many clever little tropes throughout the book -- some of the ploys that Hannay uses to get out of scrapes have been used over and over since then in countless movies.

It might seem a bit dated to some (written in 1915, after all) but to me it reads very modern and is highly entertaining.
 

Maryn

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Vito's been browsing my bookshelves, I see.

Add Vertical Run by Joseph Garber and The Big Picture by Douglas Kennedy. (Vito's sure to like them.)

Maryn, who sure does
 

Wilde_at_heart

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If you like dystopian fiction, maybe Running Man by Stephen King, writing under the name Richard Bachman, since no one's mentioned it yet.
 

Vito

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Would Geoffrey Household's Rogue Male fit the bill?

I had never even heard of this book until I read your post, so I took a look at the descriptions on Amazon and a few other sites. Wow...sounds pretty amazing! I just put it on my summer reading list, near the top...

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