Books like “Moby-Dick”

What to read after “Moby-Dick” by Herman Melville: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
The Sea-Wolf
Jack London · 1904
Similar atmosphere: “Philosophical”
A literary critic survives a ferry collision in San Francisco Bay and is picked up by a sealing schooner commanded by Wolf Larsen, a brutal and brilliant captain. Thrown into the crew's rough life, the soft scholar must find his footing under a man who answers to no law but his own.
2
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
Jules Verne · 1870
Similar setting: “Nautical Adventure”
Three men are taken aboard the Nautilus, a submarine commanded by the brilliant Captain Nemo, after it attacks their ship. As they travel the ocean depths they witness wonders and terrors of the undersea world while their host's motives stay hidden.
3
Life of Pi
Yann Martel · 2001
Similar atmosphere: “Philosophical”
- Philosophical
- Nautical Adventure
After a shipwreck, a teenage boy shares a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. For months he struggles to survive at sea while holding on to his beliefs and his story. A fable about faith, storytelling and the versions of events we choose to believe.
4
The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway · 1952
Similar atmosphere: “Philosophical”
- Philosophical
- Nautical Adventure
An aging Cuban fisherman, Santiago, has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish. When a huge marlin finally takes his line far out to sea, he must hold on through a long, painful contest of endurance and will.
5
Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson · 1883
Similar setting: “Nautical Adventure”
- Nautical Adventure
- Quest
Young Jim Hawkins finds a treasure map in a dead sailor's chest and sails for a distant island where a pirate's gold is buried. Among the crew is the one-legged cook Long John Silver, whose charm hides a plan to seize the hoard.
6
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho · 1988
Similar atmosphere: “Philosophical”
- Philosophical
- Quest
Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd, dreams of treasure buried near the Egyptian pyramids and sets out across the desert to find it. Along the way strangers, omens and hardship teach him to read the world and to trust his own heart.
7
Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad · 1899
Similar atmosphere: “Philosophical”
- Philosophical
- Quest
A sailor tells of his journey up an African river to reach a mysterious ivory trader who has become a god to the locals. The deeper he goes, the more he sees of greed and cruelty, and of what people become when no one restrains them. A short, unsettling classic.
8
Robinson Crusoe
Daniel Defoe · 1719
Similar setting: “Nautical Adventure”
- Nautical Adventure
Shipwrecked alone on a deserted island, a castaway named Robinson Crusoe builds a life from nothing: shelter, crops and a canoe. Years of solitude end when he finds a footprint in the sand and rescues a man he names Friday.
9
Shantaram
Gregory David Roberts · 2003
Similar atmosphere: “Philosophical”
- Philosophical
An escaped Australian convict flees to Bombay under a false name and disappears into the city's hidden world. He runs a clinic in a slum, is drawn into the orbit of a mafia boss and a guarded woman, and is remade by betrayal, imprisonment and war.
10
Master and Commander
Patrick O'Brian · 1969
Similar setting: “Nautical Adventure”
- Nautical Adventure
In 1800, Royal Navy captain Jack Aubrey takes command of a small brig and meets the ship's surgeon, Stephen Maturin, a naturalist and secret intelligence agent. Their friendship grows as the crew pursues a Spanish frigate across the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
11
The Long Ships
Frans G. Bengtsson · 1941
Similar setting: “Nautical Adventure”
- Nautical Adventure
The Viking Red Orm sails from his Scandinavian home in the late tenth century and is carried through raids, courts and distant seas, from Andalusia to the Byzantine guard. A picaresque saga of raids, treasure and shifting faith, told with dry humour and a wide view of the Viking world.
12
The Mysterious Island
Jules Verne · 1875
Similar setting: “Nautical Adventure”
- Nautical Adventure
Five Union prisoners escape a siege in a hot-air balloon and are blown onto an uncharted island. There they rebuild a small civilization from its resources, aided by an unseen hand and threatened by a hidden danger.