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Michael Newton, How to Write Action Adventure Novels ©1989, p. 27

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"As a theme in literature, revenge has been around forever. Moby Dick is a revenge yarn, and despite the fact that college courses have been built around the 'hidden symbolism' of the story, I suspect that Herman Melville -- and his readers, too -- were more contemporarily concerned with the adventure aspects of the tale, its pacing, and the monster waiting to make hash of Captain Ahab at the end."
 

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Hidden symbolism, quote unquote. Do you think Mr. Newton has actually read Melville? Probably not.  He also quotes with admiration the opening of William Nolan's The White Cad Cross-Up, which we loved too, for different reasons:
 

"The Marshal's big automatic crashed twice, and two .45 slugs whacked into my chest. At close range, the force of the bullets drove me back like boxer's fists, and I landed on the rug, gasping and plenty nervous."