Exactly. It's a type of narrative completely ignored and rarely taken on its own merits by the literary establishment, but vital nontheless.
The question for any discussion is --- is it well done or not?
It always involves a hero, and heroes are at present shunned.
The great mythic prototypes are always with us, however. Consider the 'band of brothers' theme; the ancient prototype is Ulysses, then used successfully, beautifully, in 'Saving Private Ryan' (a movie but let that go for now).
I would say that in 'Cities of the Plain' Cormac McCarthy didn't do well with the theme of the lone hero. In All The Pretty Horses he constructed a masterpiece with his lone hero.
That's the only question -- well done or badly done.
Take The Old Man And The Sea --- again, the hero on a quest. Again, a masterpiece.
You can find these mythical themes in so many works. It's like a kaliedoscope -- you have a limited number of glass pieces, but the creative combinations are endless in their variety.
Right. There are a lot of good war stories that are well done. Some of my favorites are Up Periscope, The Enemy Below, Patton, The Grey Ghost, and the Audie Murphy bio - To Hell and Back. Though not really classics, still, very good stories in the pursuit of victory.
Then there's the ill-fated or tragic quest, like Billy Budd, or Herman Melville's Moby Dick - both classics in their own right.
I also enjoy fiction with a political bent, such as: Fahrenheit 451, The 480, The Ugly American, and Sarkahn.
I know a new thread was started for today, but I was reading this one to catch up on posts I'd missed and wanted to add a seeming freeper favorite to your "quest novel" list: "The Stand" by King.