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| What Makes A Thriller?
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A thriller is characterized by a high level of suspense and
its ability to evoke an emotional rush of excitement in the reader.
It is a gripping, plot-centered story, often set in the detailed
framework of a particular profession, such as law, government,
medicine, that places heroes in dangerous situations from which
they must extricate themselves. They often feature conspiracies
where the stakes are high, i.e., the death of the planet, the
end of democracy, death of a president or control of power. |
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| Thriller Sub-Genres:
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There are several different types of thrillers:
Legal thrillers, Medical thrillers, Psychological thrillers, Spy
thrillers, Political and Financial Thrillers, Techno-thrillers,
Code and Cipher thrillers, Action-Adventure thrillers. |
Psychological thrillers:
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These stories feature the building of tension
and uneasiness and focus on what is going to happen. They often
feature a killer or stalker who is known to the reader from
the start, but the reader is a step or two ahead of the protagonist.
There are two types, soft and hard edged.
- Child, Lee
- Iles, Greg
- Clark, Mary Higgins
- Patterson, James
- Deaver, Jeffery
- Perry, Thomas
- Fielding, Joy
- Pearson, Ridley
- Gardner, Lisa
- Rendell, Ruth
- Harris, Thomas
- Sandford, John
- Hoag, Tami
- Walters, Minette
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Legal Thrillers:
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Stories in which the main character is a lawyer
or judge, and the law and often the corruption of the law is
an integral part of the plot.
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- Buffa, D.W.
- O’Shaughnessy, Perri
- Coughlin, William J.
- Patterson, Richard North
- Grisham, John
- Rosenberg, Nancy Taylor
- Lescroart, John T.
- Scottoline, Lisa
- Margolin, Phillip
- Tannenbaum, Robert K.
- Martini, Steve
- Turow, Scott
- Meltzer, Brad
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Medical Thrillers:
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Stories are plot driven and focus on newsworthy
medical themes that play on the fears of readers. Plot may be
a conspiracy, or there may a virus or a catastrophe.
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- Case, John
- Johansen, Iris
- Cook, Robin
- Kalla, Daniel
- Crichton, Michael
- Koontz, Dean
- Dreyer, Eileen
- Palmer, Michael
- Gerritsen, Tess
- Spanogle, Joshua
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Techno-Thrillers:
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Stories in which the plot revolves around military weapons
systems, such as planes, submarines or naval ships. Technology
and military action takes precedence
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- Bond, Larry
- Coonts, Stephen
- Brown, Dale
- Poyer, David
- Clancy, Tom
- Rollins, James
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Code and Cipher Thrillers:
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Driven by clues and codes, these intricately
plotted stories contain puzzles, and have an emphasis on history
and ancient treasure. The main character is usually a researcher
who gets caught up in dangerous intrigue.
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- Berry, Steve
- Neville, Katherine
- Brown, Dan
- Santos , Jose Rodrigues Dos
- Caldwell, Ian
- Sierra, Javier
- Grossman, Lev
- Silbert, Leslie
- Khoury, Raymond
- Silva, Daniel
- Mosse, Kate
- Stephenson, Neil
- Navarro, Julia
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Spy Thrillers:
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Stories in which the hero is generally a government
agent who must take action (ranging from high-speed chases to
stealth operations) against agents of a rival government, or
more recently, terrorists.
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- Follett, Ken
- Littell, Robert
- Furst, Alan
- Ludlum, Robert
- Le Carre, John
- Silva, Daniel
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Political-Financial Thrillers:
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Stories set against the backdrop of political
power struggle, usually involving various plots, rarely legal,
designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents
try to stop him from getting it. They can involve national or
international political scenarios.
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- Baldacci, David
- Meltzer, Brad
- Flynn, Vince
- Mills, Kyle
- Frey, Stephen
- Patterson, Richard North
- Higgins, Jack
- Thor, Brad
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Action-Adventure Thrillers:
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These stories feature larger-than-life heroes and obvious
antagonists, usually in a race against the clock to avert disasters
of a natural or man-made origin.
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- Cussler, Clive
- Smith, Wilbur
- Lustbader, Eric Van
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