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THE EVOLUTION OF THE POST-MODERN THRILLER
or
HOW AMERICA CAME TO LOVE JACK BAUER
Jeffrey S. Stephens
Author of TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Coming Labor Day, 2011
As the public becomes increasingly jaded and distressed by the acts of unspeakable evil in our world, the author of a modern thriller seems obligated in each new book to raise the stakes of terror confronted by his or her hero, who will inevitably be called upon to save the world. And yet, I believe what has developed as a result of this tragic synergy between fact and fiction is the return to a more classic style of storytelling.
After all, how many improbable nuclear cataclysms can be faced down by impossibly perfect protagonists before we become numbed by the events? Could it be that our readers, who have become increasingly knowledgeable and sophisticated, are returning to an interest in-dare I say it-character?
It is no accident, in my view, that NCIS is currently one of the top-rated programs on television. The plots are certainly no better than those offered by other shows. Frankly, they can be alternately bland, far-fetched or mundane, depending on the week. No, the attraction is not the dangers presented or the suspense created, but rather how these perils are handled by a quirky team of characters the audience has come to know and love.
Likewise is the success of 24, which essentially became an annual mini-series. Its creators felt the need to ratchet up the level of risk each year until the producers felt compelled to portray an actual nuclear blast in Los Angeles and a series of political assassinations that became as common to the program as psychotic villains are to the James Bond movie series. Did viewers tune in because of the storylines? No, we watched the show because of the characters, especially the endlessly vulnerable Jack Bauer.
Numerous talented authors in the thriller genre have already figured this out. The day of the indestructible and flawlessly gifted hero is done. Just as a few notable examples, we can find repeatable characters with interesting personalities in Lee Child's series featuring the saturnine Jack Reacher; David Baldacci's intricate yarns about the emotionally wounded Oliver Stone and his eccentric cohorts; and even the Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn. Although these men are incredibly competent, they also have faults, foibles and tortured histories. They are not the automatonic heroes who never fail, never feel pain and lack any semblance of humanity. Rather than simply admiring their derring-do, we are allowed to like them, relate to them and even feel for them, and that is what keeps us coming back.
The core of each of these novels seems to center on the problems the protagonists must face. But the potential danger has become more a McGuffin, as Hitchcock described it, rather than the heart of the story. It clearly moves the story along but, in some ways, is less important than the development of the people being portrayed. Other gifted writers who specialize in suspense have recognized this and succeeded without even bringing back their main characters for any encores. One need look no further than the works of Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth or even Robert Ludlum-with the exception of the Bourne books-to to see how empathetic, flesh and blood characters can be created to carry a single novel.
As the saying goes, the ideas for writing in the thriller genre can be ripped from the headlines on any day of the week. In the end, however, is not the threat the hero faces that makes a great read, but how it is handled. This includes the need to portray real espionage tradecraft, to provide authentic backgrounds and procedures, and to maintain internal consistencies and integrity in the telling of the tale. The final piece of this ever fascinating puzzle is to ensure that the villain is at least as human, complex and capable as his nemesis. Then, the ability to stir all of those ingredients together is the writer's art and, if done correctly, will create a memorable read that transcends the genre.
JEFF@JSSPC.COM
or
HOW AMERICA CAME TO LOVE JACK BAUER
Jeffrey S. Stephens
Author of TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Coming Labor Day, 2011
As the public becomes increasingly jaded and distressed by the acts of unspeakable evil in our world, the author of a modern thriller seems obligated in each new book to raise the stakes of terror confronted by his or her hero, who will inevitably be called upon to save the world. And yet, I believe what has developed as a result of this tragic synergy between fact and fiction is the return to a more classic style of storytelling.
After all, how many improbable nuclear cataclysms can be faced down by impossibly perfect protagonists before we become numbed by the events? Could it be that our readers, who have become increasingly knowledgeable and sophisticated, are returning to an interest in-dare I say it-character?
It is no accident, in my view, that NCIS is currently one of the top-rated programs on television. The plots are certainly no better than those offered by other shows. Frankly, they can be alternately bland, far-fetched or mundane, depending on the week. No, the attraction is not the dangers presented or the suspense created, but rather how these perils are handled by a quirky team of characters the audience has come to know and love.
Likewise is the success of 24, which essentially became an annual mini-series. Its creators felt the need to ratchet up the level of risk each year until the producers felt compelled to portray an actual nuclear blast in Los Angeles and a series of political assassinations that became as common to the program as psychotic villains are to the James Bond movie series. Did viewers tune in because of the storylines? No, we watched the show because of the characters, especially the endlessly vulnerable Jack Bauer.
Numerous talented authors in the thriller genre have already figured this out. The day of the indestructible and flawlessly gifted hero is done. Just as a few notable examples, we can find repeatable characters with interesting personalities in Lee Child's series featuring the saturnine Jack Reacher; David Baldacci's intricate yarns about the emotionally wounded Oliver Stone and his eccentric cohorts; and even the Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn. Although these men are incredibly competent, they also have faults, foibles and tortured histories. They are not the automatonic heroes who never fail, never feel pain and lack any semblance of humanity. Rather than simply admiring their derring-do, we are allowed to like them, relate to them and even feel for them, and that is what keeps us coming back.
The core of each of these novels seems to center on the problems the protagonists must face. But the potential danger has become more a McGuffin, as Hitchcock described it, rather than the heart of the story. It clearly moves the story along but, in some ways, is less important than the development of the people being portrayed. Other gifted writers who specialize in suspense have recognized this and succeeded without even bringing back their main characters for any encores. One need look no further than the works of Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth or even Robert Ludlum-with the exception of the Bourne books-to to see how empathetic, flesh and blood characters can be created to carry a single novel.
As the saying goes, the ideas for writing in the thriller genre can be ripped from the headlines on any day of the week. In the end, however, is not the threat the hero faces that makes a great read, but how it is handled. This includes the need to portray real espionage tradecraft, to provide authentic backgrounds and procedures, and to maintain internal consistencies and integrity in the telling of the tale. The final piece of this ever fascinating puzzle is to ensure that the villain is at least as human, complex and capable as his nemesis. Then, the ability to stir all of those ingredients together is the writer's art and, if done correctly, will create a memorable read that transcends the genre.
JEFF@JSSPC.COM
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