Books in the suspense/thriller genre can have that effect. Horror novels, though certainly speculative fiction like I've called them before, also qualify as suspense. Action novels and crime ones—even mysteries—can be counted as thrillers.
A story can have horror elements without necessarily being suspense—Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere did an excellent job of creeping me out with some of the characters, but I certainly wouldn't call it a thriller—and a thriller doesn't have to use supernatural things to cause the suspense.
What's the defining feature that makes something a thriller?
Reading it is a long adrenaline rush of action. Your heart hammers in your chest throughout the novel as you desperately turn the pages to find out how the hero survives.
Makes it mighty hard to fall asleep soon after reading it.
The action continues its life-or-death conflict in each chapter, the plot and continuous action of greater importance than the characters or even necessarily the feasibility of the actions. (Or so I gather from my brother's ramblings about the genre, which he reads quite a bit.)
Popular authors in this genre include Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler. At least some of Michael Crichton's work could also be counted in this genre.
So if you're wondering what "a long adrenaline rush of action" actually looks like, check out those authors.
0 comments:
Post a Comment