One of the criteria that I use to identify a thriller is that it is an obstacle course. You introduce the characters and the main one you are supposed to sympathize or empathize with. You find out the bad stuff and then the main character has to overcome a series of obstacles -- many of which will kill the character -- and resolve the issue thus saving their lives or preventing the death/expulsion of others.
Simple. To me, a good thriller takes a MINIMUM of 150 to 200 pages to succeed in this. Most of the stories in this collection are very well written pieces, but by the time the 20 or so page stories are over, I am just getting into the characters. There just wasn't enough meat to each story and I am afraid that the book's sole purpose was just to use James Patterson's name to promote the writing of some lesser known authors.
It doesn't matter to me why this book was published, but let's be honest about something. Thrillers they aren't. Quick mysteries in the Ellery Queen style they are.
No comments:
Post a Comment