In my blog based around the concept of a fictional detective, I cite a number of strategies that have been developed over the years to portray the fictional detective. To me the term detective covers a wide array of meanings ranging from private eyes to members of law enforcement. In reality the lead character might possibly not be a conventional investigator at all, as is the case with Jame's Patterson's Alex Cross, who, depending on where you join him in his fictional career, is a combination detective and psychologist.
This article is meant to provide a mini-review of James Patterson, but not in the conventional sense. While it's true I wish to dig a tad deeper into his works, I'm not interested in reviewing a selected title, or group of titles, but more Mr. Patterson's style.
Most if not all of James Patterson's books are thrillers. Thrillers vary from traditional who-done-its in the sense that the antagonist, or bad guy if you will, is frequently known by the reader early on or, at the very least, the reader knows something about him (or her). As a consequence, portions of the novel are often told through the villian's eyes.
Thrillers are multiple viewpoint books. That is, some of the novel is told through the hero's eyes, some is viewed through those of the antagonist and some may be told from the viewpoint of some minor characterâ€"perhaps even someone that the bad guy is chasing or is making an attempt to kill.
To me, multiple POV books are generally more action loaded than an other sorts of stories. In KISS THE GIRLS for example, Patterson is able to present the reader with three separate murder scenes, carried out by the same pathological killer, the hero's urgent run to the E.R. to save a dying boy, and Cross's discovery that his niece has been kidnappedâ€"all in under 50 pages.
Like Patterson, it's exactly this energetic story telling that drew me to this kind of writing when I engineered my own novel, ZION'S WEB. ZION'S WEB is not just a thriller, but, considering the reviews I have received so far, is packed full of actionâ€"due undoubtedly to the multiple POV methodology I decided to employ.
This article is meant to provide a mini-review of James Patterson, but not in the conventional sense. While it's true I wish to dig a tad deeper into his works, I'm not interested in reviewing a selected title, or group of titles, but more Mr. Patterson's style.
Most if not all of James Patterson's books are thrillers. Thrillers vary from traditional who-done-its in the sense that the antagonist, or bad guy if you will, is frequently known by the reader early on or, at the very least, the reader knows something about him (or her). As a consequence, portions of the novel are often told through the villian's eyes.
Thrillers are multiple viewpoint books. That is, some of the novel is told through the hero's eyes, some is viewed through those of the antagonist and some may be told from the viewpoint of some minor characterâ€"perhaps even someone that the bad guy is chasing or is making an attempt to kill.
To me, multiple POV books are generally more action loaded than an other sorts of stories. In KISS THE GIRLS for example, Patterson is able to present the reader with three separate murder scenes, carried out by the same pathological killer, the hero's urgent run to the E.R. to save a dying boy, and Cross's discovery that his niece has been kidnappedâ€"all in under 50 pages.
Like Patterson, it's exactly this energetic story telling that drew me to this kind of writing when I engineered my own novel, ZION'S WEB. ZION'S WEB is not just a thriller, but, considering the reviews I have received so far, is packed full of actionâ€"due undoubtedly to the multiple POV methodology I decided to employ.
About the Author:
Michael Snow is the author of ZION'S WEB, the first of the Zachariah Burton detective thrillers. As well as writing novels, Michael maintains a blog site which contains a bunch of extremely handy and entertaining blogs, including tips on writing a book.
No comments :
Post a Comment