Arriving on a wave of heavy hype, the International Thriller Writers’ first anthology, THRILLER: STORIES TO KEEP YOU UP ALL NIGHT, brags that it is “the first collection of pure thriller stories” ever published. But let’s be honest: “Thrillers” = “suspense,” and there have been plenty of those collections, in which any of these tales could find a home.
With that out of the way – we’ll also forgive them for getting James Patterson to edit it (because at least he didn’t contribute a story) – let’s also be honest about another point: THRILLER is the summer’s must-have anthology. Because within this collection of a hearty 32 entries are mini-thrillers that encompass serial killer standoffs, jungle adventures, legal dealings, medical mayhem, international espionage and – hey, this is new – mistaken identity involving gay porn. For all his faults as a crap-’em-out author, Patterson actually performs a fine job as host, offering an introduction that explains how the book came to be and doubles as a “state of the thriller” address, and giving you all the ammo you need to enjoy each story, since they’re all tied in one way or another to an existing character or series of each author.
So David Morrell provides a quasi-sequel to THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE in “The Abelard Sanction,” Brad Thor enlists TAKEDOWN hero Scot Harvath for the shark-infested “The Athens Solution” and Lee Child has franchise badass Jack Reacher pop up in the intriguing “James Penney’s New Identity.” You know, that sort of thing.
I’m not huge on the woman-in-peril genre, but it works well in small doses, apparently, as Heather “not the actress” Graham’s “The Face in the Window” proves. Similarly, I find James Rollins’ novels unfinishable, but “Kowalksi’s in Love” – a Sigma Force adventure – suggests that concise is nice for his brand of go-boom theatrics. Ted Bell provides a good-ol’-fashioned pirate tale in the romp “The Powder Monkey,” while James Siegel tosses a classic twist into “Empathy.” Working together on their first-ever short story, partners Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child call on their Lt. D’Agosta character for “Gone Fishing,” a grisly little number whose destination kept me guessing, and even a bit afterward until I realized I was overthinking it.
Two of my very favorites also hold true to Patterson’s assertion that thrillers require quick pacing to “hurl the reader along.” One is “Interlude at Duane’s” by the ever-reliable F. Paul Wilson. In it, his popular Repairman Jack character finds himself caught in a chain drugstore during a holdup without his own gun, and has to scour the shelves for items which will help him subdue his captors. It’s both fresh and funny. And “Disfigured,” a collaboration between medical thriller maestro Michael Palmer and his son Daniel, takes off from word one with a can’t-miss Koontzian premise: The son of a plastic surgeon has been kidnapped and will be killed if the doc doesn’t facially paralyze a certain patient. With Dad reluctant to make a decision, meek Mom jumps into action, reminding me of the underrated film CELLULAR.
There is very little to dislike in THRILLER; aside from the largest page numbers in print history, very few stories miss their mark. Those that do include David Dun’s “Spirit Walker” – probably more my general dislike of tribal-set mysteries than anything – and the dry, plodding “The Tuesday Club” by Katherine Neville, she of the baffling “cult classic” THE EIGHT.
Another is Gayle Lynds’ “The Hunt for Dmitri,” which just fell limp. But that leads me to single out “Success of a Mission,” the story by her husband Dennis Lynds. It’s notable for three reasons: It’s the only story here whose author is not alive to see the book, it’s the only story here to be a reprint and it’s just flat-out awesome. Written in 1968 but just as resonant today, it concerns two army officers posing as a married couple in an Arab country, trying to determine how to enter an enemy military headquarters to steal intelligence. Their task is next to impossible, so you’re in for about 20 pages of non-stop goosebumps. But nothing will prepare you for its ending; I was stunned. Stunned!
Big names. Big talent. Big book. Big fun. –Rod Lott
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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THESE AUTHORS:
• THE BOOK OF THE DEAD by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
• CREEPERS by David Morrell
• DANCE OF DEATH by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
• DERAILED by James Siegel
• THE HARD WAY by Lee Child
• TAKEDOWN by Brad Thor
• TYRANNOSAUR CANYON by Douglas Preston
Related posts:
- Suspense greats line up for THRILLER anthology
- Cover for THRILLER anthology revealed
- Cover unearthed for Preston/Child’s BOOK OF THE DEAD
- Forecast: DEEP STORM moving in for Child
- Tor offers TYRANNOSAUR CANYON rebate
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