In my blog based around the concept of a fictional detective, I cite several strategies which have been developed over time to portray the fictional detective. To me the term investigator covers a large selection of meanings from private investigators to members of the police force. In fact , the lead character may not be a traditional 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 designed to supply a mini-review of James Patterson, but not in the conventional sense. While it's true I wish to dig a bit deeper into his works, I am not particularly interested in reviewing a selected title, or group of titles, but more Mr. Patterson's style.
Most or even all of James Patterson's books are thrillers. Thrillers vary from normal 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 least, the reader knows something about him (or her). As a result, portions of the novel are usually told through the villian's eyes.
Thrillers are multiple POV books. That is, some of the story is told through the hero's eyes, some is seen through those of the antagonist and some might be presented from the point of view of some less significant 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 types of stories. In KISS THE GIRLS for instance, Patterson is able to provide the reader with three separate murder scenes, carried out by the same pathological killer, the hero's mad run to surgery to save a dying boy, and Cross's discovery that his niece has been kidnappedâ€"all in under fifty pages.
Like Patterson, it's exactly this energetic story telling that drew me to this kind of writing when I created my own novel, ZION'S WEB. ZION'S WEB isn't just a thriller, but, given the reviews I have received to date, is packed full of actionâ€"due no doubt to the multiple POV style I decided to employ.
This article is designed to supply a mini-review of James Patterson, but not in the conventional sense. While it's true I wish to dig a bit deeper into his works, I am not particularly interested in reviewing a selected title, or group of titles, but more Mr. Patterson's style.
Most or even all of James Patterson's books are thrillers. Thrillers vary from normal 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 least, the reader knows something about him (or her). As a result, portions of the novel are usually told through the villian's eyes.
Thrillers are multiple POV books. That is, some of the story is told through the hero's eyes, some is seen through those of the antagonist and some might be presented from the point of view of some less significant 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 types of stories. In KISS THE GIRLS for instance, Patterson is able to provide the reader with three separate murder scenes, carried out by the same pathological killer, the hero's mad run to surgery to save a dying boy, and Cross's discovery that his niece has been kidnappedâ€"all in under fifty pages.
Like Patterson, it's exactly this energetic story telling that drew me to this kind of writing when I created my own novel, ZION'S WEB. ZION'S WEB isn't just a thriller, but, given the reviews I have received to date, is packed full of actionâ€"due no doubt to the multiple POV style I decided to employ.
About the Author:
Michael Snow is the writer of ZION'S WEB, the first of the Zachariah Burton detective thrillers. In addition to writing books, Michael maintains a blog site which has a number of highly useful and entertaining blogs, including tips on writing a book.
0 comments:
Post a Comment