Genre question
- Thread starter I_Shrugged
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I think Kristen might be right on that one. That is the proper tag to use, judging by what you have there.
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I_Shrugged said:I always thought psychological thrillers were like "Silence of the Lambs", etc. There isn't much going on in the way of psychology in my books, at least not like that.
Maybe to be a little clearer with regards to the philosophy part: In Spectacle, the thrust of the book is about the nature of truth, and why one should always judge truth for oneself. The protagonist and heroine have been running all over the country trying first to get the truth out and then to escape the antagonist--a man who wants the world kept ignorant and therefore controllable. In Caldera, it's a matter of trying to save mankind from the eruption of a megavolcano while cutting through government red-tape and fending off enviro-terrorists who think nature should be left alone.
They'd probably be great on the shelves with Crichton's book State of Fear, but I think that book is still considered a techno-thriller.
Maybe I'm making this harder than it needs to be. (I have a some kind of warped penchant for that.)
I'd avoid at all costs a description like "philosophical thriller." The two would seem mutually exclusive to a lot of agents. Thrillers are for the most part about action, action, action, and the implication is that you're mixing in a lot of existential angst or something that thriller readers don't want. I'd also keep that actual philosophical content fairly minimized in your novel if you are pitching it as a thriller. People don't read Jurassic Park to learn about chaos theory, it's a relatively small component of the overall dino action.
As a label, simply "thriller" is fine for sending to agents, then later the editor gods can sort 'em out.
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dantem42 said:
I concur. If you're really in love with "eco-thriller" (I have to admit, I do like it), maybe bring it up once you have an agent interested. I find it unlikely that they'd be all, "Well I loved your book idea when it was a "thriller," but what's up with that "eco" crap? Give me back that contract!" :] It may be a turnoff initially, and since "thriller" really is entirely accurate, I think that would get the job done for the purposes of initial contact.
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Kristen King said:
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six was an eco-thriller from one point of view, but it had all those technological gimics that his audience expected as well.
Rainbow Six was a good book, though I found it strange that he could pull off a story with a villain 'tree-hugger'. He did manage it though.
Regards,
Scott
Just call it a thriller. Your paragraph synopsis (if well written) will give the agents an idea as to what kind of thriller it is.
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Disaster based pieces often end up in sci fi as the basis although plausable is speculative. I can think of short stories one the comet theme that were under sci fi.
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