In my blog based around the concept of a fictional detective, I cite several techniques that have been developed over the years to portray the fictional investigator. To me the term detective covers a wide array of meanings starting from private detectives to members of the police force. In fact , the lead personality might possibly not be a normal 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 investigator and psychologist.
This article is supposed to offer a mini-review of James Patterson, but not in the conventional sense. While it's true I'd like to dig a little deeper into his works, I am not interested in reviewing a particular title, or group of titles, but more Mr. Patterson's style.
Most or all of James Patterson's books are thrillers. Thrillers differ 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 least, the reader knows something about him (or her). As a consequence, portions of the novel are usually told through the villian's eyes.
Thrillers are multiple point of view books. That is, some of the story is told through the hero's eyes, some is told through those of the perpetrator , and some is often presented from the viewpoint of some small characterâ€"perhaps even someone that the bad guy is pursuing or is trying to kill.
To me, multiple POV books are most times more action loaded than an other sorts 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 the E.R. 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 sort of writing when I created my own novel, ZION'S WEB. ZION'S WEB is not just a thriller, but, considering the reviews I have received thus far, is packed full of actionâ€"due most likely to the multiple viewpoint methodology I decided to employ.
This article is supposed to offer a mini-review of James Patterson, but not in the conventional sense. While it's true I'd like to dig a little deeper into his works, I am not interested in reviewing a particular title, or group of titles, but more Mr. Patterson's style.
Most or all of James Patterson's books are thrillers. Thrillers differ 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 least, the reader knows something about him (or her). As a consequence, portions of the novel are usually told through the villian's eyes.
Thrillers are multiple point of view books. That is, some of the story is told through the hero's eyes, some is told through those of the perpetrator , and some is often presented from the viewpoint of some small characterâ€"perhaps even someone that the bad guy is pursuing or is trying to kill.
To me, multiple POV books are most times more action loaded than an other sorts 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 the E.R. 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 sort of writing when I created my own novel, ZION'S WEB. ZION'S WEB is not just a thriller, but, considering the reviews I have received thus far, is packed full of actionâ€"due most likely to the multiple viewpoint 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.
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