Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads [Hardcover]

David Morrell (Editor), Hank Wagner (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2010

The most riveting reads in history meet today's biggest thriller writers in Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads.Edited by David Morrell and Hank Wagner, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads examines 100 seminal works of suspense through essays contributed by such esteemed modern thriller writers as: David Baldacci, Steve Berry, Sandra Brown, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, Heather Graham, John Lescroart, Gayle Lynds, Katherine Neville, Michael Palmer, James Rollins, R. L. Stine, and many more.Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads features 100 works - from Beowulf to The Bourne Identity, Dracula to Deliverance, Heart of Darkness to The Hunt for Red October - deemed must-reads by the International Thriller Writers organization.Much more than an anthology, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads goes deep inside the most notable thrillers published over the centuries. Through lively, spirited, and thoughtful essays that examine each work's significance, impact, and influence, Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads provides both historical and personal perspective on those spellbinding works that have kept readers on the edge of their seats for centuries.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Working with a frustratingly broad definition drawn from John Buchan—that a thriller create[s] excitement and quicken[s] the reader's heartbeat—Morrell and Wagner's collection disappoints. Morrell's First Blood was the basis for the Rambo films, and Wagner is a regular contributor to Mystery Scene magazine; they have selected 100 examples of supposedly trendsetting thrillers, each introduced by a contemporary writer of the genre. Beginning with the ancient Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and ending with Dan Brown's 2003 bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, the list includes both obvious and puzzling selections. The introductions are also of varying quality, with the more interesting examples coming from writers who explore their personal connection to the work in question, such as the ingenious parallels Lee Child drew as a boy between the Theseus myth and Ian Fleming's Dr. No, or Duane Swierczynski discovering Donald Westlake's (writing as Richard Stark) Parker series and realizing it's fun to read about sons of bitches. But the collection lacks cohesion, and too much space is devoted to minibiographies of the writers (which can be easily gleaned elsewhere). Thriller aficionados may find new titles to add to their reading lists; casual fans will be overwhelmed by the broad-stroke approach. (July 5)
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Review

"This entertaining collection starts with Lee Child's thoughts on Theseus and the Minotaur (1500 B.C.) and ends with Steve Berry's take on Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code (2003). In between are some thought-provoking essays by contemporary stars of the thriller field."

- Mystery Scene, Issue 114 (Spring 2010)

"The title of this indispensable volume, grand as it is, only hints at the wonders therein. There is a true embarrassment of riches here, a term that applies not only to the quality of the books listed but also to the commentary provided for each and every one of them."

- Book Reporter, July 9, 2010

"This is an essential reference book."

-Library Journal, Starred Review, May 15, 2010

"A most interesting collection of essays on the genre and one that thriller readers will want to come back to time and again. These are seminal insights from masters of the craft of writing. Highly recommended."

- Midwest Book Review, July 2010

"Thrillers itself is a must-read."

- Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, July 11, 2010

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 378 pages
• Publisher: Oceanview Publishing; 1 edition (July 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933515562
• ISBN-13: 978-1933515564
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #799,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a guidebook for thrills, May 25, 2010

By 

D. K. Daniel (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads (Hardcover)

Sparking an argument isn't the best thing about today's "listmania" - you know, the penchant for putting out a rundown of the top this or that. It's discovering those dusty gems that you didn't even know existed.

Morrell and Wagner offer up scores of books and authors likely to delight fans of the thriller genre. They have enlisted top thriller writers to polish those gems by discussing what makes them work and why they may have pushed the genre in a new direction.

My advice: Enjoy reading the essays about the books you have already read and make a list of those books you will want to read; return to those essays later. But don't make the mistake of skipping books that have been made into movies or TV shows you've already seen. You might be surprised to find them a delight not only for their prose but also for their plots.

Case in point is Morrell's own "First Blood." I know that movie so well ("He could eat things that would make a billygoat puke") that I was reluctant last year to read the novel, which Morrell published a good 10 years before Rambo first hit the screen in the 1980s. Turns out, the novel is different from the film in so many ways that it was exciting on an entirely unexpected level. (By the way, "First Blood" holds up quite well as a thriller that also says something about human beings, a Morrell specialty.) I suspect that other thrillers recommended in this book offer similar unexpected delights.

The essays collected here err at times by telling a little too much about the story, and some are a bit superficial. Those are minor flaws for such a collection. At its best, which is far more often than not, "Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads" is like having coffee with a good friend who tells you, "Hey, you gotta read this!"

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful compilation of comprehensive thriller stories, July 12, 2010

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads (Hardcover)

The title of this indispensable volume, grand as it is, only hints at the wonders therein. What is presented here, under the careful editorship of author David Morrell and literary critic Hank Wagner, is a collection of essays by a veritable Who's Who of thriller authors and reviewers. Each essay concerns a classic work of the thriller genre, arranged in chronological order by publication. So it is that the book begins with a thoughtful discourse upon THESUS AND THE MINOTAUR, from 1500 B.C., written by Lee Child, and ends with Steve Berry's tribute to THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown, published in 2003.

Both of these contributions, as well as the other 98 essays that comprise THRILLERS: 100 MUST-READS, are relatively short (a few pages each) and do exactly what needs to be done, which is to send the reader to new and, in some cases, unexpected places. There is a touch of continuity that flows from essay to essay: each includes some biographical information about the subject, backstory on the creation of the book, a summary and commentary concerning the book (and establishing its bona fides for listing), and some personal comments about what the book has meant to the author of the essay. The selection of titles is excellent, while the pairing of each book with each essayist is in all cases thoughtful and, in some, the stuff of genius. Think of J. A. Konrath writing about THE GREEN RIPPER by John MacDonald, or COMA examined by C.J. Lyons, or Lee Child's KILLING FLOOR discussed by Marcus Sakey, and you'll get the idea.

Those of us who have enjoyed a steady diet of the genre will find some of the books included here familiar, either by acquaintance or reputation. There are also titles on the list of which you may never have heard. All the better. Think of being at a party with the most interesting people you know, some of whom have brought new friends for you to meet, others of whom you haven't seen in ages. That is what THRILLERS is at its core.

I never considered THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS by James Fenimore Cooper to be a thriller novel. I confess I have even made jokes in the past regarding the way in which Cooper's books for generations have created future ex-readers. Yet Rick Wilber's essay gave me pause. Wilber goes so far as to call Natty Bumppo, the protagonist of MOHICANS, the first great fictional hero in American literature. And he is right, of course. Then there is P.G. Wodehouse. One would hardly think of Wodehouse as an author of thrillers, yet R. L. Stine's commentary concerning SUMMER LIGHTNING demonstrates conclusively that there was a darkness to Wodehouse's comedic bent.

That is not to say that all of the selections come from a thoughtful left field. The work of Stephen King is represented, as one might expect. Yet Christopher Mooney --- a noteworthy author of the genre in his own right --- reaches to King's groaning shelves of works and selects MISERY, and for all the right reasons. Though King is primarily associated with the supernatural --- on the strength of his early work and his Dark Tower volumes --- it is this novel that demonstrates that the most frightening of our demons dwell right on this plane. MISERY has long been my favorite work of King's, and so I was delighted to find it --- and Mooney's essay --- included here. The presence of Eric Ambler's A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS, with comments by Ali Karim, is another wonderful find. Ambler was one of the first writers of spy novels that it was my pleasure to encounter, and Karim, who is a tireless and insightful booster of the thriller genre, is the perfect choice to present Ambler's work.

There is a true embarrassment of riches here, a term that applies not only to the quality of the books listed but also to the commentary provided for each and every one of them. Whether you are seeking to introduce yourself to the rich and wide range of thriller novels, or to fill in the gaps in your collection --- and every bibliophile has at least one --- THRILLERS: 100 MUST-READS is the final word on the subject.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Add to Your Reading List, June 22, 2010

By 

R. Fountain - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads (Hardcover)

Thrillers: 100 Must Reads presents as a summer reading list on steroids. Chosen for the impact each book had on the thriller genre, various authors were invited to write essays analyzing the importance of the work.

From Homer's The Illiad and the Odyssey and standard classics like Beowulf and Robinson Crusoe, Thrillers: 100 Must Reads takes you from Lee Child's Theseus and the Minotaur circa 1500 B.C. to Dan Brown's 2003 mega-hit The Da Vinci Code.

The essays highlight the essence of each book in regards to such matters as: influence, ground-breaking subject matter and enduring appeal--such as Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, which is just as relevant now as it was in 1938.

Most of the essays were well-done, succeeding in extolling the virtues of the represented works. However, a few didn't quite manage to capture the spirit of the book, nor pique my interest enough to read it--in theory.

Although I shamefully admit to only reading 12 of the 100 chosen titles (so far), the Thriller collection is the perfect opportunity to re-visit some old favorites, remember ones you forgot and perhaps make a few new discoveries.