Thriller Chat with Chris Allen discussion

What was the first thriller you can remember reading? What about it inspired your love of the genre?

The first thriller I ever read was The Wooden Horse -- I was about 12-13 at the time.

At that age, I was really interested in a lot of stories of WWII, particularly the stories that were about individuals and how they overcame things. This was a story about guys who were prisoners of war, pilots who'd been shot down and captured by the Germans. I remember details about that book - that they needed to escape and someone came up with this idea that they needed to build a tunnel to escape. The shortest way for them to build a tunnel, so there was less chance of collapse, was to start right under the middle of the exercise yard, under the nose of the prison guards. So they requested exercise equipment from the guards like a wooden bolting horse. They hid two guys in the wooden horse and those men would work each night to dig out the tunnel each night. The detail was ingenious.

This book had all the elements of intrigue, deception, danger, subterfuge coupled with fearlessness, innovation and ingenuity borne out of a desperate need to escape captivity.

What more could a teenager in Perth ask for in his reading material!?

I'm a huge fan of The Shawshank Redemption film and even though I read other thrillers years ago (do you count Enid Blyton - I saw someone did recently), I really got into Stephen King's writing in Different Seasons and, specifically, the short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. It's brilliant! I'll start with that. Novellas count, right? It reaffirmed my love for the film. I thought the writing was very clever and snappy. It goes into the depths of the hypocrises in the penitentiary system and into the minds of those within it. And I love the cool, calm and intelligent character of Andy Dufresne. I will have to read over it again to give a better overview of why it inspired my love for the genre but I don't have it with me atm. Stay tuned!

I'm not sure exactly which thriller I read first, but A Prayer for the Dying by Jack Higgins was certainly one of them. It had great characters, none of whom seem to be able to escape their melancholy world. An underlying theme is how violence changes those who practice it.
I've read other Jack Higgins books, but this will always be my favourite, even though it's not as fast paced as some of the others.

Do Hardy Boys books count? More mystery than thriller.

I don't know if I can pick one or the first, but a few I remember; Trevanian's Shibumi - one of the few books I've read twice and I plan to read it again. I also liked Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle and Key to Rebecca.

I read them all as I was starting college and they struck a chord with me with international settings, intrigue, etc. It was my escape from a cold, snowy North Dakota, one of the flattest places on earth.

Got me to thinking about writing as well and I took classes in Creative Writing along with my Engineering classes.

Thrillers, still love them for the same reasons.

Julie wrote: "I'm a huge fan of The Shawshank Redemption film and even though I read other thrillers years ago (do you count Enid Blyton - I saw someone did recently), I really got into Stephen King's writing in..."

Thanks Julie. I love Stephen King's writing. In fact, I even have his book 'On writing' sitting within reach right now! One of my favourite's of his is 'Needful Things'. Great work.

Greg wrote: "I'm not sure exactly which thriller I read first, but A Prayer for the Dying by Jack Higgins was certainly one of them. It had great characters, none of whom seem to be able to escape their melanch..."

G'day Greg, A Prayer for the Dying is an incredible book. I'm a huge fan of Jack Higgins work and my bookshelves still have a number of the tattered Higgins paperbacks that I carried around in my pack years ago. His book, Solo, features a parachute regiment Colonel named Asa Morgan. It's all about revenge. I love it. His books are perfect for when you only have limited time for reading as they're fast-paced.

Douglas wrote: "Do Hardy Boys books count? More mystery than thriller.

I don't know if I can pick one or the first, but a few I remember; Trevanian's Shibumi - one of the few books I've read twice and I plan to ..."

G'day Douglas, of course the Hardy Boys count... anything that got you into reading thrillers qualifies!! Have to agree with you on Ken Follett's 'Eye of the Needle', it's an incredible story.

I'm not really sure. I used to read Famous Five and Secret Seven books, and the Narnia stories, but not sure they would count as thrillers. I read The Hobbit in Grade 5, again, not sure if it's a thriller, though...

I think the Famous Five series is pretty thrilling for a young person!

I loved them, and have just introduced them to my kids. I'm trying to hunt down some Hardy Boys for them too

My first real introduction to a thriller, so to speak, would have to be the Biggles books when I was 10. From there I moved up to Ludlum, Clancy and Van Lust Bader. They have been the main influence on my style of writing and hopefully that shows through in the Section Alpha series.

Melissa, I think it's great that you're introducing your kids to stuff that you loved to read as a child. Keep those bookshelves stocked!

G'day Alan, I read the Biggles books. They were fantastic. Real old school adventure. In fact, I've been buying old Biggles books as I find them for my boys. I also recently managed to find a new imprint Biggles omnibus and it now sits on my 3 year old son Morgan's book shelf. I'm a huge fan of Ludlum & Clancy too, and I read The Miko by Van Lustbader many years ago.

Don't laugh, now! The closest I ever got to a thriller until recently was "Island of Adventure" by Enid Blyton! More recently, and moving on quickly, I read a book by Andy McNabb, which I can't recall the title of. It had been loaned to me. In all honesty, I don't know why I persevered with it! It was so tedious.

I've been trying to figure out, since joining here, whether James Rollins' Sigma Force books count as thrillers. I didn't really put them there in my rather bizarre mental filing system. I thoroughly enjoy those, anyway. Going well beyond the box, they seem to belong in a different genre, but you may disagree :)

Melissa wrote: "I'm not really sure. I used to read Famous Five and Secret Seven books, and the Narnia stories, but not sure they would count as thrillers. I read The Hobbit in Grade 5, again, not sure if it's a t..."

Steve wrote: "Don't laugh, now! The closest I ever got to a thriller until recently was "Island of Adventure" by Enid Blyton! More recently, and moving on quickly, I read a book by Andy McNabb, which I can't r..."

It's not until recently when I read a top list of classic thrillers that I realised Enid Blyton could be counted in that list. However, she was always more mystery and adventure for me than thriller although it's a vaguer memory than some. I still have them tucked away in boxes somewhere. It is becoming more and more clear to me that I have always had a soft spot for thrillers.

Chris wrote: "The first thriller I ever read was The Wooden Horse -- I was about 12-13 at the time.

At that age, I was really interested in a lot of stories of WWII, particularly the stories that were about in..."

Wouldn't mind giving this one a read! Have you read it again recently?

Julie wrote: "It's not until recently when I read a top list of classic thrillers that I realised Enid Blyton could be counted in that list. However, she was always more mystery and adventure for me than thriller although it's a vaguer memory than some. I still have them tucked away in boxes somewhere."

I must admit, I tend to think of them as mystery/adventure, Julie :) And I had to wade through millennia of cobwebs and dust to find that memory LOL! I nearly said about Rupert the Bear instead... :D

Julie wrote: "Chris wrote: "The first thriller I ever read was The Wooden Horse -- I was about 12-13 at the time.

At that age, I was really interested in a lot of stories of WWII, particularly the stories that..."

No, not recently Julie but it is well worth a read.

It's too long ago now to remember specifics, but started out with the Famous Five, graduated to Hitchcock Mysteries and then moved onto Alistair MacLean, Ludlum, Le Carre and all those sorts of books. Permanently hooked :)

Karen wrote: "It's too long ago now to remember specifics, but started out with the Famous Five, graduated to Hitchcock Mysteries and then moved onto Alistair MacLean, Ludlum, Le Carre and all those sorts of boo..."

It seems a few of us started with the Famous Five Karen, but I got into Roald Dahl and never quite left... until I started reading the Alex Morgan series (wonder why), now I'm a thriller reader again having developed a taste for the genre as a 'mature' adult!

I think that my first thriller was the series, Goosebumps, by R.L. Stine. Do these stories technically fall into the category?

Also, remember Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz?

Madeline wrote: "I think that my first thriller was the series, Goosebumps, by R.L. Stine. Do these stories technically fall into the category?

Also, remember Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz?"

I think we are going to keep the category pretty broad for the purposes of this conversation!

Goosebumps was a great series...

The Bourne Supremacy for me. Excellent plot, highly thrilling and David Webb is "mostly" in control of the situation. Bob Ludlum captured the essence of what a thriller is supposed to be at the end of the day- thrilling.

Samuel wrote: "The Bourne Supremacy for me. Excellent plot, highly thrilling and David Webb is "mostly" in control of the situation. Bob Ludlum captured the essence of what a thriller is supposed to be at the end..."

Agree with you on that Ludlum has got the heart-pounding read down pat!