What Is The Fantasy Thriller?

 thriller
noun
a novel, play, or movie with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage.
-- New Oxford American Dictionary

fantasy
noun
a genre of imaginative fiction involving magic and adventure, esp. in a setting other than the real world.
-- New Oxford American Dictionary

Heart-pounding chases. Gut-wrenching suspense. Pure adrenaline.

This is what a lot of people think of when they think of thrillers. It is, quite simply, the thrill of the moment. What exactly that moment is varies wildly. It is sometimes the action and suspense in a spy story. Other times it is the fear created by a new disease. It comes in so many forms, that it cannot be pinned down easily. What is a thriller, much less a fantasy thriller?

The thriller cannot be defined by the type of elements it includes, because the genre is comprised of many, often overlapping sub-genres, such as: action thriller; conspiracy thriller; crime thriller; disaster thriller; drama thriller; eco-thriller; erotic thriller; horror thriller; legal thriller; medical thriller; political thriller; psychological thriller; spy thriller; supernatural thriller; and the techno-thriller. (Source: Wikipedia)

I think Wikipedia also says it best in their definition of the thriller:

"Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains. Literary devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively."

David Morrell, author of many fine novels including First Blood (which you probably know as the film Rambo), says that "One of their common denominators is that they quicken the reader's heartbeat." (source: International Thriller Writers)

When we get down to it then, a thriller is simply a story that forces you to keep turning pages, looking at the clock and thinking "Just 10 more minutes. Then I'll go to bed," over and over again until you realize you've been reading a couple of hours. It's a story that sucks you into it's world, it's characters, and makes you need to know what's next. In other words, it's about the pacing, the drama, and the characters.

If you were paying attention, you'll notice that the list of sub-genres on Wikipedia (and most other places that you search) does not include the Fantasy genre. Why is that? To answer that question we need to look at the "father of modern fantasy": J.R.R. Tolkien.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a university professor who wrote The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings in the early 1950's. He had a love of language, and a dislike for the side effects of industrialization, both of which heavily influenced those two novels. Those two elements are the true stars of the novels. That's not to say that he didn't write a wonderful story with complex characters. He did. But they often took a back-seat as he explored, in depth, the detail of his world and the society as a whole. They were very inspiring novels that captivated the hearts and imaginations of many, including myself. And that is, in some ways, what is wrong with fantasy fiction today.

His works were so inspiring that it seems the vast majority of fantasy stories today are earth-shattering epics that still delight in the detail of the world, quite often at the expense of an exciting read. Don't get me wrong, there are still many beautiful stories written, but none of them get the heart pounding like the best-selling genre around: the thriller.

"So what," you may say. In some ways you are right. It doesn't matter. As time has marched on for the last 50 or so years, it seems we have found more and more ways to stay busy. Information has never been more plentiful. Our lives are more stressful, and busier, than ever before. This has had a direct effect on our reading habits. With so many things bombarding our thoughts, our minds are more scattered. We find it harder to concentrate in everything, not just our reading. Therefore, in order to be able to relax into a story, we need stories that grip us harder than ever before. We need stories that suck us in, that make us worry about and fear for the characters, in order to overcome the non-stop buzzing in our minds.

Personally, I love the fantasy genre. I love the lands, the magic, and the possibilities. So I will do my part to fill this needed gap in fantasy fiction. If you love fantasy, too, but find it hard to wade through the beautiful details of traditional fantasy, then come join me. Write for the modern world. Read fantasy designed for today's audiences.