Thriller Novels - What Will Be The Next Big Theme?
For writers of thrillers, the Cold War was a massive subject. Then it ended. Then Al Quaeda came along, and it has been a gift for novelists. Despite its dreadful credo and the suffering it has engineered, the central theme of an organisation bent on attacking all things Western has formed the core of many novels since the Twin Towers attack. If we add in the asymmetric nature of the pan global guerrilla war that has caused large scale re-organisation of countries' intelligence services, then we have another rich seam which novelists have mined keenly.
This war is sci-fi coming to life, with unmanned aerial vehicles, known grimly as Predators - surely soon to become as generic a term as the 'Hoover' did for vacuuming homes in the UK.
Predators, high resolution satellite surveillance, digital warfare, robot soldiers - the emerging technology list grows daily and exponentially.
And the timing! This asymmetric war came along at a propitious time, both for authors and armies. The The US space effort was running down (the Shuttle program having been ended) and Western armed forces' financial budgets were being cut - their role in a relatively peaceful world was under review (relatively being the operative word there). Armed forces and novelists alike were casting about for ideas. Then, a new type of warfare is born, with a new set of weapons and new, sexy technology! So much written, and now is becoming passé.
So, where will the next strong theme come from for techno thriller writers? I believe it is the emerging threat of China. Chinese emergence is being driven from the roots up by a huge and fast growing population with rapidly rising expectations, ingenuity and hunger. The only practical way that this internal pressure can be managed is to let it out, gradually.
The Chinese Communist Party is the lid of the kettle and wants to stay firmly in place, so other ways have to be found to reduce growing internal pressure.
Consequently, the Chinese People's Liberation Army is growing its Navy, turning outward from a inwardly focused coastal defence force attuned to keeping its citizens inside its borders, to a global blue water force. China also has manned space flight and a long term digital warfare program, acquiring not only defence secrets, but valuable industrial secrets to further fuel growth.
China has also heavily damaged western markets, with a huge migration of manufacturing plant and jobs alike - from the West to China, with its huge low-wage population. China also has a significant control of strategic metal supplies (such as being a major producer of neodymium); on the other hand, it is a major buyer of Australian iron ore, comprising a significant part of Australia's foreign currency income.
Financially, China is the largest foreign holder of US debt and one of the top three in the published gold bullion reserves list.
These are scenarios ripe for thriller novels!
About the Author
James Marinero writes topical technothrillers, such as 'Gate of Tears': http://www.jamesmarinero.com/Publications/Gate-of-Tears.html with themes of technology, politics, espionage and the sea, woven into gritty action sequences. He has a particular interest in the growing power of China and its financial, industrial and military impact on the western world. He blogs at http://jamesmarinero.blogspot.com
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