A Good Thriller discussion

What is an action/adventure thriller?
Action/adventure thrillers delivering excitement through physical action, stunts while navigating dangerous, exotic, or uncharted locations.

Key characteristics of an action thriller:

Fast pace
High-stakes scenarios
Heavy on adrenaline
Survive or stop a threat
Explosive confrontations
Physical obstacles
Resourceful heroes
Villains with significant firepower
Famous action thriller examples:

Jack Reacher series by Lee Child – A former military police officer takes justice into his own hands.
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum – A man with amnesia discovers he’s an assassin. This is similar to the spy thriller in the next subgenre.
Movie: “Die Hard” – A cop fights terrorists in a high-rise building.

Really Outstanding and Unknown Reads

Ben Hope Series (1 to 5) Books Collection Set by Scott Mariani: Features an ex-SAS operative in high-stakes, historically-driven plots.

The Sean Wyatt Series: Books 10-12 by Ernest Dempsey: Follows an archaeologist searching for ancient, dangerous treasures.

Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz: Cited as an exceptional, high-stakes thriller.

The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz: A top 2023 action thriller. Evan Smoak, who is forced to take on a mission for the President in exchange for his life, testing his principles as he confronts a new kind of villain and a high-stakes situation that puts him in the government's crosshairs. The novel follows Smoak as he navigates a dangerous deal, using his skills to survive while being pushed to his limits by powerful forces.

The River by Peter Heller: two college friends, Jack and Wynn, on a canoe trip in northern Canada that turns into a fight for survival against a wildfire and a dangerous, mysterious man.

Red River Seven by AJ Ryan: A tense thriller about people waking up on a ship at sea with no memory of their identity.

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson: A unique, self-aware thriller/murder mystery set during a ski vacation.

The Travelers by Chris Pavone: A fast-paced, espionage-thriller that offers a fun, complex ride.

These selections offer intense, fast-paced plots with unique settings that often blend the thrill of a mystery with the high-stakes danger of an adventure.

The last Orphan is a brilliant start to a great series.

One of my top ten authors

will list more that I had listed previously

When I read this post I just couldn't resist. This is my genre - and I have to pay homage to Jan Guillou and his Hamilton series. They are ultimately what inspired me to write my Erling Ravnåker series - that are ment to be just: fast paced, pageturner, heavy on adrenaline and resourceful heroes and villains! Try Ospreys and the follow up Akula

I'm currently writing the third book in this series now. If you like suspence thrillers with political backdrop, spies and operators you'll love this one - from the Norwegian Secret Services.

Tell me what you think!

Arnar

Here is a list of some of the best action authors

The Hunter by Tom Wood (victor the Assassin)

Red Cobra by Rob Sinclair (James Ryker)

Kerry J Donovan On The Run (Ryan Kaine)

Mark Greaney The Gray Man (Gray Man) Now a film

Mark Dawson In Cold Blood (Beatrix Rose)

Mark Dawson The Cleaner (John Milton)

Mark Baldacci Zero Day(John Puller)

Mark Baldacci Innocent (Will Robie)

Mark Baldacci Long Road To Mercy (Atlee Pine)

LT Ryan and Brian Shea Drift (Rachel Hatch)

Simon Kernick Various books but like The Crime Trade (Tina Boyd)

Simon Kernick The Business of Dying (Dennis Milna)

Ben Coes Power Down (Dewey Andreas)

Jack Carr The Terminal List (James Reece) Now a film.

Lee Child The Killing Floor (Jack Reacher) Great series/Rubbish films.

Vince Hill Transfer of Power (Mitch Rapp)(now other authors)

Brad Thor The Lions of Lucerne (Scot Harvath)

J B Turner The Hard Road (Jon Reznick)

Plus Chris Ryan Books /Andy McNab Books/ Robert Crais

For a non -American thriller reading experience, the Swedish author duo, author:Anders Roslund|676070] and Borge Hellström, series starting with The Beast is excellent. The best two are Three Seconds (#5) and Three Minutes (#7).

South African author, Deon Meyer, has a globe’s worth of fans of his Bennie Griessel series . He’s not my thing, but anyone who loves thrillers should try at least one. Thirteen Hours might be the best on-ramp.

Bullet Train by best-selling Japanese author, Kōtarō Isaka is a very different experience than the movie adaptation. BT is book #2 in his Assassins series.

I've read a lot of the authors in Sean's list. I would also add John Gilstrap's Jonathan Grave series that begins with No Mercy.

Yes he was going to be on my list of authors.

Action authors you may also like.

Steve Konkoly

Dave Edlund

Manning Brothers(John stone)

Tim Tigner

Mason Cross

Daniel Silva

D V Berkom

Robert Dugoni

Ward Larsen

Logan Ryles

Will Jordan

Alex Shaw