Red October and Techno Thrillers

[Karl Heidenreich]

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Techno-thriller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Techno-thrillers are a hybrid genre, drawing subject matter generally from spy thrillers, war novels, and science fiction. They include a disproportionate amount (relative to other genres) of technical detail on its subject matter; only science fiction tends towards a comparable level of supporting detail on the technical side. The inner workings of technology and the mechanics of various disciplines (espionage, martial arts, politics) are thoroughly explored, and the plot often turns on the particulars of that exploration. They are often criticised for overwhelming the human characters with machinery.

Techno-thrillers tend to have a broad scope in the narrative, and can often be regarded as contemporary speculative fiction—world wars are a common topic—and techno-thrillers often overlap, as far as the genre goes, with near-future science fiction. To the extent that technology is now a dominant aspect of modern global culture, most modern thrillers are 'techno-thrillers', and the genre is somewhat diffuse.

Michael Crichton is often regarded as the grandfather of the genre, his 1969 novel The Andromeda Strain combining elements of rigorous, hard science fiction and detective fiction in a thriller context. Craig Thomas' 1977 Firefox is the father of the modern military techno-thriller, although it was firmly rooted in the Cold War spy thriller genre; Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October is also an important early military techno-thriller.


Significant techno-thriller authors and works
Tom Clancy
The Hunt for Red October — submarine technology, espionage
Red Storm Rising — a (conventional) third world war fought in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, military technology
Rainbow Six — modern counter-terrorism operations
Larry Bond
Red Phoenix — the Korean war revisited from the point of view of an F-16 pilot.
Vortex — a South African war that spreads to neighboring nations and ultimately involves Cuba and the United States.
Cauldron — a French and German led European Confederation go to war with the US, Great Britain and several Eastern European countries over the Polish, Czech and others refusal to join the European Confederation.
Patrick Robinson
Nimitz Class — submarine technology
Kilo Class — submarine technology, U.S. Navy SEALs
H.M.S. Unseen
U.S.S. Seawolf — submarine technology, espionage, U.S. Navy SEALs
The Shark Mutiny
Barracuda 945
Scimitar SL-2
Hunter Killer
Dale Brown
Flight of the Old Dog — a thriller based around the crew of a B-52
Dan Brown
Angels and Demons — antimatter technology
Deception Point — about a discovery of a meteroite with proof of extraterrestrial life, microbotics, weapons technologies
Digital Fortress — computer technologies
Eric L. Harry
Arc Light — a third world war including a large-scale nuclear exchange and the limited use of chemical and biological weapons.
Philip Kerr
The Grid — architecture, smart-building technology, feng shui
A Philosophical Investigation — speculative neuropathology, philosophy, gender and criminal investigation
The Second Angel
Michael Crichton
The Andromeda Strain — plague
Jurassic Park — cloning, dinosaurs
Prey — nanotechnology
State of Fear — eco-terrorism
Timeline — Quantum Technology
James Phelan
Clive Cussler
James H. Cobb
Caleb Carr
Killing Time (set in mid-21st century)
Ralph Peters
Red Army
The War in 2020
Dead Hand
Leonard Crane
Ninth Day of Creation — biotechnology, germ warfare, protein folding
Matthew Reilly
Ice Station
Area 7
Scarecrow