The best spy thrillers often have a protagonist for whom one feels some sympathy or, in the case of James Bond, envy. He or she often becomes involved in some intrigue involving powerful forces, often state sponsored. The emphasis in most thrillers is on action. As a result characters are not always well rounded but readers derive pleasure from following a fast moving plot with action and intrigue.
There have always been spies and voyeurs but narratives about them are quite a recent phenomenon in human history. The novel itself is a fairly recent invention and the sub-genre of espionage stories is even more recent. Novels were extremely popular in the nineteenth century but even a work like 'A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens does not quite have the entertainment value of a spy thriller on film.
London and Paris also provided the two worlds in 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' published early in the twentieth century. Revolutionary France and monarchistic England formed the background for an English aristocrat to flits between two worlds. Subsequently narratives had English spies operating in Nazi Germany, and American and English spies pitted against Russians. It seem that good espionage tales exploit the tensions that arise between nations in conflict with each other.
During the twentieth century two opposing ideologies were espoused by different countries, effectively splitting the world in two. Two great wars provided much materials for novelists to work with. They were able to draw on many experiences and exploit the suspicions and prejudices that arose between warring sides. Readers could easily identify with events many of which were reported in newspapers as facts of life.
The Cold War era that succeeded hostilities after the two world wars provided rich material for authors such as Fleming, Le Carre and Condon. They told tales of Americans and Russians spying on each other. The stories could easily be believed because many of the events reported in newspapers seemed even stranger than fiction.
As the Cold war waned terrorism took over as a new mode of fighting. After 9/11 a war was declared and one terrorist evaded the whole espionage effort of America for a decade. The best best spy thrillers may still appear dealing with such stranger than fiction events. In the twenty-first century the rising conflict between China and America will probably provide a continuing stream of actual events that can be shaped into fiction by skilled authors.
There have always been spies and voyeurs but narratives about them are quite a recent phenomenon in human history. The novel itself is a fairly recent invention and the sub-genre of espionage stories is even more recent. Novels were extremely popular in the nineteenth century but even a work like 'A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens does not quite have the entertainment value of a spy thriller on film.
London and Paris also provided the two worlds in 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' published early in the twentieth century. Revolutionary France and monarchistic England formed the background for an English aristocrat to flits between two worlds. Subsequently narratives had English spies operating in Nazi Germany, and American and English spies pitted against Russians. It seem that good espionage tales exploit the tensions that arise between nations in conflict with each other.
During the twentieth century two opposing ideologies were espoused by different countries, effectively splitting the world in two. Two great wars provided much materials for novelists to work with. They were able to draw on many experiences and exploit the suspicions and prejudices that arose between warring sides. Readers could easily identify with events many of which were reported in newspapers as facts of life.
The Cold War era that succeeded hostilities after the two world wars provided rich material for authors such as Fleming, Le Carre and Condon. They told tales of Americans and Russians spying on each other. The stories could easily be believed because many of the events reported in newspapers seemed even stranger than fiction.
As the Cold war waned terrorism took over as a new mode of fighting. After 9/11 a war was declared and one terrorist evaded the whole espionage effort of America for a decade. The best best spy thrillers may still appear dealing with such stranger than fiction events. In the twenty-first century the rising conflict between China and America will probably provide a continuing stream of actual events that can be shaped into fiction by skilled authors.
