Share On Facebook ! Tweet This ! Share On Google Plus ! Share On Digg ! Share On Reddit ! Share On LinkedIn ! Post To Blogger !

Thrilling Reading With Terrorism Fiction

By Megan Landry


If you need to escape the drudgery of daily life, one of the easiest and cheapest ways to do so is to curl up with a good book. Many people love reading thrillers and crime novels because of the action and suspense these provide. With terrorism fiction you not only get thrilling reading but they often provide food for thought too, especially if you're interested in politics.

The most common definition of terrorism is that it involves the use of violent means towards a political end by creating fear in the civilian population. Many experts find this definition problematic, however. For example, you might argue that most revolutionary organizations trying to effect social change can then be labeled terrorists too.

'The Sum of all Fears' is the title of a famous novel dealing with terrorism. It's one in the Jack Ryan series created by spy novelist Tom Clancy. Jack Ryan, who is also the hero of novels like 'Patriot Games', is an American secret agent whose work, like that of real secret agents, often involves trying to stop acts of terror and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Some of the most fascinating terrorists in history were women. Leila Khaled, for instance, was a Palestinian revolutionary who was famous for not only hijacking airplanes but also for her extraordinary beauty. John le Carre, another master of the espionage genre, created the character of Charlie, an actress turned double agent and terrorist for the Palestinian cause in 'The Little Drummer Girl'.

While Palestinian liberation has long been a favorite theme in the genre, many writers have also looked to Northern Ireland for inspiration. The actions of the Irish Republican Army have often been called terrorist acts. Books like Jack Higgins' 'A Prayer Before Dying' revolve around members of this organization and how they deal with the violence they've been responsible for.

A very gripping book about terrorism is 'An Act of Terror'. Translated from the Afrikaans, it's South African writer Andre Brink's account of the life of a young Afrikaans-speaking photographer who is involved in a botched attempt at a terrorist action and has to flee across the country. It is set in apartheid South Africa, when liberation movements were banned and usually called terrorists.

Doris Lessing, who won a Nobel Prize for Literature, is the author of 'The Good Terrorist', about a group of very liberal but naive young people in Britain who decide to become terrorists. They aren't fighting for a specific cause but for a more general ideology. In around the 1970s, there were several similar groups all across Europe and the USA. The Red Brigades of Italy, the Red Army Faction or Baader-Meinhof Group of West Germany and the Symbionese Liberation Army of the United States are the most notorious. It was the latter who kidnapped Patty Hearst and got her to join them.

Terrorism fiction is a gripping sub-genre that can keep finding new inspiration with the War on Terror still going strong. A good library or bookstore can be a good place to look for one of these books but you'll also be able to order some novels online. With such thrilling reading to be done, you'll want to hide away by turning off the phone and your email and just escape into another world.




About the Author:



Next PostNewer Post Previous PostOlder Post Home
Powered by Blogger.

Popular Posts

Blog Archive