E – Epidemic
Natural disasters and man-made ones make for brilliant
thriller reads, I find. The age-old ‘race against time’ to save innocent lives
and – occasionally - the whole human race is the ultimate in ‘edge of the seat’
drama if done well.
Some of the best stories I have come across in the genre of
thrillers, involve the use of the word ‘epidemic’. To most people this word is
scary as it is the world of science gone wrong and nasty things happening to
unsuspecting people. But I suspect the scary part is more about our lack of
control over such tiny (usually unseen) microorganisms that can and do kill us
indiscriminately.
We can easily imagine catching a nasty disease and the
thought that something can spread like wildfire and wipe out an entire population
– well, we know in our heart of hearts that it could just happen…
To add to the tension and drama there is usually a time
element to these stories and so it is not so difficult to build in a page
turning tension. A sceptic (often a politician) who does not take the threat
seriously is generally built in to provide the opposition to the main character
and - voila – a readymade thriller plot!
I don’t mean to sound as if this is so easy but there is
definitely a theme to these stories, and we all know it, but it doesn’t seem to
stop readers wanting these kinds of stories.
I love these books and I have used the motif in my own
novels a little. My latest thriller (unpublished as yet) does have a plot
strand where a type of plague is released into a small community.
Have you considered using an epidemic ( or the threat of
one) to heighten tension and create extra conflict? Have you read a great
book/story using an epidemic?
