"Another ringer with the slick trigger finger for her majesty..." --Jack White "Another Way To Die (Theme from 007: Quantum of Solace)
Espionage Thrillers...
It hit me when I was writing and editing War Gone Cold that all these novels are fantasies tailored to the well-traveled, high-powered, overbooked, and anxious.
The spies we love are trained and prepared to blend in and adapt to a dozen different social situations whether its a romantic liaison, a business meeting, a diplomatic mission, or a clandestine courier with important information.
These expert rogues have a magical charms, bottomless bags of tricks, gadgets to boot, and know-how that knows no limits. They can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone and their cleverness abides no bounds.
As fun as that sounds, we're left dissatisfied because though our spy heroes get the answers, save the girl (or boy) from certain death, and the world from conquest and mass destruction, we in our cozy place remain unchanged. Sometimes we're left a bit paranoid, yet we remain as powerless at the end as we were when we opened the book to the first page.
What can be done about that?
Knowledge is power. If a novel could teach something, it might empower a reader. What's to be learned from a pulpy, fictional, and over the top novel, though?
In completing War Gone Cold, I came away from it less paranoiac than when i began it. I'm unable to promise this to you, but I offer it as a suggested takeaway (if ever there was need for such an awful concept) to you the reader. Call it a hope and attribute it to the difficulties which befall the character therein. They became as unlike 007 as possible by design. Their lifestyle is not an easy one. There's jet-lag, and lodging accommodations, and language barriers amid the intrigue and danger to name just a few hiccups. So, without state sponsorship, a practical assessment of a stochastic or freelance killer-for-hire finds the situation unsustainable at best and misdirected at worst.
For you, reader, to get on such a someone's radar takes a great deal of effort. Sure, you're open to a Nigerian prince gunning for your credit card information, maybe. Or a telemarketer (which is barely a real thing anymore thanks to social media) or a catfish scam but really have you seen an episode of "Catfish"? Those are not the kind of folks who pose a lethal threat like the ones depicted in War Gone Cold.
To end up like Jason Bourne in a country where my novel could be shipped to your door by a van with a smile on it, that takes some next level trying. So, I beg you, take my work with a light heart even when it gets a little heavy.
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