My Latest Thriller Recommendations
So I haven’t done one of these in a while, so I wanted to drop a blog talking about some great thrillers that I’ve been into lately. These aren’t all books, but most are based on books. As an author I feel it’s essential to digest a regular diet of the type of books you create, which in my case is thrillers. I feel like I’ve been lucky lately in that there has been plenty to choose from. These are in no particular order, so let’s dive in!
The Old Man – This is a great new thriller series on FX. It stars Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, and Amy Brenneman. Jeff does a wonderful job playing a retiree living alone with two large dogs. It turns out he is really an asset who walked away from the game. But do you ever really get to walk away? Now his past is catching up with him and he finds he must fight back to defend his daughter. It was originally a novel by Thomas Perry. Haven’t read the book yet, but I plan on adding it near the top of my list to read soon.
For All Mankind – I’ve been watching this alternative history drama on Apple TV+ for three seasons now. In this world, the Soviets beat the USA to the moon. History moves on from there. Each season tackles a different decade, and the problems that come with it. One of the things I love about this show is it does a terrific job of ratcheting up the tension. It’s filled with great characters that you’ll love one minute and hate the next, and that’s a good thing, because that complexity is what makes us human. I especially recommend this show if you’re into space oriented things, obviously, but there is enough intrigue and drama to keep anyone interested.
Sea Storm – This thriller book, which is available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited follows the continuing investigations of the Underwater Investigations Unit, which began in The Girl Beneath the Sea. Author Andrew Mayne does a great job of building tension, even if some of the plot devices get rather ridiculous toward the end. (And coming from me, that’s saying something…) Nevertheless, the book keeps you hooked wondering how Sloan and the UIU are going to solve the mystery. Especially good if you’re a fan of the ocean and boating, but that goes without saying.
The Gray Man – Now this is referring to the Netflix movie based on the Mark Greaney novel of the same name. I’ve been aware of the novel series for quite a while, but haven’t read it yet. The movie, helmed by the masterminds of the MCU, the Russo Brothers is an action packed thrill ride. Chris Evans in particular seems to be having the time of his life playing super snarky sociopath, Lloyd Hansen. He absolutely dominates every scene he is in with the exuberance of Nicholas Cage in anything recent. It’s a fun thriller with ever escalating set pieces. I had a good time. Does it convince me to read the books? I’ll give it a maybe…
Bullet Train – I had been looking forward to this movie based on the trailers. Little did I know how much I would like it. I went into it blind, not realizing the source material was the thriller Maria Beetle by Japanese author Kōtarō Isaka. Anyone who knows me, knows I love Japanese cinema, so this movie was bound to be a home run to me. It brought me so much absolute joy. It’s a smorgasbord of eccentric characters, ultra-violence, comedy, Yakuza, assassins, and sword play. I honestly couldn’t love this movie more if Godzilla crawled out of the ocean at the end of it. I give it five katanas! Does it make me want to read the original novel? Absolutely. I plan on doing that sometime soon, even though I know they took a lot of artistic liberties, that actually makes me more intrigued. Don’t sleep on this film.
Well that’s it for now. I’m reading a new novel by Dean Koontz, but I just started it so I don’t feel it would be fair to judge it yet. So far, so good. I’ll let you know what I think later. What have you all been reading or watching? Send me recommendations! I’ll check them out and let you know what I think! Till next time!
– Ryan
