August MysteryKIT: Technothrillers

Technothrillers are a hybrid genre, drawing subject matter generally from science fiction, thrillers, spy, action and war. The inner workings of technology and the mechanics of various disciplines (espionage, martial arts, politics). The plot often turns on the particulars of that exploration.

Popular authors of technothrillers: Tom Clancy , Michael Crichton , Neal Stephenson , Dan Brown , Blake Crouch , James Rollins Chuck Wendig

Here's a couple of lists of technothrillers to give you inspiration: https://www.librarything.com/tag/fiction,+technothriller
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24177.Best_Technothrillers_Ever

Have fun!

I see a book that I have long had on my TBR made the LT list of technothrillers so I will be reading The Circle by Dave Eggers.

>1 majkia: Thought I might have to skip this month but glad to say I have three on that list tagged technothrillers. Now to choose one…

Ooh, The Satan Bug, by Alistair Maclean, shows up on the Goodreads list, so that's my choice.

Any suggestions for female authors...this list is pretty testosterone heavy. ;-)
Not my usual genre, but I'd try one.
I have Girl in Ice which is tagged as a thriller, but I don't know if it would meet the criteria for a techno.

>5 beebeereads: If you like science fiction, I have some suggestions.

I really liked Malka Older's trilogy, starting with Infomocracy. I found the first story a little weak, but the ideas are really interesting. There's a good NPR article about the book.

I also loved Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty, though I'm not quite sure this qualifies as a techno-thriller.

Maybe The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal would also be considered a techno-thriller. I really enjoyed this one. It's the 3rd book in a series but all the books work well as standalone stories.

I thought I was going to have to skip this one, but I see Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir are on the lists, so I might be taking part after all.

Not sure how well it fits, but it has the tag.

I have Dance of Death by Douglas Preston on my tbr.

I see Philip Kerr's The Grid is on the list...

I probably won't participate this month as this is a subgenre I don't really enjoy.

I'm planning A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler from the list tagged technothriller.

Argh! I just finished the Blue Ant Trilogy (by William Gibson) which would have been perfect for this prompt!
I'm not sure I have another technothriller at hand but will look around...

I do not read in this subgenre so not sure what I will do yet.

I wouldn't have had any clue what to read, except that >2 DeltaQueen50: kindly pointed out The Circle which has been on my TBR for ages.

Here is another suggestion for a female author: Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer. It's a YA novel that has been called a technothriller. I finished it recently, loved it, and have started reading the sequel Chaos on CatNet now.

Would the Divergent novels fit in here?

>16 LadyoftheLodge: I'll accept them.

I think I’ll give Ice Hunt by James Rollins a try.

>6 mathgirl40: I rarely read Science Fiction, but if you have a couple that meet this challenge I'll take a look. I'm hoping Girl in Ice qualifies, but I don't read reviews before I read so I'll have to find out as I go. It came highly recommended to me.

>17 majkia: Thanks! I had them on my list to re-read.

>19 beebeereads: If you don't normally enjoy science fiction, then maybe the YA novel Catfishing on CatNet might be the best option among the ones I mentioned. The only science-fiction element is an advanced "sentient" AI program. Girl in Ice looks like a good bet, though.

I haven't decided what I'll read yet, maybe Agency by William Gibson.

>21 mathgirl40: thanks...I am always unclear as to what is Science Fiction. I read two books last year that were around the subject of AI liking both of them. Klara and the Sun--liked not loved. The Unseen World Loved it! So I'll put Catfishing on my list and see what I get to in August. Again, thanks!

I was happy to find A Spool of Blue Thread on the the list tagged technothriller but after reading the description I believe it has been tagged in error. I don't see anything remotely "technothriller" about it. Looks like I'll have to skip this one.

>23 VivienneR: - I saw that on the list too and I've read it, and couldn't see where it fit.

There is a book in my TBR that I could read, but it is far down in a series I'm not even reading, so I think I might skip too.

>22 beebeereads: You're welcome and I'll take a BB for The Unseen World in return!

I'm not sure, but I've been wanting to reread The Hunt for Red October and this may be the time! Wow! I just checked and it was first published in 1984 and I think I read it that year.

>26 clue: I was stationed at the Pentagon when The Hunt for Red October came out. It was the talk of the building, with everyone wondering who'd spilled the beans on some classified stuff that Clancy has in that book.

>14 JayneCM: I will be glad to have some company with The Circle. I am always leering when tackling a 1,001 book that I know very little about.

<27 Wow, thanks for telling me this!

>26 clue: I might do that as well. I enjoy Clancy's books but that's the only one I have reread.

Have you read The Cardinal of the Kremlin? I recall it was very good, surprised they never filmed it.

>4 rabbitprincess: that one was pretty good.

>30 fuzzi: Yes, I read but it was so long ago I don't remember it well. I think it's time for several Clancy rereads!

>32 clue: I'm going to plug in The Cardinal of the Kremlin as a tentative for August. We could do a shared read.

I've got several Clancy's on my shelf. I liked Hunt for Red October and I can hear my mom's voice talking about Cardinal of the Kremlin which she liked. And I've got Rainbow Six that I've never read. Thanks for the suggestions!

>27 majkia: I had heard that story, too - people were wondering where Clancy got his information and how he put all the parts together.

I started early on The Circle by Dave Eggers as this is quite a dense book. I would say that it covered the "techno" aspect of this challenge but totally missed on the "thriller" aspect. Nevertheless, it was an interesting read about data manipulation and on-line exposure.

Would Katherine Neville's early techno-thriller The Eight fit in this category? It draws on the author's computer experience in the pre-OPEC days and has a mystery/dual timelines associated with it.

Plus, it is less testosterone-driven than what one usually finds in this genre and thought it might appeal.

I finished Ice Hunt by James Rollins. Non-stop action. I’m exhausted!

>27 majkia: my brother-in-law was in the Navy. He mentioned the same thing when he and my sister came to visit last week.

>32 clue: >34 threadnsong: my mind's made up. I'm going to do a reread of The Cardinal in the Kremlin, anyone want to join me?

>36 threadnsong: I LOVED The Eight and yes, it fits.

>37 marell: Hah! I felt the same way. I do love Rollins.

>39 majkia: Yay! I knew it was calling me.

>38 fuzzi: I'll pull it from my shelves. Will be great to read it with you!

>38 fuzzi: Sorry, I'd like to but it's unlikely I can get to it this month.

>41 threadnsong: I'll start it as soon as I finish my current reread of The Kif Strike Back.

>42 clue: no problem.

>40 majkia: I love Rollins too! Am reading Demon Crown for this month

I am reading the next Robert Langdon book on my list. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

COMPLETED Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

I'm starting Kingdom of Bones by James Rollins.

Another one that doesn't quite fit, but I don't have an alternate. There was a part of the book where there was technology that someone was able to get around to commit a crime; I suppose that might be why it was tagged "technothrillers"?

Dance of Death / Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
3.5 stars

A professor uses his fingers to rip off his own face in front of a class of horrified students. Someone falls from stories above a restaurant and falls through into the restaurant – this one sort of looks like a suicide, but there are lots of odd things about it. Possible spoiler for previous book(s) in series NYPD detective (?) D’Agosta is surprised to learn the his friend and FBI agent Pendergast is still alive. Pendergast tells D’Agosta that his brother, Diogenes (also thought to be dead) is actually alive and has the perfect crime planned for a week away; Pendergast needs D’Agosta’s help to stop it.

The chapters follow a lot of different characters. I find it sometimes jars me out of the story, and I tend to lose focus at the start of many of the chapters as we are reintroduced to whomever we are following this chapter and what is happening at that moment with them. Oddly, even though in reviews of previous books in the series, I commented on characters I liked, I’m not sure I really liked any of the characters in this one. However, I do like that so many of the characters come back from previous books. Characters that initially don’t seem connected (or maybe that’s just my fuzzy memory!). There was a twist near the end and the epilogue set up the next book in the series. I did like this enough to continue the series.

September is up. Sorry, it is late. I forgot it was my month.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/343601#n7908674

I finished Agency by William Gibson. It didn't amaze me like the first book in the series, The Peripheral, did, but I enjoyed it all the same.

I finished Kingdom of Bones by James Rollins. I do love the Sigm Force series.

>33 fuzzi: I don't know if you've started Cardinal of the Kremlin yet, but I did want to give a peek into my thoughts while we reread this book this month.

I am struck by how different the world was then vs. how it is now. Not just the technology, but also the KGB and the USSR were still in existence, under those names. And Afghanistan was still occupied by the USSR while the CIA were working with the Afghans to help overthrow the USSR.

>52 threadnsong: I have started it, and am slowly enjoying my reread. My RL is keeping me from reading more than 30-60 pages per evening (I've not yet dropped it on the floor but anticipate it happening at some point, ha!) but it's still quite good.

>53 fuzzi: I totally understand! I finally finished it at the end of August, but RL involved DragonCon last week so my LT updates are a bit behind.

Did you end up dropping it on the floor?

And even though I didn't get to it in August, I did read the first few pages of The Eight! I'm gonna re-read it in September at long last.

>55 threadnsong: Enjoy it! I need to do a re-read of it myself one of these days.

>54 threadnsong: no, it's still on my nightstand. My dad started declining in mid August, went into hospice on September 2nd and passed on September 13th.

I'm finally able to read something besides old friend comfort rereads.

>57 fuzzi: So sorry to hear about your dad! Thinking of you and your family.

>57 fuzzi: I'm so sorry for your loss. Glad the comfort rereads were there for you.

>57 fuzzi: Sorry to hear that, fuzzi. Prayers for you and yours.

>57 fuzzi: My condolences to you. My daddy passed in 2009 and I still miss him every day.

>57 fuzzi: So sorry to hear about your dad.

>57 fuzzi: Sorry to hear of your loss, fuzzi.

Thank you all for your kind words, sorry if I derailed the thread!

>57 fuzzi: Oh no. I'm so sorry. :'(

>57 fuzzi: I'm very sorry to hear of your loss.

>57 fuzzi: Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad's passing. Lots of hugs and comfort reads. And even though I started it, I'm only about halfway through ;)

Take care of yourself.