The best thriller authors aren’t only able to predict future headlines, they’re able to craft exciting stories around them.
ISIS has dominated news headlines in 2015, and now it seems that several of the top authors in the genre will be pitting their series’ protagonists up against them!
Kyle Mills
Kyle Mills divulged in an interview with yours truly, which ran over at The Life Sentence, that Mitch Rapp would take on ISIS in 2016. How much of the plot is centered on ISIS is yet to be revealed, but either way I’m excited to see Rapp take on The Islamic State.
Here’s the quote from Mills about Rapp and ISIS:
Well, he is going to take on ISIS, though it may not be that satisfying. Therein lies a little bit of my style creeping in. There are definitely things like ISIS, where there is a little bit of a hopelessness in that situation. I portray a little bit in what will be the next book. There’s only so much that can be done, so there will be a little bit of that with the follow-up to The Survivor.
Brad Thor
A few weeks ago Brad Thor sent out a newsletter announcing the title of his 2016 thriller: Foreign Agent. Agent will be the fifteenth book in Thor’s Scot Harvath series, and here’s everything he released about the plot:
In a safe house near the Syrian border, a clandestine American operations team readies to launch a dramatic mission months in the making. Their target: the director of Social Media for ISIS, Abu Muslim al-Naser.
Multiple analysts, as well as a senior congresswoman are in country to monitor the raid, but before the team can launch, the safe house is attacked.
What unfolds in the bloody aftermath is a political and public relations nightmare. As horrific videos of the Americans are published on the Internet, the blame-storming back in Washington goes into full swing, focusing on how the intel for the raid was developed and how it might have leaked.
As the search for answers mounts, half spy, half covert counterterrorism operative, Scot Harvath quickly finds himself at the center of the storm. Working for a private intelligence agency contracted by both the CIA and the DoD, it was Harvath who pinpointed al-Naser. But how could ISIS have known the Americans were coming, much less where they would be staging? There has to be more to it; something everyone – especially the politicians – is missing.
With the weight of the attack on his shoulders and several powerful members of congress calling for his head, Harvath is forced to launch his own operation to unravel what went wrong and exact revenge.
But as he nears the truth and the deadly puzzle pieces begin to fall into place, Harvath will uncover another actor – a rogue player hell-bent on forcing America’s hand and drawing it into a plot more dangerous than anyone in Washington could have imagined.
Foreign Agent is scheduled to be released on June 14, 2016 and is already available for pre-order on Amazon!
Daniel Silva
Daniel Silva hasn’t said much about his next thriller, which is currently untitled. However, in a recent Facebook post about the events in France, Silva said the following:
This past summer on tour for The English Spy, many of you asked what the next book would be about. I answered “France and ISIS.” I only wish I had been wrong. As you can imagine, Gabriel Allon and team are very busy right now… but tonight I ask you to simply honor the lives of the victims and the real heroes who are working to keep us all safe.
First and foremost, this was a thoughtful post from Silva about the unspeakable acts of evil that took place in France. He’s right, we should all take a moment and recognize the many men and women who risk their lives to protect others. Kudos to him for reminding us all of that.
That said, it’s hard not to miss the little tidbit he dropped about his next Gabriel Allon thriller! Unfortunately, that’s all we know about his 2016 novel, though I’d imagine more details will emerge soon.
Side Note:
It’s also worth noting that other authors will be writing about ISIS as well. Joshua Hood, for example, is pitting his protagonist, Mason Kane, up against the Islamic State in his next thriller Warning Order, which hits bookstores on June 7, 2016.
As of right now it appears 2016 will be the year of our favorite fictional heroes taking on ISIS with, arguably, the three biggest names in the thriller genre tackling the subject.
I know I’m excited, but what about you? Which of these books are you most looking forward to reading? Let me know in the comment section below!