Novel

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Detective Novel

Detective stories and mystery stories typically involve convoluted plots, so that the reader remains as puzzled as the characters within the story. Precursors to modern mysteries were the Gothic novels of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Gothic tales such as The Castle of Otranto (1764) by English writer Horace Walpole featured mysterious situations but were more concerned with creating a dark and frightening atmosphere than with solving a crime.

Detective stories and mystery tales emerged in the 1800s. A forerunner, Bleak House (1852-1853) by English novelist Charles Dickens, moves the reader from the East End of London to an aristocratic country house, connecting these two scenes through the unraveling of an illicit love affair in the past. Some of the best-known mystery novelists of the early and mid-20th century, along with examples of their work, are English author Agatha Christie (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, 1926), Belgian French writer Georges Simenon (The Patience of Maigret, 1940), and American authors Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon, 1930), Raymond Chandler (The Big Sleep, 1939), and Ross MacDonald (The Galton Case, 1959).

Mystery novelists who came to prominence in the late 20th century include Americans Sue Grafton, who writes of the adventures of a private eye named Kinsey Millhone; Tony Hillerman, whose books feature Navajo police officers; Elmore Leonard, noted for fast-paced works set in seedy locations; and Walter Mosley, one of the most successful African American mystery writers.

See also Detective Story; Mystery Story.

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Spy Novel

Many popular novels take the form of spy stories. Some writers emphasize the glamorous side of a spy’s life, as English writer Ian Fleming did in several novels featuring the British secret agent James Bond. Bond lives in a world of fast cars, beautiful women, ingenious weaponry, and gorgeous settings. Fleming’s novels include Casino Royale (1953), Goldfinger (1959), and Thunderball (1961).

Other spy fiction looks at a darker side of life in espionage. The Secret Agent (1907) by English writer Joseph Conrad features agents who are seedy and petty. For example, the mission of Mr. Verloc, an operative for a foreign government, is the brutal and certainly antiheroic business of using a boy as an accomplice in blowing up the Greenwich Observatory in England.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) by British writer John le Carré features betrayal, misuse of power, and the cynicism of international intriguers. The main character is Alex Leamas, a middle-aged British agent who is assigned to protect the cover of a double agent in East Germany. To succeed in his mission, Leamas must allow himself and the woman he loves to be destroyed. Using the taut plot devices of the thriller, including a spectacular ending at the Berlin Wall, le Carré goes beyond action and excitement to explore the consequences of espionage for ordinary, decent people. In Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974), le Carré describes the search for a traitor in the British intelligence community. The novel introduces false leads, scene shifts, and clues from different sources in the service of the complicated spy plot.

English writer Graham Greene also used the spy genre for unconventional purposes. His novel Our Man in Havana (1958) features parody and comic characters and situations. The mission is absurd: a mock intrigue involving a vacuum cleaner representative named James Wormold of Phastkleaners, Ltd. Recruited by British intelligence, he has no conception of what to do and so invents contacts and concocts reports.

See also Mystery Story.

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Science-Fiction Novel

Science-fiction novels are books based on actual or imagined scientific discoveries. Some common subjects for science fiction include space travel, time travel, the discovery of other intelligent beings in space, and the creation of self-aware robots. Frankenstein (1818) by English novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is often cited as one of the precursors to science-fiction novels. It is the tale of a doctor who uses body parts to construct an artificial man.

In the late 1800s English author H. G. Wells was a great influence on science fiction, with novels such as The Time Machine (1895), about a man who travels forward in time; The Invisible Man (1897), about a man who turns himself invisible; and The War of the Worlds (1898), about a Martian invasion of Earth. For several decades in the early 20th century, the best science fiction was published in magazines, but in midcentury the genre revived in the novel form with authors such as Stanislaw Lem of Poland (Solaris, 1961; translated 1970) and Isaac Asimov (The Foundation Trilogy, 1951-1953), Frank Herbert (Dune, 1965), and Ursula K. Le Guin (The Left Hand of Darkness, 1969) of the United States.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, one movement in science-fiction novels was cyberpunk. The works of cyberpunk authors feature hardcore scientific technology and action-oriented plots. Major cyberpunk writers include Pat Cadigan, William Gibson, John Shirley, and Bruce Sterling. Other science-fiction novelists, the so-called humanist writers, focus their works on characterization and pay less attention to scientific developments. Important humanist authors include Orson Scott Card, Vonda McIntyre, and Ian Watson. Other influential science-fiction novelists include Brian Aldiss, Terry Brooks, Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Moorcock, Larry Niven, and Kim Stanley Robinson.

See also Science Fiction.

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Fantasy Novel

Fantasy novels deal with magical and supernatural characters and events. Many fantasy works are written in a lyrical or witty style, and some appeal especially to children.

Two of the most famous works of fantasy are Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871) by English author Lewis Carroll. These books are about a girl who finds herself in a strange world where she becomes larger and smaller, meets a talking rabbit, and has other dreamlike experiences. Another book about a girl who travels to a magical world is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) by American writer L. Frank Baum. Baum’s novel is about a girl from Kansas named Dorothy, who together with her dog Toto is transported during a cyclone to the land of Oz.

English novelist J. R. R. Tolkien created an enduring body of work that includes the novel The Hobbit (1937) and the trilogy The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955). These books are set in a fantasy world called Middle Earth. The Hobbit centers around the small and timid Bilbo Baggins who, lured into a treasure-hunting adventure, finds a ring that makes its wearer invisible. In The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo’s nephew Frodo gains possession of the ring and battles Sauron, a demonic being who desires control over all Middle Earth.

Another popular fantasy is Watership Down (1972) by British writer Richard Adams. The novel is about a group of rabbits who must find a new home. Beginning in 1998 English novelist J. K. Rowling began publishing the Harry Potter books. This series of fantasy novels about a boy in training to become a wizard became extremely popular among readers of all ages.

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Horror Novel

Horror novels, also called occult novels, usually deal with a battle between supernatural forces of good and forces of evil. They are typically darker than fantasy novels and aimed more at adult readers. An early example of a horror novel is Dracula (1897) by British writer Bram Stoker. This novel introduced the character of the vampire Count Dracula of Transylvania. A more contemporary example of a horror writer is American novelist Anne Rice, who became identified with fiction about vampires after the publication of her novels Interview with the Vampire (1976) and The Vampire Lestat (1985). She followed with several more books about supernatural creatures. Other writers include William Blatty, author of The Exorcist (1971), about a girl possessed by a demon; and American writer Dean Koontz, who has published dozens of horror novels. One of Koontz’s most famous is Watchers (1987), which deals with genetic experimentation.

American novelist Stephen King is perhaps the best-known horror writer today. His first novel was Carrie (1973), about a lonely high school girl who can move objects with her mind. King’s many other novels cover a wide range of themes. His works include The Shining (1976), about a haunted hotel; Christine (1983), about a car that acts on its own; Misery (1987), about a writer kidnapped by a crazed fan; and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), about a girl who becomes lost in the woods in Maine.

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