Thriller Is More Than A Word By Fatima Binte Mostafiz

“Uhhh, I hate thrillers! What’s so exciting about them? Is it more boring than non-thriller books? Why can’t you just admit that all books are same and tremendously boring!!?”
When you’re a thriller lover like me, you just gotta hear that. People will stare at you with their eyes and want to see your precious treasure. And When they do, without even understanding what it is, “uhhhhhh lame!!” will come from their mouth faster than Usain Bolt’s speed! And I ain’t joking! If I ask them- “Hey smarty pants, do you even know what thriller means?” Then the reply comes,”Ummm……Who cares?”
Sadly, the problem is most people just don’t even know what it is and where it came from, yet they still hate it. Then to everyone who is reading this, you might be thinking, what is thriller? How old is it? What is the difference between a normal and a thriller novel? And what makes it so popular these days? Don’t worry dear viewers, readers and youth wave lovers, just for you guys, let me give you a short lecture on that.

This is thriller
Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television, having numerous, often overlapping subgenre. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. So, the definition of a thriller novel is a novel that uses suspense, excitement, apprehension and exhilaration to tell a story. Thrillers generally keep the audience on the “edge of their seats” as the plot builds towards a climax. The cover-up of important information is a common element. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists, and cliff hangers are used extensively. A thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome.

Origin of thrillers
Thrillers are much more older than your great great great grandfather. Cause I’m talking about the time when writing was just invented! That’s right, ever heard the name Homer? Well Homer is the legendary author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are the central works of ancient Greek literature. His “Odyssey” is one of the oldest stories in the Western world and is regarded as an early prototype of the genre. So if you’re a book worm, you might understand how old thriller is by now and what it is, right? Cause come on, what is more older than Homer?!?

Difference between Thriller and other Novels
As thriller was designed to hold your interest, adventure and suspense, other novels such as mystery, horror, science fiction, realistic stories and more isn’t completely the same. You might ask, who says that those doesn’t hold people’s interest? Well stick to your sits and fix your eyes in this cause I’m telling. A Mystery is all about the brain power. A Thriller is all about pace, tension and scope. … In a thriller, “who done it” is usually known to the reader, and often times to the main character. The goal is not to solve a mystery, but rather to catch a criminal, or stop a crime from being committed. Again, horror may make you tension for your characters well being but a horror is full of repulsive and horrible acts in an attempt to give the audience members nightmares. Science Fiction, at is most strict definition, is speculative fiction that examines the societal impact of invented technologies or hypothetical changes in the nature of the universe.

The arrival of thriller in Bangladesh
Although realistic, science fiction, mystery and etc came in Bangladesh many years ago, horror and thriller are just a newbie, with no popularity or fame. As they had no values or identity, a man named Muhammad Nazim Uddin suddenly jumped out to get them close to the young generation. So, he established a great publication based on thriller books. Wanna know which publication it is? It’s “Batighar prokashoni” for crying out loud!! That’s right, they’re the first one to ever give so much attention to horror and specially thrillers. As a matter of fact, their whole publication stands in thrillers! despite of being a newbie publication, they introduced Bangladesh with the amazing world of thrillers and the young readers loved it! But one may think that it is “Sheba Prokashoni” who should be the pioneer of thriller books. Cause it’s well known for its translated books, and being the birthplace of three most famous series of Bangladesh Tin Goyenda, Masud Rana and Western Series. But the truth is, Sheba Prokashoni mainly publishes books on mystery, detective, realistic, fiction, adventure and action. The books they publish doesn’t actually go with the term Thriller that much. So, I think it is safe to say that Batighar Prokashoni has a reason to have that title. But you might also think that Adee prokashoni or Rodela Prokashoni should get the title but they mostly published thrillers that are translated. So, can’t have that title buddy. At first, Batighar would publish just translated thrillers such as The lost symbol, The vichi code, Tell no one, Amazonia, Kot, The devotion of suspect X and many more. But as they got a little bit attention, new and young writers started to write thrillers with all of hope and might they had. And the result was a blast!!!! The young readers were obsessed with it! And they wanted more. Thus, the wonderland of Thrillers finally came in our country.

Heroes who made thriller famous
It is a true fact that thrillers didn’t get its fame just by foreign translated books. Cause it has the hearts and souls of many new Bengali writers who gave everything they had to make this perfect art. One of those mighty heroes is Shariful Hasan, who wrote the famous “Shamvala” series, which has three books in total. Do you love mystery with a flavor of fiction and adventure? Then get ready to explore the extreme path of Shamvala where you will find the shocking truth about the world and the mysterious place called Shamvala, a place of the immortals with Rashed and his friend. And alongside their adventure you will find the devil himself, waiting to kill and destroy. But wait, there’s much more! Read Shariful Hasan’s “Rivu” if you don’t have a weak heart to face the tragedy and horror that lies between every page of this book. Maybe you’re a history lover? Well you’ll get that in Mashudul Haque’s “Ventriloquist” and “Minimalist” where you’ll have to doubt everything you know. There are mindblowing points that will literary make you dizzy! He has done a brilliant job at mixing real history with adventure and mystery. But we can’t forget about Muhammad Nazim uddin’s “buster series” . Consisting 5 books total, this series has action, drama, realistic view and a fantastic ending!! Buster is mainly a guy called Bablu, who has a tragic back story which caused him to be a criminal. But despite the fact of being a man of crimes he has a big heart which lead him to many close to death situations which you will find in the series. But do you want much more screwed up polt to make your head explode? Then look no further, because they have Kishor pasha Emon’s “Mithoskria” that has a deep, terrifying and unknown path waiting just for you. There is also Tanzim Rahman’s terrifying Octarin, Arkon, Nabil Muhtasin’s famous Shapod Shone, Jabed Rasin’s horrifying Tomrisha, Osuya, Dogma, Kishor Pasha Emon’s Migtrisha, Muhammad Nazim Uddin’s awesome Rabidhanath Ekhane Kokhono Khete Ashenni, ???? nichok kono shonkha noy, Pendulam, Shariful Hasan’s Adharer Jatri, Kowshik Jaman’s Confession, Arian Shuvo’s Danai Agun, Salman Haqu’s Nikhoj Kabbo. But surely, there are many more writers in Bangladesh who are doing a great job at expanding the thriller world all over the country.
Thrillers is something that makes you explore into a different path, which has a different point of view to make you see the other side of the world. It is something that makes you wonder more and more and expand your theories and mind. And allowing you to think deeply and outside the box and finding the smallest signs to uncover the truth, making you cautious, emotionally strong to face any tragedy and improving your observation power. In the end, I think everyone agrees with me that Thriller is much more than a simple word.