The conspiracy thriller, or paranoid thriller, is a subgenre of thriller fiction. Its protagonists are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves pulling on a small thread which unravels a vast conspiracy that ultimately goes all the way to the top. Conspiracies are often played out as man-in-peril or woman-in-peril stories, or yield quest narratives similar to those found in whodunits and detective stories.
Facts
Place of OriginThe genre reached its cultural zenith in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s amid the Vietnam War, the Kennedy and King assassinations, and the Watergate scandal. 1 Notable ExampleIlluminatus! (1969-1971), the trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, is widely regarded as the definitive work of twentieth-century conspiracy fiction. 1 Defining TraitProtagonists are typically journalists or amateur investigators who pull on a small thread that unravels a vast conspiracy reaching all the way to the top, often told as man-in-peril or woman-in-peril stories. 1 FAQs
Why was conspiracy fiction so popular in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s?
It peaked after the Vietnam War, the 1960s assassinations and Watergate.
The genre reached its zenith in the United States during those decades in the wake of a number of high-profile scandals and controversies. The source names the Vietnam War, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., and the Watergate scandal.
Connections
Features Author
Source The Da Vinci Code (Wikipedia)
Form Of Genre
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Conspiracy Fiction (Wikipedia)tier 2
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Conspiracy Fiction (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. Conspiracy Fiction (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)lede
The protagonists of conspiracy thrillers are often journalists or amateur investigators who find themselves (often inadvertently) pulling on a small thread which unravels a vast conspiracy that ultimately goes "all the way to the top."
Literature section
Illuminatus! (1969-1971), a trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, is regarded by many as the definitive work of 20th-century conspiracy fiction.
Literature section, US zenith paragraph
Conspiracy fiction in the US reached its zenith in the 1960s and 1970s in the wake of a number of high-profile scandals and controversies, most notably the Vietnam War, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the Watergate scandal and the subsequent resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency.
lede, subgenre clause
The conspiracy thriller or paranoid thriller is a subgenre of thriller fiction.
View the Source The Da Vinci Code (Wikipedia)
Features Author: The Da Vinci Code, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Da Vinci Code, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Mystery, detective fiction, conspiracy fiction, thriller
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