Glenn
Cooper has taken a very unusual route to arrive at this point in his
life. So why should his debut novel be any different? It shouldn't. And
it isn't.
Jumping
from the present to post-World War II and back, and then to the 8th
Century, and back to the 20th and then to the 13th, and so on, the
story unwinds in dramatic fits and starts, keeping the reader engrossed
and turning pages, watching history and philosophy pivot on the fulcrum
of predestination, powered by mysterious deaths and momentous events.
"A murderer is on the loose on the streets of New York City. Nicknamed The Doomsday Killer, he's claimed six victims in just two weeks, and the city is terrified. Even worse, the police are mystified - the victims have nothing in common, and all that connects them is that each received a postcard in the mail before they died - a postcard that announced the date of their death."
Predestination and free will are the themes of Secret of the Seventh Son, Cooper's debut thriller released this month in the US by HarperCollins. (That's another back road that Cooper took - the book has already been published in Germany, Italy, the UK, markets where it's been a top-ten bestseller, and for all I know, Palau, with translation rights sold in 25 languages under the title Library of the Dead.) I asked him if such a weighty theme doesn't get in the way of creating a thriller.
"When you construct a world where predestination is the operative mode, it creates some real challenges in structuring the novel. First of all, how can a hero be heroic when some outcomes of free will are taken off the table? The classic hero makes his/her own destiny by dint of courage and brains, but there are some obvious limits imposed in a "predestined" world. Still, I think I was able to find enough room for my hero, Will Piper, to move around to effect critical aspects of his future and that of his loved ones."
If we are to believe James Rollins, and who among us wouldn't, he got it right.
"Here is a story both incandescent and explosive. A seamless blend of modern-day thriller and historical mystery with an ending that left me breathless."
Cooper
started what he calls Act One of his life at Harvard, a pretty good
kick-off, and then went to Tufts Medical School and specialized in
infectious diseases. The admissions board there must have been a little
surprised to find a Harvard-trained archeologist with dig experience in
Hoxne,
UK deciding to be a doctor, but they, too, bought into this thread of
unusual and after graduation, he did his specialty training at Mass
General.
So
now things should get a little more "usual," right? You just know
that's not going to happen. His Act Two starts with getting recruited
into big pharma
- running infectious disease clinical trials for Eli Lilly. And then
the climb up the corporate ladder as his history of new paths and new
successes continued. But just so things wouldn't get boring, he struck
out on his own as an entrepreneur and ended up as CEO of Invevus Pharmaceuticals for sixteen years, which he sold for a lot of money and joined the ranks of the unemployed.
In
his spare time (!), Cooper had attended Boston University Film School
and wrote screenplays, several optioned to Hollywood. So the reasonable
choice now seemed to be starting a film production company and
releasing a feature film of one of his scripts, Long Distance. Debut at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival launched it to good commercial success and favorable reviews ("Hitchcockian").
Now if this all isn't a back-door approach to becoming a novelist, then there is no back door to this profession.
"I'm in the camp that believes that screenplay writing can be a fine preparation for novel writing. A good script has to possess pace, clarity of direction, believable character arcs, and natural dialogue. These are not bad attributes for a thriller."
Cooper would seem to have an advantage when it comes to making the Secret of the Seventh Son into a major movie - a strong and timely story and great Hollywood experience - but he isn't taking it for granted.
"I'm not sure my background in films gives me a big leg up on getting a movie deal, but it doesn't hurt that I know how that world works and some of the players. And if I'm given a shot to write the screenplay, I'd have to give it some serious thought, though I'd love to see the take of another writer."
More Will Piper stories are promised, and who can guess what else.
So
let's recap - predestination vs. free will? You've got to vote for free
will. Who could have dreamed up this life and scribed it into some 8th century text?
John Darrin is a consultant on radiological emergency preparedness for homeland security. His work has taken him all over the world, and includes many unique and first-ever projects. A widower, John lives full-time in his RV and travels the country on the Go Places / Meet People / Do Things Tour.
