USS Alcatraz (Locust Trilogy)

Michael Connelly, best-selling author of The Black Box, interviews fellow author Alan Russell on his new police procedural Burning Man.

A thriller with a submarine on the cover suggests many things – from Tom Clancy to Das Boot and countless other underwater military yarns. Phil Robinson’s USS Alcatraz is a different beast entirely, a churning and rousing dive into what he calls “mayhem and skullduggery.” We asked Phil why he created such a wild story and what animates him as a storyteller. Here are his 10 reasons.

1. I wanted to write a book that was outrageous and fun, with huge characters that you could hiss and boo.

2. The USS Alcatraz exists the same sort of alternate reality as other big adventure stories, like Raiders of the Lost Arc or Batman. The idea behind it—that a wealthy malcontent can drop his enemies to the bottom of the ocean—is a fun one. The story is supposed to be plausible, rather than likely.

3. I started writing because I was bored with thrillers that read like non-fiction memoirs. I didn’t want to read about soldiers unpacking and packing rucksacks and discussing their load-out and mission planning. I am much more interested in mayhem and skullduggery. p>

Read the rest of the reasons at www.kindlepost.com.