Babel Clash

Hey Paul,

I look at genre hopping and genre blending as two very separate things.  Dan Simmons is a classic hopper.  He bounces from science fiction to mystery to horror.  Since he does it all well, that’s okay with me.  On the plus side, hopping exposed his work to different audiences and opened a potentially larger reader base.  On the down side, his die-hard SF or horror fan might decide to take a pass on something out of genre.  Hey, I don’t blame them.  There’s only so much time in the day, and it is natural to prioritize those titles in your favorite genre.

The hopping can inhibit an author’s growth initially.  That’s purely a matter of shelf-space.  If an author has 10 books on the shelf, all beside each other, than that author is more likely to attract a shopper’’s attention.  If the books are scattered all over a store, in multiple categories, it is harder to grab that impulse browser.  Of course, that’s a bricks & mortar challenge more than an online one.

I’m in favor of genre blending if executed well and communicated well to the customer.  If the author is writing experimental work for the sake of experimentation or breaking down genre borders, then I tend to be less interested.  If the author is creating a great story with fantastic characters and breaks down genre barriers at the same time, then I’m more excited.

Stephen King’s Dark Tower is my favorite example of a great genre-blender.  It’s a Western - Fantasy - Science Fiction - Horror series.  He pulls it off.  Sure, that’s concept, but King’s talent also has something to do with it.

It will be interesting to see if Terry Goodkind’s fans eventually embrace his Law of Nines book.  It’s another genre-blender, walking a fine line between Thriller & Fantasy.  What’s everyone think?  Does the cover satisfactorially convey that it a Thriller, a Fantasy novel, and an excellent read for fans of either genre?

The New Yorker posted “Seven Essential Fantasy Reads” on their blog.  If anyone gets a chance to take a look at the link, tell us what you think.  Is it a good list, or is something critical missing?

New Yorker

What about Stephen King’s Dark Tower?  That has to make the list, right?

China, for music at cons, here are my picks.

1) Blind Guardian - the German metal band.  They mix heavy and fast music with bombastic choruses that would remind you of Queen.  They’ve created songs inspired by Elric, Lord of the Rings, Dragonlance and Stephen King’s Dark Tower.  Their “Nightfall in Middle Earth” CD is my favorite.

2) The Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack.  This music energizes me every time.  It’s perfect adventure music.

Why are so many fantasy settings based on medieval Europe?  The journeys through these new worlds seem familiar because they have this common root ancestor.  There are exceptions, such as Daniel Abraham’s Long Price Quartet or Jane Lindskold’s Thirteen Orphans, but they tend not to catch on in a big way.

One of my favorite non-European settings is Stephen King’s Dark Tower world.  This apocalyptic Old West is one of the most unique landscapes in speculative fiction, and it shows that the fantasy fan is willing to branch out.  Granted, the Stephen King name helps.  There’s also Star Wars, which is as much fantasy as science fiction.  It features a traditional fantasy plot (rescuing the princess and overthrowing an evil empire) in an outer space settting.

So what other cultures or time periods are ripe for a fantasy interpretation?  I’d vote for Shogun-era Japan.