Babel Clash

Being female, I have a visceral reaction to the idea that women are frail.  Once I’m past that initial flare, I have to admit that most of the men I know could take me in a fair fight.  That’s just the way it is.  But the fact remains that there are plenty of women in fantasy & science fiction who kick butt and take names (my personal favorite being Eowyn - I will admit to having her speechto the Nazgul memorized), which makes me wonder if I shouldn’t propose a third possibility beyond counter-balance or highlight.  What if women often serve the same sort of role tricksters fill in folklore?  Could butt-kicking women be there to demonstrate that sometimes being clever, quick, or more skillful can allow you to triumph over brute strength?  What do you say?

Borders in one of the few stores that maintains a distinct Horror section.  At Waldenbooks, horror titles find a home in fantasy or general fiction.  B&N shelves their King, Koontz and Straub books with general fiction.

Horror fans seem to appreciate our commitment to their genre.  On the flip side, trying to identify which titles belong in which section can be tricky.  We feature Kelley Armstrong in fantasy but Kim Harrison in horror (her adult books anyway).  We often keep an author’s work together.  So Stephen King’s Eyes of the Dragon is a fantasy, but it’s shelved in horror.  Dan Simmons’ Hyperion and Ilium novels stay in Science Fiction, but the Terror and Song of Kali live in Horror.

Sure, it would be nice to shelve a borderline book in two places.  Financially, it could mean buying twice as much inventory.  Technically, our computer system can’t handle it.  Third, we’d risk confusing customers, who might find a title only in horror one week and then only fantasy the next, as one or the other sold out.

As genres blur together (which I encourage, mind you), determining the best home for a title gets trickier.  The line between fantasy and horror is especially blurry.  For better or worse, vampires, werewolves and zombies are everywhere from Young Adult to Romance.  Zombie Romance?  Really?

F. Paul Wilson, our latest guest, has made a nice home for his work in our horror section.  What do you think?  Did we find the right home for Repairman Jack?

Best Sci-Fi movie moment?  Is there any contest here?  Empire Strikes Back.  “I am your father.”

It’s a perfect revelation that flips the story upside down and changes everyone’s view of the entire Star Wars mythos.  Well, it does if you haven’t seen the prequels first.

Thank you to Bill, James and Matt.  It’s been a great conversation.

Peter & Max didn’t get its fair share of time as a featured title, so I want to take a moment to recommend it.  If you’re a fan of Fables, then you’ll love Peter & Max.  That’s a given.  If you haven’t yet read this award-winning comic series, then thankfully, the novel stands on its own merit.  Bill puts his own unique spin on the classic fairy tale of Peter Piper.  Learn the secret history of the Piper family and then enjoy a classic battle of wills and wits between Peter and his evil brother.  It’s a well told tale by a storyteller who now deserves equal admiration as both a novelist and a comic writer.

Now for our next guest.  I’m honored to welcome R. A. Salvatore to Babel Clash.  Salvatore is the author of the Drizzt Do’Urden novels, including the brand new The Ghost King.  Among his other notable series is the Saga of the First King.  The lastest volume in that series, the Dame, is also available in stores and on Borders.com now.

James, Matt and Bill,

You’ve spoken a lot about influences.  What might developing writers find to be most influential in your own new books?  Can you speak to how or why Midwinter,  This Crooked Way and Peter & Max might prove influential on impressionable young minds?

Excerpts of Blood of Ambrose, This Crooked Way and Midwinter are now listed on the blogroll.  You can also find links here.  Enjoy!

Blood of Ambrose Excerpt
This Crooked Way Excerpt
Midwinter Excerpt

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

I’m pleased to announce and welcome our third guest. Bill Willingham, writer of Fables and author of new novel Peter & Max, joins James and Matt.

Bill, thank you for joining us!

James and Matt,

For aspiring fantasy writers out there, would you recommend that they first read broadly within the fantasy category to become an expert, or would you recommend reading the best writers from a diverse mix of genres?

Our next guests at Babel Clash are Matthew Sturges and James Enge.

Matthew is the author of the novel Midwinter and is also the writer for comic and graphic novel series House of Mystery and co-writer of Jack of Fables.

James is the author of Blood of Ambrose, and its new sequel, This Crooked Way.

Tune in tomorrow to learn the topic of our next geeky debate. Until then, I recommend cruising over to IO9.com to check out their new Book Club. Their current pick is The Quiet War by Paul McAuley.

Ann and Ilona,

Thank you so much for joining us on Babel Clash.  It’s been a great conversation.

Fans, please check out Doubleblind and On the Edge.  Both are available in paperback on Borders.com and at your local Borders.

Tune in tomorrow to learn who will be our next guests on Babel Clash.