Tag Archives: Fantasy

Calling all geeks! What 3 things should a newbie to the world of fantasy and sci-fi know in order to get along? (a cry for help from the Missus)

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Imagine turning up at a Marvel fancy dress party dressed in a batman costume. Knowing the conventions in the universe of all things Science Fiction and Fantasy are, at this moment in time, more than a little beyond me. Which normally wouldn’t be a problem. I have had a great relationship with Mike for 21 years despite my ineptitude in this field and his total immersion in it, but here’s my dilemma:

I find myself starting a publishing venture in an area which is (dare I say it out loud?) totally outside my realm of expertise and any good business person would tell you, that’s a fairly silly idea…well it is if you want to be successful in it at any rate.

No longer can I shrug off talk of light saber colours and duck out of the debate of why Episode 1 was the worst idea ever because now I actually need to know my stuff.  So I need to learn and learn fast. Mike has tried over the years to induct me into this elite club but I am still only a Padawan at best.

How do I know what’s cool? How do I avoid the inevitable faux par’s at conventions? How do I discern a Rivendale elf from one from Lothlorien, and does it matter?

So I’m calling all geeks (respectfully), would you help a damsel in distress?

What are the top 3 things I absolutely need to know about Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Comic Fans and this alternate reality?  All help gratefully received.

What makes the fantasy genre so cool? A quick & quirky list

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Hmmm, what else is cool? My last blog on this got me creating lists, for I am both sad and geeky, and lists bring me pleasure. Yup, that’s how it is, deal with it.

So, I had a trawl down memory lane of as many of the fantasy books as I could remember and picked out the things that always seemed to work, no matter the author or particular style.

  1. The mysterious warrior, with a dark past and some sort of cool weaponry. I’m thinking Aragorn, Waylander etc.
  2. Magic swords. There’s nothing quite like an enchanted sword of ancient times, rich with history and power. And really good for chopping things.
  3. Dragons, with wings and fire. It’s difficult to go wrong with dragons really and a number of recent, wonderful additions to the genre (the Malazan series and A Game of Thrones primarily) have really given them a new lease of life.
  4. Hard chicks. Sorry if that seems a little blunt, but I think that fantasy’s willingness to offer sexual equality through the judicial use of pointy things in worlds that are dominated by men is often overlooked and under-appreciated. Few things are as cool as a woman kicking ass.
  5. Double hard magicians. It’s a cliché to end on, but no fantasy series is quite complete without at least one mystical, all knowing yet annoyingly hands off magic user.

So there it is, the first of many lists. I make no apologies and would, of course, love to read any suggestions you may have.

 

The thing about Neil Gaiman

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Let’s take Neil Gaiman. I think of him like chocolate. You could blindfold me and give me 10 different types of chocolate and I could recognise the Cadburys every time. Once I’d taken the blindfold off, I think I could pick his writing out pretty damn consistently. Why? Well, therein lies the magic, the illusive mystery of great writers.

For me, it is the atmosphere of Neil’s books that always stands out. His writing has an almost wistful air, but is still striking. With very few words he conjures a sense of knowing that I think comes from his deep appreciation for every writer who has come before him. Without ever short-changing, he expects the reader to know ‘the rules’ and share at least some of his love of story telling. This allows him to almost borrow a sense of long ago, of stories past in which to tell his own tales. It is this atmosphere that makes his writing so magical to read.

I’m not sure that I’ve done justice to what he does and I’m also concerned that I’ve suggested that he doesn’t do his own work. That is in no way accurate. It’s just that you can taste and smell his books.  The flavours and scents, whilst being highly original, always have a faint, comforting air of familiarity about them. And just to be clear, this is a good thing.

“Dragons are generally cool” a comment on the fantasy genre and how it gets short shrift with the literary community

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My wife and I got talking the other day about the things within my genre that are cool. This led to me trying to explain to her that the Sci-fi and Fantasy worlds were complex, featuring any number of different sub-genres and, as a result, what may be cool for some readers may well not be for others. The title of this blog was uttered by me at some point within the chat and it’s a statement that I stand by, though with a smile on my face.

I feel quite strongly that the fantasy/sci-fi/horror genre within the world of books is still looked down upon by the rest of the literary community. The word novel, as described by the Oxford English Dictionary clearly fits many a contemporary fantasy, or epic piece of Sci-Fi, yet when we look at the Man Booker prize (contemporary fiction), the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and many others, no fantasy appears. Once again, the dictionary suggests that to be fiction, a story simply needs to be imagined, not factual. I’m fairly certain that A Game of Thrones has come out of G.R.R. Martin’s head, yet his books so far remain well removed from these lists.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am in no way devaluing the awards like Locus, Nebula or Hugo. I love that the genre has it’s own awards and, based on the depth and breadth of the field, they’re much needed. However, almost by having those awards, the Sci-Fi and Fantasy field are sidelined from what you could call mainstream literature.

Any thoughts?