George RR Martin on Fantasy–VIDEO
HT Grasping at the Wind George R. R. Martin reads from the passage he wrote for the book The Faces of Fantasy: Photographs by Pati Perret. “The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams.”:
Tag Archives: Defending Genre
Cyndere’s Midnight and a Meditation on Speculative Fiction
Read my essay at The Curator, and watch me defend genre like a champ.
Follow-up Interview with Jeffrey Overstreet
I interviewed Jeffrey Overstreet, author of Auralia’s Colors last year. Now, with the release of Cyndere’s Midnight, the second book in the Auralia Thread, I had him answer a few more questions. The Keeper is seeming a bit more Yahweh-esque in Cyndere’s Midnight. Without revealing too much by way of spoilers, how are you fighting against the “Christian fiction” pigeonhole? Well, I object when reviewers start calling the Keeper “God”, or Auralia “Jesus.” It’s true that every character in The Auralia Thread dreams of this…
Lois McMaster Bujold on Genre
Thanks, Shari, to this link to a speech given by Lois McMaster Bujold. A tantalizing excerpt: In fact, if romances are fantasies of love, and mysteries are fantasies of justice, I would now describe much SF as fantasies of political agency. All three genres also may embody themes of personal psychological empowerment, of course, though often very different in the details, as contrasted by the way the heroines “win” in romances, the way detectives “win” in mysteries, and the way, say, young male characters “win”…
Dreamsongs (Volume 1) by George RR Martin
Synopsis: The first of two anthologies featuring short stories by George RR Martin, ranging from fantasy to science fiction to horror to genre hybrids. Review: I am one of those readers who had never heard of George RR Martin before encountering A Game of Thrones, book one in his Song of Ice and Fire series. What I did not know is that Martin has had a prolific career as a short story writer, primarily in the genre of science fiction. Dreamsongs Volume 1 includes some…
More on Genre
The George RR Martin quote I posted yesterday has struck a nerve and garnered some very, very thoughtful and intelligent comments on both sides of the debate. Please check it out. Additionally, Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist (where that Martin quote came from) points to this article in the online edition of a North Carolina newspaper, which expounds upon a point that some in the comments thread on my Martin post were making:
George RR Martin Defends Genre
I had to call attention to this quote from the interview on Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist with George RR Martin, Garner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham, whose collaboration Hunter’s Run is about to come out. For those who are not familiar with George RR Martin, he is the author of the 7-book epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. He’s currently working on book #5, and the whole thing was optioned by HBO to become a 7-season TV series. Now that’s worth getting cable for.
Shirley Jackson: So Much More than One Story
I got a lovely email from Chauceriangirl telling me she loved my blog & expressing her shared admiration for my dear beloved Shirley Jackson. (The link takes you to a great post she wrote about Shirley Jackson inspired by our email exchange.) In her email, she wrote (printed with her permission):
The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
Synopsis: A new house in a suburban Atlanta neighborhood spells disaster for all its inhabitants. Review: It’s awfully hard to be frightened when you’re sitting on a rooftop deck in West Hollywood, letting the setting sun dry your bathing suit after discovering that you can float like a cork in the saltwater pool.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
Synopsis: Harry Potter braces for his final battle with evil Lord Voldemort, knowing that only one of them will survive. Review: My biggest criticism of Harry Potter has always been his passivity. In the first few books especially, he spends most of his time being rescued or protected, simply because he’s “The Boy Who Lived.” And for awhile, it seemed as though JK Rowling wasn’t paying attention–was creating a hero who didn’t deserve to bear that name.