[matthewajg]

In the wake of the unprecedented book sales and box office sucess of HARRY POTTER and the much anticipated LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, do you feel the fantasy genre will grow? Commercially, it will undoubtedly. But will the success of such "traditional" fantasy keep fantasy literature locked into the self-same stereotypes and icons which haunt the genre?

MOD NOTE: moved to fantasy, this really isn't a writing topic.

[This message has been edited by FitzFlagg (edited December 05, 2001).]

[Liselle]

I think there will be a certain impact on the fantasy genre, but I'm afraid it won't be favourable: with all the attention the genre is getting at the moment, the commercial aspect will become even more important and there will appear much crap in the bookstores because new 'authors' want to enter the scene; maybe there'll be movies, too - and, I fear they will be low-budget productions whithout love for details, only riding on the coattails of hp and lotr...
at least, that's how I see it

[JohnH]

I am not sure what icons or stereotypes 'haunt' the genre. After all it is certain themes and characterizations which allow us to qualify something as 'fantasy' and know what each other is refering to. After all, all fiction is really fantasy isn't? Yet the likes of Grisham or Turow or Irvine do not spring to mind when the topic of fantasy comes up.

Yes certain tropes are used over and over again. But if done well and will flair and a bit of individual perspective matched with good writing and plotting and characterization and any stereotype can seem fresh or charming.

No amount of originality or thinking outside of the box can aid poor writing.

As to the question of whether the sudden popularity in fantasy in the mainstream consciousness is a good thing or not. I think that the initial and short term impact will be negative. As noted already, wannabes and the 'me-too' syndrome will flux and the market will be innundated with those trying to catch the wave of popularity. This in turn leads to the mass public who first aided and abetted such a frenzy to turn on the trend in question (after all they cannot blame themselves for blindly following the winds of trend and fad now can they?).

However in the long run, those of us who were here before, will still be here. Just as those who discovered the real issue of why Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter are viewed with such enthusiasm in the fantasy corner will find other gems and stay with the genre.
So the ranks will grow, be winnowed by the fickle hand of the likes of People magazine and Entertainment Tonight which will gleefully lead the backlash against the very overhyped message they delivered in the first place.

After all is said and done, the actual genre will not really suffer. New minds will be exposed that might have remained shut and the lemmings that herd after the latest and greatest thing will go on to another cliff.

[Sojourn]

Hear ye, hear ye.

[Cadfael]

I agree with Liselle, the bookstore in my town have abysmal SF sections, there are hundreds of TV series spin-off books Star Trek, Star Wars, Farscape blah blah. The horror section is full of that Buffy, and Angel drone drone.

The bookstores know that it will sell, not only to readers of SF and Horror... but to fans of the series in question... I have a friend who will spend pounds upon pounds on Star Trek books, but pulls his nose up at the suggestion he read a mainstream SF book.

I don't want to Fantasy fo this way, thankfully there is not a lot of Hercules and Xena books yet... but I think fantasy is about to make it big in the movie theatres, and a market is going to be created. Of course, the book stores will pander to this market, it is only commercial sense.

[mundanemies]

Are there no rpg-books at your local store dennizm? I mean different Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Ravenloft etc. "fantasy"books are usually as big, if not bigger section than media-SF (Star Trek, Star Wars, Buffy etc) in any bookstore I've visisted, be that store in US, GB, Sweden, Finland or Canada.

There is also the fact that fat fantasy sells like hotcakes and publishers are already providing more of that. Whereas some very good and fantastic books and authors are being left by themselves, unmarketed and thus slowly doomed into extinction.

What matthewjag meant with "stereotypes and icons that haunt the genre", I can't be certain, but I can give my opinion.

Fantasy is at the moment a very entertaining and easy-reading genre. The best-sellers are virtually undistinguishable from each others. Fantasy has lost it's most of it's innovativeness and fantastical and turned into a big factory, churning out lots and lots of carbon-copies of itself.

Nothing too much bad about that, mind you. It keeps the masses happy and publishers too. As a reader, I'm happy to read a good, fun fat fantasy now and then, but as the years have gone by, those fat fantasies have taken more and more space and managed to make it almost a standard which to emulate. And some writers aren't really helping. Rivan Codex anyone?

I hope I'm totally wrong and future fantasy-books will be better than ever! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Cadfael]

That is my point, the fantasy sections are brimming with books... you are spoiled for choice. I would like it to stay this way.

But not in the SF sections, it is mostly TV/Movie spin-off books. You can find mainstream SF, but it is tucked away in one end of the bookshelf... and only the very well known get stocked. The only good place to find SF is on the Net. Even my book club 'The Science Fiction & Fantasy Bookclub' is full of TV/Movie stuff, loads of fantasy however.

I do not wish to see the book case full of LOTR maps, guides, and the 'making of the Movie books' and other such stuff, Tolkien is my favourite fantasy author, but I would hate this. At the moment it is a sea of Harry Potter.

[Rob B]

I think, rather hope, the films will bring people to the books, which is a GOOD THING.

Dennizm there are separate shelves for Fantasy and Science Fiction in UK bookshops?

In the US they are lumped together, the Licensed material gets a couple of shelves at the end.

I do not wish to see the book case full of LOTR maps, guides, and the 'making of the Movie books' and other such stuff, Tolkien is my favourite fantasy author, but I would hate this. At the moment it is a sea of Harry Potter.

Afraid its a bit too late for this Dennis. Bookstores I've been in have huge displays for LOTR, my wife stopped by our local B&N and said much the same thing.




[This message has been edited by FitzFlagg (edited December 06, 2001).]

[DarthV]

The local Chapters store has SF and Fantasy seperated. Unfortunately the staff stocking the shelves do not know the difference between the two. Then again for $6/hr, I'm not expecting professional library staff http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif It is nice to see the shelves stocked for Xmas sales.

[jbcohen]

I am sorry to hear that in some places the fantasy book section is somewhat less than optimal. At least for me the suscess of several fantasy films and books such as Star Wars, Star Treck, Lord of the Rings and of couse Mr Potter has brought the fantasy books more into the light of day and has afforded readers a much wider selection of novels to enjoy. Hopefully all the attention that the genre is getting becasue of mr potter will improve the lot of some of us that can't seem to get the novels. At least mr potter has managed to do one thing that parents everywhere have been trying to do for ages, get their kids to turn off the TV and read a book.

Hopefully the sucess of mr potter will lead to more of a selection for all of us to read and enjoy.