Am I Actually A Fantasy Fan?

[cynthiak]

Well, besides the fact that I have never considered "Lady Chatterley's Lover" a fantasy novel - erotica maybe, but not fantasy, I think we need to realize that the term Fantasy covers a wide variety of the genre.

Some think of fantasy as only including non-human beings. Others think it must include magic or . . .

For me, fantasy is one of my fav genres, but as with everyone else, I have my specific likes./ dislikes.

Likes:
Harry Potter (the first three books)
Narnia series (Yes, I realize its religious crap, but I still like the stories. I can just ignore the religious overtones)
Piers Anthony (the first several of his Xanth series, not the rest)
Anne McCaffrey - YES Pern! I want a dragon!
Paolini - I loved Eragon, took Eldest with a HUGE grain of salt.

Hates:
Card - Give me a break
Tolkien - way too descriptive, he does make a good sleep tonic, though
Any author who only knows how to write war.

The thing is - just like anything, there is SO many differences in the way people write that it is hard to take anyone's word for how good a book is.

I enjoy humor and inject it into my writing. Someone who doesn't like humor would hate my novels. Others would love them.

Don't give up on a genre just because you have gone through what you consider the dregs.

I love suspense, but rarely find a suspense novel I would consider worth reading. But - I still try!

[KatG]

My bad, I thought I was posting in the "things you hate to see in fantasy" thread for some reason

I am a silly.

Do you want me to move the post for you?

[Starfish Prime]

Then I'll look right crazy wont I

On this topic, I'm beginning to realize how much of a snob I am with literature, I can't even bring myself to read a lot of the slightly above average stuff, which is sad

Cynthiak, I'm a fan of humor too, but not so much laugh out loud humor, the kind that has me thinking the author is quite clever and subtly adding to scenes that are meant to be peaceful or safe, so that when evil rolls over the mountains it feels comparably more ghastrous (Ghastly and disastrous).

[PeterWilliam]

The Lion, Witch, Wardrobe- C.S Lewis can go stick a pineapple where the sun don't shine for this christian propaganda crap fest.

This was the first series I ever read. I remember getting it from my uncle for Christmas when I was 8 years old and how it spurred me on to read more of fantasy fiction. I know some people don't like Christianity, but I never would have expected that rough of a flame on C.S. Lewis, or the Chronicles of Narnia.

[cynthiak]

ghastrous (Ghastly and disastrous).

Ohh I like ghastrous. Will definitely have to add it to my vocabulary. I love to say made up words and see how quickly they become a part of speech for those around me.

Humor has to be a part of the writing for me. Humorous situations that are that way due to very odd situations. Plus, stuff that I find funny, others are not sure of - LOL. I don't particularly like the idea of a Dave Barry Fantasy novel (Isn't he living in a fantasy world already?)

[KatG]

This was the first series I ever read. I remember getting it from my uncle for Christmas when I was 8 years old and how it spurred me on to read more of fantasy fiction. I know some people don't like Christianity, but I never would have expected that rough of a flame on C.S. Lewis, or the Chronicles of Narnia.

It's not a flame, it's an opinion. For Phyllis, the Christianity was very evident and made her dislike the series, a not unusual opinion. I, an atheist, am very fond of the series, and don't have that problem with it.

The thing is, liking certain fantasy stories does not make you a fantasy fan. Liking some fantasy stories and seeking out fantasy stories to read does make you a fan.

Dave Barry is actually a pretty good fiction writer, IMO. His Big Trouble was a great satirical thriller, very much in the Florida suspense school.

[PeterWilliam]

It's not a flame, it's an opinion. For Phyllis, the Christianity was very evident and made her dislike the series, a not unusual opinion.

I don't know. I've never seen, "C.S Lewis can go stick a pineapple where the sun don't shine for this christian propaganda crap fest," before. I don't spend excessive time reading Amazon reviews though so maybe it's not that unusual. Just excessively vitriolic. Or vehement. Or bitter. Mmmm,......hold on, I'm thinking...........ahhh forget it, I'll have to get back to you on it.

[KatG]

Okay, the pineapple bit was a bit excessive, maybe. But since she was expressing opinions about different books and concentrating on the books, I didn't consider it a breach of house rules.

One thing fantasy fans have is passion. I think we managed to convince Phyllis that she's a fantasy fan and we got to see the diversity of opinion out there about different works of fantasy, some more vehement than others.

[owlcroft]

Well, I'm in a quandary here. We are not, rightly, supposed to use posts here as self-advertisement; but I have spent many years now assembling a web site whose sole reason for being is to guide literate readers to speculative-fiction authors and books of merit of which they might otherwise not be aware, and I'd think that that is pretty much dead on point. But linking to it might seem self-promotion.

So I won't name or link it here in the body of the post; but if you dig through my profile here, you'll be able to find it. At least some people within the field have found it a worthwhile resource.

(If this is over the line for a post, cancel it; I hope it isn't, or I wouldn't have done it, but it's not my call.)

[Randy M.]

Dave Barry is actually a pretty good fiction writer, IMO. His Big Trouble was a great satirical thriller, very much in the Florida suspense school.

Totally O.T., but I liked Big Trouble, too. Especially the parts with the dog. Funny stuff.

Randy M.

[KatG]

Well, I'm in a quandary here. We are not, rightly, supposed to use posts here as self-advertisement; but I have spent many years now assembling a web site whose sole reason for being is to guide literate readers to speculative-fiction authors and books of merit of which they might otherwise not be aware, and I'd think that that is pretty much dead on point. But linking to it might seem self-promotion.

So I won't name or link it here in the body of the post; but if you dig through my profile here, you'll be able to find it. At least some people within the field have found it a worthwhile resource.

(If this is over the line for a post, cancel it; I hope it isn't, or I wouldn't have done it, but it's not my call.)

I'm going to leave this, owlcroft, and we're glad to have you aboard. But I must admit that I was rather confused about it, as it seemed to have little to do with the topic of the thread.

[owlcroft]

I'm going to leave this, owlcroft, and we're glad to have you aboard. But I must admit that I was rather confused about it, as it seemed to have little to do with the topic of the thread.

The OP expressly asked: Am I just missing the 'good books'? Is there a wing of fantasy that would appeal to me better?

I was addressing that query.