Am I the only one who instinctively recoils from non sec-world fantasy?

[Takoren]

For me, portal fantasy usually requires a bit more connection between our world and the fantasy world than simply "the main character is transported between the two at the start of the series".[/SPOILER]

This.

One could call the series I'm reading now (Acts of Caine by Matthew Stover) a portal fantasy, but it's not a case of a random person being pulled into a fantasy world because just because. For that matter, The Dark Tower series is definitely portal fantasy, but again, it's plot-relevant, not just "kids get pulled into fantasy world", in this case the idea of other worlds (and their nexus) is the reason for the series existence.

Compare The Fionavar Tapestry, which has five random University students pulled into a fantasy world, and discovering that they were "always meant to be there", and it's all ever so mysterious. Gimme a break. (My apologies to people who like that series; I really thought it was bad.)

For that matter, what makes me put a book back on the bookstore shelf isn't just the mere idea of a portal fantasy but any plot description like "Fifteen year old Anthony couldn't stomach the idea of spending the summer in Aunt Georgia's quaint little cottage, but when he discovers a mysterious doorway in the attic..." or anything along those lines. Davis, I'm certain that's not what you're writing.

By the way, am I wrong or are you the same person as Radone from back in the old days?

 

[Davis Ashura]

Davis, I'm certain that's not what you're writing.

By the way, am I wrong or are you the same person as Radone from back in the old days?

I'm aiming more for a Chuck (TV show) meets Chronicles of Amber with maybe some Supernatural (TV show) tossed in. And, yes, I'm Radone from way back when. Hobbit was kind enough to change my name when I published my first book.

 

[Takoren]

I'm aiming more for a Chuck (TV show) meets Chronicles of Amber with maybe some Supernatural (TV show) tossed in. And, yes, I'm Radone from way back when. Hobbit was kind enough to change my name when I published my first book.

That does sound interesting. And it's really cool to see someone from this board become a published author. It's cool when authors come here and chat with us, but to see one of our own join their ranks is just awesome. Congrats.

 

[KatG]

A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab (kind of, sort of)

I've heard of Schwab, have not read her before. Another one to play with. I read everything, so this isn't my thread. I was just letting Davis know receptivity. A 1980's multiverse can go many different directions. And if it's going in the direction of Chuck and Supernatural, sign me up.

 

[Contrarius]

I've heard of Schwab, have not read her before. Another one to play with.

I've got this one on my TBR. In fact, since I'm having trouble settling into a new book right now, I may give it a go...

 

[Kingsman]

I recoil when ever I hear a book being described as Steampunk. Puts me right off it. Don't judge me...

 

[Davis Ashura]

I recoil when ever I here a book being described as Steampunk. Puts me right off it. Don't judge me...

I felt the same way, mostly because I didn't get it and it sounded like sci-fi that didn't want to be sci-fi. Then I read Tales of the Ketty Jay by Chris Wooding. Those novels are addictive fun.

 

[SilentRoamer]

I have never been a fan of UF. I suppose the only UF I have read and enjoyed would be Terry Brooks Word and the Void Trilogy. I think it is also Brooks best work.

 

[DeckardLee]

I dislike general, contemporary novels for those reasons, but I do enjoy the occasional Urban Fantasy, Dresden Files also being my choice. Other than that, for it to set in a realistic setting, it'll have to be something with a little bit of the supernatural like the Pendergast series.

I have a soft spot for apocalypse fiction, but is that even a realistic setting?

 

[jason10mm]

I'm turned off by sort of a tangent to this: the book that shows warriors and swords and wizards on the cover, but when you read the blurb, it's "Main Character is a student/office worker/parent/whatever living a mundane life only to be whisked away to...." and I'm putting the book back down. Because I know what's coming. Boring daily life. Disorienting journey to fantasy world. Period of doubt/questioning/learning about said fantasy world. THEN the story finally starting. Unless it's in some really skilled hands (like Donaldson with Thomas Covenant), I just find those kind of stories tedious.

You just gotta dig back a few decades to Norman's GOR novels or even E.R. Burrough's "John Carter of Mars" to find 'portal novels' (I like that description) where the main character is LIBERATED in the other world and embraces it. Plus these books get to the action pretty quickly. Of course you can debate other merits of the Gor books but it is certainly one where the main character isn't ambivalent about being there (though the films, for some reason, kinda make him so).

My problem with UF is that any secrecy on the part of the supernatural is pretty much over with in the first book as there is usually a big splashy public battle, so continued disbelief on the part of various characters (the Scully problem if you will) ruins the tone the author is going for or requires increasingly contrived reasons for being obstinant. There are good reasons why weird fiction thrived in an unconnected short story format versus long form novel series until fairly recently.

 

[Ryan Mueller]

My problem with UF is that any secrecy on the part of the supernatural is pretty much over with in the first book as there is usually a big splashy public battle, so continued disbelief on the part of various characters (the Scully problem if you will) ruins the tone the author is going for or requires increasingly contrived reasons for being obstinant. There are good reasons why weird fiction thrived in an unconnected short story format versus long form novel series until fairly recently.

I think that's why I struggle writing it. When I'm reading, I'm willing to suspend my disbelief and just go with it. When I'm writing, I end up poking holes in the world I've created.

The only contemporary fantasy I've ever managed to write is for middle grade audiences, where I feel there are different expectations on how logical the world needs to be.

 

[Contrarius]

My problem with UF is that any secrecy on the part of the supernatural is pretty much over with in the first book as there is usually a big splashy public battle

The Hollows books by Kim Harrison were some of the first UF I ever read -- and its excuse for magic and creatures coming out of the closet is still one of my favorites.

In her world, in case you aren't aware, the supernatural was revealed in the 60s after genetic research on tomatoes unintentionally released a plague that nearly wiped out humanity. In the aftermath, the other creatures (mostly vampires, werewolves, witches, and elves), who were immune to the plague, revealed themselves in order to support the remaining human population and keep civilization going. Since that time, they have all been integrated into society.

And as one consequence, humans in the "current" time are deathly afraid of tomatoes and foods like pizza (even though the plague has been wiped out), while the supernaturals eat them freely.

That always tickles me. Of course, I'm easily amused.

 

[Sean Flanders]

My favorite approach to keeping the supernatural secret comes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: just play the whole thing for laughs. From day one, it was ridiculous how much denial the residents of Sunnydale were in about the demonic goings-on in their town, and this ended up being one of the show's best running gags. Late in the series, we actually see a newspaper headline that reads:

MAYHEM CAUSED
MONSTERS CERTAINLY NOT INVOLVED, OFFICIALS SAY​

 

[Takoren]

I recoil when ever I here a book being described as Steampunk. Puts me right off it. Don't judge me...

Oh, this is very much not the case for me, especially if it's a nice blend of steampunk and fantasy. Sec-worlds that have some amount of tech in them very much turn my gears.

I don't really like Victorian steampunk, especially if it's about oh-so-prrrrrroper gentlemen and ladies sitting in parlors drinking tea, with the story occasionally mentioning a dirigible or having a character wear a pair of goggles.

But a good mix of steampunk and fantasy really does it for me. Davis mentioned Tales of the Ketty Jay and I think it's one of the best series out there. I also like The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt and its various "sequels". They're very strange, but also very engrossing. I think the best on is The Kingdom Beyond the Waves, which is number 2.

 

[chris777]

I will totally read that.

Yeah, but Kat will read anything.

I'm not a huge fan of UF, though I am a huge fan of UFC. =) The more fantastical the better.

 

[Manbot3000]

Yeah, I mostly don't like to read books set on anything like our current Earth. I feel you, brosef.

 

[KatG]

Yeah, but Kat will read anything.

I said that already.

My problem with UF is that any secrecy on the part of the supernatural is pretty much over with in the first book as there is usually a big splashy public battle, so continued disbelief on the part of various characters (the Scully problem if you will) ruins the tone the author is going for or requires increasingly contrived reasons for being obstinant.

You might like a book I just read by Lisa Shearin, The Grendel Affair, first in the CF series SPI Files, about a Shield like group that is keeping the secrecy of the supernatural. Handles that issue pretty well, actually.

 

[froghopper]

Honestly, I tend, not necessarily to recoil, but to avoid them unless they've been specifically recommended. For me having a completely different world in which you can immerse yourself is fundamentally important. It allows you to explore new places and concepts that really wouldn't ever be possible in this world.
I also have to admit I'm a name snob (for want of a better term.) If I open a book and the characters sound like you could bump into them at the office, I'm a bit disappointed. I prefer a little imagination, even with names.

 

[Takoren]

Honestly, I tend, not necessarily to recoil, but to avoid them unless they've been specifically recommended. For me having a completely different world in which you can immerse yourself is fundamentally important. It allows you to explore new places and concepts that really wouldn't ever be possible in this world.
I also have to admit I'm a name snob (for want of a better term.) If I open a book and the characters sound like you could bump into them at the office, I'm a bit disappointed. I prefer a little imagination, even with names.

That's pretty much how I feel except I'm a bit more forgiving with names, up to a point. I'm okay with Tom or Jack or Will or something else that could conceivably be a shortened form of a fantastical name. The heroes of the first novel I ever completed were named Erik and Randle. The heroes of the one I'm presently shopping around are Becca, Stripmeat, Ed, Courtney, Weston and Fisheye (yes, it's sec-world, and yes, there are reasons the names are so all-over-the-place). I had no problem whatsoever with the hero of the series I'm reading now being named Caine, or the villain being named Berne.

 

[froghopper]

That's pretty much how I feel except I'm a bit more forgiving with names, up to a point. I'm okay with Tom or Jack or Will or something else that could conceivably be a shortened form of a fantastical name.

That's a fair point. Re-reading my statement, it does come across as being a little on the harsh side. I don't have a problem with the odd Will or Jack, as you say, so long as there's a mixture of other less ordinary names in there. It's only if I pick up a book and every name in there is a David, Phillip or Jeanette that it really tends to put me off reading it.