D&D General No One Reads Conan Now -- So What Are They Reading?

[Mournblade94]

Being a scientist does not make you immune to religious dogma I guess.

LOL. I just told you an entire field proves YOU wrong and you accuse me of religious dogma. Give it a rest. As a molecular biologist with the genome in my wheelhouse it has been LONG understood that Nature and Nurture is NEVER 100%. You have a fundamental misunderstanding on this.

 

[rgard]

My wife Loves reacher. I never said women don't like this kind of thing. I'm not sure what is difficult here.

Well, he is dreamy.

 

[Mournblade94]

Well, he is dreamy.

Yeah man he's awesome. And he's married to his HIGH SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND! He was great as Hawk in TT, and I first saw him as Aquaman in Arrowverse. I hope Gunn casts him as Batman. My dream cast.

 

[The-Magic-Sword]

One thought is that last I checked, romances are pretty popular with men, just not in the novel space-- in the anime/manga space plenty of men are obsessed with their risque romcoms, VNs are an entire genre which more or less thrive on being multiple choice romance novels (though there are some less romance centric, it's historically been practically required, see the history of fate/stay night). There's even a burgeoning transposition industry of the same tropes but applied to fantasy novels for straight men, replete with covers featuring the busty love interest.

I think part of this actually has to do with differing (social) gendered perspectives on what makes romances enjoyable/interesting.

 

[Clint_L]

LOL. I just told you an entire field proves YOU wrong and you accuse me of religious dogma. Give it a rest. As a molecular biologist with the genome in my wheelhouse it has been LONG understood that Nature and Nurture is NEVER 100%. You have a fundamental misunderstanding on this.

Like I said - never a super fruitful debate. And I'm not sure that it is super relevant, either. When you look at the widely acknowledged classics of literature, what they have in common is that they all address universal themes. 1984 isn't a "male" novel or a "female" novel, it's a novel about freedom and authoritarianism, about how our best impulses can be subverted to create our worst nightmares.

I think texts like the various Conan books, which I reiterate that I loved as an adolescent and retain a nostalgic fondness for, are limited both because REH is not a particularly gifted writer, and because they are focused on providing visceral thrills for a limited audience. Sure, you can find some themes in there - you can find themes in almost anything - but they aren't particularly novel or insightful. These are pulp stories that were meant to thrill young men a few generations ago. They were very good at that.

 

[Clint_L]

That was the monthly bestselling list. I also sorted after best selling last year and these are the top 60 there. Even less doom and gloom, there's some really good books. But once again: far too many Sanderson books imo.

I share your mystification at Sanderson's impressive popularity. But you don't have to be a good writer to smash sales records - c.f. 50 Shades of Grey. I object to that book being in libraries not because of the smut, but because of the assault upon writing standards.

 

[Mournblade94]

One thought is that last I checked, romances are pretty popular with men, just not in the novel space-- in the anime/manga space plenty of men are obsessed with their risque romcoms, VNs are an entire genre which more or less thrive on being multiple choice romance novels (though there are some less romance centric, it's historically been practically required, see the history of fate/stay night). There's even a burgeoning transposition industry of the same tropes but applied to fantasy novels for straight men, replete with covers featuring the busty love interest.

I think part of this actually has to do with differing (social) gendered perspectives on what makes romances enjoyable/interesting.

Very Plausible. My familiarity with Anime tends to end with the early 2000s, and now with what I catch when my 11 year old daughter and her friends watch it. On my TV. During my Time. Its not bad storytelling.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Very Plausible. My familiarity with Anime tends to end with the early 2000s, and now with what I catch when my 11 year old daughter and her friends watch it. On my TV. During my Time. Its not bad storytelling.

I don't watch Anime anymore so much, but I do watch a lot of Chinese drama series (especially the ones that are wuxia related). I am not sure what demographics those are all aimed at in China, but definitely many shows that feel more like they are aimed towards both men and women or even just men, do have more romantic elements. But it is also done differently than we would tend to do here. I don't think the issue is that men have zero interest in romance (I like that aspect of these shows and I like movies and books that have heart in them). it is really how it is done. My wife loves Brigitte Jones. I watch them with her because they are her favorite movie series, but they are clearly aimed at women and I wouldn't watch them if she didn't enjoy them. I can get into them, like I can get into just about any media if I watch more than 20 minutes. But it wouldn't be my first choice to view.

Guys like Romance. I think we just like it done a particular way, with perhaps a bit more action. One of my favorite wuxia films is Bride with White Hair, and that is very much centered on a tragic romance. Another is Reign of Assassins, which is about a female lead character played by Michelle Yeoh and also, ultimately a love story. The issue isn't romance=women. The issue is really how it is done.

 

[TiQuinn]

I share your mystification at Sanderson's impressive popularity. But you don't have to be a good writer to smash sales records - c.f. 50 Shades of Grey. I object to that book being in libraries not because of the smut, but because of the assault upon writing standards.

Sanderson does a very good job at riding the wave of his popularity. He’s out on tours, he’s doing podcasts, he’s talking about his writing process, he engages with his fan base extensively. He’s promoting himself like few other writers I’ve seen.

I’m not sure it’s fair to either Sanderson or 50 Shades to draw comparisons to each other. I think Sanderson’s a far better writer than you give him credit for and likewise 50 Shades exists in the same libraries that are stocked full of Harlequin romances.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I like me a bit of Jane Austen.

I recently read the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice, where in Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have a conversation about their new neighbors. It is a masterpiece of dialog wherein the entire premise of the novel is laid out; as well as very clearly defining the characters of both of the Bennett parents. It is truly a masterpiece that I have to imagine would appeal to any gender - as long as you were open to fiction set in that time period focused on the concerns of that time period.