Will I like Dragonlance books?

[Storm Raven]

Delany's too weird to be considered essential fantasy? That's a bold, and kind of daft, statement. Do you mean that his writing is too inaccessible? I won't argue that, except to say that I don't find Delany's writing any less accessible than, say, Gene Wolfe's.

His stories tend to be a little off the standard (and I mean that in a good way). His writing itself is excellent, but his stories are often so obscure that they can't be considered essential - I'm thinking of the Neveryon books here. His science fiction stuff is its own brand of odd (Dhalgren, I'm looking at you). I agree - I love reading Delany, but his writing style is so experimental, his stories are so unusual, and so much of his material is wrapped up in sexual politics, that I just cannot consider his fantasy books as "musts".

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

That's not a helpful comparison, though. The original BSG is a children's show, the new one isn't. Apples and oranges. It's not just a difference in quality, the two incarnations of BSG have completely different goals (and target audiences).

The original was standard 1970s sci-fi TV fare. Space 1999 was only more adult because it was so freaking boring.

The difference isn't the intended audience, the difference is the ambition involved.

Yes, but sometimes people want candy. Most of the time, really. When they don't there's always Angela Carter.

And that's fine. But plenty of readers claim there's only junk food out there, and there's no point in complaining about it. If anyone wonders why so much fantasy is crap, it's because people keep buying it, and for years, didn't even question the notion that it could never be any more.

I'd say much of it is better candy. Which is fine.

I'm not arguing that you're not allowed to eat at McDonald's every meal for the rest of your life, so there's no need to defend that choice.

Read all the crap you like.

 

[Elf Witch]

The original was standard 1970s sci-fi TV fare. Space 1999 was only more adult because it was so freaking boring.

The difference isn't the intended audience, the difference is the ambition involved.


And that's fine. But plenty of readers claim there's only junk food out there, and there's no point in complaining about it. If anyone wonders why so much fantasy is crap, it's because people keep buying it, and for years, didn't even question the notion that it could never be any more.


I'm not arguing that you're not allowed to eat at McDonald's every meal for the rest of your life, so there's no need to defend that choice.

Read all the crap you like.

What I find rather interesting when people feel the need to knock TOSBSG they seem to forget that for a show that only lasted one year (Galactica 1980 does not count) and is 28 years old it had a dedicated fanbase who bought the novels and all the comic tie ins. And signed petion after petion to get it back on the air. Sure compared to today's shows it is not quite as sophisticated and it suffered from the way TV was made.

The show was never supposed to be a series it was supposed to be a series of TV miniseries or films because the first movie did so well it was rushed into production and the quality went down.

And when it first aired it was amazing for its time it had some of the best special effects ever seen on TV at that time.

But I still enjoy the mythology of the show the battle between good and evil the entire idea of ancient astronauts and the tie ins with ancient cultures. As a 19 year old watching the show for the first time it inspired me to look into those ancient cultures.

I also liked the idea of good guys being heroes and trying to do the right thing and not being drunks and wanting to commit adultery all the so called adult themes of the new show.

I find the old show to be refreshing it may not be a realistic as the new show but sometimes escapism is what is needed.

I like the Dragonlance novels and don't think they are crap. I enjoy the characters and the world. No I don't think it is great literature but it is a fun read at least I found it so. I read about four books a week some are real meaty satisfying works that I would classify as great literature and others are what I call mindcandy they are light fluffy reads that don't require a lot of thought and are pure escapism. They are fun reads.

Right now I am reading some of the Stargate books by Fandemonium I am enjoying them they are like sitting down and watching an episode. And they are perfect reads right now. I just moved into a new place so I have been busy packing and unpacking I am also going through a health issuse right now and am having tests and these lite books are just what I need they don't require a lot from me they help keep my mind busy while waiting at the doctor's office or when I am taking a break from unpacking.

Its just like I am grabbing fast food right now becasue I am busy and it is easier sure I don't want to live on it but I am glad it is there when I need a quick bite to eat.

And your last line about reading crap comes across as arrogant and condescending. A lot of people may choose to read the more fluffy fantasy because it fits into their lives. I don't read romance novels but I have read articles on the kind of woman who do most of them have a college education, a career and a family and they read them because they are simple easy and fast reads and they can squeeze them into the few moments of their busy hetic days. Because the plots are simple there is not a lot to remember and so it is easier to pick back up a week later. You make it sound like these people who read what you consider to be crap to be responsible for the fact that not all books being published are fantastic works destined to be classics.



Every genre has some great, average and bad works in it. Fantasy has really come into its own in the last 20 years and that is why you are now seeing some great works because you have more writers writing it. If you look at the early pulp stories of SF of the 30s,40s and 50s most of those by today standards are badly written. But the fans ate it up it appealed to them and as their tastes matured so did science fiction. I think we are seeing the same in fantasy.