Genre? Or not? (was Re: Wasted Charms & other magical devices (Time Turner))
ftah3
ftah3 at yahoo.com
Fri Jan 4 22:01:35 UTC 2002
No: HPFGUIDX 32776
Elizabeth Dalton wrote:
> As someone who's read a *lot* of "genre" fiction, I think you (and
Grey Wolf)
> are selling the category short. Yes, there are plenty of hackneyed
> "tall-elf-short-dwarf-wizard-with-beard" stories out there, but
there's plenty
> of good, well-conceived, well-written fiction out there, too,
written by authors
> who would be (I believe) just as popular and successful if there
were no fantasy
> or science fiction genre marketing category. Orson Scott Card comes
to mind. So
> does Ian Banks, or C.J. Cherryh.
Exactly. Which is part of the reason I also had a smidge of an
objection to your previous statement that it would have been better
if Rowling had read more sci-fi-fantasy/had left 'hokey' devices
alone. The fact is, the good writers can use certain devices and
they will *not* be hokey/contrived/full of holes because they are
talented writers. In fact, in the hands of a talented writer, the
most hackneyed idea can become (to hyperbolize) ground-breaking
literature. I mean, if what if Shakespeare had decided that, what
with all the murdering royals and quilt-ridden heroes floating around
in peer's stage plays, he might as well pitch in the trash that
little idea he'd had about a fellow named Hamlet?
I don't like time travel stories, generally. Even in the hands of
respected writers, I find them tiresome. But for some reason, I
really like Rowling's Time Turner. I think it has something to do
with jealousy. I had to take as many courses as I could fit into
four years of college, due to a time-limited scholarship. And I
*did* ~ but I still regret having had to give up classes in certain
areas in favor of other areas. I would have loved to give Hermione's
experience with the Time Turner a try. And with that introduction,
the Time Turner became a fresh idea to me. Also, I felt that the
contained way in which Rowling used the device kept loopholes from
spiralling totally out of control; and the loopholes that *could* be
brought up remained well inside my personal form of 'time structure
agnosticism' (i.e., is it linear? circular? three dimensional?
incomprehensible? who knows... :-P). I'm rather glad that Rowling
didn't fall prey to the...hmm, sort of sci-fi/fantasy genre prejudice
against time travel, nor allow herself to be intimidated by the fact
that the current stock of genre fiction has a lousy track record in
dealing with that particular device. Because I would miss it.
Which I suppose all goes to the age old maxim "to each his own...."
:-)
Mahoney
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