[HPforGrownups] Genre? Or not? (was Re: Wasted Charms & other magical devices (Time Turner))

[Shannon]

No: HPFGUIDX 32785

At 09:44 PM 1/4/2002 -0000, Grey Wolf wrote:
>
>I still doubt, nonetheless, that there are many 11 year-old wizards 
>going to boarding schools in modern fantasy, or simply fantasy based 
>directly in the real world (coexistant, not in distant past or future 
>or alternate realities) and still is excelent quality.

You'd be wrong on both counts. :)  I don't know the author's name off the
top of my head but there is at least one other modern series about a wizard
school. And there are *lots* of really good fantasy novels set in the here
and now. One that comes immediately to my mind is Nina Kiriki Hoffman's "A
Red Heart of Memories."

Besides, there's nothing wrong with traditional fantasy, when it's done
well.  And it's done well a lot.  If anything, Rowling is using the *most*
overused fantasy elements...dragons, unicorns, goblins, etc. I doubt she'd
be doing that so much if she were a fantasy reader. Those are becoming
rather more scarce in the genre these days, as people are leery of using
them.  She uses them very well, however, which is the key.

Shannon
who also prefers fantasy & (sometimes) science fiction to other forms of
literature...