The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Are There Any Valid Criticisms? (aka Kalessin's Rant)

Rimbaud · 04-03-2002, 10:51 AM

It is a pity that so many authors writing today, particularly in this field, seem to see their writing purely in economic terms. Rather than having a passion and absolutely HAVING to write it down, it seems there are men and women ou there who have decided, "I can avoid the 9-5 by inventing 1700 place names, having elves and dwarves and heroes, and running to the highest bidder." Which is why it is heartening to see so much fan-fiction on the Web at the moment. The passion is still there, at least amongst a few!

The mistake I have noticed has been the direction of the defense taken by many of the posters on this thread. Rather than trying to defend an entire genre, which is really quite a narrow-minded literary elitism, defend the books that deserve praise (and do not get it purely because they are part of a that genre). Lord of the Rings is the finest example of a superb novel, which although widely read, will be avoided by many because "I don't dig stuff with wizards and trolls" (we all know the eye-rolling that comes with that declaration).

The better works of any genre have superceded classification. Tell your average Star Wars watcher that they are watching sci-fi/fantasy and they will shift uncomfortably in their chair. Lumping in The Iliad with "all those old Greek-type tragedies" is doing a massive disservice to the best three days of your life. Dune, another favourite - in the minds of its avid readers, is not merely another sci-fi book.

The majority of books printed that line the shelves of bookstores under Sci-Fi/Fantasy headings are dross. Untrammelled dross, at that. The covers are tedious, the writing child-like and the characters so shallow you cannot remember them once the book is closed. Learning to distinguish good from bad is the inevitable and unfortunate result of growing older; the classification of books into genres and then the creation of assumptions about that genre prohibit the growth of minds. The better writers are above having their books delineated into some sort of literal conformity.

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[ April 03, 2002: Message edited by: Stephanos ]

[ April 03, 2002: Message edited by: Stephanos ]

[ April 03, 2002: Message edited by: Stephanos ]

04-03-2002, 10:51 AM	#27
Rimbaud The Perilous Poet Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Heart of the matter Posts: 1,070	It is a pity that so many authors writing today, particularly in this field, seem to see their writing purely in economic terms. Rather than having a passion and absolutely HAVING to write it down, it seems there are men and women ou there who have decided, "I can avoid the 9-5 by inventing 1700 place names, having elves and dwarves and heroes, and running to the highest bidder." Which is why it is heartening to see so much fan-fiction on the Web at the moment. The passion is still there, at least amongst a few! The mistake I have noticed has been the direction of the defense taken by many of the posters on this thread. Rather than trying to defend an entire genre, which is really quite a narrow-minded literary elitism, defend the books that deserve praise (and do not get it purely because they are part of a that genre). Lord of the Rings is the finest example of a superb novel, which although widely read, will be avoided by many because "I don't dig stuff with wizards and trolls" (we all know the eye-rolling that comes with that declaration). The better works of any genre have superceded classification. Tell your average Star Wars watcher that they are watching sci-fi/fantasy and they will shift uncomfortably in their chair. Lumping in The Iliad with "all those old Greek-type tragedies" is doing a massive disservice to the best three days of your life. Dune, another favourite - in the minds of its avid readers, is not merely another sci-fi book. The majority of books printed that line the shelves of bookstores under Sci-Fi/Fantasy headings are dross. Untrammelled dross, at that. The covers are tedious, the writing child-like and the characters so shallow you cannot remember them once the book is closed. Learning to distinguish good from bad is the inevitable and unfortunate result of growing older; the classification of books into genres and then the creation of assumptions about that genre prohibit the growth of minds. The better writers are above having their books delineated into some sort of literal conformity. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] [ April 03, 2002: Message edited by: Stephanos ] [ April 03, 2002: Message edited by: Stephanos ] [ April 03, 2002: Message edited by: Stephanos ] __________________ And all the rest is literature