Comments on: San Diego Comic-Con: In Which I Host a Fantasy Panel, and Subsequently Hit Bottom http://techland.time.com/2009/07/25/san-diego-comic-con-in-which-i-host-a-fantasy-panel-and-subsequently-hit-bottom/ News and reviews from the world of gadgets, gear, apps and the web Tue, 29 Nov 2011 02:09:32 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jonathan Harnum http://techland.time.com/2009/07/25/san-diego-comic-con-in-which-i-host-a-fantasy-panel-and-subsequently-hit-bottom/comment-page-1/#comment-1844 Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:35:50 +0000 http://nerdworld.blogs.time.com/?p=1978#comment-1844 Nice writing! Great kudos for Pat Rothfuss, whose “Name of the Wind” is a good read.

]]> By: steampunkfashion http://techland.time.com/2009/07/25/san-diego-comic-con-in-which-i-host-a-fantasy-panel-and-subsequently-hit-bottom/comment-page-1/#comment-1733 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:40:25 +0000 http://nerdworld.blogs.time.com/?p=1978#comment-1733 Steampunk is the new big pop culture thing.
I mean just look at these sites:
http://community.livejournal.com/steamfashion/profile
Things get posted to the Steamfashion Livejournal group first and then are picked up and reposted on all the big blogs that cover this topic, like boingboing.net
There is even a history tag that gets a lot of buzz:
http://community.livejournal.com/steamfashion/tag/g.d.falksen+history

The Facebook group gets almost a thousand new people on it every week:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2229103541

This is becoming a very popular link getting sent around. It seems many people think it rings true:
http://egophobia.dap.ro/revista/?p=1041

Heck you can now steampunk your iPhone, computer or any other smart phone inside and out with this:
http://www.steampunktales.com/
The list of writers for that is great.

]]> By: hannef123 http://techland.time.com/2009/07/25/san-diego-comic-con-in-which-i-host-a-fantasy-panel-and-subsequently-hit-bottom/comment-page-1/#comment-1732 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:51:26 +0000 http://nerdworld.blogs.time.com/?p=1978#comment-1732 I very much agree on the JKR analysis. She has managed to bring those who might not otherwise read to the bookstore and pick up a book, but that does not necessarily transcend to going to the fantasy section and picking up a book there.

Being a fan of the fantasy/scifi genre for quite some time, the most positive outcome that I have noticed is the tendency, as mentioned, towards combining different genres. From a marketability standpoint, this makes sense as it allows an increase in the demographic; however, the problem is in the placement of the books in the bookstore. It’s not “cool” to be seen in the scifi/fantasy section, a stigma shared very much by other genre fictions.

The genre fictions are not literary enough, something I’m sure everyone on the nerd world cringes at in equal amounts. Largely, what makes a fantasy/scifi book so brilliant is the fact the author is allowed to create a different setting in which human emotions, interactions and politics can be explored in a different manner. When done well, it’s brilliant because the new setting adds to the emphasis placed on character interaction etc. and not so much on the reality as we, the reader, understand it. There is a tremendous amount of freedom for an author in this genre to truly explore the nuances of human existence without getting bogged down in detail.

As I said, when it’s done well, it is absolutely brilliant, insightful and will withstand against the fickle nature of the reading mass.

Anyway, I’ve gone for too long, but, one more point in that there is a tendency lately for those literary authors to push the envelope towards what is considered literature and what usually falls into a genre category – I am thinking of Cormac McCarthy as an example. That being said, maybe the line of what is literary and what is everything else, will begin to blur, if just a little bit.

Okay. My diatribe is over. Sorry.

]]> By: anon76 http://techland.time.com/2009/07/25/san-diego-comic-con-in-which-i-host-a-fantasy-panel-and-subsequently-hit-bottom/comment-page-1/#comment-1728 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:16:17 +0000 http://nerdworld.blogs.time.com/?p=1978#comment-1728 I’m all for evolution within a genre, but the idea that Tolkien’s success was somehow an obstacle needing to be overcome by other writers is a bit much, IMO.

Oh, and for the daughter, might I suggest the following. All the cool girls are getting them!

]]> By: Church http://techland.time.com/2009/07/25/san-diego-comic-con-in-which-i-host-a-fantasy-panel-and-subsequently-hit-bottom/comment-page-1/#comment-1726 Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:11:09 +0000 http://nerdworld.blogs.time.com/?p=1978#comment-1726 Be sure to get something for yourself. I could offer a few suggestions if you’re stuck.

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