A New Genre? Slipstream vs New Wave Fabulism

This is a re-post from Emily Cross’s post on The Writer’s Chronicle – June 30, 2009.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about 'categories' and 'genre' in regards to my writing and that of my favourite books. "The Gargoyle"; "The Book Thief"; "Darkmans"; "Beyond Black"; "Life of Pi"; "The Book of lost things"; "Kafka on the shore"; "Neverwhere"; "American Gods" Often when some one asks about these books, its hard to call them, fantasy/ science fiction/literary because they are both but neither. As Carter Scholz & Bruce Sterling states, there is this new emergent genre:

it is a contemporary kind of writing which has set its face against consensus reality. It is a fantastic, surreal sometimes, speculative on occasion, but not rigorously so. It does not aim to provoke a "sense of wonder" or to systematically extrapolate in the manner of classic science fiction.

Instead, this is a kind of writing which simply makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the late twentieth century makes you feel, if you are a person of a certain sensibility. We could call this kind of fiction Novels of Postmodern Sensibility, but that looks pretty bad on a category rack, and requires an acronym besides; so for the sake of convenience and argument, we will call these books "slipstream."

He further continues that:

It seems to me that the heart of slipstream is an attitude of peculiar aggression against "reality." These are fantasies of a kind, but not fantasies which are "futuristic" or "beyond the fields we know." These books tend to sarcastically tear at the structure of "everyday life."Some such books, the most "mainstream" ones, are non-realistic literary fictions which avoid or ignore SF genre conventions. But hard-core slipstream has unique darker elements. Quite commonly these works don't make a lot of common sense, and what's more they often somehow imply that *nothing we know makes* "a lot of sense" and perhaps even that *nothing ever could*.
It's very common for slipstream books to screw around with the representational conventions of fiction, pulling annoying little stunts that suggest that the picture is leaking from the frame and may get all over the reader's feet. A few such techniques are infinite regress, trompe-l'oeil effects, metalepsis, sharp violations of viewpoint limits, bizarrely blase' reactions to horrifically unnatural events . . . all the way out to concrete poetry and the deliberate use of gibberish. Think M. C. Escher, and you have a graphic equivalent."

Is this the new wave for the genre of SF/Fantasy?
According to Rosenfield's article slipstream writers in reference to Carter Scholz and Sterlings article (above quoted and below listed) include just about everyone writing fantastic fiction working outside the "Science Fiction and Fantasy" section of the bookstore e.g. Paul Auster, Margaret Atwood, Kathy Acker, William Burroughs, Steve Erickson, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Phillip Roth
But what of New Wave Fabulism?

"Fabulism," you see, is a term used to describe Magical Realist writings by people who are not Latin.New Wave Fabulism is the term invented by Conjunctions to cast a broader net, to include fantastic writing that simply isn't Magical Realism. In practical terms one wonders what the difference between "New Wave Fabulism" and "Slipstream" really is? Why didn't Conjunctions just call the issue "Slipstream" and be done with it?

The real difference between the terms is an illustration of why we can't declare the tension between those inside and outside the genre finally over and break out the champaign. The term "Slipstream" was created by Bruce Sterling to describe people predominantly outside the genre, but because he himself was inside of it, talking to people inside of it, the term has come to be used primarily by the SF community. "New Wave Fabulism," however, was proposed by a literary magazine to describe people inside the genre, and it is already coming to be used by people in the Literary world as a way to describe SF writers who are, you know, "good," because apparently we can't just call it Speculative Fiction without turning people off. In 2006 an anthology was released with the unwieldy title of Paraspheres: Extending Beyond the Spheres of Literary and Genre Fiction: Fabulist and New Wave Fabulist Stories. In the statement-of-purpose essay from this anthology, editor Ken Keegan reveals:

On several occasions I initially described the work we would be publishing as "speculative fiction," only to receive a response like, "Oh, you mean science (or fantasy, or genre) fiction. I don't read science (or fantasy or genre) fiction. I only read literary fiction."

So essentially Slipstream and New Wave Fabulism are one and the same - a mix of literary and SF and according to Rosenberg's article both sides of this 'new genre' (literary and SF) are breaking out in hives at the thought of mentioning the other genre's existence.

The difference between Literary Fiction and Speculative Fiction is not the content, but the communities, communities which are often wildly ignorant about one another, and more significantly, openly hostile to one another. Which is not to say there aren't exceptions; obviously Bruce Sterling reads Literary Fiction and the editors of Conjunctions read Speculative Fiction. But the very existence of two terms, "Slipstream" and "New Wave Fabulism," to describe something that, if they aren't the same thing, might as well be, highlights the communal divisions even between the people who are most open to crossing their borders.

*sigh* i started this post, excited that i could label my favourite books with a genre name and be able to say i read 'such and such' genre and maybe be able to find more books that are similar. . . Now it sounds like i just walked onto the bookworld version of westside story!?!?!?!

THE SLIPSTREAM LIST - Carter Scholz & Bruce Sterling

ACKER, KATHY - Empire of the Senseless
ACKROYD, PETER - Hawksmoor; Chatterton
ALDISS, BRIAN - Life in the West
ALLENDE, ISABEL - Of Love and Shadows; House of
Spirits
AMIS, KINGSLEY - The Alienation; The Green Man
AMIS, MARTIN - Other People; Einstein's Monsters
APPLE, MAX - Zap; The Oranging of America
ATWOOD, MARGARET - The Handmaids Tale
AUSTER, PAUL - City of Glass; In the Country of Last
Things
BALLARD, J. G. - Day of Creation; Empire of the Sun
BANKS, IAIN - The Wasp Factory; The Bridge
BANVILLE, JOHN - Kepler; Dr. Copernicus
BARNES, JULIAN - Staring at the Sun
BARTH, JOHN - Giles Goat-Boy; Chimera
BARTHELME, DONALD - The Dead Father
BATCHELOR, JOHN CALVIN - Birth of the People s
Republic of Antarctica
BELL, MADISON SMARTT - Waiting for the End of the
World
BERGER, THOMAS - Arthur Rex
BONTLY, THOMAS - Celestial Chess
BOYLE, T. CORAGHESSAN - Worlds End; Water Music
BRANDAO, IGNACIO - And Still the Earth
BURROUGHS, WILLIAM - Place of Dead Roads; Naked Lunch;
Soft Machine; etc.
CARROLL, JONATHAN - Bones of the Moon; Land of Laughs
CARTER, ANGELA - Nights at the Circus; Heroes and
Villains
CARY, PETER - Illywhacker; Oscar and Lucinda
CHESBRO, GEORGE M. - An Affair of Sorcerers
COETZEE, J. M. - Life and rimes of Michael K.
COOVER, ROBERT - The Public Burning; Pricksongs &
Descants
CRACE, JIM - Continent
CROWLEY, JOHN - Little Big; Aegypt
DAVENPORT, GUY - Da Vincis Bicycle; The Jules Verne
Steam Balloon
DISCH, THOMAS M. - On Wings of Song
DODGE, JIM - Not Fade Away
DURRELL, LAWRENCE - Tunc; Nunquam
ELY, DAVID - Seconds
ERICKSON, STEVE - Days Between Stations; Rubicon Beach
FEDERMAN, RAYMOND - The Twofold Variations
FOWLES, JOHN - A Maggot
FRANZEN, JONATHAN - The Twenty-Seventh City
FRISCH, MAX - Homo Faber; Man in the Holocene
FUENTES, CARLOS - Terra Nostra
GADDIS, WILLIAM - JR; Carpenters Gothic
GARDNER, JOHN - Grendel; Freddy's Book
GEARY, PATRICIA - Strange Toys; Living in Ether
GOLDMAN, WILLIAM - The Princess Bride; The Color of
Light
GRASS, GUNTER - The Tin Drum
GRAY, ALASDAIR - Lanark
GRIMWOOD, KEN - Replay
HARBINSON, W. A. - Genesis; Revelation; Otherworld
HILL, CAROLYN - The Eleven Million Mile High Dancer
HJVRTSBERG, WILLIAM - Gray Matters; Falling Angel
HOBAN, RUSSELL - Riddley Walker
HOYT, RICHARD - The Manna Enzyme
IRWIN, ROBERT - The Arabian Nightmares
ISKANDER, FAZIL - Sandro of Chegam; The Gospel
According to Sandro
JOHNSON, DENIS - Fiskadoro
JONES, ROBERT F. - Blood Sport; The Diamond Bogo
KINSELLA, W. P. - Shoeless Joe
KOSTER, R. M. - The Dissertation; Mandragon
KOTZWINKLE, WILLIAM - Elephant Bangs Train; Doctor
Rat, Fata Morgana
KRAMER, KATHRYN - A Handbook for Visitors From Outer
Space
LANGE, OLIVER - Vandenberg
LEONARD, ELMORE - Touch
LESSING, DORIS - The Four-Gated City; The Fifth Child
of Satan
LEVEN, JEREMY - Satan
MAILER, NORMAN - Ancient Evenings
MARINIS, RICK - A Lovely Monster
MARQUEZ, GABRIEL GARCIA - Autumn of the Patriarch; One
Hundred Years of Solitude
MATHEWS, HARRY - The Sinking of the Odradek Stadium
McEWAN, IAN - The Comfort of Strangers; The Child in
Time
McMAHON, THOMAS - Loving Little Egypt
MILLAR, MARTIN - Milk, Sulphate and Alby Starvation
MOONEY, TED - Easy Travel to Other Planets
MOORCOCK, MICHAEL - Laughter of Carthage; Byzantium
Endures; Mother London
MOORE, BRIAN - Cold Heaven
MORRELL, DAVID - The Totem
MORRISON, TONI - Beloved; The Song of Solomon
NUNN, KEN - Tapping the Source; Unassigned Territory
PERCY, WALKER - Love in the Ruins; The Thanatos
Syndrome
PIERCY, MARGE - Woman on the Edge of Time
PORTIS, CHARLES - Masters of Atlantis
PRIEST, CHRISTOPHER - The Glamour; The Affirmation
PROSE, FRANCINE - Bigfoot Dreams, Marie Laveau
PYNCHON, THOMAS - Gravity's Rainbow; V; The Crying of
Lot 49
REED, ISHMAEL - Mumbo Jumbo; The Terrible Twos
RICE, ANNE - The Vampire Lestat; Queen of the Damned
ROBBINS, TOM - Jitterbug Perfume; Another Roadside
Attraction
ROTH, PHILIP - The Counterlife
RUSHDIE, SALMON - Midnight's Children; Grimus; The
Satanic Verses
SAINT, H. F. - Memoirs of an Invisible Man
SCHOLZ, CARTER & HARCOURT GLENN - Palimpsests
SHEPARD, LUCIUS - Life During Wartime
SIDDONS, ANNE RIVERS - The House Next Door
SPARK, MURIEL - The Hothouse by the East River
SPENCER, SCOTT - Last Night at the Brain Thieves Ball
SUKENICK, RONALD - Up; Down; Out
SUSKIND, PATRICK - Perfume
THEROUX, PAUL - O-Zone
THOMAS, D. M. - The White Hotel
THOMPSON, JOYCE - The Blue Chair; Conscience Place
THOMSON, RUPERT - Dreams of Leaving
THORNBERG, NEWTON - Valhalla
THORNTON, LAWRENCE - Imagining Argentina
UPDIKE, JOHN - Witches of Eastwick; Rogers Version
VLIET, R. G. - Scorpio Rising
VOLLMAN, WILLIAM T. - You Bright and Risen Angels
VONNEGUT, KURT - Galapagos; Slaughterhouse-Five
WALLACE, DAVID FOSTER - The Broom of the System
WEBB, DON - Uncle Ovid's Exercise Book
WHITTEMORE, EDWARD - Nile Shadows; Jerusalem Poker;
Sinai Tapestry
WILLARD, NANCY - Things Invisible to See
WOMACK, JACK - Ambient; Terraplane
WOOD, BARI - The Killing Gift
WRIGHT, STEPHEN - M31: A Family Romance

Slipstream/cyberpunk book reviews

Genre: Magical Realism

This is a repost by Emily Cross from The Writer’s Chronicles dated July 30, 2002.

Now i thought i had a handle on Slipstream/New Wave Fabulism. Recently though i wandered into a Waterstones in Dublin and came across the category 'Magic Realism'. Now i've heard of this genre type before, but when i looked at the books in the section, such as the dream eaters and the princess bride, i got more confused. Both would be considered slipstream?!?! Wouldn't they?
So now i'm going to 'try' and tackle 'magic realism'

While looking up this genre, i came across the Encyclopedia of SF and this is what they stated:

Magic realism (or magical realism) is an artistic genre in which magical elements appear in an otherwise realistic setting. As used today the term is broadly descriptive rather than critically rigorous. The term was initially used by German art critic Franz Roh to describe painting which demonstrated an altered reality, but was later used by Venezuelan Arturo Uslar-Pietri to describe the work of certain Latin American writers. The Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier (a friend of Uslar-Pietri) used the term "lo real maravilloso" (roughly "marvelous reality") in the prologue to his novel The Kingdom of this World (1949). Carpentier's conception was of a kind of heightened reality in which elements of the miraculous could appear without seeming forced and unnatural. Carpentier's work was a key influence on the writers of the Latin American "boom" that emerged in the 1960s.

With the elements of Magic Realism being:

• Contains fantastical elements
• The fantastic elements may be intrinsically plausible but are never explained
• Characters accept rather than question the logic of the magical element
• Exhibits a richness of sensory details
• Uses symbols and imagery extensively.
• Emotions and the sexuality of the human as a social construct are often developed in great detail
• Distorts time so that it is cyclical or so that it appears absent. Another technique is to collapse time in order to create a setting in which the present repeats or resembles the past
• Inverts cause and effect, for instance a character may suffer before a tragedy occurs
• Incorporates legend or folklore
• Presents events from multiple standpoints - ie. alternates detached with involved narrative voice; likewise, often shifts between characters' viewpoints and internal narration on shared relationships or memories.
• Mirrors past against present; astral against physical planes; or characters one against another.
• Open-ended conclusion leaves to the reader to determine whether the magical and/or the mundane rendering of the plot is more truthful or in accord with the world as it is.

Also reading this article, a number of the books mentioned in my previous post about slipstream are included under the genre of Magic Realism e.g. One Hundred years of solitude. The article does highlight however that the genre has recently been too broadly used to describe Harry Potter and the Stepford Wives.
Now i'm completely confused.
I'm hoping this might clear things up slightly though.

Magical realism often overlaps or is confused with other genres and movements.

• Postmodernism – Magical realism is often considered a subcategory of postmodern fiction due to its challenge to hegemony and its use of techniques similar to those of other postmodernist texts, such as the distortion of time.

• Surrealism – Many early magical realists such as Alejo Carpentier and Miguel Ángel Asturias studied with the surrealists, and surrealism, as an international movement, influenced many aspects of Latin American art. Surrealists, however, try to discover and portray that which is above or superior to the “real” through the use of techniques such as automatic writing, hypnosis, and dreaming. Magical realists, on the other hand, portray the real world itself as having marvelous aspects inherent in it.

• Fantasy and Science fiction – Fantasy and science fiction novels, using strict definitions, portray an alternate universe with its own set of rules and characteristics, however similar this universe is to our world, or experiment with our world by suggesting how a new technology or political system might affect our society. Magical realism, however, portrays the real world minus any definite set of rules. Some critics who define the genres more broadly include magic realism as one of the fantasy genres.

• Slipstream – Slipstream describes fiction that falls between "mainstream" literature and the fantasy and science fiction genres (the name itself is wordplay on the term "mainstream"). Where science fiction and fantasy novels treat their fantastical elements as being very literal, real elements of their world, slipstream usually explores these elements in a more surreal fashion, and delves more into their satirical or metaphorical importance. Compared to magical realism the fantastical elements of slipstream also tend to be more extravagant, and their existence is usually more jarring to their comparative realities than that which is found in magic realism.

• McOndo – McOndo is a literary movement favored by several younger Latin American writers. It seeks to distance itself from magic realism and the stereotypes about Latin literature that some McOndo writers argue were perpetuated by magic realists and magic realism.

So - basically the difference is extremely minor between MR and Slipstream - it really is down to a matter of degrees of the 'extravagent fantasy'. Honestly between all the labels/genre names which exist for essential the same body of literature - it makes me wonder why all our little books don't have mutliple personality disorder!?!??!

Authors who have written in the style of magic realism (Encyclopedia source)

Authors A - H

Authors H - W

Chris Adrian Rudolfo Anaya Chris Adrian Rudolfo Anaya Isabel Allende Sherman Alexie Jorge Amado Mário de Andrade Miguel Ángel Asturias Louis de Bernières Doris Betts Jonathan Carroll Adolfo Bioy Casares Jorge Luis Borges Mikhail Bulgakov Italo Calvino Alejo Carpentier Angela Carter Julio Cortázar Steve Erickson Laura Esquivel Carlos Fuentes Dias Gomes Michael Gow Günter Grass Gilbert Hernandez

Jaime Hernandez Alice Hoffman Ernst Jünger Franz Kafka Daniel Kehlmann Milan Kundera Onat Kutlar Saulius T. Kondrotas Jonathan Lethem Mario Vargas Llosa George MacDonald Subcomandante Marcos Gabriel García Márquez Yann Martel Toni Morrison Haruki Murakami Tim O'Brien Ben Okri Arturo Uslar-Pietri Franz Roh Arundhati Roy Juan Rulfo Salman Rushdie Isaac Bashevis Singer Ngugi wa Thiong'o Jeanette Winterson

*All above links connect to Encyclopedia of Speculative Fiction.

Planning to delete this blog

Hi All,

As many of you may have noticed this blog is pretty inactive - mostly due to my neglect and my recent lack of time for reading and completing my basics list.

I'm think of deleting this blog, as I don't think i'm doing it or you justice by doing things half arsed. I'm planning on continuing the challenge though but as part of my personal blog

BUT if anyone wishes to take over this blog PLEASE let me know!

I won't delete this blog till 11th April GMT


I just wanted to say a thank you to everyone who has posted their list, reviews and comments.

And Special thank yous to Shellie, Karen, Beth, Iasa and Steven for all of your amazing posts.

Remember if anyone is interested in the blog, let me know.

Toodles

Emily xxx

Two more done. . . slowly

Well more than two done. I've read six of the Sookie Stackhouse series (and looking forward to the other three) and have just finished Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked this way comes.

First Dead Until Dark, is the first in the series of Charlaine Harris' Vampire series. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading these books, - paranormal urban fantasy at its best. Although as the series progresses the storyline becomes repetitive - its still really fun to read - which sums up this series. These books are entertaining and escapist fantasy, not serious 'literary' reading. Personally from a writer's perspective an entertaining book which is light and fun to read is much harder than writing a 'masterpiece' - Bravo to Charlaine Harris!

The next book i read off my basics list was 'Something Wicked this way comes' by Ray Bradbury. It took me the same time to read six of Sookie books as reading Something Wicked. The time taken to read this book wasn't due to 'making myself' read it but mostly due to the complexity and layers of the book which is reflected in Ray Bradbury's unusual (but amazing) writing.

Definitely a book i'll need to reread to comprehend more fully, as i think it has more to reveal.

First book done: The Earthsea Quartet, Ursula leGuin

Do you ever get that feeling that you're the dunce of the class?

Well, thats how i felt when i finally finished the Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin. This series and its author have had a huge impact on the world of fiction, especially fantasy! One of my all time favourite fantasy series, the book of Pellinor is a nod to this series, so you can imagine what i was expecting!

*sigh*

God, i really wanted to love these books as they've inspired so many of my favourite writers and i had really high hopes for enjoying them (maybe that was part of the problem). Although i can appreciate the plot and story arc of the Earthsea Cycle (i had four books in one), i just didn't connect with the characters or story at all.

I was completely indifferent to SparrowHawk and his journey! I just seemed to disconnect while reading, if that makes sense.

Strangely, i feel slightly disappointed in myself for not appreciating/connecting with these books more , especially when i love reading/writing fantasy - I feel like i've now lost my membership card lol.

I guess i'll just have to put this series to one side and reread at a later date and see how i go.

I'd love to know what other people thought of this series? and if you liked/loved it, what was it about it that appealed?

or if there are other works by Ursula Le Guin which i might redeem myself with? lol.

Apologies

Sorry about the slight inactivity of this blog (mainly due to myself) - Real life has taken over, but am at least reading (slowly) one of my basics books (hope to have a review of it soon).

My Fantasy Basics List

Ok So here is my fantasy basic list - a combination of recomendations and the 'best of' lists. Most of these are part of a series - (which i'll also read). Some of those listed i've read before when i was much younger so i plan to reread them.

SF and historical fiction list to come soon (I'm a masochist i know)

1. The Swan's War, Sean Russell
2. Elantris, Brandon Sanderson
3. Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
4. Earthsea Series, Ursula Le Guin
5. Wheel of Time Series, Robert Jordan
6. A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
7. Acacia, David Durhams
8. The Briar King, Greg Keyes
9. The Darkness that comes before, R. Scott Bakers
10. Shadowmarch, Tad Williams
11. The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Steven Erickson
12. The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
13. The Farseer Trilogy, Robin Hobbs
14. Tigana, Guy Gaveriel Kay
15. The Summer Tress, "
16. The first Law Trilogy, Joe Abercrombie
17. The Sun Sword, Michelle West
18. The Death Gate Cycle, Tracy Hickman & Margaret Weiss
19. Magician, Raymond E. Feist
20. Codex Alera, Jim Butcher
21. The Runelords, Dave Farlands
22. The Way of Shadows, Brent Weeks
23. Mythago Wood, Robert Holdstock
24. American Gods, Neil Gaimen
25. The Stolen Child, Keith Donohue
26. Jonathon Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke
27. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
28. The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis
29. The Abhoreson Trilogy, Garth Nix
30. The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Jonathon Stroud
31. Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
32. Lies of Lock Lamora, Scott Lynch
33. Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R Donaldson,
    
34. The Sword of Shadows, J.V. Jones
35. Memory, Sorrow, Thorn, Tad Williams
36. The Dragon CrownWar Cycle, Micheal A. Stackpole
37. ShadowMarch, "
38. Empire Trilogy, Feist & Janny Wurts
39. The DarkTower, Stephen King
40. Dresden Files, Jim Butcher
41. Amber Chronicles, Roger Zelazny
42. The cold Fire Trilogy, C.S. Friedman
43. Riddle of Stars, Patricia A. McKillip
44. Godless World Trilogy, Brian Ruckley,
    
45. Boreal Moon Trilogy, Julia May
46. Crown of Stars Trilogy, Kate Elliot
47. Oath of Empire Saga, Thomas Harlan
48. Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson
49. Furies of Calderon, Jim Butcher
50. Liveship Traders, Robin Hobb
51. The Sevenwater Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
52. Kushiels Dart, Jacqueline Carey
53. The Lions of al Rassan, Guy G Kay
54. Archangel, Sharon Shinn
55. Exiles, Melini Rawn
56. Dragon and the phoenix, Joanne Bertin
57. Dragon Prince Trilogy, Melini Rawn
58. Rhapsody, Elizabeth Haydon
59. The Second Sons, Jennifer Fallon
60. Tales of the Otori, Lian Hearn
61. A Song for Abalion, Steven Lawhead
62. Rise of Moontide & Magic, Sean Russell
63. The Light Age, Ian McDonald
64. The Amtrack Wars, Patrick Tilley
65. Sword-Dancer, Jennifer Roberson
66. The Sword, Ring & Chalice, Deborah Chester
67. The Initiate Brother, Sean Russell
68. Talion, Revenant, Micheal A. Stackpole
69. A Curse of Chalion, Lois BuJold
70. The light ages, Ian R. MacLeod
71. Vampire Earth, EE Knight
72. Ascendents of Astoria, James Barclay
73. Black Jewel, Anne Bishop
74. God's Demon, Wayne Barlow
75. Legend, David Gemmell
76. Nation, Terry Pratchet
77. The Magicians, Lev Grossman
78. Obernewtyn Chronicles, Isobelle Carmody
79. The Disc World Series, Terry Pratchet
80. The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper
81. Incarnations of immortality, Piers Anthony
82. The Axis Ttrilogy, Sara Douglass
83. The Never ending story, Micheal Ende
84. Magic Kingdom of Landover, Terry Brooks
85. Dead Until Dark, Charlainne Harris
86. The Belgaird Series, David Eddings
87. The Sword of Truth, Terry Goodkind
88. Dracula, Bram Stoker
89. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle
90. The Princess Bride, William Goldman
91. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder
92. Shannara Trilogy, Terry Brooks
93. InkHeart, Cornelia Funke,
    
94. Interview with a Vampire, Anne Rice
95. Animal Farm, George Orwell
96. Ella Enchanted, Gail Levine
97. Life of Pi, Yann Martel
98. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
99. The last unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
100. Something wicked this way comes, Ray Bradbury
101. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Bradley
102. Chronicle of Raven, James Barclay
103. DragonRiders of Pern, Anne McCaffrey
104. The Song of the Lioness, tamora Pierce
105. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde

Complied from : 100 best fantasy book list and this excellent website The Best fantasy Books

Welcome to the Basics!

According to Brenton Tomlinson at Fantasty Fiction Factor, many SFF circles use a term called 'reinventing the wheel' to describe newbie fantasy and SF writers who labour over the creation of their worlds, only to find that its all 'been done before'.

According to SF Writers of America, 'reinventing the wheel' is where :

A novice author goes to enormous lengths to create a science-fictional situation already tiresomely familiar to the experienced reader. Reinventing the Wheel was traditionally typical of mainstream writers venturing into SF. It is now often seen in writers who lack experience in genre history because they were attracted to written SF via SF movies, SF television series, SF role-playing games, SF comics or SF computer gaming.

Like any genre you want to write in, it is essential to be vastly read in both that genre and others! Essentially you should have 'The Basics'.

So ladies and Gents, i'm starting 'The Basics' Challenge which is similar to the Fill-in-the-Gaps-Project except this will specifically refer to 'a genre'. In my case Fantasy with a dash of Science Fiction. BUT REMEMBER IT CAN BE ANY GENRE!

Here are some helpful links to get you started:

Absolute Write List of SFF basic books

Fantasy MasterWork Series

SF MasterWork Series

I'm currently going to post my progress/list etc. here soon! Email me if your interested in Joining!!

Here are some Badges to add to your blog!

185 x 150

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