Have you ever realized some stereotypes...

Trinity_Fire · Forum Stalker Joined: 31 Dec 1969 Posts: 1042

...In books, separated by age? I mean, is it just me, or as you go along,do books' topics just seem to narrow and narrow in topic and creativity??

In children's books, you've got your fantasy, your boxcar children-style mystery, goosebumps/scary, sci-fi; a whole taste of just about everything rather interesting. (Or not.)

In the teen/young adult section, there's the typical domination of high-school stories, ones about romance, school, friends, etc, etc, some typical fantasy and a little bit more alternative fantasy, some horror, the new burst of manga (but that doesn't really count), a little bit of supernatural and historical fiction set with teen heroines/heros, etc...

And in Adult, there seems to be thick, volumous books all focused on either romance, lawyers/crime, or business and mystery and the sort.

I dunno, I'm really not too well-versed in stuff like this, and I could be completely wrong, but does anyone else seem to notice the blandness and predictability of this stuff?
It just seems so very stereotypical and plain, is all. Rather depressing.

I'm stuck somewhere between weeding through the Young Adult section for whatever alternative fantasy or other alternative teen fics I can find or whatnot, and picking out a few random adult books that seem like they MIGHT be interesting, then deciding whether or not that author is just a bullcrap writer with a half-way decent storyline but terrible writing, or someone actually mediocre/decent. ...I find very few GOOD authors, to be honest.

I suppose I'm just a bit of a tough critic, but, eh.

Anyways, some thoughts?
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London · Moderator Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 6474

The teen section does always look the same to me.. but you're off on the adult section. There is a ton of good science fiction and fantasy authors who write books for adults.
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Trinity_Fire · Forum Stalker Joined: 31 Dec 1969 Posts: 1042

Hmm, is there? Well, I've just started browsing the Adult section, so I've yet to really find them.
SciFi still has a hope as being interesting on occasion, but if the Fantasy is just like Eragon or whatever, I'm afraid it'll be ditched. The typical stories with a hero/heroine, elves, dragons, and evil ugly orc enemies are what I mean by that. Something... alternative, please. Rolling Eyes

Well, I'll look around. Who knows.
Right now, I'm hoping to find a few more interesting historical fiction books from the section that aren't 1) crappy imaginative light fantasy combined with over-ego (yes I've actually seen this), 2) Romances or things related to the classics (they just bore me), and 3) other dull topics related to economics, politics, business, etc...

I'm looking for pretty old Historical Fiction, in other words. Roman times, ancient civilizations, the like.

Anyway, that's straying from the topic. I'll see what I can find.

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waywardmortal · Newb Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 5

silly rabbit, creativity is dead!

but if you're looking for some good Roman-y fiction, I'd suggest Gene Wolf's "Latro in the Mist" and "Soldier of Arete." "The Persian Boy" is great too, but has some strong homosexual themes (it's about Alexander the Great, go figure) so it may not be your thing. Of course, there's always the Oddessy if you want to be really hard core. I wouldn't recommend the Iliad, though, it's pretty boring.

If you're not too turned from fantasy, Terry Pratchett has some amazing books in his Discworld series. It's really a huge spoof on classic fantasy stuff and it's hilarious; far better than any Monty Python sketch. He's also a fantastic writer: original plots, great characters, and just the best books ever!

Trinity_Fire · Forum Stalker Joined: 31 Dec 1969 Posts: 1042

[quote="waywardmortal"]but if you're looking for some good Roman-y fiction, I'd suggest Gene Wolf's "Latro in the Mist" and "Soldier of Arete." "The Persian Boy" is great too, but has some strong homosexual themes (it's about Alexander the Great, go figure) so it may not be your thing. Of course, there's always the Oddessy if you want to be really hard core. I wouldn't recommend the Iliad, though, it's pretty boring. [/quote]
Heh, I already have 'the persian boy' and I'm currently trying to buy the other two books in the series. I really like Mary Renault. :3

I might get around to looking into those other titles; it's so hard to find some decent historical fiction these days... Rolling Eyes

Thanks.
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fallenangel · Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 4:27 am Post subject:

Ray Bradbury
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