WHICH WAS AWESOME.
Bulgakov is an excellent example of just that.
Similarily, when reality is simply too overwhelming to be written about. Like in Tolkien.
How so in Tolkien's case?
Bulgakov is an excellent example of just that.
Similarily, when reality is simply too overwhelming to be written about. Like in Tolkien.
How so in Tolkien's case?
I was primarily thinking of the early fantasy writing as a reaction to the overwhelming experience of the first world war. Walter Benjamin wrote that after the war experience was no longer communicable, only information; and I suspect he was on to something. Avant-garde in the form of Modernism responded in one way; I think it makes sense to see Tolkien, for example, as a opposite but related response.
*MySmiley*
structured procrastinator
structured procrastinator
In Support of Other Fiction
- 01/12/2009 09:06:14 PM
2367 Views
- 01/12/2009 09:22:56 PM
1415 Views
- 01/12/2009 09:22:56 PM
1415 Views
Re:
- 01/12/2009 09:28:04 PM
1408 Views
- 01/12/2009 09:28:04 PM
1408 Views
you shouldn't feel the need to defend a non SF/F suggestion, just don't
- 03/12/2009 03:34:28 PM
1404 Views
Well, let me offer a diverging view on the topic of speculative fiction.
- 01/12/2009 09:46:35 PM
1342 Views
I would counter that the stripping away removes a level of reality.
- 01/12/2009 10:05:28 PM
1427 Views
That's a Slippery Slope Because You Could Argue On the Same Basis That All Fiction Does That.
- 01/12/2009 11:34:34 PM
1482 Views
I don't see the slippery slope, but rather, a confirmation of my original point.
- 02/12/2009 01:41:24 AM
1398 Views
perhaps some university will do a study
- 03/12/2009 03:55:54 PM
1393 Views
I'd like to see it
- 03/12/2009 09:15:12 PM
1418 Views
I Think I'll Post a Thread on This.
- 03/12/2009 06:47:05 PM
1357 Views
I'd like to see it.
- 03/12/2009 09:23:07 PM
1434 Views
Regarding depth in Jordan
- 03/12/2009 09:31:19 PM
1386 Views
I was thinking about that too
- 03/12/2009 10:05:40 PM
1379 Views
Re: I was thinking about that too
- 03/12/2009 10:09:26 PM
1454 Views
Destroying the Wheel is meaningless.
- 03/12/2009 10:18:08 PM
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Re: Destroying the Wheel is meaningless.
- 03/12/2009 10:30:15 PM
1394 Views
It would. Destroying the Wheel would likely make him a Buddhist.
- 03/12/2009 10:51:17 PM
1344 Views
I Totally Missed That.
- 04/12/2009 10:45:56 PM
1480 Views
- 04/12/2009 10:45:56 PM
1480 Views
Re: I Totally Missed That.
- 04/12/2009 10:47:59 PM
1418 Views
- 04/12/2009 10:47:59 PM
1418 Views
I Don't Believe It Cursory, But Comparative.
- 04/12/2009 11:29:36 PM
1539 Views
Re: Well, let me offer a diverging view on the topic of speculative fiction.
- 02/12/2009 12:28:30 AM
1381 Views
I find Michel Houellebecq to be one of the most intriguing writers of our time
- 01/12/2009 11:14:05 PM
1471 Views
wait! there's somebody "dirtier" than Piers Anthony or Philip Jose Farmer???
- 03/12/2009 04:00:28 PM
1435 Views
Nice post.
- 02/12/2009 12:03:09 AM
1471 Views
I guess I'll break my silence after almost a month and a half...
- 02/12/2009 12:23:07 AM
1486 Views
- 02/12/2009 12:23:07 AM
1486 Views
Popcorn?
- 02/12/2009 12:31:44 AM
1423 Views
I'm glad I could drive you from your Carthusian retreat, Larry
- 02/12/2009 01:58:49 AM
1410 Views
- 02/12/2009 01:58:49 AM
1410 Views
It won't last for long - have too many things still to deal with in my life
- 02/12/2009 02:36:15 AM
1431 Views
- 02/12/2009 02:36:15 AM
1431 Views
That's too bad. I'll have to learn monasterial sign language to continue a dialogue.
- 02/12/2009 03:49:01 AM
1351 Views
I concur
- 02/12/2009 12:27:13 AM
1357 Views
I like your framing of the issue (and Shannara is the Taco Bell of writing).
- 02/12/2009 02:03:51 AM
1429 Views
Am i the only one who reads books for fun?
- 02/12/2009 12:33:52 AM
1456 Views
I certainly didn't read The Lost Symbol for ANY cultural, intellectual or edifying reason.
- 02/12/2009 02:05:45 AM
1379 Views
Of course not. Personally, I don't touch anything other than mind candy when I'm in school,
- 02/12/2009 03:29:23 AM
1380 Views
one of the things that is important to me in books/shows
- 03/12/2009 05:20:29 PM
1290 Views
WoT has decent characterization, though a little overwrought. Harrington... not so much.
- 04/12/2009 04:26:43 AM
1555 Views
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a science fiction/fantasy movie.
- 02/12/2009 12:54:08 AM
1434 Views
Reading only speculative literature is limiting and monotonous.
- 02/12/2009 02:09:42 AM
1457 Views
I was going to say exactly that about "real" literature: monotonous and limiting.
- 02/12/2009 01:57:49 PM
1405 Views
I would not disagree with you if you said that.
- 02/12/2009 02:27:08 PM
1309 Views
Most non-speculative fiction is fluff as well though.
- 03/12/2009 05:38:32 PM
1287 Views
Which brings us back to my point.
- 03/12/2009 08:04:24 PM
1409 Views
I would like to see the study and statistics that produced this answer.
- 04/12/2009 05:24:02 PM
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Re: I would like to see the study and statistics that produced this answer.
- 04/12/2009 10:42:33 PM
1338 Views
Actually, it is a film that does not fit neatly into one category
- 02/12/2009 11:16:20 AM
1414 Views
Science Fiction is the most PERTINANT form of fiction in the world today
- 02/12/2009 12:57:19 AM
1415 Views
"Pertinent", not "Pertinant". If it weren't in all caps I'd have ignored it this time.
- 02/12/2009 02:13:36 AM
1410 Views
SF&F and 'real literature' are not mutually exclusive
- 02/12/2009 01:19:05 AM
1376 Views
So why don't we occasionally focus on "real" books that are technically spec fiction?
- 02/12/2009 01:25:04 AM
1319 Views
Why must we limit our focus in that way?
- 02/12/2009 02:20:11 AM
1333 Views
I don't see it as limiting or forcing.
- 02/12/2009 03:16:07 AM
1343 Views
"Elite club" or "elitist clique"?
- 02/12/2009 03:52:11 AM
1311 Views
- 02/12/2009 03:52:11 AM
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Elite club is how we midwestern rednecks refer to Elitist Clique. *chews on a piece of hay*
- 02/12/2009 02:52:01 PM
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I was born in the Midwest.
- 02/12/2009 03:01:36 PM
1361 Views
I know.
- 02/12/2009 03:12:05 PM
1337 Views
...!
- 02/12/2009 03:17:57 PM
1302 Views
Admit it. You know what I'm talking about.
- 02/12/2009 03:29:31 PM
1366 Views
Re: Admit it. You know what I'm talking about.
- 02/12/2009 03:31:26 PM
1310 Views
Huh! I really didn't think of you as being a masochist.
- 02/12/2009 01:51:55 AM
1343 Views
Read what you like to read.
- 02/12/2009 04:18:53 AM
1464 Views
I'll super size you. Fine. *NM*
- 02/12/2009 04:32:58 AM
665 Views
Oh noes! I'm getting word-fat!
- 02/12/2009 04:59:05 AM
1353 Views
I seem to have struck a nerve.
- 02/12/2009 05:20:27 AM
1363 Views
Apparently not the nerve you think, though.
- 02/12/2009 06:42:02 AM
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Intellectual achievement isn't a static measure.
- 02/12/2009 02:13:10 PM
1391 Views
Re: Intellectual achievement isn't a static measure.
- 02/12/2009 09:40:28 PM
1439 Views
I really did get under your skin
- 02/12/2009 09:58:18 PM
1282 Views
Tom as much as you raise some great points, you are being a condescending ass.
- 03/12/2009 04:26:27 AM
1349 Views
You're entitled to your opinion. I don't care.
- 03/12/2009 04:51:18 AM
1320 Views
I keep replying. It's like a sickness.
- 03/12/2009 05:15:28 AM
1333 Views
Hm.
- 02/12/2009 06:58:56 AM
1953 Views
Re-read my exact point.
- 02/12/2009 02:18:20 PM
1289 Views
No. Some kind of reading is indeed essential.
- 02/12/2009 02:28:22 PM
1427 Views
There may have been an assumption about literature due to the reason for the post.
- 02/12/2009 02:37:47 PM
1366 Views
Somehow I get the feeling that this post hasn't caused quite as much controversy
- 02/12/2009 06:53:18 AM
1461 Views
As I see it...
- 02/12/2009 11:38:07 AM
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Yep.
- 02/12/2009 02:18:22 PM
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Re: Yep.
- 02/12/2009 03:35:38 PM
1348 Views
Euripides was poorly received, initially.
- 02/12/2009 03:57:58 PM
1265 Views
I wasn't looking to generate controversy
- 02/12/2009 02:19:13 PM
1474 Views
Well... then I'm going to have to agree with Craig a bit.
- 02/12/2009 02:32:59 PM
1454 Views
Well, I was being somewhat denigrating. "Unnecessarily" or not is a matter of debate.
- 02/12/2009 02:40:29 PM
1285 Views
Well, it's only "unnecessary" if you don't want people to be turned off of your message immediately. *NM*
- 02/12/2009 09:42:46 PM
645 Views
Judging from the responses, most people weren't turned off immediately.
- 02/12/2009 09:59:35 PM
1271 Views
All reading of fiction is a diversion by the very nature of the activity.
- 02/12/2009 03:43:05 PM
1333 Views
Diversion from direct action, yes. Diversion from reality, no.
- 02/12/2009 04:15:48 PM
1294 Views
I maintain that all acts of reading fiction are a diversion from reality/ the realistic
- 02/12/2009 05:43:16 PM
1323 Views
It seems a regressive argument to me.
- 03/12/2009 01:18:02 AM
1269 Views
You're playing a game.
- 03/12/2009 03:40:14 PM
1364 Views
I fundamentally agree with much of what you're saying, but there is a distinction.
- 03/12/2009 06:44:02 PM
1361 Views
Spec fic is perhaps at it's best in autocracies?
- 02/12/2009 04:10:56 PM
1249 Views
Bulgakov
- 02/12/2009 04:25:17 PM
1364 Views
I've only read the first chapter of M&M.
- 02/12/2009 04:36:09 PM
1325 Views
Re: I've only read the first chapter of M&M.
- 02/12/2009 04:40:16 PM
1236 Views
Not the greatest Tolkien scholar, me.
- 02/12/2009 05:17:31 PM
1309 Views
Re: Not the greatest Tolkien scholar, me.
- 02/12/2009 05:40:16 PM
1338 Views
I suppose.
- 02/12/2009 06:26:30 PM
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Re: I suppose.
- 02/12/2009 07:25:26 PM
1345 Views
This was something I was exploring earlier.
- 02/12/2009 04:34:41 PM
1392 Views
Funny thing about the hivemind antagonist.
- 02/12/2009 05:13:30 PM
1317 Views
I didn't see the zombies reading speculative fiction
- 02/12/2009 05:30:26 PM
1425 Views
- 02/12/2009 05:30:26 PM
1425 Views
Oh, they prefer Clive Cussler.
- 02/12/2009 06:23:42 PM
1392 Views
There's an interesting book in Russian that might be translated somewhere.
- 02/12/2009 10:02:48 PM
1397 Views
i think it comes more down to quality than genre.
- 02/12/2009 04:55:20 PM
1360 Views
I disagree with the ultimate conclusion but agree with many of your points.
- 02/12/2009 05:43:04 PM
1323 Views
the illiad is a classic
- 02/12/2009 06:35:24 PM
1340 Views
There's only one "L" in Iliad
- 02/12/2009 08:18:38 PM
1316 Views
It took me a few minutes to agree
- 02/12/2009 07:04:59 PM
1323 Views
Well, I'm glad if you got something out of the post!
- 02/12/2009 09:13:26 PM
1325 Views
- 02/12/2009 09:13:26 PM
1325 Views
Many people have mentioned that there's quite a bit of good sff lit out there and you seem to agree.
- 02/12/2009 07:33:42 PM
1428 Views
The website is called "Read and Find Out". It doesn't specify what we're supposed to read.
- 02/12/2009 08:42:19 PM
1400 Views
- 02/12/2009 08:42:19 PM
1400 Views
Anti the idea ? I see no evidence for this.
- 02/12/2009 09:50:37 PM
1351 Views
Heh
- 02/12/2009 09:56:30 PM
1347 Views
I have a few objections.
- 03/12/2009 12:24:43 AM
1364 Views
where else should we talk about it?
- 03/12/2009 12:37:26 AM
1352 Views
There's a difference between having threads about it and focusing the official book club on it.
- 03/12/2009 12:40:53 AM
1414 Views
This is the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Board for site optimization purposes.
- 03/12/2009 01:07:39 AM
14334 Views
random thoughts stole my subject line
- 03/12/2009 01:56:07 AM
1388 Views
I think I could agree with a "comfort food" analogy
- 03/12/2009 02:12:01 AM
1373 Views
That's it
- 03/12/2009 04:02:28 AM
1472 Views
- 03/12/2009 04:02:28 AM
1472 Views
Question: is it really science fiction without one of the following:
- 03/12/2009 05:13:21 AM
1345 Views
technically speaking, fantasy is classed as a sub heading under science fiction. *NM*
- 03/12/2009 02:51:12 PM
574 Views
Yes, it is but actually...
- 03/12/2009 09:31:44 PM
1341 Views
But Dan Brown rocks da house!!!
*NM*
- 03/12/2009 02:16:47 AM
676 Views
*NM*
- 03/12/2009 02:16:47 AM
676 Views
another thing wrong with your argument
- 03/12/2009 03:30:19 PM
1374 Views
Absolutely not. And, as I said before, there's only one "L" in Iliad.
- 03/12/2009 06:53:35 PM
1159 Views
sorry about my atrocious spelling
(including the one on pertinent)
- 03/12/2009 07:14:59 PM
1446 Views
(including the one on pertinent)
- 03/12/2009 07:14:59 PM
1446 Views
is it just me, or is this now the largest post/thread yet on RAFO.com??? 168 replies so far! *NM*
- 03/12/2009 05:03:25 PM
618 Views
Congratulations on the replies count
- 03/12/2009 09:30:41 PM
1444 Views
That was a well-thought out response, but I still disagree.
- 03/12/2009 10:50:29 PM
1370 Views
Re: That was a well-thought out response, but I still disagree.
- 04/12/2009 07:44:56 PM
1414 Views
But the objective truth of a setting can be measured.
- 04/12/2009 10:37:10 PM
1312 Views
But does it make any difference in the objective value of the book?
- 06/12/2009 09:35:59 AM
1467 Views
Re: That was a well-thought out response, but I still disagree.
- 04/12/2009 10:25:08 PM
1350 Views
Re: That was a well-thought out response, but I still disagree.
- 06/12/2009 09:36:11 AM
1343 Views
I've obviously missed the show here...
- 04/12/2009 12:14:30 AM
1293 Views
I'm not sure that's right. This thing just keeps growing.
- 04/12/2009 12:46:24 AM
1416 Views
What, your penis?
- 06/12/2009 02:40:09 AM
1351 Views
Don't you know it!
- 06/12/2009 03:28:16 PM
1215 Views
- 06/12/2009 03:28:16 PM
1215 Views
You talk the talk, that's for sure.
- 07/12/2009 08:14:41 PM
1363 Views
- 07/12/2009 08:14:41 PM
1363 Views
Metaphor versus literalism
- 04/12/2009 05:42:03 PM
1376 Views
Metaphor divorced from the reality runs risks, however.
- 04/12/2009 10:25:47 PM
1288 Views
Honestly, the moral can always be dismissed as inapplicable if you want to dismiss it.
- 05/12/2009 12:16:39 AM
1297 Views
While that's true, it's much harder to just dismiss Mockingbird.
- 05/12/2009 03:57:42 AM
1285 Views
Then why read fiction at all? It's all a diversion.
- 05/12/2009 04:16:06 PM
1297 Views
I think people should read non-fiction, and The Nine Hundred Days is an excellent book.
- 05/12/2009 04:41:50 PM
1348 Views
aha. but.
- 07/12/2009 03:56:48 PM
1521 Views
