Kudos to Courageous School Librarians

Graphic novels are all too often frowned upon by school librarians and it is highly commendable that Joan and Alison of Loreto High School supported and encouraged one of their students in her reading passion. Blanaid wrote and presented a fantastic piece on the drawn word which you can read here: Graphic Storytelling from Around the World by Blanaid NiBhraonain

Steampunk

Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy set in a steam-powered world, often inspired by Victorian Britain or the Wild West. Frequently these stories present an alternative history of the United Kingdom and the plot is regularly based on a crime. At times it incorporates elements from other genres - fantasy, horror, historical fiction, alternate history, or other branches of speculative fiction - making Steampunk a hybrid genre.

The best known modern example is Philip Pullman's Golden Compass trilogy. Here, the plot centres on an alternative Oxford where many modern contraptions have steam-powered equivalents. Other authors such as Gail Carriger bring romantic elements to the fore, delivering quirky crime/romance tales with fantastical costumes.

This genre also contains some classic authors such as H.G. Wells and Jules Verne; my favourite Steampunk novel is The War of the Worlds (1898) by the former. In this famous novel, Martians invade our world and prey on humans, doing to us as we have done to our environment. They manipulate their surroundings to create landscapes of productivity to the detriment of the earth (last week we passed a landmark event in atmospheric science as CO2 levels reached their highest since humans have existed on Earth). The story is terrifying, so much so that a 1938 radio adaptation of the novel, read by Orson Welles, provoked mass fear in the US and Canada. One of the strongest messages I took from the book was to imagine what would happen should humans change from being hunters to becoming the hunted. Aside from this revelation, what attracts me to the book is the excitement and zest for knowledge, and the inclusion of scientific discoveries of the time which, despite the fact that several of his ideas have been disproved, still engage the imagination. ~ @emcnicho

Benediction

In a word? Intimate. Also, heartbreaking. Which sounds like a cliche, sorry, but it really is - once I was reading it in a public place and had to just close the book and look away I was that close to tears. Why should you read a book that might make you cry? Maybe you shouldn't, this isn't a book for everyone. Here, there are no car chases or explosions, no macho heroes or damsels in distress, the dramas that unfold are not meant to shock or provoke. There is beauty though, and elegant prose. Haruf is a painter, slowly filling in the details of each picture that gives form to the chapters. With a single sentence, he has the ability to wash your understanding of a character's disposition a completely different hue. Towards the end... no spoilers but yes, it's hard; unsentimentally rendered with love and tender devotion shining through.

Paranormal Romance

Paranormal Romance (PR) is one of the fastest growing Sci-Fi/Fantasy sub-genres, the proliferation of which can be partially accredited to the increased use of ereaders. PR is a blend of romance and fantasy, and it would not be unusual for the plot to revolve around a crime. Some confusion exists as to whether some novels are PR or UF (Urban Fantasy) - I differentiate on the basis of the love story: whether there is a new protagonist in each book or if the same pairing continues and develops over a series of books. The genre has evolved from several places with roots that can be traced back to the Gothic novels of the Romantic period. Popularised in the late 20th century by authors such as Anne Rice or Laurel K. Hamilton (although I doubt either would thank me for the comparison), well known contemporary authors include J.R. Ward and Christine Feehan. The majority of the early books in this genre focused on vampires however of late PR writers have branched out into other preternatural species such as: Werewolves or Werecreatures (Lora Leigh, Shelly Laurenston, Nalini Singh), Angels (Nalini Singh, Susan Ee), Gargoyles (C.E. Murphy), Demons (Larissa Ione), Chimeras (Marjorie Liu), Witches (Kelley Armstrong, Lilith Saintcrow), and Dragons (Gena Showalter, G.A. Aiken, Thea Harrison).

These books are almost entirely written by women for a female readership. Hence, the role that women play in these books and their relationships to their male counterparts is rather interesting. It would be an over-generalization to say that all the characters are weak as many do have fighting skills. For instance J.R. Wards’ Xhex in Lover Mine is a ‘warrior’ - her role as a fighter causes issues for her partner that must be overcome. Likewise, in Nalini Singh’s Branded by Mercy, the woman is the more dominant within the pack structure. In this instance her alpha position is temporal as her partner (a younger man) has not yet grown to his full strength. These two examples are rather unusual however; female leads can tend towards whinging, the ‘why is everything bad happening to me?’ attitude*. There is often an emphasis on the fragility of women, especially when compared to the supernatural creatures, though this is not necessarily a negative thing. For example, the character of Talin in Nailini Singh’s Mine to Possess was a rape victim and works through some of her issues as the story develops. Lastly, a third positive element from this genre comes courtesy of Laurel K. Hamilton - her central character Anita Blake in at least one instance stops an orgy to ensure all the men involved are wearing protection. In one of her blog posts, LKH shares how she has received letters from fans saying how this story empowered them to ensure protection was worn during sexual exploits.

However, it has been my experience that these examples are the exception rather than the rule. Too many of the female leads suffer from Cinderella Syndrome: they live out their lives waiting to be rescued. The fragility of women within the novels often times is both their strength and the key in freeing the supernatural males from their restrictions, thus the woman holds the ultimate power in the relationship (Christine Feehan’s Dark series has this particular trait). Regardless of its faults, Paranormal Romance serves its purpose in that it sweeps the reader away from reality, and don't we all need a little fantastical escapism? ~ @emcnicho


*Better not to walk down that dark alley, Bella Swan.


Further reading:
Growth of paranormal romance
LKH empowers
Talin Mac Kade
Mercy
Xhex
Christine Feehan

Dystopian Fantasy

Dystopian novels explore worlds that are the antithesis of Utopia. This subgenre can come under the heading of Sci-fi or Fantasy. Central themes include the dissolution of society and, in many cases, privacy. The books I focus my remarks on for this post are: The Death of Grass, 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. As with the majority of books in this genre, these three are set in the near future. They were written in the early/mid 20th century and many of the imagined technologies have already been assimilated into our 21st century society.

The concept of 'Big Brother' (as per the television series), originated in Orwell's 1984. It could be argued that within the novel, 'Big Brother' is portrayed as an oppressive force on life, where one's choice is removed and love discouraged. Within our society however, it would appear that we have embraced 'Big Brother' and freely offer information on ourselves and our lives. Social media such as twitter and facebook ask questions like "What’s on your mind?" or "What are you doing?", an invitation to disclose highly personal information. During its heyday, the Big Brother television series was such a hit that people queued for hours to expose intimate aspects of themselves over the course of the show. A recent episode of the BBC’s Come Dine With Me, in which several Big Brother winners participated, contained a poignant moment where many of the contestants admitted how difficult it had been to find a partner since appearing on the show.

In Fahrenheit 451, many of the concepts imagined by Ray Bradbury have become a reality. As I sit here typing this blog, I become conscious of my 'headphones' or 'earbuds' playing music and the irony of the situation is not lost on me. Another element of the novel, bombardment of advertising in practically every aspect of life also holds true, although the advertisements are largely visual rather than aural. Interacting with screens - videogames - has become the norm, the image from the blog stumbleupon shows how we now operate in our parlours*. One of the sadder prophetic aspects of the novel is the rise in suicide, death and the destruction of the environment which accompanies the increased separation from familial groupings.

Lastly, The Death of Grass by John Christopher explores the psyche of a group of people following the widespread destruction of food sources as a virus moves worldwide. It is based in Britain, where the solution is to bomb the cities and kill most of the population off so that the country survives. This understated novel explores how the societal norms dissolve rapidly in the face of murder, rape and robbery.

This is a genre I enjoy as authors get to ‘play’ and explore ideas of what would happen if the delicately balanced world in which we live were to tumble and dissolve. How many of us could cope with a self sustaining lifestyle? ~ @emcnicho

*for a well informed and easy to read discussion on parlours, see Home by Witold Rybczyski

Urban Fantasy

A blend between Crime and Fantasy, this is one of the fastest growing genres in recent years. Most of the tales take place in post-apocalyptic cities where magic has come back into the world and a 'mundane' is drawn into the world by accident. Frequently, these mundane people are the offspring of mythological creatures where the magic in their blood has emerged (see Sookie Stackhouse series). There are numerous children's books within this genre - Rick Riordan's 'Percy Jackson' series or Michael Scott's 'The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel' series - however, this post will focus on the grown-up's literature.

This genre is often confused with Paranormal Romance as usually (but not always) there is a love story. There are several factors that decide which is which for me but largely is comes down to whether the main protagonists' romance is completely resolved in one book and there are new lead characters in each book of the series, or if there is one main character who slogs it out with the same man or woman though all of the books. The most well known authors in this genre include Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Karen Chance and C.E. Murphy (who lives in Ireland), and I include some crime authors like John Connolly and Dean Koontz.

My favourite Urban Fantasy author, without contest, is Ilona Andrews. A husband and wife writing team, the characters are balanced and have depth, and rather than repeating the same things over and over for the sake of the plot (no dark alleys here) there is growth and development. The mythology includes Russian and Indian, and as such marks it out from the usual vampire/werewolf (although my reading lately has all been demon/angel material - I've just finished Cassandra Clare's 'The Mortal Instruments' series).

Some early purveyors of this genre include Laurell K. Hamilton and her 'Anita Blake' series up to approximately the 9th book (her later books fall into the category of erotica and horror and tend to be very preachy). I am about to start into Jim Butcher - having read some of his short stories I look forward to the full length novels. ~ @emcnicho

Fantasy

The genre of fantasy concerns itself with mythological beings and magical powers. The worlds in which these stories take place are usually Medieval, a time in our history where magic still haunted the peoples of Europe. I have found that this time is best explored in the dark and sinister novel The Owl Killers by Sara Maitland.

The wiki article writes that Fantasy is the oldest form of storytelling and quotes The Epic of Gilgamesh as the oldest tale form of fantasy. It is a wonderful tale, written in poem form, however rather than being a story to amuse, it was the record of the history of a people. True Fantasy, as we understand it from our cultural viewpoint, can only be written after the arrival of a sterner form of Christianity in the 17th century and the beginning of the Modern Period. One of the best known from this time is the 16th century epic poem penned by Spenser who, according to C.S. Lewis, wrote bad poetry because he was a bad man[i]. This was a poem penned to change the hearts of ordinary people so that the ‘Irish problem’ could be taken care of.

From the early 20th century, a new form of Fantasy stemmed from the work of Tolkien and Lewis, whose tales contain the most depth and understanding of anyone I have read. I have yet to discover an author who can rival their level of comprehension of the laws of the sidhe and Celtic divinities as recorded by the 12th and 13th century monks. The Hobbit is the book that began my love affair with mythology, carried on by the likes of Robin Hobb’s Liveship Trilogy and more recently The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman. ~ @emcnicho

[i] Lewis, C.S.(1959) An Allegory of Love – a Study in Medieval Tradition , First edition, Oxford University Press,:357