Reality vs Realism
When I'm reading a novel, I'm not looking for reality. If I wanted straight reality, I'd read non-fiction. I like books with fantastical creatures and larger-than-life characters and places that have never existed. I like to feel that anything is possible, including things we just don't deal with in our regular lives. However if I'm going to believe there's a coven of vampires living downtown, the rest of the book has to be pretty well grounded and at least strike me as plausible, because once I start asking questions it's hard to stop and enjoy where the book is trying to take me. It's an odd balance to achieve, incorporating realism without reality, making characters and setting read as true even when they're at their most fantastical.
It's funny, because people often question this. "Wait, you can believe in a crew of undead pirates, but you question the functionality of Jack Sparrow's gun after it's been in the water?" Well, yes. Yes, I do. Willful suspension of disbelief only goes so far, and I prefer to keep it to the more important elements of the story. If I'm getting distracted by details that just don't ring true, it's taking me out of the world presented to me, and that's really not what anyone's looking for.
So do share! What stories lacked enough realism to make you accept it as an alternate reality?
It's funny, because people often question this. "Wait, you can believe in a crew of undead pirates, but you question the functionality of Jack Sparrow's gun after it's been in the water?" Well, yes. Yes, I do. Willful suspension of disbelief only goes so far, and I prefer to keep it to the more important elements of the story. If I'm getting distracted by details that just don't ring true, it's taking me out of the world presented to me, and that's really not what anyone's looking for.
So do share! What stories lacked enough realism to make you accept it as an alternate reality?