a reader poll

[mizkit]

This is a general post, but specifically aimed at people who don’t necessarily read fantasy books as a first choice (I know, I know, in my friends, that’s a self-selecting group, but bear with me):

My publishers are looking for what we’ll call “mainstream fantasy”, or books that will appeal to the occasional, rather than the regular, fantasy

Comments

[la_marquise_de_]

My mother might fit this bill: she liked Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell, The Time Traveller's Wife, White is for Witching, and swan_tower's Midnight Never Come, all of which are set in the real world, sort of. She also really liked Dune, though, so isn't against secondary world stuff.

[mizkit]

oh, JS&MN and TTTW are probably *extremely* good adult examples of what they're thinking of, particularly TTTW. (Which I loathed, but nevermind; zillions of people loved it. :)) Thank you, that's helpful!

[pers1stence]

TTTW is what sprang to my mind immediately also, as something my book club liked and read.

Another one MIGHT be The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, which is somewhat the retelling of Hamlet, but requires the fantastical leap of a dogs having enough understanding to help reenact a play to catch the conscience of a king, among other borderline elements.

Zombies seem to be accessible to a broader audience in diluted form, a la Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (which my book club read a couple years ago when I was the youngest by a long shot, and not much into sci fi/fantasy, although we unanimously hated it and watched Shaun of the Dead instead of having a discussion about PPZ).

Life of Pi, perhaps? lots of fantastical elements thrown in, which may or may not have been allegory.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro was sci fi that went down well with my book club, without being labelled as such.

[pers1stence]

The above list came out of thinking about my book club reading list, since the group for a very long was generally MUCH older than I, and very much not sci fi/fantasy inclined.

More recently, the group has gotten a little younger and slightly more inclined to f/sf, although not much. But they're good sports when I inflict things on them outside their comfort zone (graphic novels! classic but surrealist Russian lit! sci fi!)

[taldragon]

not exactly what you've asked but...
i _am_ a regular fantasy reader, but my book group (3 other women) are not. however, they all seemed to enjoy Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London.

i might also recommend Kate Griffin's Midnight Mayor series because they're just silly (fab books that i *devour*. but very silly).

when introducing fantasy books to non-fantasy readers, i'd go for books about ordinary people in recognisable places (ie London), that have that overlay of a hidden world that is _not_ ordinary at all. also books that dont rely too much on sf/f tropes or in-jokes - straight-forward is good.

er. i ramble. but i hope this helps?

[deborahblakehps]

I read fantasy as well as many other genres, but I always like a book (whether it is a fantasy, a mystery, Woman's fiction) that has a strong romantic story. And I'm a sucker for a happy ending. Don't know if that helps or not. Also, strong characters trump everything.

[anghara]

Which publisher would that be?

[mizkit]

Harlequin, which is shutting down Luna, its pure fantasy line, and is more or less trying to fit the remaining fantasy novelists into a slot they can understand. :)

[deborahblakehps]

They're shutting down Luna?! Argh! Half the books I read come from that line. Bother.

[mizkit]

The authors who are still writing for Luna will be folded into either Mira or HQN, it seems. The last Walker Papers will be out under Mira. :)

[shanrina]

I am a regular fantasy reader, but The Magicians and The Magician King (which I also loved) by Lev Grossman seem to have found mainstream success. One thing that might have helped them is the way that they are in some ways an homage to the Narnia books, which many people (including non-fantasy writers) read and loved as children. I don't really know how one could replicate that, but the nostalgia hit probably didn't hurt for many. I would have loved them anyway, but the nostalgia was a bonus.