Absolutely! I liked the minimalist approach to "Never let me go" but the twist didn't caught me by surprise either.
I was thinking a lot about it these days, while reading the book. Compared with the latest sci fi I've read (those about the silo, and those about the ship that has its consciousness spread across multiple individuals- Ann Leckie's) this one is far better written, worded, structured, rounded; the themes are deeper, universal, presented and dealt with quite masterfully. But that can also be the difference between a talented, sixty-something writer, and two newbies.
As fantasy nd/or sci-fi, I'm with you, neither "never let me go" nor this one can hold a candle. As Le Guin puts it in her rebuke "No writer can successfully use the ‘surface elements’ of a literary genre - far less its profound capacities - for a serious purpose, while despising it to the point of fearing identification with it"
She's right. The yarn is there, but the the tapestry is not as tight as it should be. Fantasy requires more than dragons and legends. And readers and writers who love and respect that, do deserve respect in return.
We have cover art for my book and I'm on the schedule for May publication, but that's it so far.
I've mentioned that I've been reading at open mic night at the local art center. Each time, there's also an invited writer. This last time, the writer was an assistant professor at the local university who wrote both literary stuff and fantasy. Someone asked her about crossing that boundary and she said she likes both, but sometimes she wonders why the sentences in genre fiction are "so crappy." To which I say, shut up. But I, for one, would like to include those deeper themes and characterization. That's my day dream.
I was thinking a lot about it these days, while reading the book. Compared with the latest sci fi I've read (those about the silo, and those about the ship that has its consciousness spread across multiple individuals- Ann Leckie's) this one is far better written, worded, structured, rounded; the themes are deeper, universal, presented and dealt with quite masterfully. But that can also be the difference between a talented, sixty-something writer, and two newbies.
As fantasy nd/or sci-fi, I'm with you, neither "never let me go" nor this one can hold a candle. As Le Guin puts it in her rebuke "No writer can successfully use the ‘surface elements’ of a literary genre - far less its profound capacities - for a serious purpose, while despising it to the point of fearing identification with it"
She's right. The yarn is there, but the the tapestry is not as tight as it should be. Fantasy requires more than dragons and legends. And readers and writers who love and respect that, do deserve respect in return.
Did you hear anything else from your editor?
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I've mentioned that I've been reading at open mic night at the local art center. Each time, there's also an invited writer. This last time, the writer was an assistant professor at the local university who wrote both literary stuff and fantasy. Someone asked her about crossing that boundary and she said she likes both, but sometimes she wonders why the sentences in genre fiction are "so crappy." To which I say, shut up. But I, for one, would like to include those deeper themes and characterization. That's my day dream.
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