Good Plots, Bad Authors: Reincarnation by Most Authors

[paigehasissues]

We all know what reincarnation is, don't we? The idea of dying and then being reborn as a new person? Good. Off the top of my head, I can name three decently popular young adult books that have reincarnation as a main element: The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller, Fallen by Lauren Kate, and Evermore by Alyson Noel. Two of those sound a little

Comments

[muse_books]

I read a book last year title 'The Reincarnationist' by M. J. Rose, which is part of a series on the subject

http://www.mjrose.com/books/reincarnationist.asp?BookVar=Synopsis

Certainly in that the past life connections are very messy. I do plan to read the others in the series. I expect part of the difference is that she is writing thrillers rather than romances and also has done research into the subject whereas I suspect for many writers it is a notion that takes their fancy.

[paigehasissues]

That sounds like a wonderful book! Next time I'm at the bookstore, I'll look for it and give it a try. Thank you for the suggestion!

I know at least one of the writers I mentioned (Kirsten Miller) did research into reincarnation due to her interviews and the content of her book. Those other two authors seemed more like the "wrote it because it took their fancy" type. They have no excuse for not doing research! If I could do extensive research into astrology as a teenager, then surely two adult women like them, neither of whom were debut authors, could do it too. It seems they were just being lazy and putting out lazy books. Lazy authors irritate me.

[in_excelsis_dea]

There was actually a TV series released last February (I think) called Past Lives. There were only a handful of episodes, but it was based on that book/series. I loved the show. Some of them were a bit creepy, but they were also very good, and yes -- romance played very little part, iirc. I wished they made more episodes -- I think I remember reading that they were planning to, but it's been almost a year and there have been no more...

[paigehasissues]

I remember hearing about that show but because I wasn't into reincarnation then, I didn't think about it. That sounds like my kind of show now! I like good shows and reincarnation and one of my goals for the year is less romance because so few do it right anymore. I will track down that show with my best research skills and watch it!

[youjik33]

Even back when I was a teenager watching "Sailor Moon" I had the same gripes. I always felt a little sorry for Darien/Mamoru, who seemed to not really even LIKE Serena/Usagi but was with her because... it was destined, I guess. It was kind of depressing.

A much better anime dealing with the reincarnation theme was "Please Save My Earth". Two of the side characters in that were lovers in their past life and then the woman is reincarnated as a boy, and it's actually kind of heartbreaking. (I really liked the anime of it more than the manga, even though it didn't tie up every loose end -- I felt like the manga OVERtied them, which was more irritating, but that's just a personal preference.)

I vaguely remember an episode of The X-Files in which Mulder remembered past lives, and Scully was always a part of them, but their roles in each others' lives varied; sometimes they were friends, sometimes lovers, sometimes siblings. The only important thing was that they were always close. Unfortunately I remember absolutely nothing else about

[paigehasissues]

Ah, Sailor Moon. I remember watching that show as a little girl. Good times! I was too young to think of it then, but thinking back to some of the episodes that stick out to me, I get that vibe too. (And when I started replying to this comment, my music player started playing a song from one of the Sailor Moon movies. That was... strange.)

Please Save my Earth and The X-Files both sound like shows with the take on reincarnation I'm looking for. Thanks for mentioning them! The X-Files sounds like it's the closest thing to what I was talking about. The red string is wrapped loosely around them, helping them find each other again as reincarnated people often do, instead of strangling them and forcing them to be together the same way every time.

[hoperomantic]

The X-Files episode is season 4 "The Field Where I Died" btw.

"After an FBI raid on a doomsday cult called the "Temple of the Seven Stars." Mulder meets Melissa, a cultist who claims to have known him in a previous life during the American Civil War. Scully believes the woman is a delusional schizophrenic but Mulder allows himself to be drawn into her fantasies." (description from TV.com)

[paigehasissues]

I wish I had been able to read further into "Fallen" to see if it got better, but I couldn't keep going after the first 100 pages. I was bored, annoyed, and ready to move on, so I did. It just wasn't my kind of book, I suppose. Daniel the love interest was what annoyed me the most: His mood swings killed me. Luce and Daniel's relationship has the big problem that I was talking about: they're a couple for no reason other than "they were together in past lives

[in_excelsis_dea]

Ann Brashares of Sisterhood of Traveling Pants fame wrote a reincarnation novel that...well, wasn't that great imo. I didn't finish it, but it wasn't bad enough to rant about here. It was just boring. It felt like every other novel in that genre, focusing on the past lives, how the characters are meant to be together. Maybe the ending was better, but I agree that the genre really needs some work. I like the scenario you suggested.

Another series that has to do with reincarnation is actually the Blue Bloods, and I think that the fabled relationship is broken up. The series has a lot of other problems, but it is nice to know that the whole reincarnation thing doesn't force relationships, to a certain point.

[paigehasissues]

I'm glad you like my scenario! Hm, an Ann Brashares reincarnation novel... Not sure what to think of that. I didn't care for her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books much. It sounds like that book had the same problem I'm talking about: how the author will focus on the romantic, easier idea instead of the idea that takes the complications of humans and love into the equation. Now if I ever run into that novel, I'll know to avoid it because it probably won't sit well with me either.

I've read the Blue Bloods series too and yep, the fabled relationship gets broken up. I remember that one clearly and that was the one of my favorite parts. Finally, a couple that realized past lives are in the past and they love different people now! The series definitely has other issues to work out, but it has good points like what you mentioned that keep me happy and reading.

[alicetheowl]

Reincarnation plays a part in the trilogy I'm writing now, and the characters specifically avoid each other because of the past life pull. Things didn't work out well before, and the LAST thing they want to do is repeat history.

They do not end up together. She ends up hating him a lot less by the time the trilogy is over, but they're all wrong for one another.

I definitely didn't write it as a reaction to the trend, though. I started putting this together a couple of years ago. As soon as I realized reincarnation played a part in the story, though, I knew my characters would rail against any sense of inevitability.

[paigehasissues]

That trilogy sounds fantastic! If you get it published and I see it around in stores or on the Internet, I'll make sure to get it. The kind of reincarnation take you're describing sounds like something I would enjoy reading and that would surely cure me of my weariness of the idea.

For the most part, I don't write in reaction to trends either. I write what I pops into my head as a good idea and that's that. I've only ever written in reaction to one trend: the one inspired by Twilight and similar books where the male is stalking/harassing the girl and she finds it romantic. I wanted to show how it wasn't romantic and that just happened to fit snugly into a story I was writing at the time, so I wrote it in.

[alicetheowl]

You'll hear my squee of joy in all corners of the internet if this thing every gets published, so I'm sure you'll bump into it.

I tend to be very oddly contrary. I really like writing the missed opportunities I see in all the books I read into my own stuff. A lot of it doesn't survive, because someone else did it better. But, for now, my weird little take on reincarnation stays.