I don't know if specifically that, but I've had horrible trouble finding characters with whom I connect. And it's not like I've ever been all that picky. I'm just having trouble finding written stuff that looks like someone graduated at least from 7th grade.
Also, that trope you talk about does bother me pretty quickly. I think this is partially because I don't find the hero (read: Edward) enticing at all. Also, the "normal" girl is not normal, as you said, and that bothers me too. If you say she's normal, then keep her normal. And I get tired of people gushing over the guy being hot. Maybe that's how it is in real life, but that's not how it should be in books.
See, I don't feel like I'm picky either. But maybe that's because I have no problem reading cheesy crap. I love cheesy crap. So I automatically think, wow, I will read anything. But the truth is, I won't, and a lot of things bother me.
Totally agree about the hero and the "normal" girl. And the gushing is totally stupid. Just because someone says he's hot, doesn't mean I will think he's hot. How he looks has very little to do with whether or not he's hot.
Totally agree. I'm not a huge fan of urban fantasy to begin with and after reading a few don't feel the need to read more. What are your exceptions? What have you liked? With me: Wonderous Strange books by Lesley Livingston, Fire and Hemlock, Hunger by Kessler (didn't love the book, but she did a great job with the UF setting). One I wanted to like but wasn't wowed by: Mistwood.
Maybe I've just read too many fantasy books. I find myself getting bored, too, with all the books that have the same historical setting with the societies repressive towards women who wear corsets and gowns and have to hide their abilities. Sigh.
I'm like you, there are bits I like and bits I don't. I enjoyed the Mortal Instruments trilogy because the premise was extremely cool and well done. And I loved the best friend character; he was my favorite part. But I didn't care for the two main leads at all, particularly the main girl (it's from her point of view). I was so excited for the new trilogy to come out because the author said it was going to be the best friend's story, but as it turns out, it's about everybody and not just him. Bleh. Haven't decided whether I'll pick it up or not.
I've wanted to read Fire and Hemlock for a while (Rosie recommended it) so now I am doubly interested.
I haven't read those, it just seems like such a commitment to get through them all. And I totally meant Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, NOT Mistwood, which was not urban fantasy.
Fire and Hemlock is wonderful! Very different, very complex. One of those books that you could read a dozen times and still not completely understand it. DWJ at her best.
Ha! Shiver is one of the books I'm talking about. And, I decided to give her another chance by reading Lament and it was the same story as Shiver except with faeries instead of wolves so it suffers from all of the above problems. To be fair, she does write pretty great contemporary dialogue, but you can't float a whole book on dialogue.
I enjoyed Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, bought on a recommendation by Philia. I'm not sure it fits in that category, though I think it does, but it breaks from the mold, definitely. In this novel the boy is the normal one and the girl is the paranormal one. A few more stereotypes are broken, too.
I have read that. I thought it had a terrific beginning. It easily could have followed the same trope, but it didn't and it was very intriguing. But I got a third of the way through and looked at how much I had left and thought it needed to be farther along than it was and I didn't feel much interest in slogging through what I already knew was going to happen so I skimmed to the last bit and thought it was okay. Some really cool elements, it didn't rehash the same old same old, but it was overlong and overwritten for me. It was okay though.
That may be why I haven't been reading much fantasy lately. However, perhaps you might try the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson. Not high literature, but she writes a very capable heroine and refuses to buy into a lot of fantasy tropes, most notably regarding vampires and the ordinary-heroine-and-extraordinary-love-interest. I found it quite refreshing. Her books do border on paranormal chiller, though, so if the creepy factor will bother you, steer clear. (For purposes of gauge, I'd put it about the level of, say, Buffy or CSI. I know, I'm hyper-sensitive to these things.)
I'm not into creepy at all, but since I've never seen Buffy or CSI, I still don't know how to gauge said creepy. I'll have to look into them just to satisfy my curiosity.
No, I've never seen that. I don't have any programming at all anymore. We used to have an antenna we'd bring inside for the Olympics, General Conference, and a few seasons of American Idol, but since programming went digital, we have nothing. I didn't even watch the last winter Olypmics. Crazy!
Here's some urban fantasy that I liked, that avoids some of the annoying things you mentioned.
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch Set in London, it is a police procedural, with anthropomorphic rivers, in a universe where Sir Isaac Newton discovered the principles of magic, along with science.
Carousel Tides by Sharon Lee Set in rural Maine, with various magical creatures, and a person who has solve a problem while avoiding calling in the magical bureaucracy.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman It's been a while since I read these, so I don't know how well they would hold up, or if they have some of the tropes, but I liked them at the time. The Anansi Boys audiobook, read by Lenny Henry, is quite good.
Comments 15
Also, that trope you talk about does bother me pretty quickly. I think this is partially because I don't find the hero (read: Edward) enticing at all. Also, the "normal" girl is not normal, as you said, and that bothers me too. If you say she's normal, then keep her normal. And I get tired of people gushing over the guy being hot. Maybe that's how it is in real life, but that's not how it should be in books.
Reply
Totally agree about the hero and the "normal" girl. And the gushing is totally stupid. Just because someone says he's hot, doesn't mean I will think he's hot. How he looks has very little to do with whether or not he's hot.
Reply
Maybe I've just read too many fantasy books. I find myself getting bored, too, with all the books that have the same historical setting with the societies repressive towards women who wear corsets and gowns and have to hide their abilities. Sigh.
Reply
I've wanted to read Fire and Hemlock for a while (Rosie recommended it) so now I am doubly interested.
Reply
Fire and Hemlock is wonderful! Very different, very complex. One of those books that you could read a dozen times and still not completely understand it. DWJ at her best.
Reply
Nice, I will def. check it out.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch
Set in London, it is a police procedural, with anthropomorphic rivers, in a universe where Sir Isaac Newton discovered the principles of magic, along with science.
Carousel Tides by Sharon Lee
Set in rural Maine, with various magical creatures, and a person who has solve a problem while avoiding calling in the magical bureaucracy.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
It's been a while since I read these, so I don't know how well they would hold up, or if they have some of the tropes, but I liked them at the time. The Anansi Boys audiobook, read by Lenny Henry, is quite good.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment