NationStates Jolt Archive

Pretty straight forward: what's your favorite fiction genre?

Mine's fantasy. But most fantasy I find to be too occult. So, right now it's limited to Lewis and Tolkien.

horror/murder mystery

Generally Sci-fi/Fantasy/Mystery.

Poirot rocks.

Science fiction short stories. I have no patience for epic space operas.

Cyberpunk

Comedy, or a political thriller.

Science fiction, primarily Silver-Age.

The bible.

Horror=favourite
comedy + fantasy are an equally
close second

The bible.

New or Old Testament?

Sci-fi. I loathe most Tolkienesque fantasy.

I have to choose?

Science Fiction/Mystery/Horror, all good.

Historical fiction. I know that doesn't sound right but it exists. For example, Fatherland by Robert Harris. It is based on historical facts. Something like it could have happened, but it didn't which is why it is called fiction.

I loathe most Tolkienesque fantasy.

*Gasp!*:eek:

Prepare the bonfire! :p

Sci-fi. I loathe most Tolkienesque fantasy.

As do I; the notable exception being Tolkien's work itself, which I'll always treasure.

Should have made it multiple choice. I voted Science Fiction but it should be Science Fiction/Fantasy/Mystery/Classics ... I forgetted the other ones. :p

sci-fi and napolionic (can't spell) naval fiction (i'm a very specialised nerd)

New or Old Testament?

Yes.

:)

Should have made it multiple choice. I voted Science Fiction but it should be Science Fiction/Fantasy/Mystery/Classics ... I forgetted the other ones. :p

I can make a multiple choice poll?

I didn't realize that... Thank you!

Historical fiction. I know that doesn't sound right but it exists. For example, Fatherland by Robert Harris. It is based on historical facts. Something like it could have happened, but it didn't which is why it is called fiction.

'Speculative fiction', methinks. Robert Silverberg is an excellent example of an accomplished writer of persuasive alternate histories. I'm currently reading one of his works right now, called 'The Gate Of Worlds' which takes place in an altogether differently-realized North and South Americas.

I can make a multiple choice poll?

I didn't realize that... Thank you!

Yeah, I think so.

The bible.

http://home.maine.rr.com/waassaap/Forum%20Pictures/stevengoingtohell.jpg

*LOL*

I am almost always reading a crime/thriller/mystery. I don't know that it's my favorite, but it seems to be standard fare.

Classics, favorite titles include:

The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Doestoevsky
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Man's Fate by Andre Malraux
The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky

I also enjoy historical fiction and biographies

As do I; the notable exception being Tolkien's work itself, which I'll always treasure.

I have a special place of loathing just for Tolkien. Most boring drivel I've ever read.

I like science fiction & fantasy, though I prefer fantasy not to take itself seriously e.g. Terry Pratchett.

Fantasy. Tolkien is one of my favourite authors, though most people I know hate his writing style!

Sci fi and fantasy. Or anything at all if it is around. I am not a huge fan of war stories, and only so so about most historical fiction... I like it when it is character driven, though.

I do like comic novels, and am about two chapters into writing one. I have introduced 195 characters by name and or family affiliation in the first chapter. It is sort of an Adams Family meets The Beverly Hillbillies on Walton's Mountain on Friday the 13th kind of a thing. Half the family is dead (and several have not been born yet), but that doesn't keep them from getting into all sorts of hijinx.

I generally like reading science fiction and fantasy: I like my books escapist. Overall though, I prefer science fiction, mainly because my local library stocks a good variety of original science fiction while seeming only to keep the worst fantasy imaginable. You know, where the cliches begin to congeal into some kind of Cliche Golem that proceeds to batter your brain into gloop. The kind where Star Wars meets Tolkein in the sort of evil alliance that Palpatine and Sauron would form if they ever had the chance, where an innocent farm boy sees his family killed and then goes off to ride dragons and fight poorly-disguised Ringwraiths, meet angsty swordsmen, become masters of magic and swordsmanship in two pages flat, and drop hints that they're going to score with the hot elf in the sequel.

Okay, I'm ranting. But I still think that Terry Brooks and Christopher Paolini should be forced to fight to the death in an arena for the enjoyment of millions. The winner, naturally, is to be devoured by lions.

EDIT: And they should use Raymond E. Fiest's limbs as weapons.

Fantasy all the way

R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms are simply delicious.

I have a special place of loathing just for Tolkien. Most boring drivel I've ever read.

Well, there's no arguing opinion. I thought Tolkien was superb - that being said, there's no other author of fantasy I've read that's managed to stir my interest past the first few chapters.

thinking klintoon and hildabeast were good copresidents

:sniper:

Sci-fi. I loathe most Tolkienesque fantasy.
Yay!
Fantasy all the way

R.A. Salvatore's Forgotten Realms are simply delicious.

Dork.

Genre fiction hasn't appealed to me since I was about 10, but there is a problem of categorization because sometimes, really great literature falls into a category.

For example, you might be able to file "The Stranger" under Murder Mysteries or something absurd like that, "Pride & Prejudice" could be filed under Romance, you could fit "A Seperate Peace" into Young Adult Drama or whatever, "The Awakening" could be under Feminist Self-Help, "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" could probably sit comfortably right next to "Teenage Soup for the Chicken Soul," and further such nonsense.

Even outside of those ridiculous scenarios, you have people like Philip K. Dick stuck next to the greasy Star Wars trade paperbacks in the science fiction section when he should probably be mostly under either religion or philosophy, especially the VALIS trio.

I'm very elitist in my reading. The artistic merits of the construction of language are a necessity for me to enjoy the work. Sadly, people like Philip Dick and Bret Ellis find themselves shunted into trade paperback oblivion while complete idiot hacks like Dan Brown have the center stage in bookstores.

So there.

AIM- ChrisRay6000

Even outside of those ridiculous scenarios, you have people like Philip K. Dick stuck next to the greasy Star Wars trade paperbacks in the science fiction section when he should probably be mostly under either religion or philosophy, especially the VALIS trio.


Not necessarily... people put him in the cyberpunk genre for stories like Minority Report and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Science Fiction- Especially military sci-fi. David Drake is still my favorite. Harry Turtledove is still the best for alternate reality stuff.

Fantasy- Epic style as long as it isn't Tolkien. The trilogy bored me to sleep. Rather like Mike Stackpoles stuff.

Mystery- Rex Stouts Nero Wolfe series. The Albert Campion books by Margery Allingham are a good read too, if a bit baffling sometimes. Robert Parkers Jesse Stone and Spencer novels are quite good too.

History and archeology texts- The more ancient the civilization, the better.

Futuristic, dystopian sci-fi = awesomeness!

I like science fiction and action. But, I also like war stories, like MASH and The Ludendorff Pirates.

Genre fiction hasn't appealed to me since I was about 10, but there is a problem of categorization because sometimes, really great literature falls into a category.

For example, you might be able to file "The Stranger" under Murder Mysteries or something absurd like that, "Pride & Prejudice" could be filed under Romance, you could fit "A Seperate Peace" into Young Adult Drama or whatever, "The Awakening" could be under Feminist Self-Help, "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" could probably sit comfortably right next to "Teenage Soup for the Chicken Soul," and further such nonsense.

Even outside of those ridiculous scenarios, you have people like Philip K. Dick stuck next to the greasy Star Wars trade paperbacks in the science fiction section when he should probably be mostly under either religion or philosophy, especially the VALIS trio.

I'm very elitist in my reading. The artistic merits of the construction of language are a necessity for me to enjoy the work. Sadly, people like Philip Dick and Bret Ellis find themselves shunted into trade paperback oblivion while complete idiot hacks like Dan Brown have the center stage in bookstores.

So there.

AIM- ChrisRay6000

The books you mention would probably fall into the Classics which steals from all the other groups.

I don't know about Philip Dick or Bret Ellis, but if they are half-decent writers, I'll agree with you on Dan Brown. I couldn't get past the first few pages.

im a lifelong fan of science fiction. i mostly avoid fantasy except for tolkien which is a bit of an obsession. oh yeah and david drake's lord of the isles series.

i like mysteries written by women.

i have read all of bernard cornwell's sharpe series and an occasional other historical fiction.

the only other category that springs to mind is true life adventures.

i like mysteries written by women.

Mary Higgins Clark?

My mother and grandmothers read her all the time.

Pretty straight forward: what's your favorite fiction genre?

Mine's fantasy. But most fantasy I find to be too occult. So, right now it's limited to Lewis and Tolkien.

What about Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time"?

I love fantasy, it's great.

Poirot rocks.

Indeed.

Mario Puzo is a legend. Everyone knows him for Godfather, but read 'The Sicilian' I have to say that is the best book he has written, keeps you wanting to turn the page to find out what happens.

So like thrillers and dramas are my favourite, but Tolkein's Lord of the Rings is a good read, if you can get past all the constant descriptions of everything.

The bible.Hahaha! 8th post. Knew that was coming :D

Mary Higgins Clark?

My mother and grandmothers read her all the time.

no i dont like her style

anne perry is my favorite.

Good fiction.

Mario Puzo is a legend. Everyone knows him for Godfather, but read 'The Sicilian' I have to say that is the best book he has written, keeps you wanting to turn the page to find out what happens.

So like thrillers and dramas are my favourite, but Tolkein's Lord of the Rings is a good read, if you can get past all the constant descriptions of everything.

tolkien works best if you skip all the stupid poems and songs the first 5 or 6 times you read him. they dont advance the story line and they suck as poetry.

I generally prefer anything historically based, whether it's historical fiction or alternative history.

tolkien works best if you skip all the stupid poems and songs the first 5 or 6 times you read him. they dont advance the story line and they suck as poetry.

True.

And, in other news
WILLIAM GIBSON OWNS THIS THREAD!!!
:D

does anybody else here appreciate classical literature

._.

does anybody else here appreciate classical literature

._.

psssst! if you read the thread you would know the answer

does anybody else here appreciate classical literature

._.

Other than Shakespeare... not really...

The prose of old works is (are?) so dull, it just takes the excitement out of the story...

Pretty straight forward: what's your favorite fiction genre?

Mine's fantasy. But most fantasy I find to be too occult. So, right now it's limited to Lewis and Tolkien.

depends on my mood.

Light Sci-Fi: anything that doesn't seem Like a technical manual is for me.
fantasy
Romance: Yes, Romance... my sister got me hooked on some of em...
Mystery
non fiction


It varies...

science fiction and spy thrillers and comedy. prime candidate for a multiple choice poll i reckon.

*blah, blah, blah*
"The Awakening" could be under Feminist Self-Help
*blah, blah, blah*
Is this the Awakening that ends with the main character wandering off into the ocean and drowning? I'm not really sure how that counts as self-help.

And just because someone is a dead hack-novelist doesn't make them any good. It just makes them moldier.

I prefer to read either dark comedies, like Brave New World or Catch 22, or horror, like Lovecraft or Johnny Got His Gun.
I should also confess that I've also still got a soft spot in my heart for all that silly-ass Fantasy stuff about Dark Elves left over from my early years.

Anything and all. I love to read.

Anything and all. I love to read.

Then read THIS!!! (http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html)

Sci-fi/Fantasy

Where would you classify Vonnegut?

It all depends on my mood of the moment. Right now I'm rereading the Darkover books by Marian Zimmer Bradley, so, right now, that genre is my favorite. Next week I may be reading World War II fiction or a good mystery. There are too many good books (and bad ones, for that matter) in all genres to limit myself to one favorite genre.

I like humourous books.

primary it's sci-fi for me, so there goes my vote... but i read some other stuff too... to name a few:

william gibson, bruce sterling, neal stephenson, philip k dick....

Then read THIS!!! (http://www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html)

...and, of course, chuck palahniuk.

I like Scifi the most but I like some fantasy, horror, and mystery.
:fluffle:

Whichever genre Max Barry falls into :p

And what does "classics" refer to? Euripides? Sophocles? Homer?

Not sure how to classify a favorite genre, so I'll name works instead:

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Island by Aldous Huxley
One Flew Over The Cookoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Films:
"The Matrix/Reloaded/Revolutions"
"Animatrix"
"V for Vendetta"
"The Thirteenth Floor"