Where Is The Scifi & Fantasy?, It has been reinterpreted.

To mean vampire and werewolf books apparently. Maybe even a few witches.

While perusing the "New SciFi and & Fantasy" section of my local B & N store, 90% of the books appeared to be variations on urban fantasy/paranormal romance (don't some of these belong in the romance section??).

I do kinda like Patricia Briggs and Charlaine Harris (although both have been a bit disappointing lately - I think their publishers are putting pressure on them to write too fast); most of the rest of the authors do not appear to possess their talent based on readings of the first chapter or so. Also, why do so many of them use names that are so cool that they are distracting for their heroines? And why are there so few male heros?

The only new scifi that I've noticed lately has been by established authors. I wonder if publishers aren't taking chances on new scifi in favor of new urban fantasy.

As Herself has mentioned at ShejiCon3, publishers want what's selling, not necessarily well written, but what follows the trends of the buyers' market. The publishers, of which a number are owned by large petroleum companies, do not necessarily have the freedom to publish certain books, because they don't have a mass-market appeal. That means that in some cases, if the author regains the rights to the book, the author can seek a new publisher, or as Herself and Janess are doing, publish their stories themselves on Closed Circle.

Publishers are businesspeople, too, and understand that the bottom line is important if they want to continue publishing. Unfortunately, too, the oil companies that own these publishing houses don't understand the publishing business, they understand PROFIT, and so publishers are more or less forced to put out what the general public demands, which leaves damned little room for niche authors, or even established authors.

My advice would be to speak with the manager of that B&N and tell them you are not pleased with the selection of authors in the SF&F section. If that doesn't get you a positive response, feel absolutely free to write to the company and tell them what you think. If enough people do that, and B&N feels that it will lose a significant customer base, they just might rethink their SF&F arrangement.

They are going with what's popular and trendy, with what sells. The bookstores are looking to fill their shelves with what will fly off those shelves and into shopping bags. The book publishers are looking to what likewise will fly out of their warehouses and into buyers' hands, whether the consumer public or the bookstore, which is to the publishers, a middleman.

The mass media / multimedia conglomerates want tie-ins: can we sell you a movie in the theater, get you to buy the DVD and separately the download, plus the soundtrack CD and the audiobook, plus the novelization, plus the cool collector's books, art of / making of books, and oh yeah, here's a t-shirt and some, uh, hey, ya want some underwear, you sly roguish sort, you? Did we mention the sheets and bathroom accessories? Or the action figures -- because the boys won't buy 'em if we call 'em dolls, now would they? The fast food chain tie-ins, breakfast cereal and toys.... Oh, almost forgot the computer goodies and handheld / media player apps. -- I've probably left out a lot. If they could, they'd probably sell people as body servants, and goodness knows, some people would probably buy them, too. (I'm exaggerating...I hope...except it probably isn't too far off. Corporate serfdom for the welfare state, anyone?)

Right now, "they" (the media powers that be) see that people are gaga over vampires and werewolves. In a few days / weeks / months, it will be something else. For some reason, we've become the short attention span buying public. Scoot over, Pavlov's pooch.

Why vampires and werewolves and urban fantasy? Look at the last two words. Urban. Fantasy. -- This is wish fulfillment. If she / he / you / I can't have what we want in real life, because it's taboo or unlikely, then hey, here's a nice fantasy for you (or her or him or me). Our culture has a wacky dual standard on sex, both saying NO! and saying, "see, buy this, look like this, do this, and you'll be popular and liked and loved!"

So some things are off limits in real life. But in fantasy... a vampire or a werewolf conveniently gets around those taboos. Want something where you just can't help but give in to those urges? Kinda sweaty, a little rough, hair and animal passions, younger or older than you, same-sex or ambiguous, outside your comfort zone, and a whole lot of things too much to say in mixed company (and perhaps because I'd be embarrassed too)? Well hey, that vampire or werewolf or supernatural being just might fill the bill for ya. -- Sex sells. People get curious, even if they are proper and controlled, they have feelings and basic urges, below the civilized level.

Or hey, maybe you're looking for the exotic among the everyday urban sprawl. The weird. The unexplainable and unexplained. The atavistic supernatural instead of all that techo-babble and concrete and smog.

Want a friend who'll be with you literally forever? Who can't be shocked because he / she / it / something-not-quite-any/all-the-above has seen it all before, been there, done that, so your innermost thoughts and feelings are safe to divulge... or even explore? Well, you're in luck! We've got a very handy (paw-y?) vampire or werewolf or such-like over here.

Be a bad boy or bad girl. Go running around with a sword and stakes, attacking at will. It's OK, those are the bad guys and these are the good guys. Simple, right? Want to steal from the rich and give to the poor? Oh, wait, that's the medievalist fantasy over in Aisle 2. Well, no matter, we can go back in our time machine... oops, Aisle 3... aha, that's it, back in the old vampire's eerie past in the Dark Ages.... yeah, that'll do it.

-- Stream (steam?) of consciousness, but I think you get the idea there. If a wannabe like me can rattle off all that so quickly, think what someone with a proven track record for book sales can do. Or a hunky / curvy and photogenic movie star or unknown.

-- That is not to belittle either the authors/artists/actors or the genre, either. People *always* want a good story, entertainment, from a good storyteller. We, fortunately, are more than just machines running around eating, sleeping, and so on. We also want something to think and feel about and distract us from the everyday. -- Who wouldn't like a little fantasy for a little while? Daring-do and sexy and very much not like being in that office cubicle or behind that counter every day, even if, in real life, you don't know how to ride a horse, wield a sword, or do amazing martial arts moves, much less identify an alien or a supernatural beastie or a monster under the bed. ;)

-- But yeah, I'd like more variety and more choices in the rest of the science fiction and fantasy genres. Someone's bound to come up with something else that catches enough people's fancy. Also, fads come and go. The good stuff, hopefully, sticks around.

I was appalled at what I saw in the SF/F section of B&N...all vampires and werewolves?! My complaint about the current crop is that it all seems so sweet and pretty. I read the blurbs and cannot bring myself to read the books.

I *think* these books need a good dose of Buffy or perhaps the original Nosferatu!

Remember STURGEON'S LAW: Ninety percent of science fiction is crap, but then ninety percent of everything is crap. (raspberries here)

Smartcat is grumpy about the state of modern science fiction.

So is Spence.

I haven't bought much in the last 4 years.

The market rules, unfortunately.


Of course something truly great will probably find a market. But truly great is rare.

All the hype about Eclipse makes me think I need to go see it, except that I am not a vampire fan at all. I haven't bought much SF in the last several years, and I never have bought fantasy. I read one zombie novel and am still trying to remove the memory of it from my brain.

...the dried buffalo skull half covered in sand that you just walked by says (quite plainly) "Dooonnn't goooo!..."...

If you you want to watch some vampires, True Blood is way better than the Twilight crap. And it doesn't imply that women should be virginal damsels in distress waiting around to be rescued by their supernatural boyfriend.

I'm currently enjoying some Charles Stross. Not the merchanter series which IMHO is dreck, but his Laundry books -two out so far, one coming,- are fun, and Halting state, which is near future is a good read. I asked him at Boskone a couple of years ago if he was ever going to do another book in the HS verse, he said that he had made a couple of starts, and that 3/4ths of the way through the book current events had scouped him.
With that record maybe he'd be a good source for stock market tips.

I rather like urban fantasy -- it's my equivalent of a bodice-ripper -- but even I think there is too much. This too shall pass. Remember just a couple of years ago, when so much fantasy was imitation Tolkien? The Quest to Save the World performed by, at minimum, a dwarf, an elf, a wizard, a human warrior, and a couple of short hairy guys. But it is totally different from Tolkien because at least one of them is a woman.

Speaking of bodice-rippers, a friend who enjoys historical romances complains that "paranormal romance" has infested the romance section. Buffy's got her work cut out for her.

So, Buffy and a short, hairy guy, and River all go into a bar....

I haven't yet read the Twilight books or seen the movies. My preferences would go more toward Buffy, likely.

I've seen some of True Blood, and am still deciding if it was too much for me. (I got to a certain couple of episodes and it felt over the line to me. YMMV.) I may give further Season 2 and 3 episodes a chance, though, as other things in the series were done well.

I might not mind a good werewolf tale, or other supernatural stuff.

But by far, I'd rather read / watch an Ellen Ripley or Sandor Kreja or Fletcher and jeremy Neihart. Or the folks in Firefly. -- Give me good science fiction, please. Come up with something new and a clever spin on things.

Yes, my last look at the bookshelves at the B&N "more books than a library" warehouse-slash-coffee-and-sweets-bar... the SF&F section was largely urban fantasy or cyberpunk. Not that there isn't room for those, there certainly is. But I want other choices too.

I don't mind the occasional shot of vamps etc. Van Helsing was great fun, the Blade films are watchable and the first Underworld film, and Lost Boys of course. I tried to watch True Blood, but the frequent pointless humping put me off. Pity, because Bill seemed an interesting character, and the overall Southern Gothic feel worked quite well.
As far as books are concerned, I don't think I've ever gone there, although I vaguely remember reading A Friend of the Family many years ago, which must have been one of the early attempts to glamourise vampires.

Of course it has a point...but not necessarily for the viewers.

Ahyhoo, Twilight is okay--very much a Romeo and Juliet story, not the 'virginal damsel in distress' as someone mentioned earlier. She's not particularly interested in remaining a virgin, either--her beloved has firm moral beliefs--but they love with a love that is more than love, so she behaves and so does he. She requires rescuing because she tends to be very clumsy with Very Bad Timing. Regarding that series and some of the opinions (heard of Team Jacob and Team Edward yet? amusing), in reality, neither her Romeo (vamp) or her Paris (were) are actually good for her, though of course the Romeo wins her love and her hand in marriage. In all, it's a lot of the Romeo and Juliet story with some fantasy elements and a happy ending. Yes, I've read them, and Meyer can tell a good story.

She has an interesting/disturbing book out as well called The Host, which is pretty much science fiction. Not a vamp or were in the entire thing. Parasitic aliens taking over humanity one host at a time, yes, but nothing supernatural. Actually does a good job questioning what is human/what is universal/what is free will.

I've found no few sci-fi books in general fiction or action/adventure simply because they push the boundaries of technology and otherwise are set during the now/recent future. Matthew Reilly (fun, interesting, kills of characters like flies--don't worry, though, because most aren't named) is really science fiction, though he's published as action. Clive Cussler also has a lot of science fiction elements, right down to the hero and sidekick, but again is published under general fic most of the time.

The vampire/werewolf thing doesn't bother me much because I've had a tale swimming around in my own head for a while involving both. Getting the bloody thoughts to cooperate when I'm at the keyboard is another story, but *shrugs*.

I guess where this is going is the kind of characters don't phase me, it's the predictability of everything I read at the moment. Classics, new stuff, old stuff...name it and in the first five chapters, I already know what happens at the end and who does what to whom. Or worse, I get bored because the plot is so badly revealed and the archetypes are abysmal.

Gah. Passions wane, and my passion for reading seems to be contributing more to a general restlessness than anything. Ah, well. The romance will be revived at some point. Just not this moment...

...I tuned out Twilight the instant Meyer's turned the female deliberately stupid. I also agree with the costumed con attendant who declared "Vampires DON"T TWINKLE!!!"

I have been introduced to True Blood (season 1). In the main I like it much better than Twilight. And yeah, the sex is over done. On the other hand: this is a form(?) of Romance. I also notice that what Twilight personnel do the True Blood personnel copy.

Now *that's* really boring...