Classifications
Jan. 29th, 2009 01:36 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
merliquin.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
queensthiefI looked in the tags and couldn't find anything about this, but forgive me if we've discussed this before.
How do you classify our beloved books?
kulai_raito said they were found under "good fantasy books" but I hesitate to use "fantasy" when describing them to people because they tend to jump to generic fantasy book assumptions.
I like to classify them as "Historical/fantasy fiction"... but I don't know if that works either.
Maybe its because the genre of fantasy has broadened so much that it encompasses almost anything you want.
Is it just me or do the books somehow defy classification norms?
thank you for letting me ponder.
How do you classify our beloved books?
kulai_raito said they were found under "good fantasy books" but I hesitate to use "fantasy" when describing them to people because they tend to jump to generic fantasy book assumptions.
I like to classify them as "Historical/fantasy fiction"... but I don't know if that works either.
Maybe its because the genre of fantasy has broadened so much that it encompasses almost anything you want.
Is it just me or do the books somehow defy classification norms?
thank you for letting me ponder.
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Date: 1/29/09 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/29/09 09:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/29/09 09:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/29/09 07:31 pm (UTC)they tend to jump to generic fantasy book assumptions.
And then they read them and go ''OMGZ!1! WHERE'S TEH DRAGONS?!1? I NEEDS MA DRAGONS1!!1!''
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Date: 1/29/09 11:06 pm (UTC)THIS BOOK WOULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER WITH THEM.
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Date: 1/30/09 12:56 am (UTC)mwt
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Date: 1/30/09 01:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/30/09 01:15 am (UTC)mwt
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Date: 1/30/09 06:23 am (UTC)p.s. there is no amount of groveling I can do to make up for this, is there?
*dies, bleeding eternal shame and dishonor*
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Date: 1/30/09 01:41 pm (UTC)Could Be Worse, Don't Die Yet
Date: 1/31/09 04:46 am (UTC)Re: Could Be Worse, Don't Die Yet
Date: 1/31/09 05:27 am (UTC)Re: Could Be Worse, Don't Die Yet
Date: 1/31/09 03:52 pm (UTC)~Your friend, only one kind of Mag...net
Re: Could Be Worse, Don't Die Yet
Date: 1/31/09 05:08 pm (UTC)hahahaha. Yeah.
Where Angels Fear to Tread?
Date: 1/30/09 01:49 pm (UTC)But back to the dragons thing... I don't think Attolia would be cooler with a dragon. Because her awesomeness is in how she's not physically threatening and can't wield a weapon very well (probably) and yet commands all these people who can and rules by sheer force of will rather than martial prowess. But Gen with a dragon? He would totally go zooming around Attolia showing off his new ride.
... ok, now I'm getting a strange mental image of dragonriding!Gen on the show "Pimp My Ride"...?
ANYWAY. Gen with a dragon might be kind of cool. And then at the end he would make some speech about how he doesn't need a dragon to be Thief or King because he can do anything he wants. Sort of like how he didn't need his soldiers to protect him in KoA. And he'd be right. Because he, too, is awesome!
Re: Where Angels Fear to Tread?
Date: 1/30/09 04:22 pm (UTC)of Pain*will refuse to accept it.*this is a compulsive Robin McKinley reference and in no way reflects on any Goddesses of Knitting that may or may not be reading this comment
Re: Where Angels Fear to Tread?
Date: 1/30/09 06:45 pm (UTC)Re: Where Angels Fear to Tread?
Date: 1/30/09 08:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/30/09 07:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/30/09 08:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/31/09 04:48 am (UTC)(Though I didn't remember that one being in Sunshine, haven't reread it since I had it from the library the first time. Don't shoot!)
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Date: 2/1/09 02:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2/2/09 02:32 pm (UTC)Sorry, I jumped back to the previous Goddess of Pain there.
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Date: 2/2/09 04:02 pm (UTC)Re: Where Angels Fear to Tread?
Date: 2/1/09 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/31/09 05:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/31/09 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/31/09 08:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/31/09 09:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/31/09 09:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2/1/09 09:21 pm (UTC)Only you can spell, Jadikins.
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Date: 2/1/09 09:22 pm (UTC)I don't know either.
Blame it on the SNOW.
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Date: 2/1/09 10:07 pm (UTC)Clearly, it should be UR FACTZ STRATE omg how could you mess up like that.
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Date: 2/2/09 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/29/09 08:19 pm (UTC)Nonetheless - they definitely have that quality about them. I mean, there are the gods and the character-focus on Eugenides and all - but they're WRITTEN so much like historical fiction; education and history just exude from them. Somehow. exude. hmm.
But I must concede that if you have to put them in a genre, the genre for them is probably fantasy.
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Date: 1/29/09 08:46 pm (UTC)Hmm, I tend to classify them as fantasy. I'm not entirely happy with this term for them, because the thing that most fantasy books have as their fantastic element is magic, or some sort of magical creature that makes it clear to the reader "This is not our world." So for this world, I guess the gods could be considered the fantastic element...
When introducing people to these books, I usually preface it with, "They're YA books inspired from Ancient Mediterranean culture and history" before going on to say "THEY'RE AWESOME AND YOU MUST READ THEM NOW." :) I tend to avoid the term fantasy unless it's someone I know who has already read a wide enough range to not fall into assumptions.
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Date: 1/29/09 09:22 pm (UTC)Although they aren't based on our myths...
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Date: 1/29/09 10:10 pm (UTC)Not of circumstance, but of character.
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Date: 1/31/09 02:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 1/30/09 01:15 am (UTC)To which my friends reply with absolutely no enthusiasm.
And I cry.
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Date: 1/30/09 04:07 am (UTC)Mostly, like some others of you, I just stick with the classification "totally awesome!"
(My friends aren't very enthusiastic either. One of them has shown some interest, but she doesn't want to read the series out of order and my copy of The Thief is in a box at home due to my being in a state of blatant idiocy when I was packing for college. Sigh.)
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Date: 1/30/09 04:26 am (UTC)err 'good fantasy books' i think, i had to click around to find them! and I use all shorts of abbreviations! but roughly around that line.
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Date: 1/31/09 02:23 am (UTC)I have to call it fantasy, because I don't read historical fiction. :)
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Date: 1/31/09 05:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2/1/09 02:06 pm (UTC)However, I'd say the gods and the Gift count as slightly magical.
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Date: 2/12/09 01:11 am (UTC)Mythological historical fiction?
I agree with one of the earlier comments: I categorize them on my bookshelf as just "really good books". Actually, it goes with "really good trilogies" since there are way too many really good books to try and segregate them out. His Dark Materials and The Abhorsen Trilogy are also in this section of my shelves.