Tag: fantasy books

May 14, 2014 Interests and hobbies 2 Comments

Reality As Strange As Fiction – Addendum

Further to my earlier post, where are we on the question of whether magic exists? Does the mere fact that a phenomenon can be explained negate its magical quality? If my character can bend light to make herself invisible – a principle that is very much at the forefront of science – is it magic or Science Fiction?

One of the characteristics that can turn a book into a fantasy book is if someone can open a door with but a wave of the hand. Well, Jean-Luc Picard only needs to walk up to a door and it opens. Star Trek is Science Fiction, not Fantasy. Or are the two categories the same? Is that why book sellers like to bung them together as “Sci-fi/Fantasy”?

Science Fiction: Doctor Who uses a sonic screwdriver. He points it at something and computers spring to life. The world is saved.
Fantasy: Harry Potter uses a wand. He points it at something, and the something springs to life. The world is saved.

So in grossly simplified terms, may we assume Science Fiction is Fantasy with props? The medium in Fantasy books is magic, and magic effected by technology is Science Fiction.

Which still begs the question. Does magic, with or without the aid of machinery, exist?

Once upon a time, the photoelectric effect behaved not as expected. If I connected an instrument to a plate of metal to measure current, and then shine light onto the metal, the instrument shows current is being produced. At one point that alone would have seemed like magic.

What if the instrument’s display behaves erratically, showing high numbers for low-intensity (dim) light but low numbers for high-intensity (bright) light? Is it Science Fiction/magic if we cannot explain it?

By every definition I’ve ever come across to describe the principles of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, that does seem to be the case.

You may refer to strange, unexplainable effects as “magic,” or you may call them “not yet discovered science.” Kind of depends on your attitude.

The only question is, do you want to believe in magic?

May 9, 2014 Books, Urban Fantasy 3 Comments

My top five urban fantasy writers

I hate lists. Okay, I love lists. Hate them because I keep adding items or change my mind, and love them because they bring some cohesion to my fan-girl rants, especially when it comes to recommending authors.

But first, my history as a reader.

As a kid, I read all sorts. But as I got older, there weren’t many books that caught my interest. I was too old for the fantasy books of my youth, and the only thing I could stomach were crime books, typically “soft” crime like Agatha Christie or Martha Grimes.

It wasn’t until the advent of Harry Potter that I rediscovered the joy of reading. I joined at the second book, and soon had my entire workplace, let alone family hooked. Well, the women anyway. Thinking about it, Ms Rowling owes me a hell of a commission. Suddenly I remembered why I used to love books. So I read children’s fantasy books.

And then something marvellous happened. I discovered there were fantasy books for adults. But with the job and everything, wading through six hundred plus pages took commitment. Besides, most were a bit dry.

Finally, I discovered Kim Harrison. Her The Hollows series knocked me for six. She’s therefore number one in my list.

Then I discovered Keri Arthur and Laurell K. Hamilton. The latter was really good, but after a while, the sex took over and the plot became thin, at which point I lost interest. Keri Arthur is an author I read regularly, but she, too, missed out on a spot in my top five.

To make a lo-ong story short, I found Jim Butcher (number 2), Patricia Briggs (no. 3), Jennifer Rardin (number 4) and most recently, Darynda Jones. With Darynda Jones, here was finally someone who wrote the way I myself tried to write. Quite a revelation, and I’ve been a fan since her first book. I even named one of the characters in my book after her, but since she’s a rather nasty character (the one in my book, not the author), I changed the spelling to Derinda.

There are many more excellent urban fantasy writers out there. Amanda Bonilla, for example, who hasn’t yet received the recognition she deserves. Who knows? A couple of more books, and she’ll be in my top five. Another near miss was Mary Buckham, an excellent teacher AND an excellent writer, as I only recently discovered.

Anyway, to recap. My top five, in no particular order, are:

1) Kim Harrison

2) Jim Butcher

3) Patricia Briggs

4) Jennifer Rardin

5) Darynda Jones.