I grew up in a very straitlaced family of scientists. Everything of entertainment we consumed had to be educational or grounded in reality. No Fantasy, no science-fiction, no mythology, … Maybe some historical fiction, but even that shouldn't stray too far.
And even though the interest is here, my first reflex is to reject anything of the kind on first glance. It's always a mental barrier when I read descriptions, titles, or even see a book cover. I want to try and fix that and was hoping this community could guide me in two ways. (or any other suggestions)
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I once found an infographic of movie genres that had one example of a movie that was a good introduction to that genre. It was created with the idea that the movie had to be a fairly pure representation of that genre, but not the peak, so the viewer didn't think it was only down from there and move on to a different genre. I was wondering if something like this exists for books?
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I'm still a product of my environment and a very pragmatic person, and I wonder if people have any suggestions when it comes to fantasy with logical well thought out magic systems, not something like "the force". Any suggestions for sci-fi, I did enjoy the world of the expanse.
by Fabulous-Willow-369
6 Comments
I’d suggest Mistborn, it has quite a few classic fantasy tropes, a logical magic system that isn’t too complex, and ia a pretty great beginner fantasy novel imo
Introduction to the fantasy genre: The Hobbit. The Earthsea books by LeGuin.
Introduction to sci fi: Anything by Ray Bradbury (The Martian Chronicles. The Illustrated Man. Something Wicked This Way Comes. Zero Hour.) Anything by Ursula K. LeGuin. (The Lathe of Heaven.The Dispossessed. The Left Hand of Darkness.)
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.
Magic with a somewhat logical system of rules: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. (Warning: unfinished trilogy. Still a great read, though.)
Brandon Sanderson ftw. After reading the Mistborn trilogy try giving The Stormlight Archives series a shot.
Can I ask what the mental barrier is? What thoughts come up?
Do you watch more diverse tv these days at all?
You may enjoy Three Body Problem. It’s a very hard science fiction book.
And always good to start with the classics. Lord of the Rings is fantasy (perhaps overly descriptive) but as an intellectual you may appreciate the language system in the book as it adheres to real grammar structures.
Both book series are considered very good, but aren’t always favored by readers because of how dense they are, but they may lean into your preference for internally consistent worlds.
I’d consider that fantasy and sci-fi are just ways to reframe current issues. Consumerism, isolation, love, power, etc.. it’s not about orcs and magic. It’s about corruption.
I’ve never seen a chart like the one you’re describing but that sounds very cool.
If you are interested in the detective fiction genre:
It (debatably) originated with three shorts by Edgar Allen Poe, about the detective Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin, being The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget, and The Purloined Letter
The most popular and recognisable works in this genre are the Sherlock Holmes short stories and novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes debuted in the novel A Study in Scarlet, which was followed by the novels The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles (which is the best Holmes story), then The Valley of Fear. But, he is arguably better known for his many short stories, such as A Scandal in Bohemia, The Final Problem, or The Empty House, etc.
In my own opinion though, the detective fiction genre was best penned by Agatha Christie, in writing her Hercule Poirot novels. Her best murder mystery however (And Then There Were None) is not actually a Poirot novel, but other classics include Murder on the Orient Express, The ABC Murders, Five Little Pigs, etc.
Tl:dr – Poe’s Dupin shorts originate the genre, but are very crude and variable, Doyle’s Holmes novels/shorts popularised the genre, and are best read through either the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles or some of his short story collections, but in my opinion, Agatha Christie perfected the formula, which is best read through Murder on the Orient Express, The ABC Murders, Five Little Pigs, etc.
And Then There One is a good taster, but it’s more murder mystery than strictly detective fiction