Hey guys and gals. How are you all doing today? Great? Great...(Just talking to myself)
Stats- Judge 9560 (a good 400 up) Awake 10209 (50?)
Guardian Progress: 22%
Okay, today I decided to talk about something that kind of bothers me a bit. That is--putting a genre to my books. As you probably know, I put my books Awake and Judge on Free-Ebooks.net (and some other sites too). I just write whatever I want to write. I don't put genre limits and restraints on it. And so...I found it really hard to put my books into a genre. You'd think it'd be easy...but really...the problem is that the Genre's usually have stereotypes. And when you get out of these stereotypes...you're left with something really confusing.
I guess I'll talk about the Judge first. I've heard someone say that it's kind of like Eragon. Eragon is most definitely Fantasy, because it fits within its trappings. In Eragon, you've got your dragons, your wizards, your elves and dwarves and the like. That's Fantasy, and that's usually what people think of when you think of Fantasy. Magic. Swords. Mystical, mythical creatures.
But the Judge isn't quite that simple is it? For starters, it's set in space/the galaxy, almost like Star Wars. You've got starships, space stations, lasers and missiles.
But you've also got something akin to magic--anti-law. But there are serpents and monsters.
*spoiler* there will also be dragons in the second book. *spoiler*
There are spirits called Guardians that rain down fire from the heavens. There are even swordsmen and archers...people with psychic powers...fairies...werewolves... It's set in space...but it's also set in a post-apocalyptic (and as a result, primitive) world. Is it Sci-fi? Or Fantasy? Or truly...a mix of both that shouldn't be?
And to be honest, I really don't want to call my books Sci-fi, because when I think of Sci-fi....Science-fiction... I think of science. Now, science-fiction may be all speculative, just like Fantasy, however, Science-fiction should REALLY have an element that says "SCIENCE!"
Right? Just because we talk about traveling through space...does it really turn it into science-fiction? In my books, I don't go into details because I'm not really a science person. The science is strictly for setting, because I love the concept of space, starships and the like. There is no science to it!
But then...do we just call it Fantasy then? I'd like to think so, but at the same time, even stuff like Star Wars is considered Sci-fi, even if that is also very...fantasyish (Jedi force powers and stuff like that isn't really science).
I have the same issue with Awake. It's modern Fantasy. But it's set in a city...so it's urban fantasy? but urban fantasy has more to do with vampires and werewolves. But then...the dream wave stuff...the Internet AI stuff...is that...Fantasy? Or Science-fiction? But...animals talking and transforming...dragons...spirits that govern the world (Mother Nature)...those are Fantasy...
And in the end...I can't narrow it down. There's no real specific genre for things that blend a little bit of both. From what I've researched, Fantasy is when something is purely of the imagination and Sci-fi has some possible grounds in Science. My books are purely of the imagination...and that's why I'm more inclined to call them Fantasy, even if it's in space...or with talking computers...or in starships...
Yes, yes, here am I rambling and rumbling once more. If you ask me what kind of books I write, I'll tell you FANTASY. But then...people are always like...
"Fantasy? Like Eragon? Like Lord of the Rings? Like Narnia?"
Nooo! Not quite like that...It's...more like...I DON'T KNOW!
And if you were wondering...yes, S3 also fits this bill as well. It's more sci-fi with Time Traveling...but... the time traveling is very fantasy like...so...I don't know what that is either.... Same goes for Faerie Epoch. Sci-fi-ish setting with a very Fairy-taleish setting as well.
And with that, I shall end this post on a very confused note.
Faerie Epoch has giant robots and a Utopian futuristic cybernetic world! But it also has centaurs, anti-law, ghostly creatures, etc.
What...do...I...call...these...things?
Fantasy...with some sci-fi stuff...with some utterly ridiculous stuff...
What do you think my books are? What kind of genre is this?
Leave some comments below if you've got an idea.
