Rippling Abs and Ripped Bodices

I can't help but notice that while fantasy is booming in YA, it's still not very prevalent in adult literature. It seems that there's a ton of alternate universes in popular young adult titles. I love that, since fantasy is my favorite genre. Why aren't mythical creatures booming in the adult section?




Right, because in adult fiction, fantasy seems to only be in the ROMANCE sextion. And that usually scares me off, while YA fantasy is "safe." Okay, sometimes too safe. *cough* fade to black *cough*

*giggle* "Sextion"! Maybe we shouldn't discuss adult lit. I don't think we're grown up enough to read it... *wink*

Anyway, does that mean that as adults Romance and Fantasy are the same? Being swept off your feet is akin to meeting a talking unicorn?





Um... what kind of unicorns are you talking about? *grins*






*snort* I meant like... Well.. Maybe that was a Freudian slip.






*nods knowingly* But, getting back to what you said about unicorns... I think that might be part of it. Could it also be that publishers don't think fantasy will be marketable with out the rippling abs on the cover?




Maybe, but I think it sells readers short to assume that we'll only want to suspend our belief in reality if it includes ripped bodices.





I wonder if maybe we're missing some great new adult fantasy books out there. Like Christopher Moore, for example. I haven't read his books, but I am intrigued. And we've all read Sookie. I looked for similar stories (without half-bared breasts on the cover) after I finished that series, but found none.



But Sookie IS kinda a romance...






Yes, Sookie is romance, but it's not over the top... unless you count book four. The thing is, a book can be sexy without being PORNOGRAPHIC.





True. And I do read some great adult fantasy. Terry Goodkind, Neil Gaiman, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Guy Gavriel Kay, Diana Gabaldon, Douglas Adams, and Anne Bishop are all AMAZING authors. Who aren't really part of our "popular" fiction lexicon.

I feel like these authors gain underground followings, but never quite make it to mainstream glory. You'll never see them as part of Oprah's Book Club.


Good point. Sometimes I forget those authors exist. (Except Neil Gaiman. I could never forget him.)





It's almost like there's something illicit about adult fantasy. You forget about it because it's not a tearjerker about the realities of war or a gritty crime drama. THOSE are the books that get all the attention.

I can understand that young readers may be more willing to suspend belief in reality, but I can't help but feel that as an adult I need to suspend my belief in reality far more than they do. I know how awful the real world is. Is a faerie queen on the NYT Bestseller's List too much to ask?


Maybe the fantasy-book-lovers are more of the fringe. I wonder if the boom in fantasy YA lit is going to change the landscape of adult lit as those readers mature. (Unless they just continue to read YA, like we do.)




*raised eyebrow* Are you implying that we are somehow outside of society's bell curve? *looks around at graphic novels, Twi-gear, and PS3 games littering my living room* Okay, I can see it.




So, how about this? What if the Whimsical Fic readers pick an adult (but not porn/romance/rippling-abs-on-the-cover) fantasy book for me to read. I'll read it and report back on a Reading Rainbow!

sidebra with unicorn horns: Just so you all know, I've already read the Black Dagger Brotherhood (or some of them). And I do consider that to be a little over the top - too far into the romance sextion. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy them... *ahem* but I want to stay in the Sookie realm of "adult."

I can't wait to hear your suggestions!