For Fantasy/Sci-Fiction Lovers: What Makes You Reada Book?

[brewer]

Mostly word of mouth, reviews. Snarky response would be Oprah.

ANKA said it. If I don't get emotionally tied into the characters I don't care how much fantasy/SF is thrown in. I won't finish it.

[ApeNotKillApe]

Blurb/summary and cover art, although the cover art mostly serves as a deterrent, in that the cover can often tell me when a book is very likely not a candidate, but not so much the other way round.

I look at the cover art as a non-verbal synopsis that wasn't necessarily agreed to by the author. If it shows a barechested Viking holding a flaming sword while spaceships fly overhead then I'll be inclined to move on.

[Rhondazvous]

No dwarves or elves for me. My first series is a time/space traveling fantasy where a 21st century Los Angeles college student is swept away by an African orisha to meet a slave on a 19th century Virginia plantation. The second series is a mix of science and magic where elementary particles are real people. Alex helped me with the names and behaviors of the particles and I fleshed them out in ye old hero's journey story.

[brewer]

Would you like to try snippets out on us?

[ApeNotKillApe]

A great work poses a philosophical question; a masterpiece does it right in the title.

[Rhondazvous]

Would you like to try snippets out on us?

Queen of the Quantum Realm
Page One

“Plague! The purple plague!”
Jawan froze as a surge of panicked town folks rushed toward him.
He tried to reason out what was going on, but his own heart raced as he picked up the hysteria of fifty wild-eyed faces, coming closer at a speed that only fear could drive them.
The summer sun shone down with indifferent brightness as farmers pushed slowpokes out of their way with pitchforks and shopkeepers puffed along, trying to avoid the pitchforks. Children of all shapes and sizes ran ahead of women in long dresses ill-suited for running, much less escaping.
“Fools!” an old man screamed. “You can’t outrun the plague!”
But he might as well have asked a whirlwind to stop and think its actions through. A grocer abandoned his vegetable cart and darted down a side street. Tomatoes leaped into the air and stained the cobblestones blood red as the horde raced on, heedless of anything in its way.
The only intelligible sounds Jawan heard over the staccato of pounding feet were piercing cries:
“The plague!”
No! Not here. The plague was something that happened to other people, in other unfortunate places.
“It’s here!” came the scream, slaying his only sustaining, but false, security. The purple plague had found its slow, malignant way to Hadley Town.
“Plague!”
The single-minded mantra echoed through his head and up the street, and Jawan envisioned his own body squashed underfoot like a tomato if he didn’t run. They were coming fast, young boys like himself and men. So close. Run! His frozen legs ignored him.
Like spooked horses, they’d gallop right over him. On this narrow street, Jawan saw only one way they could go—past shuttered shops, over startled pigeons, toward him.
Move, legs! He screamed at his comatose body to move. He started running—just another spooked horse. Fear was guiding him. He had to stop and think where he was going. Stop?! No! Run and think. He could think while he ran. And get out of their path before they trampled him.
An alley that smelled of rotting garbage even from ten feet away offered his only escape. Holding his breath, he dashed into the mouth of the alley, crashing through garbage and cast-aways. He heard the shrill terror of the crowd as they swarmed past the alley, but he didn’t look back. The mob and the plague some of them might even be carrying were behind him—gone another way.
But like the man warned, they couldn’t escape that dread disease no one could see. He had to tell his master. Myrlo, the great Earth mage, would know how to stop this.
If only he could reach Myrlo before the mob spread their panic all over the town. They went another way, and would not chase him down this alley. Still, he couldn’t stop. He had to reach his master.

[Ravenshire]

Story!

I'll read most anything that fall in my lap, but I am primarily a scifi/fantasy/steampunk/cyberpunk/grimdark/urban fantasy fan. Writing style, world building, characterization... These thing are all important, but are distant seconds to story. Even purple prose (see most of Stephen King's catalogue) gets a pass if it's telling a good story.

I typically give a book 50 pages (give or take) to start telling me a good story. No good story? I'm off to the next book. If that one won't give up the goods (good story) then I'll head for the next on the list. Story above all else.

Now, having said that... Truly poor writing, world building, characterization, etc... can certainly put me off a book, even if it has a good story. But, they have to be really bad if the story's good.

Did I mention that story is kinda important?!?

[Alex K]

A great work poses a philosophical question; a masterpiece does it right in the title.

Do androids dream of electric sheep?

Dude, where's my car?

Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?


Ok, two out of three isn't so bad.

[Rhondazvous]

Story!

I'll read most anything that fall in my lap, but I am primarily a scifi/fantasy/steampunk/cyberpunk/grimdark/urban fantasy fan. Writing style, world building, characterization... These thing are all important, but are distant seconds to story. Even purple prose (see most of Stephen King's catalogue) gets a pass if it's telling a good story.

I typically give a book 50 pages (give or take) to start telling me a good story. No good story? I'm off to the next book. If that one won't give up the goods (good story) then I'll head for the next on the list. Story above all else.

Now, having said that... Truly poor writing, world building, characterization, etc... can certainly put me off a book, even if it has a good story. But, they have to be really bad if the story's good.

Did I mention that story is kinda important?!?

As you can see from the above excerpt, I begin my story on page one. Character, plot and setting are all working together with one confluent purpose.

Stay tunes. I will publish in March.

[Fireball]

Looking at the shelf in my library, I see Asimov, Bear, Benford, Brin, Budrys...Heinlein, Niven, Pournelle, Pratchett, E.E.Smith, Vance and Zelazny, for starters. There are many more, but these stand out. Try the Amber series from Zelazny for an example of some seriously good writing.