Reading

[mamculuna]

I've been reading Neal Stephenson lately--now half-way into The Baroque Cycle. I really loved Snow Crash and Diamond Age, but couldn't get into Cryptonomicon--it seemed too much like Pynchon, whom I love, but one is enough.

But when I finally did get started on Quicksilver, I loved it. It's not fantasy, at least not like his earlier books, but historical fiction with many a real character tossed in--Newton, William of Orange, etc. Like Eco and others (yes, still Pynchon), Stephenson mixes in lots of intriguing information from science, history, etc., along with wildly bizarre characters and events. I'm getting started now on The Confusion and liking it too--expect to finish the trilogy.

At the same time I've been reading some YA fantasy: Tamora Pierce, Robin McKinley, etc. I'm noticing a real difference in the way I read these two very different kinds of books, not surprisingly. The adult books, like Stephenson and also like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell fascinate me and absorb me, but I'm always aware with a part of me that I'm a mind reading a book. But YA fantasy seems to absorb me completely into the world of the book. There's no distance, no critical mind (that's when it's well-done, of course). I seem to get that effect mainly from books originally meant for younger readers, even when adults love them too: Tolkien, Harry Potter.

Wondering if there are books for adults that have that same completely absorbing quality. Right now I don't think of any. It's not a matter of good vs. bad, or even of preference, just a difference in the nature of the reading experience.

Comments

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Try Barbara Hambly or Lois McMaster Bujold for a completely absorbing experience. Stephenson and Clarke happen to be particularly intellectual and distancing writers.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Agree about Bujold, and also Vernor Vinge works really well for me--I'd forgotten about SF writers.

I like both kinds--just noticing the difference.

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

I don't read as much fantasy as I used to, but I love Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series, and of course Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books. Adult fantasy writers I really like include Guy Gavriel Kay, who writes wonderful fantasies with great characters and wonderfully realized worlds. He wrote a trilogy based on the Arthurian legends called the "Fionavar Tapestry", which I recommend. I also like Charles de Lint, who writes fantasy based on Celtic myths set in a modern, North American environment. My favourite is called "Moonheart". BTW, de Lint is a huge Buffy fan, which makes me like him even more..

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love De Lint, too. But I don't think I've read Moonheart. He's a writer I can buy easily at used bookstores in Chicago, so I've made him one of my reads up there. I'll definitely get that one. And thanks for the others. I've seen the Kay books, but haven't read them--will try.

[midnightsjane.livejournal.com]

Guy Kay is wonderful. I love all his books, but I especially liked "Tigana", and "A Song for Arbonne".

[wombatina.livejournal.com]

i think you're right! does a wrinkle in time count as ya fantasy? i've always found adult fantasy a bit over wrought.

and i don't think neal has written a better book than snow crash. all downhill for me after that. i remember when that book came out and how incredibly radical it was. i think wired was a new magazine back then too.

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

OH, yeah, Wrinkle in Time! Too bad about the TV version, but still not as much a disaster as Wizard of Earthsea.

Now that I think about it, Leguin is one who writes absorbing stuff for adults.

[wombatina.livejournal.com]

tv versions of fantasy are generally dreadful. fantasy is what it is because your brain conjures up the magic. aren't they coming out with hitchhikers guide in a new movie? hmmm. maybe that would be a good re-read on vacation...

[mamculuna.livejournal.com]

I actually liked the old BBC series of that--appropriately corny and lame in special effects, like Dr. Who. Hope this new one's not too slick.