I kid.
No, but really, I used to be terrified of the SciFi aisle at the library. I used to shuffle down it making a beeline for Louis L'Amour on the dusty little shelf of westerns located on the same aisle. Why do they put Westerns on the aisle as Aliens and Zombies? I still don't get it. The only time I ventured to the other side of the aisle was when I became addicted to all things Star Wars when I was 14 and had to read any and every piece of fan fiction ever published. But every time I ventured into unknown territory and tried just randomly grabbing a book off the fantasy shelf, my eyes glazed over with dragons and scrolls and magical swords and I gave up. This is what I think everyone else imagines when they think "scifi and fantasy", but it's not true!
Batman
Indiana Jones
Harry Potter
gulp...Twilight...gulp
Just-about-every-Pixar-film
Avatar
See? All SciFi or Fantasy. Everybody likes speculative entertainment at some point or another. Don't write off the whole genre just because it can become so cliche it becomes its biggest enemy.
And so I give you a recommendation. Elantris.
If you liked anything in the above list...at least give Elantris a try. It doesn't rely on women dressed in gold snakes, or magical amulets the hero suddenly remembers will drive away monsters...just at the exact moment he's surrounded by monsters. The plot kept even Jim guessing and the character driven story kept even me entertained. That's right, interesting story and characters you want to meet. All under that dubious looking cover.
If you live near me, I'll loan you my copy. If you live elsewhere, get thee to a library, because if you decide you like Elantris, his Mistborn series is even better. And I don't lie.
February 11, 2010 at 6:13 PM
I bookmarked this and will give Elantris a try! ;)
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