From my diary

Very busy with ‘real life’ at the moment, so I’m in no position to make progress with any of my projects. 

Someone suggested that I do a kindle version of the Eusebius book, containing only the translation of the Gospel Problems and Solutions.  Helpfully he offered advice on how to make the thing.  I will certainly consider this at some point.

At the weekend I found myself in a newsagent with quite a book selection.  I came out with a book from a series of historical novels, about a couple of chaps in the 1st century army.  The book was Simon Scarrow, The Legion, and was set in Egypt.  I read it over the weekend.

In honesty it was a disappointment to me.  It was professionally written, but there was almost no atmosphere to the book.  When the scene shifted, I hardly noticed.  There was no scenery, no sense that we were in pharonic Egypt — just the narrative, just the adventures.  In fact this was so much the case that I wondered whether you could turn it into a ‘Western’ novel about the US cavalry, simply by doing some global search-and-replace on names, locations, weapons, etc.  I really felt  that you could!  It was pleasant enough but it went straight to my “out” pile for disposal. 

I noticed, in the same shop, that fantasy and horror were now shelved as interchangeable.  I don’t want horror and misery as entertainment, thanks — I get plenty of that from my boss! — and the two genres used to be very distinct.  I suspect it marks the decline of fantasy, in truth.   I can’t remember the last time I saw an innovative fantasy novel.

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3 thoughts on “From my diary

  1. Actually, I think what’s happening is that both fantasy and horror are leaning over into the territory of “paranormal romance” and its now-fraternal twin, “urban fantasy”. (Maybe a side order of steampunk fantasy.) There’s not much money being made in really epic and fantastic fantasy, except for the big names; there doesn’t seem to be much money in real horror.

    So we’re probably going back to the days when sf/fantasy/horror was the marketing category (ie, the early Eighties). Except that this time, it’s going to be mostly Gothic romances, instead of having a few sf/f Gothics in the Seventies, and a lot of sf/f writers doing mundane Gothics on the side for money.

    Shrug. Ebooks seem to be taking over anyway. Who knows what will happen?

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