- Superheroes: Good vs Evil, Flat Arc Main Protag with a Cast that Changes while that main character stays constant. Like a rock. A solid, forthright rock. Of TRUTH, JUSTICE and the AMERICAN WAY! Massively prefer happy endings. Keep gray morality out of it. If it has any current year "on the sleeve" themes or dystopia in it, far less likely to read. Escapism and Reconstruction are my biggest factors as well.
- Cyberpunk: Tech and exploring the boundaries of the human mind and body. ALA G.I.T.S
- Military Sci fi: I understand grit is required but prefer seeing the underdog win. Would like to see the protags succeed. Less Buck Rodgers.(DYSTOPIA/BLACK PILL) More along the vein of Old BSG or Flash Gordon. I am ok with politics appearing, just don't make it: AH HA! That's the Stand In for current year X person! (Harrington and Galaxy's Edge are an example of the right way to do this. The politics serve the story.)
- Space Opera: Give me the whole galaxy or universe to explore. Pew pew! I prefer more optimistic settings, ala Babylon 5. Or Galaxy Ascendant. Both those settings have Mil-Sci Fi added into the mix a bit but have the grand overview of Space Opera.
- Fantasy: Sometimes I do epic fantasy, or even space fantasy. I want the narrative pretty quick and to the point. It can have lots of magic or none but unless I am in the mood for it Ill be more on the side of finding something not as downer as Malazan Book of the Fallen or GoT. I prefer pulpy sword and sorc setups more often then not. Tiger and Del. Conan. LoTR type setups.
- Sword and Planet: Barsoom or the Scout Series is my go to for this. Foremost. It can have science fiction or fantasy elements or both. I love it when a dash of Courtly Romance is included.
Ive found that since current year + whatever has been in effect, I am finding myself trying to get to more optimistic stories to offset the stupidity of mundane life and politics.
Edit to clarify: Harrington and Galaxy's Edge are an example of how to put in politics but make it such that its an amalgamation of political movements and not a direct indication of current year "ID" or TDS issues.
Question on Mil Sci-Fi: Do Harrington and GE have Stand-Ins for Current Year X Person, or do they not?
ReplyDeleteBoth series do have some people that display Ideologies that you can see in current year politics but they are an amalgamation and not: OH that one is Trump or that one is Obama. Or Clinton ect. The Peeps aka People's Republic in Honor Harrington has a whole lot of commentary on how Socialist Regimes work but no one person is obviously x y or z. Same for Honor's side, the Star Kingdom is a mix of British monarchy w/ some more America stripes through it. Grayson too. Weber is pretty good at that. He can put politics in on all sides and not be preachy about it. He does get long winded on the tech. Esp after book 8 or so.
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