Re: Stephenie Mayer -- the next J. K. Rowling

Sea Wasp wrote:
> Peter Knutsen wrote:
>> Andrew Wheeler wrote:
>>> What on earth is "real" fantasy fiction, and how does it differ from
>>> "fake" fantasy fiction?
>>
>> Actual fantasy is that which requires the reader to utilize the 
>> fantasy genre reading protocl, the same way that actual science 
>> fiction written by a science fiction author is that which requires the 
>> reader to utilize the science fiction reading protocol.
> 
>     I know not this "protocol" of which you speak. I read fantasy pretty

> much the same way I read SF. And I would think that if different 

You write it the same way too, I presume?

> "protocols" existed that it would be extremely difficult to read things 
> that cross the borders. Borders which, I will note, are almost 
> impossible to define, as shown by hundreds of discussions on this very 
> newsgroup.

I know that there exists a protocol for how science fiction is written 
and read, but I have never encountred a formally described fantasy 
protocol, and I often tend to think like you, that there is one protocol 
for reading fiction from the master-genre that contains both fantasy and 
science fiction.

However, it is clear to me that there exists fiction which most people 
would naively classify as fantasy or as science fiction (or as a hybrid 
- that doesn't matter), but which does not utilize the protocol.

-- 
Peter Knutsen
sagatafl.org