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

Andrew Wheeler wrote:
> Peter Knutsen <peter@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>> Andrew Wheeler wrote:
>>> Peter Knutsen <peter@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>>> Might that be because Harry Potter is a lot more "accessible" than
>>>> what one might refer to as real fantasy fiction?
>>>
>>> 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,
>
> Achtung! Fantasy novel approaching, Fritz! Break out the Fantasy Novel
> Reading Protocol!
>
> As others have said, here you're just asserting things that no one
> else agrees with.
>
> Admittedly, there are strategies that can be useful in reading various
> genre SF and Fantasy works, but that's not what you're saying.
>
> (The way one reads a secondary-world fantasy, most urban fantasy,
> alternate history, and most future-set SF is not all that different
> from the way one reads a mystery novel -- keep a close eye out for
> telling details, and try to figure out what those details imply.)
>
>> 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.
>>
>>> And there's a whole lot of very strong-selling fantasy books over
>>> here in the genre, both of the secondary-world-epic and of the
>>> vampire-shagging varieties, which a very large number of people
>>> seem to find easy to understand.
>>>
>>> Harry Potter is no more accessible than Anita Blake or Rand al'Thor.
>>
>> Are you certain?
>
> Why yes. I have an accessibility meter right here. Let me start it up.
>
> {high-pitched hum}
>
> Harry Potter comes in at 18 -- the first book; the later ones vary.
>
> Anita Blake is a 17.
>
> I misspoke slightly; Rand is actually a 22.
>
> _Dhalgren_ is a 56, _Ulysses_ a 73, and _Finegans Wake_ a near-perfect
> 97. _Go Dog Go_, on the other hand, is a 1.

Do I dare ask what the scale is and do high numbers mean more or less 
accesable?

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