Not about the baby at all

[juthwara]

I've noticed an interesting literary trend lately. I'm sure many people have noticed that the combined influences of the success of Buffy and Anita Blake have spawned many a new supernaturally themed novel about a monster-fighting woman who can still care about matching her outfit to her shoes. I've read any number of them, from the okay (Kelley Armstrong's Dime Store Magic) to the truly excellent (Robin McKinley's Sunshine; I highly recommend this book to anyone who a), loves Robin McKinley, b), used to love Robin McKinley but feels she's been repeating herself *cough* two retellings of Beauty and the Beast *cough*, or c), would like to read something like Laurell K. Hamilton without having to wince and look away every few pages because it's just too damn graphic. Heck, I highly recommend this book, period). But I've noticed that these books have spawned a further subgenre. In particular, if you pull all of the lightheartedness, humor, clothes-consciousness and great sex with vampires from Buffy and Anita Blake and leave behind the angst, darkness, kinky sex and rivers of blood, you would have what I've been reading lately: lighthearted and humorous novels about women who find themselves involved with the supernatural, but still retain their love of shoes. It's like Chick Lit with monsters, or SuperChick Lit, if you will.

Like any other genre, some are so-so and some are great. I just started in on one author, for instance, who seemed very promising, since she had this great concept about how superheroes are integrated into the modern world. She even had interesting plots. Unfortunately, she buried them in shlocky romance novel prose, where the interesting parts of the plot were only secondary to the he loves me, he loves me not/how can I ever be good enough for him?!? stereotypical romance novel plot. The same author does have a new series out about a soccer mom who fights demons, so I have it on hold in hopes that a book with a married heroine will leave less scope for romance. The series I'm enjoying the most is by MaryJanice Davidson, which while it has romance elements, has a real plot that manages to stay dominant to the romance. It's about Betsy Taylor, a Minneapolis secretary who, it turns out, is destined to become queen of the vampires and bring about the Apocalypse and whose half-sister is the Spawn of Satan. Meanwhile, she continues to love shoes. It's a fun series, and definitely good reading when you're as braindead as I am.

Comments

[kristeljohns.livejournal.com]

I may have to check out the McKinley one. I'm getting to that point where I need to become involved in a new series.

My problem with Laurell K. Hamilton these days isn't that she is too graphic. I spent about 8 months in a snit over the child molestation stuff in "Obsidian Butterfly" but eventually found myself too desperate to know what happened with Richard and Jean-Claude to stick to my vow of never buying her stuff again. Instead, my problem with her, these days, is that the books have all degenerated into soft-core porn.

Now, as a rule I have no problems with porn, soft-core or otherwise. But AB:VH started out as a more plot-driven series. The series was about her work as a vampire hunter/animator. Not so much anymore. These days it's all about her sex life. "Incubus Dreams" should have come with an advisory label that read "plot sold separately" for all the actual story there was that didn't involve propelling Anita from one bed to another.

Hamilton isn't bad if you start out expecting the series to be porn without plot, as with the Merry Gentry series. But that wasn't the case with the Anita Blake books and I am starting to feel the absence of the plot.

Something that the Anita Blake books might have helped launch is the fact that BDSM is coming out of the closet in literature, which is a rather interesting trend. Last year I stumbled upon Jacqueline Carey's "Kushiel's Legacy" trilogy, which is a wonderfully written series incorporating a combination of Judeo-Christian mythology, early European history, and flat-out fantasy, featuring a protagonist who is a sort of divine masochist. I liked it so well I made a point of picking up the first book of Carey's new series, "Banewreaker" and am eagerly awaiting the second installment, "Godslayer." I decided to hold off finishing the first book until the second came out, since it's only a two-parter and I might as well read it all at once. But from what I understood as far as I did get into it before I decided to wait, it's a little like "Lord of the Rings"...if Sauron wasn't such as bad guy and the protagonist was the Witch King of Angmar. Definitely an interesting twist.

[gonzothegreat.livejournal.com]

Just a quick one in on Kim Harrison's books (Dead Witch Walking, The Good, the Bad and the Undead and Any Which Way but Dead) with a similar bent. And while I did not enjoy Sunshine as much, I will agree that it is one of the better written examples of this burdoning sub-genre. Oh good greif. How litterary pretentious was that... "...examples of this burdoning sub-genre." I'm going to sulk away in shame now. ;)