I have a question for all you out there- what's your opinion of the paranormal/supernatural genre lately?
Because the more upcoming book lists I see, and the more times I walk around the YA section in the bookstore, the more I notice that there are TONS of paranormal books out there. And the more books like that I see and read, the more I get less enthusiastic about reading them.
Don't get me wrong- there are loads of paranormal books coming out that I'm really excited for. But those are also the ones I'm most wary of reading, because half the paranormal stuff out there now isn't very original.
I know a lot of contemporary books aren't as original as well, but I often find myself more tired of the cliche paranormal stuff. Reading about a girl falling in love with a vampire/zombie/werewolf/faery/something else or reading about a person who finds out they're some sort of supernatural being is becoming really tiresome.
I mean, I can barely stand to read a vampire book because I am so sick of them.
I'm still excited to read some of the "falls in love with a ___" or "finds out she's ___" books, I really want something original for once- I'm super excited to read Other by Karen Kincy because it's about a pooka, which I've never read about. (I don't even really know what a pooka IS, but I will educate myself.) I'm excited to read My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent because it's about a banshee, and I've never read about a banshee. I'm excited to read Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey because I have no idea what Maori mythology is. Those are only three examples, but still.
So, thoughts on paranormal in general?
A pooka is a type of fairy folk, Irish in origin, a shapeshifter that most often takes the shape of a black horse with gold eyes.
ReplyDeleteI read alot of this stuff...
I love fantasy, plain and simple, so I'm glad it's big right now. It really rocks for me. Even the vampire books because they're my favourite... like, ever, and before certain books, there were very few good ones out there.
Genres come and go. And within every genre, there are some good and some bad. Sometimes when a genre is popular there end up being more bad ones published simply because the genre is hot.
ReplyDeleteI feel like after maybe 4 more paranormal books, I'll be sick of the genre for a while.
ReplyDelete~Tashi
Just as wizard & fantasy books surged after Harry Potter, so have the vampire & supernatural books surged after Twilight. There's many new ones, yes, but quite a few are simply enjoying the limelight.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the next trend - anyone want to guess what that might be?
L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
lol I dunno Paranormal/Fantasy has been my favorite genre since I was 11 and reading R.L. Stein and Christopher Pike, then moving on to Anne Rice. My taste hasn't changed. It's just finding the ones that are quality in all the quantity :)
ReplyDeleteI am so with you on that! I am getting so tired of seeing paranormal stories which is based on forbidden love between a human and a __.
ReplyDeleteI used to avoid reading contemporary but nowadays, I rather read them.
Honestly, it's so true. I love a good paranormal book, but the idea's just getting so... overused. Of course I still read the paranormal/fantasy books, but I'm throwing in a lot of contemporary to mix it up. After Twilight, the numbers of paranormal romances have just surged upwards.
ReplyDelete- Alex
It's really unfortunate that the paranormal genre seems to be where it's at right now, because with more quantity comes less quality--at least usually in my case. It's funny, because no one ever complains about there being too much realistic fiction, eh? I do agree with several commenters that this is because of the Twilight influence.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's less about finding an original story and more about finding something that I can connect with, something that's actually well-written (and I'm dismayed at how difficult that is to find in the paranormal genre nowadays). My Soul to Take was interesting in that it was about banshees, but I'd take Vampire Academy over it any day based on quality of writing.
Thanks for the OTHER linkage, Khy!
ReplyDeleteI agree the TWILIGHT has spawned numerous paranormal romance ripoffs, though I do think there's a difference between a paranormal fantasy and a paranormal romance. If you're not too concerned with matters of forbidden love, then the plot must by default be more original than a TWILIGHT ripoff.
I'm also sick of plots involving a teen who uncovers super seekrit magic powers and "must save his/her world and himself/herself." For me, that's about as stale as the, "Ordinary human girl falls for drop-dead gorgeous paranormal hottie who's also deadly dangerous" plot.
I did play with a plot involving "not-so-ordinary human BOY falls for drop-dead gorgeous faerie girl." Because I'm sure it happens both ways. ;)
It's not the paranormal genre I have a problem with; it's the lack of originality shown by quite a few authors who are jumping on the bandwagon. Some of the plots are so similar that you could swap out the paranormal creature (vampire, werewolf, immortal, ghost) and still have essentially the same story. And reading the same story over and over gets old...
ReplyDeleteI love paranormal & supernatural I hope it keeps coming but yes it has increased a lot!
ReplyDeleteYeah. The vampire thing is what really gets on my nerves. Its like they're all trying to stand up to Twilight.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying. I love paranormal (it's what I'm writing, for pete's sake), but I'm so very, very sick of the same 'ol same 'ol--the masochistic good girl that falls for the hot bad guy with a nasty past and an otherwordly secret.
ReplyDeleteBut it's not just paranormal. ANY books that use the cliched good-girl-loves-bad-guy or the dowdy girl + nerdy boy + jock/bad boy love trianges drive me crazy ... UNLESS they're well written. I'll read just about anything if it's well written.
I <3 the paranormal genre. :)
ReplyDeleteMSTT was good. I also really enjoyed Intertwined by Gena Showalter.
I fall in and out of love with the paranormal genre. I use to love it in high school and adored anything Amelia Atwater-Rhodes wrote. Then I moved on to other genres. Over the past year, I'd pick up a book here and there, but now I've really gotten back into the genre again so for the most part I am loving it. But I do agree, there are a lot of books with such similar plots, it gets annoying. There are also some great books (like the ones you listed) that I hope won't get overlooked because of it.
ReplyDeleteAmber
While I don't read a lot of paranormal books, vampires certainly seem to be everywhere. But what really gets me are the contemporary highschool plot lines. For example:
ReplyDelete- Popular girls/cliques are automatically evil and will ruin your life, but the heroine is desperate to be/belong to one.
- If there's a "bad boy" in a story with a "good girl," he will steal her heart.
- If there's a mega popular boy in a story with a geeky girl, she will steal his heart.
- When the hero isn't in ditching-all-real-friends-for-popular-fake-ones mode, s/he is falling in love with whichever real friend s/he was just ditching a moment before.
Anybody else notice this? I'd love a book where like fell in love with like. A vampire that hooks up with (incredible!) another vampire. A boy who's neither popular nor geeky falling for a girl who doesn't belong to either the "cheerleaders" or the "chess club." That would make my day.
Im just not really a fan. It bugs me that when a great book comes out.... lets say errr..... like Twilight and it has huge success... suddenly the market is saturated with Twilight want to bes.... Harry Potter? Here comes Lemony Snicket.... and not just books, movies too. Remember Freaky Friday? Then we had Big, Vice Versa....
ReplyDeleteok... I'm just babbling... but thats my quarters worth :)
I go through phases where it is all I read for months and then all of a sudden I am reading more chick -lit or young adult or women's fiction. So it really depends on mood. Some stuff is awful, but I take the recommendations from my fellow bloggers into consideration and have read some really great paranormal novels.
ReplyDeleteI have never been a huge fan of the paranormal, I must admit. However, in the past year I have read lots of it. They all involved similar story lines, and while I enjoyed them I hated being on repeat mode. So I understand what you are saying about things not being original. I am up for a well written copycat every once in a while but this is just getting excessive.
ReplyDelete