If I see another...

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Jamie Stone

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... monster mash-up novel in the vein of "Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies," "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters," "Jane Slayre," "Little Women and Werewolves," "Android Karanina," "Queen Victoria, Demon Hunter," or "Mansfield Park and Mummies" I am going to SCREAM.

It's cute, and a novelty, when you have one book of this type. Or maybe even two. But now it's just getting ridiculous, folks. Same goes for Twilight knock-offs, and badly written werewolf novels.

And all of the urban fantasy on the shelves is starting to look an awful lot alike, too... I'm not really too familiar with UF as a genre, so I'm curious: is being a detective/crimesolving type a requirement of the genre? Because the vast majority, if not all, of the UF I browsed through today had this theme, including Jim Butcher and Laura Ann Gilman's "Hard Magic." Those are the only ones I can think of right now.

I think maybe I'm just spending too much time at Barnes and Noble and losing my mind. ;)
 

Jamie Stone

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I couldn't believe how many of these have popped up in the last several months, gah. I mean, how much talent does it take to take a well-known classic and change the wording/add a few lines here and there about zombies climbing through windows... It's not legally plagiarism, but if someone did it to Harry Potter or Twilight (the fact that they already have supernatural creatures notwithstanding) they'd be sued to pieces. ._.
 

Rhoda Nightingale

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Totally agree. I haven't read a single one of those things, and I don't intend to. It was funny for about five minutes. Now it's absurd and, I think, insulting to the original works.

I don't know about "urban fantasy" to be honest, because I don't read a lot of it, but it sure looks that way if you're just browsing.
 

virtue_summer

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... monster mash-up novel in the vein of "Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies," "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters," "Jane Slayre," "Little Women and Werewolves," "Android Karanina," "Queen Victoria, Demon Hunter," or "Mansfield Park and Mummies" I am going to SCREAM.

It's cute, and a novelty, when you have one book of this type. Or maybe even two. But now it's just getting ridiculous, folks. Same goes for Twilight knock-offs, and badly written werewolf novels.

And all of the urban fantasy on the shelves is starting to look an awful lot alike, too... I'm not really too familiar with UF as a genre, so I'm curious: is being a detective/crimesolving type a requirement of the genre? Because the vast majority, if not all, of the UF I browsed through today had this theme, including Jim Butcher and Laura Ann Gilman's "Hard Magic." Those are the only ones I can think of right now.

I think maybe I'm just spending too much time at Barnes and Noble and losing my mind. ;)

It's not a requirement but it is popular right now. For urban fantasy in a different vein, check out Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, or Neil Gaiman.
 

Gillhoughly

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Oops. I missed the point.

Not like me.

:blushing:

I won't agree or disagree, but I do see that the books are selling. If people are reading, even if they're reading crap, it's always going to be a good thing for all writers.

Case in point: I hate the Twilight books, but when the girls run out of them to read, they grab something similar and discover much better writers.

One of my pals is on a month long signing tour--on her publisher's dime--of the UK where her teen vamp books are outselling Twihard. Yay her!
 
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Terie

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It's not legally plagiarism, but if someone did it to Harry Potter or Twilight (the fact that they already have supernatural creatures notwithstanding) they'd be sued to pieces. ._.

It's parody. And they're out of copyright.

Someone has done a parody on Harry Potter (Barry Trotter) and if Twilight hasn't been parodied yet, it's only a matter of time. Plus, both are still well under copyright protection.

I listened to the sample chapter of the Sense and Sensibiilty one, and though it was kind of cute, it didn't jingle my bell enough to carry on.

But if enough people like them for publishers to make a profit, whatever. I'm all for publishers making a profit and keeping publishing more books. :D

Also, I just started listening to the Dresden Files. Great stuff so far (plus the first books predate the current trend--as a matter of fact, they're probably one of the setters of the current trend). Doesn't hurt that James Marsters is the narrator of the audiobooks Yum!
 

KTC

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... monster mash-up novel in the vein of "Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies," "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters," "Jane Slayre," "Little Women and Werewolves," "Android Karanina," "Queen Victoria, Demon Hunter," or "Mansfield Park and Mummies" I am going to SCREAM.

It's cute, and a novelty, when you have one book of this type. Or maybe even two. But now it's just getting ridiculous, folks. Same goes for Twilight knock-offs, and badly written werewolf novels.

And all of the urban fantasy on the shelves is starting to look an awful lot alike, too... I'm not really too familiar with UF as a genre, so I'm curious: is being a detective/crimesolving type a requirement of the genre? Because the vast majority, if not all, of the UF I browsed through today had this theme, including Jim Butcher and Laura Ann Gilman's "Hard Magic." Those are the only ones I can think of right now.

I think maybe I'm just spending too much time at Barnes and Noble and losing my mind. ;)


Ha! Get ready to scream. They're selling.

I will never crack their covers. I look at them like they are pariahs on the shelf...and in return, they look at me with indifference. We can co-exist...we just won't blend. GAWD! (mind if I scream too?)
 

Sean Wills

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I couldn't agree more. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was a fun little novelty, but the moment I saw it I knew it would spawn a warped mini-genre. And now it has. I'll just let Kate Beaton tell us all where we're going to end up if this continues:

"I found this at the bookshop, I thought you would be most pleased with it."

(I also dislike the torrent of generic Urban Fantasy on the shelves right now. I tried to read some of it, but dear God does it get boring after a while.)
 

Shadow_Ferret

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My suggestion: don't buy them if you are so offended.

I really don't get the hatin' everyone does over books that sell.

Because when I see that I see two good things:
Books selling.
People reading.

And those are the important things.
 

friendlyhobo

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My suggestion: don't buy them if you are so offended.

I really don't get the hatin' everyone does over books that sell.

Because when I see that I see two good things:
Books selling.
People reading.

And those are the important things.

Don't worry, I don't think she buys them, or wants the people who read them to be stripped of their literacy. I think she's venting. Which is I understand, because I am also not seeing the appeal in this trend.

...and kate beaton rules!
 

Ruth2

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Shadow Ferret and Gillhoughly, I'm with you. Personally the classics + monsters don't do anything for me but hey, if it's your cuppa tea, go for it.

Urban Fantasy-- I like 'em. A lot of them seem derivative but when it's been a bad day, I can read one and escape into a familiar world. Yeah, a lot of them seem to be modern day paranormal Westerns set in a city but.. why not? But then my WIP skates pretty close to the Urban Fantasy genre, although it has no good guy/gal super-powered a$$whipping detective/MC. Hmm.. I wonder if that's a requirement for UF, as Jamie Stone mused.
 

Fallen

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*BLUSHES* I loved Bored Of the Rings and young Dildo Baggins.
 

Cyia

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It's parody. And they're out of copyright.

Someone has done a parody on Harry Potter (Barry Trotter) and if Twilight hasn't been parodied yet, it's only a matter of time. Plus, both are still well under copyright protection.

Harvard Lampoon already did a Twi-parody "Nightlight".

About three things I was absolutely certain. First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe. Second, there was a vampire part of him–which I assumed was wildly out of his control–that wanted me dead. And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.
And thus Belle Goose falls in love with the mysterious and sparkly Edwart Mullen in the Harvard Lampoon’s hilarious send-up of Twilight.
 

Libbie

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insulting to the original works.

That is exactly how I feel. It just seems like peeing in the eye of these works to me. Just because they're in the public domain doesn't make it right.

Plus, I think it's effing stupid that "writers" are getting money for jimmying a bunch of WOOO SUPERNATURAL CREATURES (!!!11!!!1) into already-existing works. WRITE YOUR OWN URBAN FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, asshats.
 

Libbie

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I've got "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" on my TBR list.

That was actually a fully original novel, though, wasn't it? It's not a case of just sticking a few additional words or changing a few nouns here and there in the original text?

I'd be willing to read Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter if it's an original creation. Not so for the classics that have been shoehorned with zombies and shit.
 

Kweei

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I've reached a point where none of this bothers me anymore. I will read what I like and ignore what I don't. And if someone is successful for something that isn't my cuppa, then good on them.

If I'm unhappy with current trends, I'll just write what I like and see if it makes a dent.
 

MsGneiss

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I thought the very first one (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) was a clever pun aimed at copyright laws. I'm shocked that there are more. The point has been made, it was heard, and relatively well received. Why keep making the same point over again in exactly the same way? Beats me. But, I guess somebody's buying it.
 

MissMacchiato

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apparently some of them are very funny. I haven't bothered to read any since I'm not a fan of them either :) if people like them and as a result, begin to read more, then I guess that can only benefit us writers, but I'm not a huge fan.

I'd by lying if I said I didn't totally want to write Wuthering Hags though - just so I could kill off Heathcliffe and Cathy in the first friggen chapter, but that's just probably just my bitterness at that book speaking, LOL :D
 

Jamie Stone

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In a bizarre turn of things, I actually am interested in reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I think if it's done well it might be fairly original and interesting. It's the "let's put a monster or two into a classic novel" trend that bugs the heck outta me. Didn't know the author was a member here. And in fact, since Seth-Grahame is basically the trendsetter for this one, I don't think there's anything wrong with him or "Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies." It was at least semi-original when he did it. But now all of the bandwagoners are getting a bit out of hand.
 
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