TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Genres that don't cross over often enough

Go To

JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#27: Jun 17th 2013 at 1:14:20 PM

I think what makes it so effective is that we get a double perspective. On one hand the scholars that dig up her story are just as clueless as we are, but at the same time the innocent little girl could be the real expert as the story makes it ambiguous if it's just her active imagination or if she's really part of a abomination-worshiping cult.

It's also interesting to get cosmic horror from a character who's not a learned scholar which gives the horror more surprise when it happens.

Rem Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
#28: Jun 17th 2013 at 2:47:22 PM

Post Scientific Revolution Fantasy.

In other words, a fantasy world that's actually advanced on a technological and social scale—alternative forms of government, improved standards of living, the works.

And I don't mean modern or urban fantasy, before anyone mentions it—those are usually our world, only with magic and whatnot added (Usually hiding behind a Masquerade.) What I mean is a world that naturally developed, and with the fantasy elements deeply ingrained within it's culture. Congressmen arguing over Orc/Human marriage. Physicists unifying quantum mechanics and general relativity through the inclusion of magic. Escapist fiction. Those sorts of things.

(Actually, any form of non-Tolkien fantasy would be a nice change, but I digress.)

Fire, air, water, earth...legend has it that when these four elements are gathered, they will form the fifth element...boron.
Darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#29: Jun 17th 2013 at 3:06:02 PM

All my current fantasy world projects are just before, or after industrialization.

My main project is a bit like real life in that different parts of the globe have different tech levels. Though it's muddied by the fact that it takes place after an apocalypse with the previous civilization having science fiction levels of fantasy tech and spellcraft, with the more advanced countries managing to retain artifacts and bits of instructions on how to make some of the old weapons. Complicating the matter is that the rest of the world's slowly rebuilding with the recent discovery of guns and flamethrowers. Roughly 17th century level tech. However, even the lower-level countries are slowly getting blueprints with the use of spies and covert operations so they can skip huge chunks of technological development if their lucky enough to reverse-engineer them.

Sorry, that's in-progress work, doesn't really count.

MrShine Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Hoping Senpai notices me
#30: Jun 17th 2013 at 5:17:36 PM

[up][up]One of my favourite sub-genres to read also. Most of the fantasy I read falls into that category actually since i dont like the more classical fantasy settings.

majoraoftime (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#31: Jun 17th 2013 at 6:27:09 PM

Post Scientific Revolution Fantasy.

The Mistborn series is heading towards this. Well, it's pretty much there already what with Alloy Of Law being set in the 1900-equivalent of that world.

Noaqiyeum we must dissent (it/they) from across the gulf of space (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
Nightwire Since: Feb, 2010
Darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#34: Jun 19th 2013 at 2:00:17 PM

Discworld's interesting because we get to see a large part of the industrialization as it happens.

Also China Mieville averts this trope in his works. Bas-Lag being a pretty good example.

Lightningnettle Nettle Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Nettle
#35: Jun 21st 2013 at 6:38:46 PM

@Rem, Harry Turtledove's The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump does this, complete with ruminations on how much cleaner the environment would be if only people had explored the uses of technology rather than magic.

SapphireBlue Since: Jan, 2001
#36: Jul 11th 2013 at 9:11:49 PM

Totally agree with Rem. There's a surprising lack of stuff like that.

darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#37: Jul 12th 2013 at 10:18:42 AM

The problem with that is you can fall into the trap of building a modern society like ours and just saying it runs on magic rather than science.

Tales of MU has a bit of that as a flaw, but the author does give an effort in making the world different enough and having some clever ideas on magitech.

TheEvilDrBolty Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
#38: Jul 14th 2013 at 11:01:52 PM

Just another rec for historical mysteries - Roman Mysteries by Steven Saylor. I had a Latin teacher read a story from it aloud once, and it seemed like a solid (if unspectacular) mystery series livened up by the ancient Rome setting.

darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#39: Jul 15th 2013 at 9:55:18 AM

Yeah, I've heard good stuff about it. Though I'm picky about historical fiction as way too many authors use it as cheap window dressing without doing anything to make the setting believable.

Mr.Didact Keep Hope Alive from Winterfell Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: Naked on a bearskin rug, playing the saxophone
Keep Hope Alive
#40: Jul 18th 2013 at 2:31:46 AM

In a similar vein I never saw a book series that combined a Modern Military Setting with Fantasy. Until I read Shadow Ops which is written by an actual Soldier and a Geek so realistic military tactics and magic goodness abound

Stand Fast, Stand Strong, Stand Together
Add Post

Total posts: 40
Top