From about the fourth grade when I graduated from mostly kids books to mostly mass-market paperbacks through high school, the Fantasy/Sci-Fi aisle was my bookstore haunt. I’ve always found it a little bit odd, if admittedly efficient, the way that Balrogs, Skrulls, Gethenians and D20 dice are all lumped together in a nerd ghetto. Would aliens (or elves) classifying all Earthly literature with fresh eyes (assuming these aliens have eyes) ever conceive of a classification system that would put Ben Bova and Terry Brooks side-by-side? In any case, it worked pretty well for a while. These days, nerds are pretty much taking over the bookstore, as evidenced by the boom of YA fantasy, Sookie Stackhouse and graphic novels.
It was shortly after graduating from high school that I turned my back on the old Sci-Fi/Fantasy shelves. I still lined up for the latest genre movie, but with the exception of stopping by a few times for Neal Stephenson’s latest, I started giving my old haunt a wide berth. On the one hand, it was high time I broadened my horizons, but I was trying a bit too hard to “mature” my tastes. I probably went a full ten years without reading a book with spaceships!
Long story short, picking up where my reading habits left off, I just discovered Joe Haldeman’s seminal sci-fi novel The Forever War and it knocked my snooty spaceship-and-military-fiction-averse socks off. Quick summary for those who haven’t read it yet, the Forever War is about one soldier’s experience in a war between humans and an alien race that, due to time dilation from faster-than-lightspeed travel, lasts over a thousand years. While there are a few battle scenes, the novel isn’t about tactics or technology at all, but rather it’s a timeless soldier’s story about loss, alienation and hurrying-up-and-waiting, very much like recent films Stop-Loss and Jarhead , or the classic Full Metal Jacket. While Haldemam wrote the novel in response to Vietnam (himself a Vet), The Forever War feels even more relevant for today’s world, where war is paradoxically both more clinical and abstract than ever. It’s a fast read, but one that sticks with you. It would make a great film or miniseries, provided the filmmakers were more Terrance Malick than Michael Bay. Anyway, I know most people who come to this site are more into faeries than phasers, but if you’re at all hard SF tolerant, give The Forever War a read!
Next up on my genre reading list — Bones of Faerie. I’ll report back soon.
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Jake, you’re so cool. I hope that I’ll be able to meet you someday(Though, I don’t think you’ll want to meet ANOTHER one of those squeely fangirls <:] ) It would be so awesome to get your autograph XD good luck with writing you’re books!
I’m always excited to meet people who enjoy my work, squees and all! I’mm basically a squeeing fangirl myself, only sometimes I have a beard. Thanks for the well wishes.
Oh, thank God! I thought I was the only sci-fi lover out there in the 80s. (My last journal entry on deviant described how I was raised on sci-fi movies, thanks to my dad, which, I know, is not books, but I read those too!)
It is unusual how most of the fictional works in the bookstores ARE sci-fi and fantasy themed these days, I guess writing about reality is overrated. I have enough reality in my life, I’d rather not read about it too. Terry Brooks was always an excellent writer. Personally, I’ll never give up Tolkien.
I’m a huge fan of Peter David, myself, since I’m a “Trekkie”– I, actually, got to meet him at NYC ComicCon2009 this year. It was fantastic! He and his wife and daughters were there. I showed him my old Star Trek Fan Art. Wow, I was a supernerd in High School when I drew those! (I guess I still am, but, “hey”, nerd is the new cool, right?)
Anyhow… I’m still bouncing around waiting for May 12th! “Return to Labyrinth” Volume 3 will be fantastic ~and~ it arrives just in time to help me unwind after taking my Statistics final on May 9th. w00T, also the new “Star Trek” movie comes out May 8th! I sure hope it’s a good story that keeps the original characters intact.
PS: I’ll be sure to check out your latest recommendation of Haldeman’s “Forever War”. Thank you!
Ooooh, that sounds awesome. While I do read a lot of Scifi/Fantasy, I pretty much only read on recommendation. There’s so much dreck out there with authors who think they have a “good enough” fantasy or scifi story by throwing in swords and sorcerers or some quasi-futuristic setting with only elves and technobabble and no depth. If you happen to like space opera at all, I would highly recommend Peter F. Hamilton’s Commonwealth Saga, Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained. Pandora’s Star starts slow but then picks up and leaves you with a wtf cliffhanger. My b/f also really likes his Night’s Dawn Trilogy, which I have yet to get to. I’ll put Forever War on my list!