…on the genre conversation regarding his story, Whiteface.
I asked Mr. Adams what genre he considered Whiteface to be. His answer is below:
I'm intrigued by this question. I've actually spent some time thinking about it myself, because I submitted it to Writers of the Future and wondered if they perceived it as "not-fantasy-enough."
But, I'm a teacher, so I'll answer your question with another question. If you stripped George R R Martin's Westeros of its magic, would "Song of Ice and Fire" still be fantasy?
To me, the magic element in SoIaF is the least compelling part of his work (well, besides the explicit sex scenes), so I'm perhaps biased in this particular case. But, I think the fantasy element comes primarily in the world he built, the history and cultures. Because that's essentially a speculative, fantastical thing, building a world.
So, in that sense, I would call "Whiteface" fantasy, because the cultures never existed in reality. But then, maybe we need some more distinctive labels, because it's not fantasy in the same way "Way of Kings" is fantasy. I didn't recreate the physical laws that govern the world like Sanderson did. I aimed for a particular historical period, and set it in this world, then built my society.
I’ll just point out (to Mr. Eric Jerkface Stone) that the…authoritative answer is “fantasy.” 
--Scott M. Roberts
Asst. Editor, IGMS
2 comments:
So, under Mr. Adams' criteria/opinion, is "Steampunk" hard fantasy or soft science fiction.
I, too, am from the old school when science fiction was rivets and fantasy trees. With so many genres of fantasy today, ie vampires, vampire hunters, zombies, succubbi, werewolves, magic, dragons, etc, especially in YA stories, it's hard to tell. Many of the aforementioned sub-genres were actually murder mysteries and historical novels.
I'm not critisizing nor trying to start an argument. I agree with Mr Adams and SMR that "Whiteface" is fantasy and I look forward to part 2.
My biggest gripe is having to search thru a myriad (how many is that? kinda like a whole bunch?) of fantasy titles when I looking for Science Fiction (rivets), because most book stores lump the two individual genres together.
Thanks for listening.
Jerome Kendrick
IGMS Subscriber?Purchaser since Issue 1
PS
When will 25 be available for download?
Hmmm . . . I think I would class Steampunk as a sub-genre of sci fi, because it usually deals with scientists and/or technology.
Though you bring up a really good point. I mean, genres are really to help people find the particular kind of story they like, right? So there's something wrong when they don't help us do that. Maybe we should just put "trees" or "rivets" on the spines of our books?
This would help us find books that feel like fantasy, but are mixed with sci fi elements. I'm thinking of things like C.S. Friedman's wonderful"Coldfire Trilogy," which has a "trees" feel with horses and a quest, even though it is about humans who have settled another planet.
PS--IGMS 25 is out now! (not that I check Amazon three times a day or anything)
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