A Black Falcon said:
Ray Bradbury is very good. Try his stuff again, both the stories and that TV series I mentioned too. I haven't read Azimov in quite a while either though, but he's certainly highly regarded in the genre...
It's the problem with the canon, where you kind of just have to read "bad" fiction because it's important to the field. It happens with everything though.
As for your complaint there, some fantasy and sci-fi does a better job of world-building than others. Better stuff in either field (sci-fi in particular) can get pretty interesting with concepts of possible alien life. Some authors have really tried to make "realistic" aliens... many others don't, but some have. In fantasy sticking with the standard races is the most common thing, and since I love fantasy stuff I don't mind that, but still some at least have somewhat more original ideas, even if they're just modified elves and dwarves a lot of the time.
As for names though, I think fantasy names should be things that don't sound like "normal" human names. I expect that and like fantasy characters to have fantasy-style names.
Aliens also, of course they should be different somehow... sure I guess sometimes it's silly, but not always.
I don't mind world building, but in film/television form, they can't mull on their worlds too long. Exceptions exist of course, since Aria is basically a Venice tourist video, but it's very rare to see that kind of world building executed well. I suppose the fact that most fantasy novels exist in some form of European history makes it a bit easier, but then it becomes about the mythology... and I can barely keep away for all the Greek/Roman stuff, so I'm not sure how I can keep up with fake gods made up for a book.
As for side stories and stuff, yeah that one you mention in ASoIaF does sort of pay of (she's a regular character), but in a book it's easy to skip something, if you don't like it... in fantasy books which switch between multiple viewpoints from chapter to chapter, something very common in the genre, sometimes I will skip around to read all of the chapters for one character in order, or something, if I want to know what happens next without having to read several unrelated chapters first. That's easy to do in a book.
Yeah, I tend to skim through a lot of novels nowadays. I suppose the good thing about genre fiction is that you know exactly what you can speed through.
Really? I haven't noticed. What shows are you talking about? It does seem harder for fantasy shows to not be cheesy on TV, but it is kind of odd, it doesn't seem like it should be THAT hard to do a decent fantasy TV show... oh well.
Merlin, Camelot, Spartacus, The Borgias... there's probably more on the horizon.
You haven't watched it yet? You need to, experience the tedium for yourself!
I've heard the game just uses scenes from the anime, so that should be hilarious.
Also though I think that more action without purpose goes into things for younger audiences... though sure, some adults obviously like pointless action too. I have mixed feelings, sometimes I can watch it but other times I just am left so uninterested I turn it off. But I've never exactly been an action movie fan, though... never watched a Rambo or Rocky movie, for instance. And I think the only Schwarzenegger movie I watched in the '80s or '90s was Jingle all the Way...
If I turn my brain off, action is something I can usually watch once because it's bros being bros. After the fact, it becomes an issue of craft - either I like the directing in the scene, or the music, so I might watch an action scene again (for me, the chases in The Bourne series for John Powell's soundtrack). Otherwise, I become bored out of my mind.
Perfect example is District 9. It's a fine movie the first time around, but on a second viewing it doesn't hold up at all. The tension of the first half is gone and the last 30 minute action sequence is just a boring orgy of nondescript violence.
Bah, WinDVD is better.
Same dif!
