re: #259 HappyWarrior

You describe my experience with that genre perfectly there. The short stories I remember reading in school that i really enjoyed were realistic ones like Liam O’Flaherty’s The Sniper. Not that I can relate to an IRA Sniper in 1920’s Dublin but the setting felt more real to me. I just never have gotten into scii-fi or fantasy because the settings are yes difficult to relate to.

I’m not much into fantasy, but SF I’ll read until the cows come home. I read Tolkien and loved it, but the fantasy epics written since the 1970s just do not hold my attention past the first or second installment. The main problem, I suspect, is that authors and publishers expect a fanbase that wants a looonnnng story spanning many volumes, and the pacing of the novel suffers. Game of Thrones is a prime example. On one hand, I can appreciate the efforts Martin makes in constructing his Westeros universe so vividly. On the other hand, I find the detailed descriptions of food, clothing, heraldry, relationships, etc., mind numbingly dull. I gave up reading the books, but I like the TV series.