Showing posts with label Phillip Pullman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phillip Pullman. Show all posts

Thursday, October 1, 2015

What to read for light reading?

Long ago I used to read "mainstream fiction" and science fiction.  The mainstream drifted off course, yielding immense thick tomes with wimpy protagonists who whined a lot but never did anything.  Science fiction especially back in the John W. Campbell era was more readable.  Likeable protagonists had missions, set out to accomplish them, and usually succeeded.  The stories had life, often had thought provoking future societies, and the story moved. 
   Well they don't right science fiction much any more.  The really great golden age authors are mostly dead by now, and the few survivors are getting too old to write anymore.  The newer authors mostly try to do Tolkien style fantasy because they never took physics, chemistry, and biology in high school and feel they are to ignorant to do science fiction.  Fantasy, especially when you can invoke magic, means you can dream up anything you like, you don't have to know anything.  Trouble is, none of the Tolkien wanna-be authors have written anything nearly as good as Tolkien.
   At this time, I have started reading what the trade calls "Young Adult" books, mostly fantasies.  At least they have likable teen age protagonists, who have a mission, go out and do it, and don't whine. Rick Riordan's  stories of classical gods and goddesses surviving into modern times (21st century) are fun.  Phillip Pullman's stories set in an alternate earth are good.  George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones stuff is OK except he keeps killing of all the good guys and letting the bad guys flourish.