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Classifying Jacqueline Cary's novels
Eliza
Posted: Saturday, March 5, 2011 11:02 PM
Joined: 3/3/2011
Posts: 15


I love to argue and discuss philosophical/literary issues in genre, so I thought I'd bring up the categorization of Jacqueline Cary's Kushiel novels as Alternate History (and thus in SF) on the Genre Map. I would put her much closer to High Fantasy, I think.

Eliza
Posted: Saturday, March 5, 2011 11:06 PM
Joined: 3/3/2011
Posts: 15


I'd also be willing to go with Historical Fantasy, since that's where Guy Gavriel Kay has landed. Her work certainly seems closer to Kay and perhaps Robin Hobb than it does to Harry Turtledove and Philip Dick.
Danielle Poiesz
Posted: Wednesday, March 9, 2011 5:27 PM
oooh this is a great topic! I love that you guys are discussing genre map placement! It's such a subjective thing and we'd love to hear what you all think
Mara Kaan
Posted: Thursday, March 10, 2011 11:01 PM
Joined: 3/9/2011
Posts: 4


Test Only. Apologies.
Robert C Roman
Posted: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 4:41 AM
Joined: 3/12/2011
Posts: 376


I haven't read the Kushiel novels (been pestered to, they're on the 'to-read' list, but I haven't read them yet.

Genre placement IS on my mind though. It's one of the things I need to do, kinda desperately, for my own stuff.

That said, all the descriptions I've heard would place Kushiel in High or Historical Fantasy, not Alt History.
Alexander Hollins
Posted: Sunday, April 3, 2011 10:44 AM
Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412


Kushiel's is NOT high fantasy. magic, other than peasant incidental magic, is almost non existent. I would put it as a low fantasy, or, not alt history, but alternate world, since there is some physical discrepancy as well.

(Personally, I just categorize it as , you gotta read it. A lot of my D/s friends overuse the concept of a natural sub WAY too much, or idolize the MC WAY too much, but then, Stranger in a Strange Land gets just as much abuse from the poly community, so you can't judge a book that way. Great prose, great dialogue. )