Is sci fi and fantasy only for the rich and intelligent?

[CaptJohnSheridan]

I only buy books at Barnes & Noble but I couldn't help but laugh at Walmart's selection of books. Nothing but trashy romance novels, right wing books by people like Rush Limbaugh, and generic techno thriller novels. Even Fred Meyers has a great selection of sci fi and fantasy novels. I saw novels like Game of Thrones, Shannara, Lost Fleet, and even Larry Niven at Fred Meyers. Do the Walmart execs think sci fi and fantasy requires too much intellect from their clientele?

 

[Zhukov]

I'm trying really hard but my eyes just cannot roll far enough.

SciFi/fantasy books do not cost any more than other books. So there's the "only for the rich" part straight out the window. Nor do they inherently require any particular intelligence to read and understand. So there's the "only for the intelligent" part gone.

They are "only" for people who enjoy scifi/fantasy. Some of whom love to think doing so makes them special.

Walmart presumably does not stock them because they can make more money devoting shelf space to more popular material.

 

[Hawki]

Even Fred Meyers has a great selection of sci fi and fantasy novels. I saw novels like Game of Thrones, Shannara, Lost Fleet, and even Larry Niven at Fred Meyers.

...how the heck is Shannara a "great" fantasy novel? 0_0

But to answer your question, no. As pointed out, they don't cost any more than other genres, and even if I like sci-fi/fantasy, I'm not of the illusion that they're meant for more intelligent people. For every Dune, there's nine Monster Hunters, and for every Lord of the Rings, there's nine Medoran Chronicles (basically Sturgeon's Law). Difference is that these are fringe genres, so they're going to get far less circulation.

 

[tippy2k2]

I'm not rich and I wouldn't call myself particularly smart and I love Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

Walmart sells stuff that is mass appeal and generally, Sci-Fi and Fantasy are niche. Once in a while you get something that really explodes in popularity from those genres (like The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones, both which I've seen at my local Wal-Mart) but the rule of thumb is that they're not going to stock something that doesn't have the mass appeal.

For every Dune, there's nine Monster Hunters

But I like Monster Hunter

 

[Hawki]

For every Dune, there's nine Monster Hunters

But I like Monster Hunter

Heh, fair enough. To be honest, I've never read it, it was just the first thing that came into my mind when I was thinking of pulp sci-fi, and only then because of the whole Sad/Rabid Puppies thing that sprouts up on a yearly basis.

To be honest, I can name a lot more lacking fantasy novels than sci-fi ones. Maybe fantasy is inherently more derivative?

 

[tippy2k2]

For every Dune, there's nine Monster Hunters

But I like Monster Hunter

Heh, fair enough. To be honest, I've never read it, it was just the first thing that came into my mind when I was thinking of pulp sci-fi, and only then because of the whole Sad/Rabid Puppies thing that sprouts up on a yearly basis.

To be honest, I can name a lot more lacking fantasy novels than sci-fi ones. Maybe fantasy is inherently more derivative?

Doesn't make you wrong either, I'm just bustin your chops

They're fun time waster books (The Michael Bays of the book world if you would). They're not going to change your world but they're pretty entertaining reads.

 

[StatusNil]

Can confirm, tried to buy Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said and failed the requisite IQ test.

It was all for nothing anyway, as I mistook it for a self-help book for fixing that toxic masculinity thing I'm told I have.

 

[Wrex Brogan]

No.

 

[The Madman]

Nope, that stuff just sells quicker is all.

...how the heck is Shannara a "great" fantasy novel? 0_0

Hey, some of the Shannara books were pretty damned good. Or at least I remember them being quite good when I last read any, which now that I think about it was... umm... 15ish years ago? Oh jeez that was a long time ago.

 

[Hawki]

...how the heck is Shannara a "great" fantasy novel? 0_0

Hey, some of the Shannara books were pretty damned good. Or at least I remember them being quite good when I last read any, which now that I think about it was... umm... 15ish years ago? Oh jeez that was a long time ago.

Well, hardly going to rag on anyone for their opinion. Speaking personally, I've read three Shannara books (First King, Sword, Elfstones), and am currently reading Wishsong. Of this lot, I can't call any of them "great" in the same way I'd call, say, LotR or AsoIaF great given how significant they are within the genre. Many people have commented on the similarities between Sword and LotR, and I'm very much inclined to agree with them, as it basically compresses LotR into the scope of a single book. Shannara is very much wearing its influence on its sleeve.

That said, even taking the books by themselves, they've ranked from "bad" to "okay" for me (so far, Elfstones>Sword>First King), but even discounting its inspirations, I'm not that taken by them. The first trilogy has basically used the same story structure (Allanon turns up, gets Ohmsford kids, adventure happens, big battle at the end, Allanon reveals stuff, the end) - replace the warlock lord in Sword with the demons in Elfstones, and the Sword with the bloodfire, the Southland with the Westland, and it's pretty much the same plot. So far, Wishsong is exactly the same, just taking place in the Eastland, the black walkers replacing the Skull Bearers, the wishsong being the mcguffin, etc. At least in the original trilogy, it's the same story structure only with cosmetic differences. There's also his writing style - I've noticed that Brooks tends to simply summarize events rather than really delve into them at times.

Course this is just my opinion, but having only read Shannara in the last few years, it feels...well, old. At worst, derivative. That's not to say it's devoid of original ideas (e.g. the post-apocalyptic setting), but I feel there's far better options out there. And at the least, I can't call it "great," because it's basically "Lord of the Rings Lite." Even Wheel of Time felt like it had more of its own identity.

 

[Fox12]

Where else are women supposed to get their porno?

 

[Thaluikhain]

Um...no?

Much of sci-fi and fantasy doesn't even pretend otherwise. And...why should it?

 

[Catnip1024]

Walmart sells what sells. Just because they don't stock your particular niche, doesn't mean that you are too intellectual for Walmart.

Well, hardly going to rag on anyone for their opinion. Speaking personally, I've read three Shannara books (First King, Sword, Elfstones), and am currently reading Wishsong. Of this lot, I can't call any of them "great" in the same way I'd call, say, LotR or AsoIaF great given how significant they are within the genre. Many people have commented on the similarities between Sword and LotR, and I'm very much inclined to agree with them, as it basically compresses LotR into the scope of a single book. Shannara is very much wearing its influence on its sleeve.

The Shannara series is pretty good (far better than the effort to TV-ise it), but the issue is his first few books are obviously his first few attempts. The writing style changes a lot between them and the later ones. I also liked the way he linked the whole Word and the Void series into it through the Genesis of Shannara (I think?) trilogy.

Horses for courses, though. I also think his later trilogies are getting a bit samey, to be fair.

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

There are plenty of bluecollar tolkienists and science fiction fans. While not everyone can afford hardcover books, there are plenty of paperback reprints of genre classics, as well as digital versions of the works.

/thread

 

[springheeljack]

You know there is this great place where you can check out and borrow hundreds of books all for free! I think it's called a library

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

If we're saying the schlock Warhammer 40k Space Marine novels are better than trashy Romance novels, we're in trouble.

 

[Mayostard]

If we're saying the schlock Warhammer 40k Space Marine novels are better than trashy Romance novels, we're in trouble.

Well the 40K novels are certainly more expensive than the latest Danielle Steele novel; even if they do tend to come out at a similar rate.

 

[CaitSeith]

The mere question answers itself. But probably not in the way the OP expects.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Most sci-fi and fantasy requires no more intellect than "trashy romance" or any other kind of genre fiction. Wal-mart probably doesn't sell it because nobody buys it there.

My local Tesco (big UK supermarket) stocks a fair bit of fantasy and a little sci-fi. Most of the rest tends to be thrillers, biographies and, weirdly enough, historical fiction.

 

[twistedmic]

Most sci-fi and fantasy requires no more intellect than "trashy romance" or any other kind of genre fiction. Wal-mart probably doesn't sell it because nobody buys it there.

Exactly. If it doesn't move fast enough, they are not going to waste shelf space on it.