Hatrack River Forum: "Dark Fantasy" ain't what it used to be.

This is topic "Dark Fantasy" ain't what it used to be. in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :

I walked into B&N today and noticed a table labeled Dark Fantasy.

"Oh cool," I thought. "Maybe they have some new Tanith Lee or Neil Gaiman stuff."

But...that wasn't what was on the table. Instead there were were a bunch of half-naked men clasping women who appeared to be having mini-strokes, with the titles indicating that at least one of the characters on said cover was:

A werewolf
A sorcerer
A vampire
A sorcerous vampire
A werecat
A fallen angel
A risen demon
A demonic/angelic hybrid who learned magic from a vampiric elf. And can turn into a leopard.

Ssssso...has the popular definition of "dark fantasy" -really- changed, or are the so-called "paranormal romances" trying to re-brand themselves?

Not that I'm opposed to romantic elements in fantasy, but these are the type of books that make the D&D novels and Doc Savage reprints seem like classics.

Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :

lol!!!!!!!!!

Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :

I

when
I
read
these.

Especially that last one.

Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :

I thought those were hysterical, too. Enough that I knew exactly which P-A comics you were linking to before scrolling over the links, given the topic of this thread, heh.

Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :

Fondly remembers reading her dad's Doc Savage books.

Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :

Starting to read Penny Arcade from the first link reminds us why Penny Arcade is really better than any of us deserve and it continues to be the best webcomic in all the lands, even for those of us who don't care about games.

Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :

Yes, there is lots of soft-core porn masquerading as "dark fantasy" these days.

Apparently, women are really drawn to tortured souls who have a violent streak and are waiting only for the love of a good woman to reform them. Throw in some rock-hard abs and plenty of vividly described sex and you apparently have a book contract.

Posted by nik (Member # 2114) on :

This is the post-Twilight craze. Everyone is trying to get it on the popularity of Twilight I suppose, trying to attract people who read that awful book or saw the movie (or, regrettably both).

Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :

I've seen so-called "paranormal romances" on shelves as far back as the early 90s. Long, long before Twilight came out. It's only yesterday I saw them labeled "Dark Fantasy", though. [Smile]

Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :

Yeah. actually Twighlight tapped into an already strong consumer base. The Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton have been best sellers for about a decade now, and that is only one example.

Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :

Anita Blake didn't start out as porn - the first three or four books had no sex at all...but now they are nothing BUT porn.

Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels also sell very well and got turned into an HBO series. So, there is definitely a market out there that has been around pre-Twilight.