Kevin's Watch

Here's the situation.

Girlfriend doesn't read fantasy or sci-fi. In fact she doesn't read much at all. BUT she's recently been in hospital and was so bored she started reading a Grisham book. Now she's home, she doesn't put Grisham down and is on her third book in a week.

I want to get her interested in fantasy. What should I get her to read? I don't want anything too fantastical to start with, in case she's put off altogether, and as English isn't her first language, I don't think Donaldson would be a good idea.

Suggestions anyone?

"The Lies of Locke Lamora". An excellent yarn. Lots of action, a good plot, great characters and quickly paced.

John C. Hemry has written some military sf with legal plots. Sort of "JAG in outer space."

I think that might be a good place to start with someone interested in legal thrillers like Grisham writes.

Fantasy is a tougher sell. Maybe something with political ramifications, like Matthew Stover's Heroes Die, but she will need a strong stomach for gritty action and prose.

A Wrinkle in Time is something of a mystery, and also short, which might make her more likely to make the attempt.

You might want to stick to the next step from Grisham as opposed to trying to find a Fantasy version of Grisham. Particularly as I don't think there actually is one.

I hesitate to recommend works by authors that I did not care for. But then Grisham has never been my cup of tea. I thought his best work was The Firm and even that was nothing to brag about. From there it was all down hill. Just not my style. So while I relaly did not care for either one, millions (at least in one case) disagree. Of course, I am talking about the DaVinci Code as well as Kate Mosse's Labyrinth which is one of the poorest written novels I have read in some time. Poorest since The DaVinci Code actually. Both have more than bad writing in common though. Both rely on patched together contrivance, made-for-movie characters and scripting and nothing in the way of plotting that furrows the brow of any soccer mom or dad getting a couple obligaroty pages in during a practice.

There is also Katherine Nevill's The Eight. Also implausible, frothy and totally without merit. And yet a good rousing read when I first read it years ago. Go figure. Some pap I like. Some I loathe.

All three though seem to be a closer step to fantasy without losing the true intrigue and action that Grisham seems to embody for his fans.

You might also try some of the urban lipstick fantasy that has really taken off. I don't care for too much it but just because some it seems written a bit too glibly all the while wanting to be taken seriously. Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series is a bit whodunit, spree on QVC and a dollop of healthy lust that doesnt resort to romance-rosetinted glasses. Too much.

All in all, I think it is more important to try and expand her circle of reading without focusing too much on bridging it to the genre you like and love. Because in the long run does it really matter that she read the same stuff you like to read? It can make for great pillow talk. It can all peeve you to no end when she gets her mitts on your copy of Fatal Revenant and takes weeks to read it. And then tells you how it ends.

There is also Katherine Nevill's The Eight. Also implausible, frothy and totally without merit. And yet a good rousing read when I first read it years ago. Go figure. Some pap I like. Some I loathe.

I like that one too. I first read it when I was heavily into chess and much younger, but I recently found a copy for myself and found it just as enjoyable now.

--A

Trick her. Get her to read The Man Who... books. After that, it shouldn't be hard to get her to read The Chronicles.

Thanks everyone.

Gyrehead wrote:

It can make for great pillow talk. It can all peeve you to no end when she gets her mitts on your copy of Fatal Revenant and takes weeks to read it. And then tells you how it ends.

Very good point ! I know my sister and her husband always argue because they read the same type of books - once they had to rip 'Tai-Pan' in half because they were both reading it at the same time!

Try The Tailsman and Black Huose by Straub/King.

Grisham and King are good friends . . . so perhaps not as big a leap as one might think.

I'd say Robin Hobb's Farseer series myself.

From what I remember of the Grisham books I've read you want something that has detailed characters with their own agendas, some of which are, while understandable, despicable. Not the straight good/evil divide of most Fantasy. Hobb fits the bill IMHO.

But like all novels it's about whether it holds her interest for the first chapter or two.

OK I made a trip to the attic last night, where I keep all my books, and I've brought down a supply for her to choose from.

Two more Grisham books.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
Dragonsong.
Absolute Beginners.
Star of the Sea (Joseph O'Connor)
The Many-Coloured Land.

She went stright for the Grisham. Had a laugh about aliens and dragons. Grrr!

The Many-Colored Land would have been a wonderful choice.

Her loss.

The Many-Colored Land would have been a wonderful choice

Still trying to persuade her that if a book has aliens or dragons, it can still be a good book!

To elaborate my earlier comment, The Many-Colored Land has many strong and fascinating female characters, and even some romance. These are elements that would appeal to your girlfriend, most likely, and the "aliens" aspect could just sort of slip in unnoticed.

On the Julian May idea:

I think you could do worse than getting her to start with Intervention.

It's a very human story that she might find more realistic than The Saga of the Exiles.

Good point Trap!

Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet, but just give her some Harry Potter. Everyone likes it. Heck, my wife hates SF/Fantasy, but she's read all of the Potter books and seen all the movies. Why? Beats the hell out of me. You'd think that the Potter books would be a sort of "gateway drug" to get her interested in the genre, but it hasn't worked out that way so far. I gave her Lord Foul's Bane to read a while ago, and she read maybe 20 pages before she put it down in disgust. I'm trying to get her to give A Game of Thrones a shot, but am very doubtful that it will happen.