A defense of Game of Thrones, with a bit of Your Humble Author thrown in.
Recently reviewers at Slate and NYT laid into HBO's version of Game of Thrones, saying all kinds of ugly things about it, and about fantasy in general. Salon writer Matt Zoller Seitz wrote a great rebuttal, and in the process included my name in a pretty impressive list female fantasy writers. Here's his article, with links to the nasty reviews.
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/04/16/game_of_thrones_review_of_reviewers/index.html
On my brand new Salon blog, I wrote the following response:
"I'd like to start this new blog off with a confession. I'm here because Sharon Shinn informed me that Matt Zoller Seitz referenced me in the above article. An author's ego being what it is, I hied myself over to see what all the fuss was about.
Matt, you did a great job and I thank you both for the mention in such company, and for your well reasoned rebuttal.
Snarky reviews of fantasy by self-appointed guardians of all things cultural are nothing new to me, or my peers in the field. Neither are those, like the ones in Slate and the NYT, that so glaringly display the subtext of the author's ignorance of the subject at hand. These 'lit'ry' lions wouldn't read enough fantasy to talk intelligently about it with ten-foot opera glasses. And I know this because they proudly proclaim their willful ignorance, most often wrapped in a litany of what they wrong-headedly think fantasy embodies as they look down their ivy covered noses into my peculiar little ghetto. Not only that, but they vaunt the fact that they don't LIKE fantasy, though how they would know this baffles me, given their aversion.
Basically, having critics such as these in charge of reviewing that which they neither appreciate nor understand is like sending a vegan to review a rib joint."
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/04/16/game_of_thrones_review_of_reviewers/index.html
On my brand new Salon blog, I wrote the following response:
"I'd like to start this new blog off with a confession. I'm here because Sharon Shinn informed me that Matt Zoller Seitz referenced me in the above article. An author's ego being what it is, I hied myself over to see what all the fuss was about.
Matt, you did a great job and I thank you both for the mention in such company, and for your well reasoned rebuttal.
Snarky reviews of fantasy by self-appointed guardians of all things cultural are nothing new to me, or my peers in the field. Neither are those, like the ones in Slate and the NYT, that so glaringly display the subtext of the author's ignorance of the subject at hand. These 'lit'ry' lions wouldn't read enough fantasy to talk intelligently about it with ten-foot opera glasses. And I know this because they proudly proclaim their willful ignorance, most often wrapped in a litany of what they wrong-headedly think fantasy embodies as they look down their ivy covered noses into my peculiar little ghetto. Not only that, but they vaunt the fact that they don't LIKE fantasy, though how they would know this baffles me, given their aversion.
Basically, having critics such as these in charge of reviewing that which they neither appreciate nor understand is like sending a vegan to review a rib joint."
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Myristica
(new)
Apr 18, 2011 05:47AM
Hear! Hear!
reply
|
flag
As a reader and not an author, the NYTimes reviewer incensed me! I congratulate you on maintaining an even tone. The idea the fantasy novels are nothing more than adolescent boy wish fulfillment is so naive as to be laughable. The relationships and motives in (well-written) fantasy can bring me to tears. Grr. Oh well, I'll settle back in my sex/n/violence (ha!) filled reading world happily.
Well, I'm neither an adolescent or a boy, and I adore fantasy novels. It's my favourite genre and a lot of the time much more interesting than the so-called literary books on the bestseller lists. I'll stick with fantasy, thanks.
As a 63 year old woman [crone?] with a Master's degree I love fantasy too. Often in fantasy we go to worlds where some of our cultural handicaps are no longer present. We can see where a world might be better and good can triumph. [Not that all fantasy is like this, but I don't like the distopia stuff.] George RR Martin is a genius writer and I only hope that he continues for a long time. well, perhaps such criticism as NYT only proves that fantasy isn't bland. "Live long and prosper"
