Who's Your Author? discussion
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Overdone themes?
The woman that has remained pure or has only had horrible sex before she meets her magic mate to whom she will forever be tied whether she likes it or not yet oddly, she seems to be okay with being stuck forever with a man she just met. Of course, the sex is sensational so that helps. that also makes it alot more fun to read, but that's beside the point
Ms. Too Stubborn To Live. She and the self-loathing half breed are often the same person!
She frequently mistakes a nasty, bitchy and rude attitude for strength.
I get sick of reading about military men. The hero is always a former military man or assistant of some sort.
I think the market is completely saturated with tortured warriors. Yet, I find all of them so incredibly hot, I can't possibly bemoan the overuse!
lol, Michelle, you just make me laugh!
Zeroes to heroes, omegas to alphas, outcastes to leaders.
In UF a theme that seems to be getting overdone is the "reluctant hero." The hero is just doing what he/she thinks is right and seems to save the world in the process.
The female/vampire/werewolf love triangle
Michelle M. wrote: "I think the market is completely saturated with tortured warriors. Yet, I find all of them so incredibly hot, I can't possibly bemoan the overuse! "
OMG!!! :) I completely agree, I am such a sucker for that (but it is a frequent theme).
Love triangles. Also, what Michelle said about emotionally unavailable heroines (as if it's more attractive in a woman? Da hell? LOL).
I cannot stand emotionally unavailable heroines. If you don't want a hero who's in love with you, send him my way!
I'll take a couple of those ignored heroes myself!I don't mind a love triangle if it lasts a book or two--it can be exciting! But if it drags on past that, it loses realism. Pick already, damn it!
Kathy wrote: "The woman that has remained pure or has only had horrible sex before she meets her magic mate to whom she will forever be tied whether she likes it or not yet oddly, she seems to be okay with being stuck forever with a man she just met. Of course, the sex is sensational so that helps. that also makes it alot more fun to read, but that's beside the point"
LOL! I completely agree!
Amelia you KNOW that's exactly who I was thinking of. ;)
lol of course. :DI want more Dorian right now!
Tee hee!It is so common that the triangle includes one of each species, just to keep both the vamp-lovers and the shifter-lovers happy.
Oh, another common theme is the lingering ex. Doesn't anyone ever just break up and never see each other again? Sookie and Bill, Bill and Lorena, Kiyo and Maiwen, Ash and Artie, Vayl and ex-wife, Anita and Richard, LC and Christine, Alcide and Debbie, Garnet and Parrish, Sebastian and Tereza...those are the ones off the top of my head.
I tend to STRONGLY DISLIKE the lingering ex.It's a rare occasion when I actually pity or like one of these.
Frost did an okay job with...oh, I can't think of her name. Wealthy woman who knew Bones when he was still human. She was spiteful, but she's morphed a bit. That one didn't turn out too bad. And in the book I just read, I liked the ex better. But that's because he's a whips and chains bad boy. The present boyfriend is overwhelmingly safe.
On the whole, the lingering ex feels forced and frustrating.
Oh, thought of another: Mercy and Samuel. DAMN there are a lot of them hanging around...
HEY, what's up with all the heroines being strongly het, but they all have a gay best friend? In Terri Garey's books and in Patricia Briggs', the friends actually have relationships that are featured, so it's a good addition. But in other books, it's like: "insert token gay man here."
Yes! I knew it was an "A" name. Thanks!
Lmao the "token gay man". It's sooo true though!I got all excited for a second and thought you meant Kimberly Frost! Then I realized it was another Frost. :( (you should swap something on your challenge list for Would-Be Witch!
It has a lingering ex but ... it's technically not an ex? lol It's hilarious!
Samuel doesn't count as a lingering ex. Basically he is still in the running until the end of the most recent book.
I think he does. Their relationship was ages ago and he was pursuing her far more than it being a mutual thing. But I see how you'd put him in a different category than the usual lingering ex.
"Heck, try living in a small town with one you hear about constantly."No, thank you! Even in a place the size of New York I'm still fallin' over them!
LMAO Michelle how many of these lingering ex's do you have?
Hmn. Right now, 2 I see with semi-frequency. But that's my own fault, so I shouldn't complain. Others, well it doesn't matter how big NY is--if you hang out in the same neighborhood, you're bound to see each other eventually!
True. Imagine going to the same college and having them in your friend circles. Though I've perfected my avoidance techniques(ducking into alcoves, high tailing it in opposite directions, pretending to be engrossed in conversaton with other people). So there are rarely the akward chatty occasions with them. lol
Lol I'm imagining you skulking around campus like a lil secret agent.
Amelia, I was born in NYC. You wouldn't believe how small town some of the neighborhoods are. I lived in the Bronx and I knew people who had never been to downtown Manhattan.Things are more mixed up now because in the 50s and 60s the young couples could not find housing in the Old Neighborhoods and moved out and away. And then the Bronx basically blew up in the middle 60s and still hasn't recovered.
Not quite Detroit, but closer than most people think. I haven't seen the apartment building I grew up in since the late 60s. It was in an area that burned, so it might not even be there.
But the neighborhoods that did hang together are very small town.
I grew up in the Bronx! Mosholu Parkway in the hizzy. What area did you grow up in, Starling?
And it's so true. Every 10 blocks is its own little world.
I lived on Featherbed Lane. It was an old street outside of the grid system that was put in Manhattan and the Bronx during the War of 1812. Featherbed Lane was the street Washington took when he was leaving New York and heading to New Jersey.There are two Washington Bridges. The older one that goes from the Bronx to Manhattan was built during the Civil War at the ford Washington crossed. The other side of that bridge is Washington Heights. The Bronx side is University Heights (more or less).
The Northeastern states use the State - County - Township - Village system. In New York City, they leave out the Township part and the Boroughs are the Counties. But the Villages are still there in the old district names.
I also lived in West Farms (in the Bronx) and Flushing (in Queens).
Oh I am! I have my own super secret spy music and everything. I whisper it of coarse, as not to attract avoided persons' attentions.
Super spy music. LOL!! Is it Pink Panther-esque.:)
Starling, my friend lives in West Farms or on the edge of it now. I lived in Norwood originally, and went to Bx Science and Fordham for school. I looked up Featherbed and realized I do know where it is when I saw a pic of the nearby steps!
Ah, New York. I need to go to Arthur Ave soon for some yummies!
Featherbed Lane is weird. When they put in the grid they broke it up, so even though I lived in that neighborhood for about 24 years (was out of it for a short while) I NEVER saw the house numbers below about 62 and only found the part that ends up at what was probably George Washington's ford across to Manhattan when I was married.
Pffffft! No Pink Panther music here! More like 007.
Of course, Amelia!::snicker::
Starling, I came to the conclusion long ago that the Bronx is weird overall!
As an overdone theme, have we mentioned first person POV in general? It seems like every UF is first person!
Michelle M. wrote: "I don't mind a love triangle if it lasts a book or two--it can be exciting! But if it drags on past that, it loses realism. Pick already, damn ..."Could not agree more. After about book two I don't give a damn if they will or won't I just want a choice so we can all move our lives.
And I've started to associate first book syndrome with first person. Now I expect better of the author if it's in third.Schnaucl, seriously. It stops being spicy and starts getting stagnant.
As for the first person, that really has never bothered me. But maybe that's because at least half of the books that I read I listen to on audio, and those just seem to work out really well with first person.*Spoilers for Prey, Blood Promise, and Dead and Gone
As for the love triangle, in my opinion, it kinda depends on the way that things are handled. In the case of the Stray series by Rachel Vincent, the love triangle was around for the first 3 books, but it was only a very small side story. Never really something that would truly break up the main characters. Then, book #4 blew that wide open and it's going to have to be a main point of the next book. In that case, I have no problem with how it's been handled. But on the other hand, I am SICK and TIRED of the love triangle in the Sookie Stackhouse series! Bill just needs to go away! She's picked Eric, it's just pathetic that he wont leave! And the one that really bugs me is the love triangle in the Vampire Academy series. When Adrian got brought into the mix, I thought that it was great! But now the overall situation is bugging me. Technically, Dimitri shouldn't even be in the running anymore, but yet, Adrian just can't catch a break! One thing though that I've noticed about myself is that I tend to go for the underdog! Like Jace and Adrian!
Michelle M. wrote: "And I've started to associate first book syndrome with first person. Now I expect better of the author if it's in third."I think it's a genre convention though. Or maybe a female author one. I almost never notice male authors using first person in urban fantasy and I almost never notice female authors not using first person.
I used to have that same reaction though. I automatically thought third person was a better quality of writing. I do agree that it's something almost all first time authors use. Speaking of, just thought of a man who does use first person (Mark Del Franco) and I think the Conner Grey series are his first published novels. I haven't read the first book in his other series so I don't know if he continues to use first or not.
Simon R. Green uses first person, too. Some authors use first person brilliantly. They create a smooth intro to the characters and universe.
Others get trapped in having their narrator putting the action aside to lecture you on the set up of their world and it can get a bit exhausting.
I think it's just far easier to make the "Universe" lecture enthralling in third person, so I now cut any first book in a UF series some slack and have come to expect tedium as they explain how things work.
LOL, Michelle. I don't cut them any slack when it comes to that. An author with even a little experience learns quickly how to present information without intruding on the narrative at least, if not with subtlety. If I see an author do that more than once, I'll usually stop reading.First person actually requires an intense amount of talent to pull off since it requires much more familiarity with your narrator's character, finesse, and psychology. Which is why I think new authors automatically leaping to first person are basically shooting themselves in the foot.
So spot on, new_user! When I say I cut them slack, I only really mean the first 60 pages or so. I'm not all THAT generous!It's also a mistake for editors to not push for more polishing before they send it to print.
That said, if I didn't cut UF authors a little slack, I'd miss out on some great series!
LOL. 60 sounds about right. Yeah, I agree. Those editors can stand to push a little more. Although I can see it from their point of view too. It's not strictly their job to teach these writers, really, and there's a thin line between editing and control.
Who's Your Author?
Books mentioned in this topic
Stray (other topics)Prey (other topics)
Vampire Academy (other topics)
Blood Promise (other topics)
Dead and Gone (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Mark Del Franco (other topics)Rachel Vincent (other topics)
Anyone notice some themes, storylines, and/or characters that have become overdone or overused?