Monday, April 13, 2009

Doom and Gloom and Fantasy

Here we are in the midst of a 'World Economic Crisis' and I wonder -- How will this affect book sales?

According to a piece I saw the other day romance sales are up 32%. This makes me think the sale of big fat fantasy novels will be going up. After all, having battled the real world all week, what is nicer than to curl up on a rainy Saturday afternoon with a book that's going to take you away to a fantasy world where the villains are recognizable and the world's problems can be conquered?

I'm not saying we should put our heads in the sand and ignore the world. Each week, if I remember, I buy New Scientist and read it from cover to cover. But I can only take so much doom and gloom. I need something to smile about and whether I'm reading the latest Janet Evanovich or a Joe Abercrombie, I'm refueling to go out and face the real world.

For anyone who is interested, Rose Fox has an article here on the way our fiction needs relate to what's happening in the real world.

3 comments:

TansyRR said...

Thanks for the link, Rowena, that was a really interesting article!

I don't know if this is quite the same thing, but I *love* that one of the most recently filmed eps of tv series ER had references to the economic downturn...

It's always reassuring to hear that the publishing industry is looking to increase the diversity of their content, particularly within fantasy where we often end up having such a "cookie cutter" reputation.

Flinthart said...

You... find that Joe Abercrombie makes you smile?

Whoa.

You're a LOT scarier than I thought.

Rowena Cory Daniells said...

Of course Joe Abercrombie makes me smile, especially his torturer character.