This site is updated Thursday at noon with a new article about an artistic pursuit generally considered to be beneath consideration. James Schellenberg probes science-fiction, Carol Borden draws out the best in comics, Chris Szego dallies with romance, and Ian Driscoll stares deeply into the screen.
While the writers have considerable enthusiasm for their subjects, they don't let it numb their critical faculties. Tossing away the shield of journalistic objectivity and refusing the shovel of fannish boosterism, they write in the hopes of starting honest and intelligent discussions about these oft-enjoyed but rarely examined artforms. Click here for the writer's bios and their individual takes on the gutter.
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100 + 100 + 100 = 850
When I first took the screen beat at The Cultural Gutter, I
vowed never to do a list article. But promises, like Corningware, are made to
be broken.
Around the 5th time I read my nephew The Cat in the Hat, I started thinking. Sure, I might have been overthinking my thinker and overpuzzling my puzzler reading the book 15 times in half an hour and cutting it with The Cat in the Hat Comes Back!, but I think the Cat in the Hat is the Devil.
So you've written a book that fits the current vogue perfectly - let's say it's a grimy cyberpunk novel in the mid-1980s - does that mean you've guaranteed long-lasting fame for yourself? Probably not. But don't worry, a lot of your compatriots are suffering the same fate.
Oh, and I just happen to have an example at hand: George Alec Effinger's When Gravity Fails, a perfectly fine book in its own right, and one that happens to have come back into print in a gorgeous trade paperback. But for some reason, I started having melancholy and/or realistic thoughts about the writing life after reading it.
There’s lots to enjoy about romance novels. The arc of character development. The layered emotional content. The rare and welcome sense of success (otherwise known as the happy ending). A good romance novel is a singular pleasure.
A bad one, on the other hand, can be excruciating.
That said, I’m not going to use this column to slag a particular romance novel. That badly spelled, troll-like niche is overfilled with one-star reviews on Amazon. And outside of obvious cases of poor writing, ‘bad’ can be subjective. Just yesterday I was searching for reviews about a new writer whose work has delighted me. The reviews ranged from “Utterly brilliant!’ to "Meh" - sometimes even about the same scenes. Besides, I know lots of romance writers, and many of them know where I live. So instead I’ll look to the general, and take aim at trends.
Architecture; music; food; wallpaper patterns: all creative endeavours have trends. Romance is no exception. Occasionally a trend will grow past its boundary and become a subgenre in its own right. Other trends, thankfully, are left behind. Some trends are mini-skirts and some are stirrup pants. What follows is a selection of some of the major romance trends in recent years that I’d like to see put into storage.
The Scottish Romance: Let’s get this straight: I love Scotland. The first time I saw the hills of Inverness, I couldn’t sleep for happiness. A story set against the backdrop of epic Jacobian disaster can be moving and mythic. But I think we’ve hit the saturation point of bad Sean Connery imitations masquerading as dialogue. Writers need to do more than hit the marks of plaid, heather and brogue. Being Scottish is not a plot. The Vampire Romance: I talked about this a while backand still think a good vampire romance can explore issues of sex and death and loss in a unique way. Unfortunately, this trend is being sucked dry of what made it so popular. The very real darkness at the core of the vampire mythos is being replaced by the appearance of it. And so the endless sorrow of yesterday’s vampire has become the angst of today’s Goth. Sigh. The Doctor/Nurse Romance: Once extremely popular, this trend has settled into a quiet corner. It’s still one of my personal peeves, though I’m aware I may be alone in my annoyance. Many romance writers began their reading careers on doctor-and-nurse books, and that first love stays with you. Romance publishing giant Harlequin got its start with medical romances. But really, by 2008 can’t at least half the doctors be female (and half the nurses male)? The Overreaching Paranormal: I read the back cover blurb of a book that featured a vampire/werewolf hybrid, along with, I think, a centaur, some sort of fairy, and a Valkyrie. I didn’t get around to reading page one. As longtime fantasy reader, I appreciate the legitimization of the paranormal romance - this trend is a definitely a mini-skirt - but a little restraint, please. Mythic traditions aren’t herbs to be tossed in by the handful. Development is key. The Cowboy’s Bride’s Secret Baby: Several years ago, category romance publishers noticed that the most popular books in any given month tended to feature either: A) cowboys, B) brides, or C) secret babies. You can imagine what happened next. This trend is over, thank goodness. Funny thing is, even the writers hated it. The phrase still floats around writers forums, though, as a term of contempt... and as a testament to the power of the marketing departments.
~~~
Chris Szego used to own a pair of yellow stirrup pants. Then she graduated from junior high.
(If referencing this article, please link to this page.)
What if the cowboy's bride's secret baby is really a vampire because the bride had an affair in Inverness with a doctor who was actually a demon-lover--say James Harris--straight out of a demon-lover ballad?
There would be plenty of flashbacks between 1880 and 1780 as the doctor reflected on his past bleeding people in the highlands. At the climax, the cowboy could choose love over pride and confront the demon with his bowie knife, a la Quincy Morris in Dracula. Or am I just causing trouble?
—Carol Borden
"And so the endless sorrow of yesterday’s vampire has become the angst of today’s Goth."
"Science Fiction Serving the National Interest." I don't even know what to say about the crazy reported here in National Defense Magazine. (via Fusion Dispatches)
When I first took the screen beat at The Cultural Gutter, I
vowed never to do a list article. But promises, like Corningware, are made to
be broken.
Around the 5th time I read my nephew The Cat in the Hat, I started thinking. Sure, I might have been overthinking my thinker and overpuzzling my puzzler reading the book 15 times in half an hour and cutting it with The Cat in the Hat Comes Back!, but I think the Cat in the Hat is the Devil.
So you've written a book that fits the current vogue perfectly - let's say it's a grimy cyberpunk novel in the mid-1980s - does that mean you've guaranteed long-lasting fame for yourself? Probably not. But don't worry, a lot of your compatriots are suffering the same fate.
There’s lots to enjoy about romance novels. The arc of character development. The layered emotional content. The rare and welcome sense of success (otherwise known as the happy ending). A good romance novel is a singular pleasure. 
The Doctor/Nurse Romance: Once extremely popular, this trend has settled into a quiet corner. It’s still one of my personal peeves, though I’m aware I may be alone in my annoyance. Many romance writers began their reading careers on doctor-and-nurse books, and that first love stays with you. Romance publishing giant Harlequin got its start with medical romances. But really, by 2008 can’t at least half the doctors be female (and half the nurses male)?