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Horror?
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Rhondak101
Posted 2011-10-10 4:20 PM (#2700)
Subject: Horror?



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Location: SC, USA		Not sure this is an error, but how did everything of Neil Gaiman's (except Anansi Boys) become classified as Horror on the My Favorite Lists?
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jynnantonnyx
Posted 2011-10-10 4:37 PM (#2701 - in reply to #2700)
Subject: RE: Horror?



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Well, I have always thought of Gaiman as a Horror writer first, and a Fantasy writer second. (Gaiman himself has admitted that Horror and Fantasy are "twin cities" in the land of fiction, and that the distinction between the two is not always easy to make.) His early work Sandman explicitly started off as a Horror comic, and while it took a few detours into Fantasy, it remained Horror for the most part. As to the changes in organizing his works in the WWEnd database, we felt that most of his works are better described as Horror than Fantasy, so we made the switch as soon as we added the Horror option to the DB. American Gods, for instance, is filled with monstrous beings killing innocent humans, and zombie women. The Graveyard Book is for kids, but it's a set of ghost stories with a graveyard as its setting. Stardust, on the other hand, is straightforward Fantasy, and so it has remained in the DB. Anansi Boys seemed more like a Mythic Fantasy novel than a Horror novel, so I didn't change that one.

If you want to make an argument for changing any of our Gaiman volumes back to Fantasy, please do. We are open to suggestions.

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Rhondak101
Posted 2011-10-10 5:21 PM (#2702 - in reply to #2700)
Subject: Re: Horror?



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Location: SC, USA		I understand what you say, but I think my conception of horror is different than yours.

Here are my thoughts: Wouldn't American Gods which is set in the same world as Anansi Boys be Mythic Fantasy too? Despite the zombie women, the whole concept of the book is to explore what happens when myth becomes incarnate. Besides that the ones that struck me as the most out of place were Neverwhere and Good Omens. Neverwhere seems like fantasy to me (urban fantasy, maybe). And Good Omens seems more fantasy than anything else.
Nevertheless, thanks for adding these. I don't want to seem unappreciative!

Rhonda
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jynnantonnyx
Posted 2011-10-10 6:39 PM (#2703 - in reply to #2702)
Subject: Re: Horror?



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I guess I would argue that American Gods is more like Mythic Horror than Mythic Fantasy, though we don't have that subgenre in the database at this time. It's a thin line at times, and you're right that Anansi Boys being in the same universe might indicate that both should share the same genre. We'll probably discuss this internally to make a final decision.

Good Omens is, I think, a straightforward example of Humorous Horror. It features the Antichrist, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and a lot of demons. It's a parody of The Omen, a Horror film, rather than something making fun of Fantasy tropes (which is what Pratchett's Discworld series is for).

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jynnantonnyx
Posted 2011-10-13 2:04 PM (#2716 - in reply to #2703)
Subject: Re: Horror?



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Location: Dallas, TX		I have switched American Gods back to Fantasy after some convincing arguments from the other WWEnd staff. I still think it's a borderline case, but I can appreciate the argument for pushing it back to the other side of the border.
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Rhondak101
Posted 2011-10-14 1:51 PM (#2721 - in reply to #2716)
Subject: Re: Horror?



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Location: SC, USA		Thanks for the response. In fact, thanks for the earlier one, too. Once you explained your criteria I could see why.

I also see that my concept of horror is much narrower than yours. For example, I would never think of a parody of a horror novel as horror, so I still think Good Omens is fantasy However, for what you guys are doing, you have to have broader definitions.
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