late bloomers

[SpaceShip]

I don't suppose I started to read anything seriously until I finished school and then it became a pleasure to read whatever I wanted simply because I didn't have to. Fantasy has always been top of my list although my reading covers a large spectrum. I expect fantasy, though, together with SF, didn't really stick its claws into me until my two sons reached the ages of 10 and 12 - then we all got hooked and thus got good value out of our books as they were read by all of us from Hitchhikers, through HG Wells to SK. However, we were all agreed that it had to be believed that whatever we were reading could possibly, if not actually, really happen - otherwise how could you possibly allow the hair to rise at the back of your neck or have to sit on your hands in case you chewed your nails down to the quick, unless you knew that whatever it was you were seeing in your mind wasn't actually waiting behind that door to get you?

[SpaceShip]

Originally Posted by Loner

That's pretty funny, Whitecrow!
If it takes too much explanation and there is little focus on realistic characters it's hard for non-fans to get attached.

How funny Loner - we were thinking the same thing at the same time!

[Loner]

Originally Posted by SpaceShip

- otherwise how could you possibly allow the hair to rise at the back of your neck ... unless you knew that whatever it was you were seeing in your mind wasn't actually waiting behind that door to get you?

This will sound funny to some but I had that reaction to the book Jurassic Park! Not the movie, that was naff. But the book really made me believe that eventually genes of dinosaurs could be recreated if the money and organisation could be obtained by someone crazy enough to pull it off.
And - SPOILER ALERT - in the book a few dinosaurs inevitably escape the island and start to populate the earth.
For weeks afterwards I was convinced that every rustle in the bushes was a compsognathus or raptor come to get me!
(Well you know, not really but it made me wonder - which is what good sci-fi should do!)

[WhiteCrowUK]

Originally Posted by Loner

I think BSG is an example of bad sci-fi. I tried to watch it when it started but gave up after the first episode. Same with Jericho.
If it takes too much explanation and there is little focus on realistic characters it's hard for non-fans to get attached.

I think it's a great show, but you're right, not really very sci-fi. I love the retro technology feel of the show.

It's a very earnest show and a very dark one. Sometimes I find I cannot watch it because I'm not up to feeling THAT depressed.

You know sometimes it's nice to have sci-fi which is just a bit of fun!

[Nesacat]

Originally Posted by Cloud

I disagree with your statement that SFF has only recently made its presence in bookstores, though. You haven't been shopping in the same stores as I have, I guess.

The bookstores here have been very slow in according this genre space. I remember being very, very surprised when I first went to a bookstore in India and then in the UK where there were whole aisles devoted to the genre.

It's slowly coming into its own here though especially with the opening of Kinokuniya which devoted whole sections to Fantasy, Sci Fi, Horror and Graphic Novels. Borders, which just came here has done the same and the other stores have followed suit.

I see more and more people in the SFF section now including parents with children; something which had not been present even five years ago. Local reviewers are also beginning to do reviews of SFF books and newspapers/magazines and devoting sections to the genre.

[Nikitta]

Originally Posted by Cloud

Do think it's common--or even possible--for someone to suddenly become a fan of SF or F late in life without a foundation of early exposure? I'm probably talking about serious fans and readers (like us); I know most people can't escape casual familiarity with SF through film and TV.

I might qualify as a late bloomer. I've alway loved books and have read many different kinds of books. SFF has been included there too, but it's only the last couple of years that I've begun seeking it out deliberately. I'm 32.

Having moved from Scandinavia to Ireland, I also now find a lot of books in normal bookstores, which would've been hard to find in Scandinavia without going to a specific SFF bookstore. Maybe that's partly because a lot of it is written in English, but since I'd rather read a book in English than a translation, if it's orginally written in English, I just see that as an extra perk.

With the big number of "classic" SFF-writers that I've never heard of before and most certainly never read, it can be discussed if I'm really an SFF-fan or not. I don't think it's that important whether I fit a label like that or not - as long as I can keep reading.

I like both Sci-fi and fantasy.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Nikitta

With the big number of "classic" SFF-writers that I've never heard of before and most certainly never read, it can be discussed if I'm really an SFF-fan or not. I don't think it's that important whether I fit a label like that or not - as long as I can keep reading.

Well, I think that many people who are fans of sff have tons of "classic" (or perhaps "formative" might be a better word in this context) writers they've not read... While I'm fairly decently read in the field, I know this is the case with me. But with the proliferation of sff books over the past 30 years or so, it'd be almost impossible for anyone who had a life other than reading to make any serious inroads in getting caught up.

Which is a long way of saying ... Yep. I think you're a fan!

[Nikitta]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

Which is a long way of saying ... Yep. I think you're a fan!

Heh!

Looking at the list of authors who have their own sub-forums, it also looks like you have a broader definition of SFF than I'd expect, since you include both Stephen King and HP. Lovecraft, both of whom I like.

Stephen King, I haven't read for a long time, but I've fairly recently found myself buying collections of short-stories by HP Lovecraft.

By that definition, I have been a fan for much longer than I normally think I have, so I might not count as a late bloomer after all.

All of that confusion with definitions... I tried to search for an FAQ to find out how you define it, but didn't manage to find one.

[Jason_Taverner]

My friend is 25 and reading his first sci-fi book, the forever war, he is really enjoying it, do you think he is a late bloomer

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Jason_Taverner

My friend is 25 and reading his first sci-fi book, the forever war, he is really enjoying it, do you think he is a late bloomer

Compared to most of the fans I've known... I'd say yes. But a point of interest may be that, by that definition, so was R. A. Lafferty:

R. A. Lafferty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Jason_Taverner]

well it is only the 4th book he has ever read, not including school study books

[pyan]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

But with the proliferation of sff books over the past 30 years or so, it'd be almost impossible for anyone who had a life other than reading to make any serious inroads in getting caught up.

I agree, but think of the fun you can have trying! I've often wondered if it would be possible to be hypnotized into forgetting everything you've ever read by an author, just for the pleasure of reading it for the very first time - again!

[Roy1]

SF can be pretty addictive to a 14 year old male but I doubt it's addictive to a 40 year old. (Sorry can't speak for females)

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Roy1

SF can be pretty addictive to a 14 year old male but I doubt it's addictive to a 40 year old. (Sorry can't speak for females)

I wouldn't be too sure about that. It all depends on how flexible their thinking is, and how much they enjoy having their imagination stretched. And, if they hit some of the post-modernist stuff, how much they can handle the unconventional techniques. I've known more than a few to come to sf late that got quite addicted to it... just depends on what they hit; it's a pretty damned broad field, from "Doc" Smith's space opera to intensive inner-city stories such as Disch's 334; from nuts-'n'-bolts stories such as George O. Smith to prose-poetry such as Delaney. And that's not even counting what's been done in the last 30 years or so.....

[K. Riehl]

I worked for a large book chain for about 10 years and spent most of my time turning on teenagers to "good authors". But there is also some cross pollination from other genres. I recommended Weber to Griffin fans. And Laura Hamilton to horror fans which led to Lovecraft discussions and dark fantasy reading. Currently there seems to be a trend from Romance to Fantasy through books like Irresistible Forces- a collection which includes Lois Bujold and Mary Jo Putney. Adults want to read quality books whatever the genre.