Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes (Post 3147348)

^I think both of those were obvious in meaning based on how they were nominated. I know I didn't take them for anything other than what you wrote. Both based in the non-fiction and not fiction side.

History to me has never included fiction. Anyone suggesting either category can include fiction is gaming the category.

Originally Posted by sun surfer (Post 3147383)

Hamlet, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Whenever a winning category is up, I expect us to follow whatever description it was given in the category nomination thread, whether by the nominator or hammered out by the nominator and supporters. I can't speak for Tom so we'll have to see what he says but maybe he didn't add the parentheses to the titles in your categories because it was obvious from the category names, i.e. Historical Fiction vs History and Science Fiction vs Science.

Originally Posted by Hamlet53 (Post 3147341)

"War is the continuation of politics by other means." Carl von Clausewitz

I understand taken as a whole package war can be a very interesting topic. Just as an aside I recently read a book you had nominated in a book for the month here recently—Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna by Adam Zamoyski—and gave it a high star ranking (for me) at Goodreads. I did not actually write any sort of review (just too lazy) but I believe that it would be right up your alley. Not only a detailed analysis of the at least temporarily successful attempts to turn back the clock in Europe to before the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and Napoleon but also all the dirt on how the congress was the opportunity for major and minor royalty and nobility from all over Europe come together to 'party hearty' and f_ like bunny rabbits. It would even fit into the War category under consideration here. :D

Originally Posted by issybird (Post 3147418)

Thank you for the affirmation and recommendation. :) Waterloo for the book club pushed it aside, but I have it and mean to get to it soon, indeed as of more interest to me than the topic of the battle of Waterloo. I agree that War as a category has broad shoulders, although as with your nominations, I see it as a non-fiction topic.

Originally Posted by CRussel (Post 3147458)

There were some interesting suggestions for the War topic that were fictional. (The O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin series and the Ringo/Weber Empire of Man series.) I'm not at all sure what I think of expanding War to cover fiction as well, but it certainly does broaden the category. :)

Originally Posted by Hamlet53 (Post 3147341)

"War is the continuation of politics by other means." Carl von Clausewitz

Originally Posted by Nyssa (Post 3147478)

Are there examples of Thriller, Suspense & Crime that are neither covered by Mystery nor Horror?

Originally Posted by JSWolf (Post 3147481)

But remember, if war does win, no political discussion in the book club forum. There's a separate forum for that. Sorry, MR rules.

Originally Posted by Nyssa (Post 3147478)

Are there examples of Thriller, Suspense & Crime that are neither covered by Mystery nor Horror?

Originally Posted by Nyssa (Post 3147478)

Are there examples of Thriller, Suspense & Crime that are neither covered by Mystery nor Horror?

Originally Posted by issybird (Post 3147488)

So, if a book about the American Revolution, say, were chosen, that means we couldn't discuss the political differences between the Patriots and the Loyalists? Or the Cavaliers and the Roundheads in the English Civil War?

Originally Posted by Nyssa (Post 3147478)

Are there examples of Thriller, Suspense & Crime that are neither covered by Mystery nor Horror?

Originally Posted by from goodreads

Crime: The crime genre includes the broad selection of books on criminals, courts, and investigations. Mystery novels are usually placed into this category.

Mystery: Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term that is often used as a synonym of detective fiction — in other words a novel or short story in which a detective (either professional or amateur) solves a crime. The term "mystery fiction" may sometimes be limited to the subset of detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle element and its logical solution (cf. whodunit), as a contrast to hardboiled detective stories which focus on action and gritty realism. However, in more general usage "mystery" may be used to describe any form of crime fiction, even if there is no mystery to be solved. For example, the Mystery Writers of America describes itself as "the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre".

Thriller: Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more-powerful and better-equipped villains. Literary devices such as suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers are used extensively. Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories, but are distinguished by the structure of their plots. In a thriller, the hero must thwart the plans of an enemy, rather than uncover a crime that has already happened. Thrillers also occur on a much grander scale: the crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments. Jeopardy and violent confrontations are standard plot elements. While a mystery climaxes when the mystery is solved, a thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats the villain, saving his own life and often the lives of others

Suspense: Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead up to a big event or dramatic moment, with tension being a primary emotion felt as part of the situation. In the kind of suspense described by film director Alfred Hitchcock, an audience experiences suspense when they expect something bad to happen and have (or believe they have) a superior perspective on events in the drama's hierarchy of knowledge, yet they are powerless to intervene to prevent it from happening. In broader definitions of suspense, this emotion arises when someone is aware of his lack of knowledge about the development of a meaningful event; thus, suspense is a combination of anticipation and uncertainty dealing with the obscurity of the future. In terms of narrative expectations, it may be contrasted with mystery or curiosity and surprise.

Horror: Horror fiction is fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the audience. Historically, the cause of the "horror" experience has often been the intrusion of a supernatural element into everyday human experience. Since the 1960s, any work of fiction with a morbid, gruesome, surreal, or exceptionally suspenseful or frightening theme has come to be called "horror". Horror fiction often overlaps science fiction or fantasy, all three of which categories are sometimes placed under the umbrella classification speculative fiction.