Do you have a favourite genre?

[Quoth]

Star Wars also is a Movie franchise, though there are Novelisations, and I have many books by Alan Dean Foster that are not Star Wars.

Depending on your view point Star Wars is either Space Opera or SF.

Genres are tricky. SF and Fantasy have a spectrum. Some are clearly SF and some clearly Fantasy, but Dune and Pern series are both published and recognised as SF, yet are much closer to non-SF Fantasy. It seems that if there is space travel, it's SF. Pern has implied space travel.

Post apocalyptic is usually SF, but the Shannara series gets assigned as Fantasy, and at the start it certainly isn't suggesting post apocalyptic SF, though later books certainly are.

Having magic (usually called psychic powers) doesn't automatically make a novel be SF (Dune, McCaffrey's Tower/Talents/Pegasus series, or Acorna series). Sometimes the technology is really magic by another name, but the novel is published as SF rather than Fantasy.

Zane Grey's "Riders of the Purple Sage" is published as a Western, but it's also adventure, critique of Mormons and a sort of Robinsonade. He was inspired by reading the Virginian, which is maybe the 1st famous western (and not much like the TV show).

Publishers are the main decider of genre and unless a novel clearly fits an existing (and popular genre) it won't get trad published. Many older books are not single genre like modern trad published. You'll thus find some more varied stuff in the better SP titles.

Also a novel can be an SF or Fantasy setting and really be a Western, Romance, Spy, Adventure, Detective, mystery, Robinsonade, Pirates or Mstaken Identity / Swap.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Genres are tricky. SF and Fantasy have a spectrum. Some are clearly SF and some clearly Fantasy, but Dune and Pern series are both published and recognised as SF, yet are much closer to non-SF Fantasy. It seems that if there is space travel, it's SF. Pern has implied space travel.

As far as I remember from reading the Pern stories, the Dawn Sisters were the 3 spaceships that had brought humans to Pern. AFAIR, one was called the Yokohama and it's engine was used to modify the Red Star's orbit to eliminate the threat of thread.

Originally Posted by Quoth

Also a novel can be an SF or Fantasy setting and really be a Western, Romance, Spy, Adventure, Detective, mystery, Robinsonade, Pirates or Mstaken Identity / Swap.

The boundaries between genre have blurred a lot recently. Some I've read have been well done and very enjoyable while others qualified as 10 finger exercises with a distinct possibility of being AI generated.

My wife complained about one recent book she DNFed that was basically a string of tropes strung together with excessive adjectives and adverbs while attempting to fit into multiple genres. A human/alien romance set in space with a side dish of murder mystery and a gravy of Lovecraftian Elder Gods. The science fiction portion was risible at best featuring the type of "science" that was left behind in the early 1930s pulp fiction (my opinion after reading the first two chapters which was all my weak stomach could take).

[nana77]

Imho and iirc Star Wars (the first three original episodes) is considered also a "modern myth", too, the first concept was having Luke Skywalker as a female: https://www.hiptoro.com/p/was-luke-s...t-art-reveals/.
My favourite genre is sci-fi, in all its variants; I'm glad the publisher I follow brings monthly three series which covers past novels, recent ones, and spawns in all its sub-genres. I like some military ones too, and surely the sci-fi whitin detective elements in it, dystopian and "cyberpunk" also: I wasn't to know this genre derives from a "movement" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Wa...ience_fiction)).

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

As far as I remember from reading the Pern stories, the Dawn Sisters were the 3 spaceships that had brought humans to Pern. AFAIR, one was called the Yokohama and it's engine was used to modify the Red Star's orbit to eliminate the threat of thread.

That's only revealed much later? The initial titles simply have a prologue explaining they are settlers that came by spaceship. Without that the early titles wouldn't be SF at all.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by DNSB

My wife complained about one recent book she DNFed that was basically a string of tropes strung together with excessive adjectives and adverbs while attempting to fit into multiple genres. A human/alien romance set in space with a side dish of murder mystery and a gravy of Lovecraftian Elder Gods. The science fiction portion was risible at best featuring the type of "science" that was left behind in the early 1930s pulp fiction (my opinion after reading the first two chapters which was all my weak stomach could take).

Sounds terrible.

[nana77]

Originally Posted by nana77

Imho and iirc Star Wars (the first three original episodes) is considered also a "modern myth", too, the first concept was having Luke Skywalker as a female: https://www.hiptoro.com/p/was-luke-s...t-art-reveals/.
My favourite genre is sci-fi, in all its variants; I'm glad the publisher I follow brings monthly three series which covers past novels, recent ones, and spawns in all its sub-genres. I like some military ones too, and surely the sci-fi whitin detective elements in it, dystopian and "cyberpunk" also: I wasn't to know this genre derives from a "movement" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Wa...ience_fiction)).

I guess I've been wrong linking "new age" as the "movement" I was meaning to quote: I'd heard of that on a show exhibit presentation about cyberpunk (can't yet find the trailer, btw): the "movement" it was referred was Mirrorshades, as the firsts authors on that topic seemed to be those ones:
https://www.rudyrucker.com/mirrorshades/HTML/

This book showcases writers who have come to prominence within this decade. Their allegiance to Eighties culture has marked them as a group—as a new movement in science fiction.

This movement was quickly recognized and given many labels: Radical Hard SF, the Outlaw Technologists, the Eighties Wave, the Neuromantics, the Mirrorshades Group.

But of all the labels pasted on and peeled throughout the early Eighties, one has stuck: cyberpunk.

Scarcely any writer is happy about labels—especially one with the peculiar ring of "cyberpunk." Literary tags carry an odd kind of double obnoxiousness: those with a label feel pigeonholed; those without feel neglected. And, somehow, group labels never quite fit the individual, giving rise to an abiding itchiness. It follows, then, that the "typical cyberpunk writer" does not exist; this person is only a Platonic fiction. For the rest of us, our label is an uneasy bed of Procrustes, where fiendish critics wait to lop and stretch us to fit.

Before the era of labels, cyberpunk was simply "the Movement"—a loose generational nexus of ambitious young writers, who swapped letters, manuscripts, ideas, glowing praise, and blistering criticism. These writers—Gibson, Rucker Shiner, Shirley, Sterling—found a friendly unity in their common outlook, common themes, even in certain oddly common symbols, which seemed to crop up in their work with a life of their own. Mirrorshades, for instance.

Mirrored sunglasses have been a Movement totem since the early days of '82. The reasons for this are not hard to grasp. By hiding the eyes, mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sunstaring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws. Mirrorshades—preferably in chrome and matte black, the Movement's totem colors—appeared in story after story, as a kind of literary badge.

[Quoth]

For the rest of us, our label is an uneasy bed of Procrustes, where fiendish critics wait to lop and stretch us to fit.

Good one!

Eighties Culture?
No such thing. There were many different "cultures" in the 1980s.

[Fbone]

Currently it is science fiction and fantasy. In the past, I've read more mystery and action adventure. Although I do enjoy a sci-fi/fantasy book with some mystery and plenty of action adventure included.

[kandwo]

My favourite is "literary fiction" with a blend of different genre elements. I'm generally not particularly fond of fiction that aims for fitting cleanly into a certain genre. I want a book be about its own story and characters first and foremost, and if that includes dragons - fine; but don't drag the whole fantasy shebang into it - with elves and dwarfs and all the rest - just because you happen to be writing "fantasy".

I see a lot of people asking for some highly specific genre recs online: "does anyone know any good lesbian vampire cyberpunk fiction set on Mars?" And while the mix might sound intriguing, I get suspicious of fiction that's seemingly been (AI) written just to fill a niche.

That said, having read the first book of the second era of Sanderson's Mistborn series, my new favourite genre is Wild West Crime Fantasy.

A close second is YA Mystery Horror. This after reading Carlos Ruis Zafón's YA novels to practice my Spanish

[ZodWallop]

Horror is far and away my favorite genre. After that crime and science fiction would be running neck and neck. Then fantasy, though I prefer sword & sorcery, lower stakes fantasy as compared to yet another Lord of the Rings retread (though I do enjoy those sometimes).

I also enjoy what I think of as just... fiction. Books by John Irving or Amy Tan for example. Not literary fiction (or at least not what I think of as literary fiction.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Horror is far and away my favorite genre. After that crime and science fiction would be running neck and neck. Then fantasy, though I prefer sword & sorcery, lower stakes fantasy as compared to yet another Lord of the Rings retread (though I do enjoy those sometimes).

I also enjoy what I think of as just... fiction. Books by John Irving or Amy Tan for example. Not literary fiction (or at least not what I think of as literary fiction.

Sword & Sorcery is also my choice of fantasy fiction.

[John F]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

...

I also enjoy what I think of as just... fiction. Books by John Irving or Amy Tan for example. Not literary fiction (or at least not what I think of as literary fiction.

Did you see John Irving has a new book out?

[DJUNGELSKOG]

I love reading space operas, my favorite space opera author is Peter F. Hamilton. I also enjoy reading fantasy and true crime books.

[weateallthepies]

Originally Posted by Graham44

I quite enjoy a hero's journey, especially in fantasy. I recently read the excellent Darkwater Legacy series by Chris Wooding, I would class them as a hero's journey and can highly recommend them. Another good hero's journey/ fantasy series is The Godserfs series by N.S. Dolkart

I might have to give Darkwater a go, I think I read his Steampunk kind of thing a while back and quite enjoyed it.

[Joykins]

I don't have one particular genre I always favor above all others, but I do have a collection of genres that I more or less cycle through, in that I might have read mostly fantasy the past few years, but I was on a real romance kick from 2010 to 2015.

The genres I like best are:

1. fantasy
2. science fiction
3. romance
4. historical fiction

(and I love blends of the above. Historical fantasy? Bring it on. Gay werewolf romance? I'm in! Science fantasy--please point me in the direction! etc.)

I do read some things outside these genres (literary fiction, nonfiction, classics), but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule.