5x5-obscure genre edition
Splatterpunk
Some folks thought that regular old horror was too soft and started amping up the gore. David Schow is said to have coined the term splatterpunk at a convention. His work, like the other dudes feature plenty of blood splattering all over the place. Splatterpunk doesn’t seem to have as many definitive conventions as other sub-genres, it is horror on overdrive and how one goes about achieving that varies.
Splatterpunks:
Clive Barker-The Books of Blood
Dave Schow-Pamela’s Get
Joe Lansdale-Savage Season
John Skipp and Craig Spector-The Cleanup
Ray Garton-Live Girls
Steampunk
Lots of steam powered machines, real and otherwise, set in the 19th century and often alternate versions of history. These books revisit a time where ladies wore down-to-the-floor dresses, but juices it up with gears and machines and romance. Jeter’s Morlock Night features the Morlocks from H.G. Wells Time Machine as well as Merlin. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen teams Mina Harker, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jeckyll and Nemo. The Difference Engine got a lot of nominations for sci-fi awards and The Anubis Gates won the ’83 Phillip K. Dick award.
Steampunks:
Alan Moore-The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Tim Powers-The Anubis Gates
K.W Jeter- Morlock Night
Harry Harrison-A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!
William Gibson and Bruce Sterling-The Difference Engine
Wuxia
Think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero. Wuxia is set in ancient China and centers around some ass-kicking martial arts experts. It was banned by the communists in China until the ‘80s because I suppose reading about kung-fu knights doing their thing might incite a revolution. Unfortunately some of the best stuff in this genre has yet to be translated, so for most of us it just looks like pretty scribbles. Chen Yuhui is the only female of this group and she represents the better gender nicely.
Wuxiaers:
Shi Naian-Water Margin
Louis Cha-Swordswoman Riding West on White Horse
Liang Yusheng-Qi Jian Xia Tian Shan
Chen Yuhui-Duo Qing Lang Zi Chi Qing Xia
Wang Dulu-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Dying Earth
Take a guess at what this science fiction sub-genre entails. Chances are you were right. Books in this niche feature the end of the world as we know it. Specifically the earth is dying in some way, whether all its resources have been sucked dry or it just the end of time. Not a good gift for your more depressed friends.
Dying Earthketeers:
Arthur C. Clarke-The City and The Stars
H.P. Lovecraft and Robert H. Barlow-Till All The Seas
Jack Vance-Tales of the Dying Earth
Mark Charan Newton-Nights of Villijamur
Brian Aldiss-Hothouse
Space Opera
Used to be a label one stuck to over-the-top, silly sci-fi, but more recently writers have been proud to wear the Space Opera label. Basically now it means some adventures that happen out in space. A lot of times writings in this genre feature large-scale stories with a flair for the melodramatic. Brown’s What Mad Universe is a playful and hilarious parody of the genre.
Space Operaters:
M. John Harrison-The Centauri Device
E.E. “Doc” Smith-Lensman (series)
Fredric Brown-What Mad Universe
Isaac Asimov-Foundation (series)
Peter F. Hamilton-Pandora’s Star
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