I will admit that I have read no Mieville, although, after this discussion, I probably will. But the line you quoted, in the last paragraphs, the "Fantasy is about the real world," is something I very much have to agree with. Now, obviously, the trimmings are different, the cultures are usually widely different than they are at home, and there is a far broader range of the Physically Possible than there is here in Mundania. But nearly every time, it is possible to look at the story and see something very real, very true, and very relevant to the 'real' world. A line Neil Gaiman quoted in the intro to his recent book- "Fairy tales are true, they're more than true. Not because they tell us dragons are real, but because they tell us dragons can be defeated." Lewis's Narnia books are straight parable, laid-on-with-a-trowel parable, as a matter of fact, and everyone recognizes this. But most- and, probably, all of the good ones- of the sf and fantasy works out there, have as real a point. If they were not relevant to the who-we-are here in the 'real' world, they would have no value. Escapism and wish fulfillment only go so far, and there is more to the genre than that. That's my $0.02, anyway.
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and then again
12/9/02 10:37 (UTC)Now, obviously, the trimmings are different, the cultures are usually widely different than they are at home, and there is a far broader range of the Physically Possible than there is here in Mundania. But nearly every time, it is possible to look at the story and see something very real, very true, and very relevant to the 'real' world. A line Neil Gaiman quoted in the intro to his recent book- "Fairy tales are true, they're more than true. Not because they tell us dragons are real, but because they tell us dragons can be defeated."
Lewis's Narnia books are straight parable, laid-on-with-a-trowel parable, as a matter of fact, and everyone recognizes this. But most- and, probably, all of the good ones- of the sf and fantasy works out there, have as real a point. If they were not relevant to the who-we-are here in the 'real' world, they would have no value. Escapism and wish fulfillment only go so far, and there is more to the genre than that.
That's my $0.02, anyway.