Oct-13-2010, 02:20 PM (UTC)
Yes, you know they exist, but you aren't supposed to actually read them. You just know they're of low quality, cynical cash-ins by money-grabbing hacks trying to entice you to buy books based on your favorite game/film/tv series/whatever. There might be a few good authors writing tie-ins, but they're just the exception that proves the rule.
At least, that's the conventional wisdom on tie-in novels. Meanwhile, they sell quite well, meaning that they must appeal to somebody. Should we be so generalizing? After all, that's what the literary snobs are saying about the fantasy genre as a whole too, right?
When I was in my teens, I read a whole lot of novels based on Magic: the Gathering. In fact, I tried to read all of them. But looking back, most of them were mediocre and the only books I would wholeheartedly recommend to others are those by Jeff Grubb. (The Brothers' War and the Ice Age cycle: The Gathering Dark, The Eternal Ice and The Shattered Alliance.) When I realised this, I stopped reading them and basically swore off tie-ins.
However, I've recently started looking at the tie-ins again. After all, things shouldn't be judged by their worst examples. So I recently read Keith Baker's Eberron tie-in The City of Towers, which was... well, mediocre to be fair. However, I've recently heard good things about Dan Abnett's Warhammer 40k novels, and because what I've seen of the setting is awesome, I will be giving his books a go in the near future. Meanwhile, I'm also eyeing Troy Denning's recently reprinted Prism Pentad. (Based on Dark Sun.)
So, what other gems could I be missing by neglecting tie-in fiction? And what are your experiences with it?
At least, that's the conventional wisdom on tie-in novels. Meanwhile, they sell quite well, meaning that they must appeal to somebody. Should we be so generalizing? After all, that's what the literary snobs are saying about the fantasy genre as a whole too, right?
When I was in my teens, I read a whole lot of novels based on Magic: the Gathering. In fact, I tried to read all of them. But looking back, most of them were mediocre and the only books I would wholeheartedly recommend to others are those by Jeff Grubb. (The Brothers' War and the Ice Age cycle: The Gathering Dark, The Eternal Ice and The Shattered Alliance.) When I realised this, I stopped reading them and basically swore off tie-ins.
However, I've recently started looking at the tie-ins again. After all, things shouldn't be judged by their worst examples. So I recently read Keith Baker's Eberron tie-in The City of Towers, which was... well, mediocre to be fair. However, I've recently heard good things about Dan Abnett's Warhammer 40k novels, and because what I've seen of the setting is awesome, I will be giving his books a go in the near future. Meanwhile, I'm also eyeing Troy Denning's recently reprinted Prism Pentad. (Based on Dark Sun.)
So, what other gems could I be missing by neglecting tie-in fiction? And what are your experiences with it?
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