Week 6 "Curiouser and Curiouser..."

1) I have snooped through the extensive book lists and site links of Stop, You're Killing Me! and learned that there are mystery awards lists that I'm already vaguely familiar with, such as the Edgars and the Daggers, and then there are lists I'd never heard of, such as the indy booksellers list, Dilys, which I found very helpful. It is interesting to see the changing landscape of mystery over the course of a couple of decades -- the rise of Tara French and Louise Penny, the decline of Dick Francis and the enduring popularity of Charles Todd and Dennis Lehane.

Then there are the links. This site is a RA dream! On the left side of the home page there is the FAQ link, where I discovered that I could help customers identify the series they want from a character/series match up list. (Customers often come in with a character rather than an author.) I could also help identify or select their series through the other helpful links --  diversity, location, genre, and, most significatly, job indices. I will be able to really pinpoint a reader's tastes and match them up with the appropriate book.

I look forward to making use of these lists and links in recommending books to our many avid mystery readers who may have already read deeply in our collection.

2) I have noted my colleagues' extreme frustration and lack of success in finding current fan sites to write about. So I have used one of the resources that you have already introduced to us, Goodreads, as a stand-in, since there are literally hundreds of fans who use this site to record their opinions about books of every genre. I selected the sub genres "Swords and Sorcery," "Techno Thriller," and "Cosy Mystery."

"Swords and Sorcery" - J. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula LeGuin, and Patrick Rothfuss. Successful books in this genre rely heavily on setting and detail to create a convincing alternate world in which to place their characters and action. The characters accord with archetypal expectations for the genre -- there must be good and evil beings; at least one mage, wizard, witch or other magicwielding person; usually there are creatures not present in our world. The pace of these books is usually brisk since this genre relies on lots of swordplay, dragonslaying, spell dueling, and generally defending the hero's realm from an invasion or mortal danger of some kind. The storyline of sword and sorcery books is extremely important -- there are many themes and subjects that predictably recur in this genre perhaps more than any other, since it has its roots in the world's folklore and mythology.

"Techno Thriller" - Michael Crichton, Cory Doctorow, and Matthew Reilly. This genre relies on plausibility and pace to create the tension that drives it. Setting is contemporary or recognizable in a future world and detail is realistic as well. While characters can be morally ambiguous to enhance the thriller aspect, there are usually definite "good guys" and "bad guys." The tone of the techno thriller is serious and straightforward.

"Cosy Mystery" - Susan Wittig Albert, Joanne Fluke, and Nancy Atherton. The "cosy mysteries" are a venerable subgenre that rely on their predictability to satisfy their audience. Readers can expect an appealing small town setting and likeable, recognizable characters that they would enjoy as neighbors or friends, and usually a few eccentric cahracters. The tone is consistently light and often whimsical, but never grim or gory -- all of the death happens "offstage" and the detective solves the crime through their powers of deduction and intuition. Cosies are almost always series books, since readers enjoy visiting their favorite places and characters again and again.

3) For a mash up, I tried googling "Paranormal Western," and sure enough, there are several authors out there who specialize in creepy shootouts at the OK Corral.  I found titles on the Somebodydies.blogspot, the Weird West site, and in the Goodreads community. Joe R. Lansdale is popular; a couple of his recent titles are " The Magic Wagon" and "Dead in the West." Another prolific contributor to this mash up is Edward M. Erdelac, whose character is featured in "Merkabah Rider, the Mensch with No Name." The series features a Hasidic gunslinger who deals death to demons, spirits, and other beings in the Old West. I love the title of one of Erdelac's books, "Merkebah Rider: High Planes Drifter." These books have the classic characteristics of both genres: the setting is always the western United States, with guns, horses, steam powered machines, and Injuns. The occult or horror is introduced in the setting and detail as well -- haunted mines, ghost towns, and Native American shamanism. Weird West says this mash up features "tight action, inglorious heroes, unpredicable plots, archetypes, aliens and mysticism." Elements of steam punk have been creeping into the paranormal Westerns lately, which is understandable considering the time period of the Old West. This sounds like a fun genre -- many of the books have a notable light, ironic tone, while still respecting the iconic characteristics of Westerns and horror novels.