Book Club

I believe (and I’m not the only one) that fantasy and sci-fi are the genres most suited for telling difficult truths about our world and our society. That job used to be the exclusive domain of what is now called “literary fiction”. In the 19^th century especially, the realists like George Eliot and Charles Dickens changed their world through vivid portrayals of the horrors of the Industrial Revolution.

But literary fiction nowadays is often more obsessed with itself than it is with telling any truths about the world. The Goldfinch—that sad, pathetic excuse for a Pulitzer Prize-winner—is the perfect example. It’s got gorgeous words, interesting characters, and absolutely no significance whatsoever.

You might think I’m exaggerating. But think about this: which HBO production are people more excited about: Olive Kitteridge or Game of Thrones? Did Twitter and Facebook go as mad over Atonement as over the Red Wedding?

Look at the books of someone like N.K. Jemisin. Her “Broken Earth” series is as incising a criticism of racism and slavery as any Underground Railroad. And it’ll be remembered as great literature far longer than anything by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Mark my works. Today’s fantasy novels will be remembered in the same sentence as Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy.

That being said, there’s something missing in most fantasy novels these days. A reaction to the positive, heroic vision of Tolkien has given rise to largely nihilistic grim-dark fantasy. Some grim-dark is spectacular, but much of it is shock value over substance.