Article: why I don't read Mormon fiction


KCGrant
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Well I like most of Orson Scott Carde's stuff, and a lot of Weis and Hickmans stuff.

Wait, what?! ..... I rarely read author biographies, but I just dug up these guys out of shock. I had no idea Hickman was LDS! I've read all of the Dragonlance books and loved them. Tasslehoff actually inspired one of my characters.

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Wait, what?! ..... I rarely read author biographies, but I just dug up these guys out of shock. I had no idea Hickman was LDS! I've read all of the Dragonlance books and loved them. Tasslehoff actually inspired one of my characters.

Ya i was too lol certainly a fun fantasy series, i also like their Deathgate cycle series as well.

And i love Fizban as much or more than Tas XD

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The problem I find in most Christian fiction books is that it always ends up sounding too preachy.

The extra problem with LDS books is that it goes through Deseret and they will not publish books that dwell on harsh realities of life. This makes it difficult to write a book that is engaging, etc.

For example, you won't be able to sell Twilight as LDS fiction even if you make Bella LDS because vampires will not pass Deseret. So, take out vampires and your left with a boring book.

I want fiction to be a reflection of real life (yes, Star Wars is not real but it reflects real life very well) and magnified. Where people get hit by major temptations, fall hard, then crawl their way out tooth and nail, sometimes having to compromise to survive. This will have to deviate from LDS standards because people who lead perfect Mormon lives is difficult to make interesting...

:) Are you saying Vampires are a "harsh reality of life"?

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Ya i was too lol certainly a fun fantasy series, i also like their Deathgate cycle series as well.

And i love Fizban as much or more than Tas XD

I love Fizban. :D And Raistlin. And Caramon. And... pretty much all the characters. I think the only one I didn't really like was Tanis. His character was just too typical and predictable- angsty half-elven dude. But, maybe that's because I was biased by my love for the equally cliched character Drizzt Do'Urden from R.A. Salvatores book's- the goodly morally troubled dark-elf.

Tasslehoff, however, will remain my favorite from the Dragonlance books, mainly because he seems to be the only one who experienced any sort of fluidity and development. It wasn't just because he was funny and outrageously entertaining, but because he actually seemed to "grow" and change throughout the books while the other characters just remained the same.

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Wait, what?! ..... I rarely read author biographies, but I just dug up these guys out of shock. I had no idea Hickman was LDS! I've read all of the Dragonlance books and loved them. Tasslehoff actually inspired one of my characters.

I liked the Dragonlance series. I do read the biographies of authors I like. I also read and interview Hickman gave. The idea started when they were playing Dungeons and Dragons (the old way - with pencils and graph paper) back in the early 80s. :)

As for Orson Scott Card. Bleh! He lost me after I read the book Saints. I love historical fiction - as in, the circumstances are fact but the characters are fiction interacting with historical figures. Example: Gerald Lund (LDS): The Work and The Glory. Irving Stone (not LDS): Those Who Love. What Card did with Saints was just nonsense. He lost me as a reader and the only other books I've read of his were Rachel and Sarah... again I was disappointed.

LDS Fiction: I don't read much of that. I think the reason LDS Fiction seems like an extended New Era article is because that's exactly what it is. I also really get annoyed when people use ideas in fiction as gospel doctrine.

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LDS Fiction: I don't read much of that. I think the reason LDS Fiction seems like an extended New Era article is because that's exactly what it is. I also really get annoyed when people use ideas in fiction as gospel doctrine.

I read most of Jack Weylands books because my mom had them all, and I enjoyed them. Read the first two Tennis Shoes among the Nephites books, but couldn't spark enough interest to read the rest. My sister- however- devoured them, as well as Passage to Zarahemla, and we found out that the author happens to be best friends with one of our Uncles, so my sister asked our uncle to see if he could get her a signed copy. He got her something better- several pages of the original document for Passage to Zarahemla. She was estatic.

Other than that... I also have not really read much LDS fiction. I did read OSC's Rachel and Sarah and liked them, but I haven't read any of his other stuff. Yes, even his more popular sci-fi books have not been read by me yet, even though I love sci-fi and fantasy. Maybe I'll read them someday.

For me, the reason I don't read much LDS fiction is simply because I am extremely picky about what I like. I have very specific interests in the books I seek out, and I will usually only read a book to the end if the author is really able to engage me. If I liked it, I seek out everything else by that particular author. It doesn't really matter what genre it is- I read all across the board- but the majority of what I end up reading (for fiction at least- I also read quite a bit of non-fiction) falls into the category of sci-fi/fantasy, which (it seems) there aren't very many LDS authors who write in that genre.

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I read most of Jack Weylands books because my mom had them all, and I enjoyed them. Read the first two Tennis Shoes among the Nephites books, but couldn't spark enough interest to read the rest. My sister- however- devoured them, as well as Passage to Zarahemla, and we found out that the author happens to be best friends with one of our Uncles, so my sister asked our uncle to see if he could get her a signed copy. He got her something better- several pages of the original document for Passage to Zarahemla. She was estatic.

Other than that... I also have not really read much LDS fiction. I did read OSC's Rachel and Sarah and liked them, but I haven't read any of his other stuff. Yes, even his more popular sci-fi books have not been read by me yet, even though I love sci-fi and fantasy. Maybe I'll read them someday.

For me, the reason I don't read much LDS fiction is simply because I am extremely picky about what I like. I have very specific interests in the books I seek out, and I will usually only read a book to the end if the author is really able to engage me. If I liked it, I seek out everything else by that particular author. It doesn't really matter what genre it is- I read all across the board- but the majority of what I end up reading (for fiction at least- I also read quite a bit of non-fiction) falls into the category of sci-fi/fantasy, which (it seems) there aren't very many LDS authors who write in that genre.

Ditto. :)

I also look for really BIG books. An author who can write a book that end up being 2-3 inches thick in paperbook usually has developed the depth the characters and story needs.

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