Other genres

I write mostly about fantasy on this blog, mostly because that's what I've been working for a couple of years, but I have pretty strong interests in horror also. Here's my break-down on interests in other genres.

Horror: I love good horror. Bad horror is ... well, bad. I don't like the basic slice-n-dice stories filled with nothing but gore. But I love horror that focuses on the human element and upon mystery; the monster behind the closed door is always more frightening to me than when the monster is revealed. That focus on humanity is one of the reasons I like Stephen King so much; many of his horror stories are relatively mundane, but they have a strong human element that only King can provide. Actually, horror is probably my favorite genre to read, even more so than fantasy.

Science fiction: To tell the truth, I don't care a lot for most science fiction. When I do, I prefer "soft" science fiction. "Hard" science fiction just bores me; if I want to read a technical journal, I'll go buy one.

Mystery/Thriller: I've read a fair amount of mystery stories, and I tend to prefer hard-boiled tales. A lot of mystery novels don't seem to do much for me, because I feel there's no chance you (the reader) can figure out what's going on.

Westerns: I love western movies, but not so much the fiction. The one big exception being Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove."

Romance: I have next to no interest in romance, but to be fair to the genre, I've never actually set down to read a romance novel. Unless Anne Rice counts.

Mainstream/Literary: In my experience, most so-called "mainstream" works are really just genre novels, with a lot more words than usual.