Books: What have you been reading?

[Malvolio]

I think we're missing something here. Just because an author depicts a certain act doesn't mean that author is advocating it. Yes, these acts in King's It and Rice's The Witching Hour are horrifying. These are horror authors writing horror novels. Their goal is to shock the reader. I daresay that scene in question in It shocked more people than the giant spider in the climax (no pun intended).

[t hedge coke]

I'm not sure that bit in It is meant as horror, but certainly a lot of the examples we can come up with (going all the way to the Godwin of these things, Lolita) are.

Rice, in her fiction and outside of it, has explicitly called out certain age-related taboos as constructs of particular societies, not something universal, not to horrify us, but to prompt thought and, yes, to generate frisson. I think there's actually worthwhile mileage in that, but it is the sort of thing adaptations cut out straightaway and most readers sort of don't bring up too often. That's more to do with our culture than anything else, too, for that matter.

[Melchior]

I am reminded of the time I was working at a Public Library, and a pre-teen with her mother came up with one of Rice's Beauty books. I pegged the girl as no more than 12-13. I was hesistant to check it out, mother said it was fine and the kid had already read Interview with a Vampire and a few others. I pointed out that the book was very different than Rice's Vampire series, and if the mother had flipped through it first. The mother did so at my suggestion, and vetoed checking out that book.

Probably overstepping myself there, but....

[batnbreakfast]

NO ONE HERE GETS OUT ALIVE (Jim Morrison bio) and some THE COMPLETE PEANUTS 1985-86 (Charles M. Schulz)

[JediMindTrick]

I haven't read Interview with the Vampire in decades but wasn't the "girl" whatever her name was actually an aged vampire trapped in a little girls body. So while it was creepy if you had to watch it (which made the movie scenes a bit creepy) it wasn't so creepy to read about it since you knew the girl was decades older than she looked.

Contrast to the scene in Stephen King's It (a book I just listened to last month) where they are all 11 year old kids and its straight up child porn. The girl pulls a train with five boys, has her multiple orgasms described in vivid detail,and has the size of one of the boy's members described in great detail as the girl wonders if she can take it all.

[Ragdoll]

LOL I clearly opened a real can of worms this time.

I haven't read Interview with the Vampire in decades but wasn't the "girl" whatever her name was actually an aged vampire trapped in a little girls body. So while it was creepy if you had to watch it (which made the movie scenes a bit creepy) it wasn't so creepy to read about it since you knew the girl was decades older than she looked.

You're close, they turned her to a vampire at that age, and as the story progresses, she becomes this aged being in a childs body, but there's parts of the story where she is still of a child's mind in the body. I'm hoping they didn't start having orgies until she was mentally older, at least. But they made it way tamer than you seem to think it was by never explicitly stating that she was having sex with the older Vampires. It is heavily implied, although it was vague enough where I could be wrong, T Hedge Coke has said that she was just their friend and they didn't bang her, but we'll agree to disagree there. Since they never show anyone's sex scenes, I have come to assume any Vampire who has a friendly relationship with another Vampire are also sleeping together between the chapters. They often refer to Claudia as their lover, and have to constantly remind themselves that it is actually a woman and not a child, as if to assuage their guilt.

Contrast to the scene in Stephen King's It (a book I just listened to last month) where they are all 11 year old kids and its straight up child porn. The girl pulls a train with five boys, has her multiple orgasms described in vivid detail,and has the size of one of the boy's members described in great detail as the girl wonders if she can take it all.

You mean you wouldn't bang 5 dudes in a grimey sewer if you knew it would give you psychic powers? People are so lazy these days.

I think we're missing something here. Just because an author depicts a certain act doesn't mean that author is advocating it. Yes, these acts in King's It and Rice's The Witching Hour are horrifying. These are horror authors writing horror novels. Their goal is to shock the reader. I daresay that scene in question in It shocked more people than the giant spider in the climax (no pun intended).

This is very true to an extent. I hate when people say that writers can;t write messed up things without being messed up people. But Anne Rice is clearly fixated on child sex. And the people banging kids are the heroes, not the villains. She never tries to make it seem scary, she glorifies it and slams the people who would judge it. If this only happened in one or two of her books, I would look the other way, but pedophilia is the only consistent theme in all of her books. I'm not even condemning her for it, I was more just shocked that others hadn't condemned her for it.
Like, I started listening to Book 2 of the Mayfair Witches yesterday. The first 2 full hours were one long tale of a 13 year old girl following a 50 year old around and slowly seducing him into bed.

I was working at a Public Library, and a pre-teen with her mother came up with one of Rice's Beauty books. I pegged the girl as no more than 12-13. I was hesistant to check it out, mother said it was fine and the kid had already read Interview with a Vampire and a few others. I pointed out that the book was very different than Rice's Vampire series, and if the mother had flipped through it first. The mother did so at my suggestion, and vetoed checking out that book.Probably overstepping myself there, but....

Hahaha you did a good thing. The sex in the Vampire books is almost always implied. The first time I recall a real sex scene was in book 4 when Lestat had a temporary human body and experienced awkward human sex.

Rice, in her fiction and outside of it, has explicitly called out certain age-related taboos as constructs of particular societies, not something universal, not to horrify us, but to prompt thought and, yes, to generate frisson.

Yeah, I can see this being her stance. She definitely writes as if she's trying to promote her version of "free love", not to condemn what is being depicted.

it is the sort of thing adaptations cut out straightaway and most readers sort of don't bring up too often.

LOL I didn't realize I was breaking the unwritten rule of "Do not tell the public that vampire stories are all full of kiddie porn". I definitely wouldn't tell my friends I just read a freaky book full of kid sex, they would think I was nuts. I'm starting to realize that lot's of vampire books seem to be havens for pedophile stuff, like Let The Right One In, although I haven't read other books by that author to know if it is a recurring theme with him like it is with Rice.

[t hedge coke]

I didn't realize I was breaking the unwritten rule of "Do not tell the public that vampire stories are all just child porn". I definitely wouldn't tell my friends I just read a freaky book full of kid sex, they would think I was nuts. I'm starting to realize that lot's of vampire books seem to be havens for pedophile stuff, like Let The Right One In, although I haven't read other books by that author to know if it is a recurring theme with him like it is with Rice.

Vampire stuff is almost always porny. Dracula is. The Anita Blake books just become excuses for sexy descriptions or sex scenes at some point.

No matter how you fight it, it's like in John Carpenter's Vampires, when the vamp killer insists vampires aren't like in movies, they're not handsome, oversexed eurotrash seducing the villagers, and then that's exactly what the big bad is.

[Ragdoll]

Also, a non-vampire note:
We are entering Stephen King month in terms of exciting new releases. Joe Hills new book is out in 2 weeks, and King's new book is out in 4 weeks. I hope I'm not alone in planning to read these immediately. It helps that I listen to audiobooks all day at work, so it isn't like I need to find the time to sit and read. I'll probably get the audiobooks the mornings they drop and listen to the books in a single day and get in on those first day reviews.

Vampire stuff is almost always porny. Dracula is. The Anita Blake books just become excuses for sexy descriptions or sex scenes at some point.

Before starting my Anne Rice binge, my only real experience with vampire stories was being obsessed with Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel back in middle school and the occasional horror novel ('Salems Lot). When Twilight blew up, it gave me the wrong impression (or maybe the right one) of what the rest of vampire media was all about and I avoided vampire stuff like the plague. I read Interview With A Vampire after the TV show American Horror Story: Hotel aired, which heavily featured vampires. When I asked people for more vampire stuff like AHS: Hotel, everyone said Anne Rice's books were the closest, and now I'm hooked on these insanely lengthy depictions of debauchery.

And back in the day, religious groups protested Buffy because she had sex with a 200 year old at age 17. That is essentially why I assumed Anne Rice must have suffered similar backlash., since Rice uses far younger characters than Buffy ever was. Anyways, I'm glad we live in the era where books and TV shows don;t get massive protests against them any longer. What even was that crap?

[DanArt]

Some people are just immature and they should actually experience life and not complain about fiction. If you do not like it then why continue to support the author by being a self-promotional web-beacon for there works?

After going to college and realizing most successful majors was married young or had spouses before or during there studies. The same could be said for other lines of employment as well. These stories are pretty accurate in terms of the Mary Sue or Larry Stu concept.

In fact look at "Archie and friends" for example. After a long battle the rich girl won over the educated girl. Why? Because the the educated girl was a typical blonde or was it a reader vote?

[JediMindTrick]

Vampire stuff is almost always porny. Dracula is. The Anita Blake books just become excuses for sexy descriptions or sex scenes at some point.

No matter how you fight it, it's like in John Carpenter's Vampires, when the vamp killer insists vampires aren't like in movies, they're not handsome, oversexed eurotrash seducing the villagers, and then that's exactly what the big bad is.

Except for trying to appeal to the teen girl demographic (and maybe this explains it 100%) I've never understood why in most vampire fiction you have vamps who are hundreds of years old pining for teen girls. I don't care how hot the teen girl might be, she still is going to be very immature compared to the vamp.

[JediMindTrick]

Also, a non-vampire note:
We are entering Stephen King month in terms of exciting new releases. Joe Hills new book is out in 2 weeks, and King's new book is out in 4 weeks. I hope I'm not alone in planning to read these immediately. It helps that I listen to audiobooks all day at work, so it isn't like I need to find the time to sit and read. I'll probably get the audiobooks the mornings they drop and listen to the books in a single day and get in on those first day reviews.

I'll listen to both when I'm able to get them on audiobook from my library. I've got such a backlog of stuff to read that anymore very few authors make my have to read immediately list.

[Deathstroke]

I finished reading the Lorna Barrett mystery novel "A Fatal Chapter" at lunch today.

[Ragdoll]

Lev Grossman's The Magicians. It's like Harry Potter with sex and drugs, just what I always wanted.

[Ragdoll]

IT'S HERE
Attachment 35771
I have no clue what it is about and am going in blind like I did for NOS4A2.
Speaking of Joe Hill, what does everyone think of his career to this point?
NOS4A2 > Locke & Key > Horns >>>>> crap >> Heart Shaped Box

[batnbreakfast]

Joe Hill is just as entertaining as his father imho. Really liked NOS4A2. Locke & Key and Horns look pretty good as well.