On Mon, 26 Feb 2001 23:50:52 +0000 (GMT) =?iso-8859-1?q?Fiona=20Moore?=

Oh, guys, this HURTS. This really, bloody hurts. You may feel like a lab rat, but to be honest, I feel like someone who has spoken up in favour of animal experimentation and come home to find my car burnt down and my house smashed up by animal rights activists

If it makes you feel better, I don't feel like a lab rat (not about this. Now, if we talk about bank and credit card companies selling customer information to who knows what companies, or that clothes store where, honestly, the clerks don't know how to operate the machinery without loading in private phone numbers, that's another story. However, that's people who 1) Don't ask permission, and 2) Don't tell me who or what they're giving the information to but I'm pretty sure it's not someone with my best interests at heart).

The interesting thing about the h/c thread is that I feel like I keep jumping back and forth on it. Sometimes, I'm sure it's a genre I like. Other times, I'd say not. Part of it, certainly, is that I'm reading descriptions that don't seem to quite match with what I was thinking of. I'm still trying to decide if this is because I'm reading an analysis by someone who may not like it or whether I'm the one who's confused.

Cause enough to get defensive.

However, getting back to the h/c discussion, I'm also wondering if this doesn't tie into something I've noticed about romance novels.

I'm not into romance novels as such. Every once in a while, I look through one or even deliberately try to read one (note, we are just ending the SF&F publishing dry spell between December and March, and not a moment too soon). However, I dislike different types for different reasons.

Regencies (and other 'tame' romances): too sweet and too predicatable. By predicatable, I mean that the couple has met and we know everything we need to about them within the first ten pages. The next two hundred pages are about them trying not to catch on to the inevitable. By too sweet, the myopia that seems to block out everything but the relationship as the story goes along is a bit much for me.

Other: Got talked into reading what I was told was one of The Greats (the little blurp about copies sold would seem to support that). The hero's idea of a great pick up line would be the sort of thing to cause me to pull out the mace, call the police, get a restraining order, and check with a lawyer about the chances of getting the guy committed to a place for the violently insane.

However, I'm an absolute sucker for stories _with_ a romance in them. When it isn't presented as the sole purpose of the book and when the characters are allowed to notice the other things going on in the world around them (even to the grand extent of frequently acting just as they would even if the significant other weren't there or weren't significant), I'm into it. I love it, I drool, I buy multiple copies and give them to friends, I even spend significant time whining if a perceived romance doesn't pan out (hence, my undying distress over Cally and Avon). It's complete, unrestrained, schmaltz city (a space station I can just imagine Vila doing anything to _avoid_ visiting, ditto Avon and Blake [but, as Jenna's the pilot, their votes may not count]).

The point being, if someone described romance and I had no preconceived idea of the genre, I might say, "Oh, yes, love it."

Which doesn't mean I don't like h/c.

I'm just beginning to suspect there's a bunch of h/c I don't like.

For example, before hearing some of the examples, I might have described one scene in Kriegspielen as mild h/c before this discussion (sorry, Neil). To very much oversimplify, Cally gets into a threatening situation and Avon shows up in the nick of time. Part of it's just Avon being Avon but, I thought (see what different readers do to a scene?) part of it was Avon being somewhat more aware of Cally and more interested in her well being than he might be of certain other people.

OTOH, I have read a couple stories with h/c themes where I was thinking, "Oh, no, I don't _know_ this character."

So, although I haven't read it, assuming Avon was blinded in a way that didn't sound to much like a plot device, I could see him realizing he would need to work with the dog that came along. Anyone who works with a seeing eye dog knows you'd better have a good relationship with it - and dogs don't understand the cold shoulder as token of emotionally distant friendship routine. He'd _have_ to show some affection and it would _have_ to be sincere.

Besides, dogs don't talk or spill secrets. I could see this.

But if he got all teary (and it wasn't _very_ well handled), no, that's not Avon.

Whatever lack of chemistry there may have been, the whole Anna thing strongly suggests Avon is better at admitting some concern for someone he's lost or is in danger of losing. So, to some extent, I would have said RoD had some h/c themes, too.

And I started work on a story where Avon is the sole survivor of GP, living in self-imposed exile on a very unpleasant planet where even his worst enemies wouldn't look for him, it's that bad. He's in better condition than a lot of the other people there. Then, he comes across another one of the refugee types there, a borderline catatonic survivor of the worst the Federation (or other parties) can dish out, Cally. In character? I thought so. H/c? Probably.

But there was another side to it. Skipping any feelings he may have had for Cally, Avon's a sort of living dead man at the beginning of this story. He's failed. He got everyone who relied on him, who _trusted_ him, killed. Everything he based his self-image was also destroyed - and there's no way to make it right. Till one of the crew shows up alive.

But no schmaltz - or none of what I call schmaltz.

As for the s/m element, I don't know. I certainly don't see myself as liking it. Maybe (getting back to romance novels) this is like those gothics of the past century where sex could only be brought up if it was made completely clear the heroine was threatened by it. Skipping the negative effect many people feel this genre had on society, it should be clear this is a _sub_genre of romance (still going on today). To judge all romances by them (whether you like them or not) would be inaccurate.

Someone else tell me if this means I like h/c or not.

Or am I just getting really defensive having realized some people hold it in low esteem?

Ellynne ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.