Michael58
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Registered: 09-2007
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Dark Fiction
Often the lines between genres are getting a bit blurred these days, aren't they? Which is exactly the way I like it, of course! Actually, I think writers have done this sort of thing for a while anyway.
The story I'm writing might be called "dark urban fantasy," which has many elements of horror but also a strong dose of fantasy conventions. There are a lot of stories out there like this now, too, like much of Clive Barker's work (The Great and Secret Show, for example).
I believe there are plenty of science fiction stories that might be considered "dark" as well. Anyone else have ideas on this? What stories have you read like this?
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2/27/2009, 10:27 pm
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Firlefanz
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Re: Dark Fiction
Michael, that makes me wonder what elements need to be present to call a story "dark"?
I have a tale about a paranormal detective who ends up dealing with "demons" (which turn out not to be demons at all, yet use mind-control techniques). Would that be considered "dark"? I just never thought it was, I would have catalogued it as "urban fantasy".
--- - Firlefanz
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2/28/2009, 8:07 am
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Corvus
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Re: Dark Fiction
quote:
Firlefanz wrote:
Michael, that makes me wonder what elements need to be present to call a story "dark"?
"Dark" is about theme, presentation and mood more than elements. For example, Moor****'s Elric stories are a classic example of dark fantasy, even though they contain staple elements of "normal" fantasy stories -- dragons, magic, gods, swords, sailing ships, boon companions, epic questing and so on. What makes the Elric stories "dark" is Elric's fate: he is destined to be a pawn of Chaos and end the world, no matter what he does. He is used, by the gods, by his demon-sword Stormbringer, and by others, and in the end he indeed brings about the end of the world before dying.
Just because a story includes demons doesn't mean it's dark fantasy. If you were to portray an atmosphere of doom and hopelessness, explore base emotions and twisted motivations, that kind of thing, you'd be edging into "darker" territory. It's more in how you do it than what you do.
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2/28/2009, 1:09 pm
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Michael58
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Re: Dark Fiction
Now that seems like a good explanation, Corvus, although I've never actually thought of it that way. I can see where a "mood" like that could come into it, but wouldn't "effect" be important too? Would a story that tries to establish a horrific "effect," as Poe described in "The Philosophy of Composition" (which I know was about poetry, but he did try to establish effects in his fiction too), also be considered "dark?"
And could you have that general feeling of hopelessness and still have things work out in the end?
But when I think about it, every story I've read in this genre does seem to have both. I don't like any of the Anita Blake novels that follow Obsidian Butterfly, but they're a good example. Anita Blake is concerned that she is just like the "monsters" she hunts, which seemed to be a central theme to the story before Hamilton switched gears.
Last edited by Michael58, 3/3/2009, 11:27 am
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3/2/2009, 3:49 pm
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