An estimated 80% of my fiction output is rooted in spite.

[magistrate]

Ran across this in my Twitter reading today. Made me stop and raise an eyebrow. Because, really – "grim" and "bleak" are the descriptors they've chosen to entice me to see this film? (Well, there's also "incredible", but that gives me little insight into what sets this film apart, and thus does little to capture my interest.)

Now, possibly I just haven't read widely enough in the genre to realize that there's a strong undercurrent of happy, lush, uplifting post-apocalyptic fiction out there. Something like that. But to me, grim, bleak landscapes aren't exactly the aspects of a post-apocalyptic work you need to advertise – they're more or less to be expected from the genre. Advertising those, especially when you have a medium such as Twitter and have to seriously consider which few, precious words you're going to use, makes it sound to me like you just don't have anything more interesting to say than "This work competently executes the tropes it's expected to." It's the "square house, door in front" of the review world.

...which all basically means that, in a fit of pique, I have decided that I want beautifully optimistic post-apocalyptic fiction to exist. If someone else doesn't write it, I may have to.

(It's not even that I dislike grimdark post-apoc. I do enjoy it, when it's done well. But sometimes you just have to go for the subversions.)

Comments

[sholio]

Somewhat surprisingly, that Andre Norton book, the cover of which I was complaining about recently, actually is that, more or less. It's post-apocalyptic but long enough after the apocalypse that life is pretty decent again, and it's mostly a sort of SF quest story about people exploring their interesting post-apocalyptic world with telepathic animal companions, meeting new people and seeing new places. (I'm also vaguely astounded at how dated the book doesn't feel considering that the first half was published in 1952 and the second half about 20 years later. It's racially diverse without being terribly stilted about it, there are female leaders and adventurers ... it just feels a lot more contemporary than the majority of SF from its era. And refreshingly non-depressing.)

[magistrate]

Nice! I'm going to have to check that out, even if there is a disappointing lack of spear-wielding bipedal cats and enraged baboon-creatures.

[sholio]

No, tragically, but the second novella in the book has a lady with telepathic companion fishers (the descriptions of them are ADORABLE - they're always popping up on top of things or humping around exploring) and a guy who rides an enormous coyote. And I'm fairly sure the bad guys are riding either elk or moose, though the descriptions are kind of vague since the protagonists aren't sure what they are either.

[magistrate]

Aww! ...you know, for how little I read/write/seek them out in fiction, I will admit that I'm a sucker for companion animals.

I think my favorite word for animal movement is "gallumphing". Especially when it's things like the monster from The Host gallumphing about. With all its little legs.

[sholio]

.... THE HELL AM I WATCHING HERE.

Yeah, it's not really something I go looking for and it can sometimes strike the wrong note, but I seem to enjoy it more often than not. Especially when the companion is something unusual.

[magistrate]

You are watching the monster attack scene from a surprisingly adorable Korean monster film. (Guaranteed 100% free of pit-fighting teddy bears.)

...I have an SG1 braintic where Sam Carter dies and her consciousness gets transported into a different universe and winds up in a semi-uplifted mountain lion developed with alien technology to provide service animals for offworld 'gate teams. 'cause that makes a whole lot of sense. But aside from that and Ness, I just never seem to do anything with them.

...well, there are also the Behemats in my middlegrade novel, I suppose. Which are not so much "animals" as "sentient, nonhuman creatures created out of an extrusion of human will." I am the best at middlegrade.

[rootsofthestories]

Actually, I think that's what I am doing with It's Just the Radio. It's a post apocalypse type scenario but the whole thing is that she is going around, using her manifestation powers to help people through the rough times and eventually, she and two others team up and start rebuilding bigger patches of land and restoring the world, or as much of it as they can get to.

[magistrate]

\o/ SUBVERT THE WORLD.

That sounds like a lot of fun! I do love me some rebuilding-type stories.

[rootsofthestories]

Something like that, yes. XD I didn't even do it intentionally exactly so much as it just played out that way.

[selki]

Ooh.

[yetregressing]

THE ROAD BUT HOPEFUL IS ALL YOUR FAULT

so you should have to write one too, so I don't suffer alone.

But yeah, that sounds ridiculous. Don't try to distinguish yourself in a certain genre if you are the basic tenants of that genre. Advertise that you are that genre. Then people who like those basic tenants will be like "aw sweet!" and the rest of us can carry on with our lives.

[magistrate]

But noooo, how these things work is that other people write stories so that I don't have to!

That's... that is how these things work, isn't it?

I did spend a while this morning trying to think of happy post-apocalyptic things that wouldn't be read as being happy about the apocalypse. So, that's something.

[squeemu]

Does "chance to start over" count?

[magistrate]

"Trans young adult saved from abusive home situation by unexpected apocalypse."

Hm. Could do.

[yetregressing]

That's definitely how things work. Unless other people write them and they're not to your satisfaction. And then YOU have to write them.

Aahha yeah I ran into that problem initially. Like "WOW EVERYTHING IS GREAT, MOST PEOPLE ARE DEAD!" no shhh characters. I think for me, The Road But Hopeful is going to be like. Mostly about family and hope for tomorrow and stuff. i DON'T KNOW.

[squeemu]

I swear I replied this morning, but my comment seems to have been eaten? Or deleted. If it's gone again, I'll just give up.

BUT I WAS TRYING TO SAY that you should totally write that story even if someone's done something similar, because I feel like yours would be awesome.

I was also trying to say that it would make an amazing video game, but then I remembered that Journey is sort of like it? Only, you know, beautifully desolate and somewhat uplifting, instead of beautifully optimistic. XD

[magistrate]

Fallout has a grim/bleak/desolate aesthetic but is chock full of quirky stuff! And also horrifying stuff. But that may be because it was pretty much my first exposure to the idea of radiation as a tiny An, and radiation is FUCKING TERRIFYING.

Minecraft is also a really bleak game, if you look at it right. Because you wake up alone in a wilderness overrun by undead every single night, you basically have to re-create civilization with your own hands, the only intelligent creatures around seem to be decidedly nonhuman and their whole villages can die off over the course of a night if they get mobbed by zombies, the caves are littered with the decaying evidence of a previous civilization, and then there's this.

Basically, stealth post-apocalyptic worlds and worlds that are post-apocalyptic but offer a more complex emotional landscape than grimdark are lovely things.