Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Help Me Introduce a Twilight Fan to Books that Are Worth While

Okay, folks, I need your help on this one. Recently, one of my much younger cousins has finished reading the "Twilight" books (I applogize for sullying this blog with mention of that... stuff) and has put out a request for recommendations of what she should read next.

I'm normally one to let people read what they want to and stick to my own business, but when there's a call for SF literary help, I can't ignore it. Now's the crucial time to steer her towards good speculative fiction, rather than the dreck she's just inflicted on herself.

My initial recommendations were, if the Twilight aberration was a sign of an interest in urban fantasy, that she give pretty much anything by Charles De Lint a try. Yes, I know, read more than two of his books and they all start to look the same, but in limited quantities they're entertaining enough. I also suggested Cory Doctorow's "Somone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town".

But I thought I'd put the question out to you. You might think other books are a better way to nudge her into reading better fare. Maybe you think urban fantasy is the wrong direction and you have a different take on where the interests of a Twilight fan might point to in terms of sub-genres (aside from cheesy romance novels).

What are your gateway recommendations to introduce a Twilight fan to good speculative fiction?

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