Polish Fantasy and Science Fiction

I’ve just had another realisation: Polish fantasy and sf are ALL about blood and evil. All except Sapkowski and Brzezińska…

I was putting the new book cases in the hallway the other week, and I took this opportunity to review the books I’ve got. There’s the Genji, Narnia, War of the Rings, Robert Bly, Norman Davies and Ian Banks and there’s a lot of cheap paperback fantasy I buy on the way back from Poland. What I found is that I don’t want to keep any of those books. I just put them in the recycling.

It’s not only due to the mediocre writing, because you get that a lot in the genre anywhere. It’s also due to the topics: vampires, devils, ghost dogs, blood and magic. Nothing that would cheer me up.

I remember that twenty years ago the genre was a little more entertaining, and a little less poignant and accursed. So I went online to find something more modest – and I haven’t found any.

The Wrath of the Midday, The Russet Pack, Lord of the Ice Garden, Nighter – all very dark, cruel.

I didn’t want them. What’s wrong with all the young writers anyway?