In your first post you say the hard part is… I agree the hard part is trying to convince them to read a genre shifting book without spoiling the big twist. Le sigh…
doki doki literature club
shin senkai yori
scrapped princess
hunter x hunter (each arc feels very diff flavor wise)
mahou sensei negima, arguably (goes from harem to serious)
puella magi madoka magica
stein's gate
promised neverland
re: zero
your lie in april
lord of the mysteries
baccano
Have you read anything from John Darnielle of @themountaingoats.bsky.social ? His books are fantastic. I'd recommend Universal Harvester or Devil House.
I’ve always thought that a long running mundane show like CSI or Friends or ER etc. could shake things up with the introduction of real magic, or SF, or time travel into the series.
I absolutely love the surprise of a genre switch. This ancient high fantasy world is actually a far future sci-fi story... what??? Stories like these helped me learn that I really enjoy other genres that I might not have picked up otherwise.
Not sure what agency you work for and don't share cause I certainly never do online, but sounds like we are in the same federal boat just hoping it doesn't sink.
I'm still waiting to learn who the next Administration is going to put in charge of us. I have 6 years before I can retire. A 2 year buyout is not likely enough, but I'll discuss it with spouse if offered
I think that's why I love John Saul books. The twists that constantly change the genre or just completely change how the story you thought you read all along was incorrect...good stuff.
I have no idea who planted the idea that I was only talking about books. I barely have time to read books that aren't horrendously dense physics textbooks.
I recently watched the film "The Little Things" with Denzel, Remi Malek, and Jared Leto. I liked it a lot. At the beginning I thought it would be a hero cop/serial killer movie like Silence of the Lambs, but by the end it had completely subverted that and was telling an entirely different story.
I would like it, but 89.7% of the time it's revealed to be horror and thats just not my jam.
Might make a game that starts as horror and doesnt end as horror.
My writing group loved my novel, which they thought was hilarious and called 'like literary chick lit,' and I told them to brace themselves, and when it became speculative horror, they were all quite thrown. One said "I like it but I don't know if you're allowed to change genres?"
I was recentlt reading this story about these kids that were at home on a rainy day and I shit you not a 6 foot tall cat shows up wearing a giant hat! I almost shit myself and realized these kids were about to be in for a wild ride!
i have always loved the idea of a sitcom which slowly desolves from being a sitcom and turns over time into something else, dark and serious. Kevin can f**k himself kinda itched that spot but it wasn't exactly right
thats me. I find it impossible to stay in one genre. just like my creative life. check out Lee Hemingway’s novella Ramenil. verses lee benson no naked walls. let me know what you think
Read Legend of the Mistletoe Bough. It blends romance, mystery, and the supernatural into a tale thick with atmosphere and eerie tension. The twist at the end will leave you unsettled. Perfect for those who still appreciate gothic suspense over modern clichés.
i really like when knives out is set up as a murder mystery, but than it gets solved in 40 minutes so now its like a runaway movie but than at the end it was a murder mystery the whole time
I have tried describing the premise of “American Dreamz” to people and have given up.
Just watch it. Hugh Grant plays a Simon Cowell music show host, Mandy Moore is a sociopathic contestant, and Dennis Quaid and Willem Dafoe play Bush & Cheney respectively (sorta).
I feel like I can’t even talk about those stories ever though, on the off chance I’ll spoil it for somebody who might’ve wanted to read it. You can’t even talk about it vaguely or suggest that there’s a twist, because that in itself is a spoiler.
I think readers like/need surprises; I have stopped reading so many books recently due to predictable plots, boring characters, dialogue that doesn't feel real, bad writing, etc. The mainstream publishers are afraid of innovative fiction.
I'm not sure it's what you are talking about, but this kinda sums up my writing project from the creator perspective.
It was supposed to be sword and sorcery, how did I end up with cowboys and magic radiation??? (not trying to plug, it just felt on point for my current thoughts)
This is why my Animal Crossing and Resident Evil crossover wouldn't be advertised as such. You'd finally be about to pay your mortgage when the outbreak happens, then Bells become Bullets, Tom Nook gets an eye patch, and a grizzled Blathers sends you looking for specific zombie parts in the city.
genres are made-up so i like it even more if a piece blends and deconstructs their boundaries to the point of seamlessness
life is strange as *simultaneously* american high school comedy, slice of life, yuri, magical realism and horror - and that can change based solely on the player's perception
There's an old videogame series, Might & Magic, where in M&M VI it starts out as a medieval-type hack & slash story; as the game moves through various dungeons, etc., it eventually turns into a sci-fi story with aliens and starships. My favorite game, and the only one I've played more than once.
I'm in Love With the Villainess blew my mind and is one of my favourite book series as a result... but you've got to get to book 5 to get the full experience.
I've given up on selling anyone on Homestuck's [genre B] experience though, since let's be real, if you're not into colorful walls of text between weird teenage characters you're still going to struggle with the later bits.
Like. Someone who fundamentally doesn't vibe with a movie nerd and a music nerd having log winded conversations where they drop in-jokes at each other for several pages straight? They're not going to vibe with the same format when one of the kids is an alien who hates the other kid.
The issue is that the genre a of homestuck informs genre b a lot. You need to be able to buy the moon logic to get either the drama or the cosmic stuff. And HS switches on a dime!
When I went blindly into the original Trigun I believed it to be a western styled story only. Then it pulled me into a sci-fy blend. Amazing and love it a lot
It's so hard getting people to read these! My husband's book looks like fantasy in the first chapter, but it's not! Just keep reading! It's Sci fi dystopia!
He had to give it a new prologe and give away the twist earlier for people who didn't want to wait.
As long as you're ok with truly disturbing levels of mind-controlled non-consensual sex which the female characters are somehow almost always fine with, yes, it is an excellent example.
Hmm. Yeah I didn’t remember it being like that, but I do remember it being a big plot point that it was problematic for the MC and actually referenced as a problem within the story.
This article is accurate, but I think glosses over context, and exaggerates how things are handled.
That's probably fair. I don't remember well, I read them all 25+ years ago as a 14 or 15yo and it seemed like good fantasy with sexy sex, but I was a dumbass kid, and I think it's prolly one of those 'product of its time' things that hasn't aged well.
Maybe, but many of his books putter out like a car running on fumes.
I can picture him running his tongue around a pill bottle to get the remaining dust and saying, "welp, time to wrap up this novel."
Mmmm That’s such a great storytelling technique though! It keeps you hooked, thinking it’s going in one direction, only to surprise you with a twist that changes everything. It adds so much depth and excitement lol
Comments
A bizarre but fun watch with a big twist. 🌀
https://youtu.be/twvPGxuEOEA?si=WSRRCrW3L8eevcXK
Their excitement when the twist dropped into the war film had them riveted to the screen. 😄
doki doki literature club
shin senkai yori
scrapped princess
hunter x hunter (each arc feels very diff flavor wise)
mahou sensei negima, arguably (goes from harem to serious)
puella magi madoka magica
stein's gate
promised neverland
re: zero
your lie in april
lord of the mysteries
baccano
It would make for some fun conversations
oh wait, what
and the inevitable lean forward as your focus sharpens and widens with
ahhhhhhhh
ohhhhhhhh
and then you snuggle back down into a greater pit of engagement.
Might make a game that starts as horror and doesnt end as horror.
My writing group loved my novel, which they thought was hilarious and called 'like literary chick lit,' and I told them to brace themselves, and when it became speculative horror, they were all quite thrown. One said "I like it but I don't know if you're allowed to change genres?"
Marriage. Competing law firms. Werewolves and Vampires.
I read it cover to cover in a night (and called in sick at work the next day…ah the good ‘ol days)
Just watch it. Hugh Grant plays a Simon Cowell music show host, Mandy Moore is a sociopathic contestant, and Dennis Quaid and Willem Dafoe play Bush & Cheney respectively (sorta).
Trust me, it’s great.
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
The first is different subgenres and then a bit of a different genre.
The second is a real surprise!
Both are great reads.
It was supposed to be sword and sorcery, how did I end up with cowboys and magic radiation??? (not trying to plug, it just felt on point for my current thoughts)
Get my e-book here!! https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/close-encounters-of-the-wtf-kind-parts-i-ii-annie-piacentini/1145530781
Granted, Scrapped Princess was sliced awesome on epic bread, but that kind of genre bending is still a rarity.
life is strange as *simultaneously* american high school comedy, slice of life, yuri, magical realism and horror - and that can change based solely on the player's perception
Oh, it's fun little dating game, cool. Oh wait. Wait. OMG! This is scary horror game!
https://bsky.app/profile/nicholenull.bsky.social/post/3lbkpbh2axs2x
"yeah i know you're not into [genre A], but this is actually [genre B]"
"ok i'll give it a shot"
(The first five episodes are [genre A])
He had to give it a new prologe and give away the twist earlier for people who didn't want to wait.
This article is accurate, but I think glosses over context, and exaggerates how things are handled.
You're right that it's a good, early example.
I can picture him running his tongue around a pill bottle to get the remaining dust and saying, "welp, time to wrap up this novel."