Mythpunk
In Mythpunk--a term coined by Catherynne M. Valente--themes, symbols, and archetypes of folklore and myths are combined with postmodern fantasy techniques. “For me,” Valente claims, “mythpunk describes a writer who uses myth and folklore as a launch-point and then warps it with their own voice. Someone for whom language is more than a simple tool, whose use of it is sometimes jangling, sometimes melodious, often musical, always passionate. Someone who uses the basic set of authorial instruments: character, plot, setting, and the fabulous orchestra of human language in a way that challenges and innovates, changes the reader's perception of mythology, both traditional narrative and new worlds combined and recombined. It's more fun to write than anything I know, and more profound to read than most things I find.”
Valente's The Labyrinth
is a fine example of this style of story (read an excerpt here), as is Sonya Taaffe's Postcards from the Province of Hyphens
.
Other styles have developed out of the mythpunk movement:
Elfpunk. Contemporary fantasy character types—elves, fairies, dragons, etc.—are placed in an urban setting. Elfpunk has also been called “modern faerie tale” by such authors as Holly Black, describing her novel Tithe
(read an excerpt here) or “urban fantasy” by such authors as Emma Bull, describing her novel War for the Oaks
.
Mannerspunk. Elabororate social hierarchies and complex traditions are presented in a fantasy setting. Etiquette is then critically examined through the lens of a fantastical comedy of manners--a sort of Jane Austin meets C.S. Lewis. Mannerspunk has also been called a “fantasy of manners,” a term coined by science fiction critic Donald G. Keller. The Death of the Necromancer
by Martha Wells (read an excerpt here) and Swordspoint
by Ellen Kushner (read an excerpt here) are examples of mannerspunk.
In Mythpunk--a term coined by Catherynne M. Valente--themes, symbols, and archetypes of folklore and myths are combined with postmodern fantasy techniques. “For me,” Valente claims, “mythpunk describes a writer who uses myth and folklore as a launch-point and then warps it with their own voice. Someone for whom language is more than a simple tool, whose use of it is sometimes jangling, sometimes melodious, often musical, always passionate. Someone who uses the basic set of authorial instruments: character, plot, setting, and the fabulous orchestra of human language in a way that challenges and innovates, changes the reader's perception of mythology, both traditional narrative and new worlds combined and recombined. It's more fun to write than anything I know, and more profound to read than most things I find.”
Valente's The Labyrinth
is a fine example of this style of story (read an excerpt here), as is Sonya Taaffe's Postcards from the Province of Hyphens.Other styles have developed out of the mythpunk movement:
Elfpunk. Contemporary fantasy character types—elves, fairies, dragons, etc.—are placed in an urban setting. Elfpunk has also been called “modern faerie tale” by such authors as Holly Black, describing her novel Tithe
(read an excerpt here) or “urban fantasy” by such authors as Emma Bull, describing her novel War for the Oaks.Mannerspunk. Elabororate social hierarchies and complex traditions are presented in a fantasy setting. Etiquette is then critically examined through the lens of a fantastical comedy of manners--a sort of Jane Austin meets C.S. Lewis. Mannerspunk has also been called a “fantasy of manners,” a term coined by science fiction critic Donald G. Keller. The Death of the Necromancer
by Martha Wells (read an excerpt here) and Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner (read an excerpt here) are examples of mannerspunk.(Return to The "Punk" Subenre)
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1 comments:
This is incredible! "Labyrinth" is now on my wishlist. I'd actually had an idea for a mythpunk novel, but had no idea it was a subgenre already. Go figure.
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