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| The Wasp & Ant-Man. Image source: ComicBook |
We’ve discussed action-adventure elements in science fiction
romance any number of times, but the other day I realized that I had never
actually specifically blogged about its role in this subgenre. I was reminded
of this omission upon reading a review of a fairly recent SFR title (name
withheld so as to not prejudice potential fans).
In the review, the reader observed that the novella had too
much action. Having read the book in question, IMHO the issue wasn’t
one of too *much* action as opposed to the book having too few scenes of
relationship development and other types of scenes. As much as
I love action scenes, I agree that they have the potential to overwhelm a
story.
Action scenes done right become a seamless
part of the story. But for some readers—male or female—even mild action scenes
might be deemed too much excitement. Still, one’s taste for action-adventure
isn’t an inherent gender trait. Cultural influences shape our tastes in
fiction and sometimes an artificial divide results.
When analyzing these types of issues in sci-fi romance, I often think back to Jacqueline
Lichtenberg’s insights about genre divergence that I shared in a previous
post:
Genres began to diverge along gender lines. Romance was defined as for women, and action adventure was defined as for men. Science fiction, which should have been gender neutral, was merged with action adventure since it was assumed women wouldn’t like it and/or couldn’t understand it…
With that in mind, I’ve been wondering about the role of
action-adventure in science fiction romance. Many stories contain at least one
major action scene. (SFR is similar to romantic suspense in this regard since those
stories also pose a challenge regarding the balance of the various genre
elements.) Given that many SFRs feature an external threat, it follows that the
stories demand a few action scenes. Action-adventure is ubiquitous in this
subgenre even if it’s usually of the middle to low-octane variety.
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| Image source: Bitch Flicks |
But…are the action-adventure elements keeping lots of potential (female)
readers away from SFR? Or, on the other hand, are they hardly worth noting?
Personally, I love action-adventure elements in SFR. The
adrenaline rush they offer is great and their flavor varies with each unique
setting. Action-adventure elements are a big draw for me and they help make
this subgenre unique.
Yet I can also understand why it wouldn’t interest readers
who aren’t sure if they want that adrenaline rush and/or aren’t keen on some of
the violence associated with action-adventure. But how much of a challenge action-adventure poses is
the question.
So I ask you: Do action-adventure elements pose a challenge in
terms of attracting more—let’s face it—female readers—to SFR or not? If any disinterest in it has artificial roots, couldn't science fiction romance be
positioned as a way for some (female) readers to discover all of the fun that
action-adventure has to offer?
Joyfully yours,
Heather