Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Name That Genre! #3

TITLE: YA
GENRE: Secret

I was not about to step aside for Kaptan Berker.

His gaze on the front of the room, the middle-caste barge master smoothed his greasy hair and sniffed like I was a fool for not reacting to his general magnificence. The many bells on my headscarf jingled as I shook my head. Magnificent belly maybe. He didn’t run a full ship. Just a barge. My back to the man, I leaned against the floor-to-ceiling elephant tusk that marked the license line’s half-way point.

The light from the window’s pointed arches had gone from morning’s white to noon’s yellow as I’d waited behind middle-caste merchants and low-caste sailors like myself. Only now could I stretch my neck and glimpse the bearded men and steely-eyed women whose seal rings would allow me to continue shipping small loads of grain and poor passengers across the sharp waters of The Pass.

33 comments:

  1. Fantasy.

    I must admit that I was tempted to write Historical with all the Persian references, but the first line in the last paragraph describing the light from the window confirmed the genre for me.

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  2. I don't know about this one. I wanted to say historical but the language doesn't feel historical.

    One small thing: she can't describe a man she has her back to.

    Good luck!
    HOlly

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  3. I'm not sure

    I think Historical, but it could also be a modern setting. I see where the previous poster is coming from, but it didn't strike me as Fantasy, light does change thoughout the day.

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  4. Can't tell

    I initially wanted to say historical, but the prose don't sound that way. It could be fantasy, but that would just be agues because I don't really get any hint of fantasy here.

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  5. I think fantasy, but am only basing it on the spelling of the name Kaptan - and the middle barge master - floor-to-ceiling elephant tusk implies a huge elephant or a small room.

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  6. Can't tell. Feels historic but I don't recognize a specific time era or culture? Could also be fantasy in a society without technology? It was a lot of unfamiliar words to swallow in the opening. I had to read it a few times to figure out what was going on.

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  7. Fantasy

    The Pass, Kaptan... I think it's a setting that draws upon Persian influences.

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  8. Can't tell.
    How can the character tell what the Kaptan is doing? Also, the word "belly" after "bells" threw me off.

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  9. I'm gonna go with Alternate History. Mostly because it just gives me the same kind of adventure vibe that Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan did. I can see the main character (unsure on gender) teaming up with a group of others and breaking through the caste system, or else going pirate and swashbuckling their way to fame and glory.

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  10. Fantasy

    The use of "kaptan" and "the Pass" made me think it wasn't historical.

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  11. Fantasy because of the bells on her scarf and the mention of castes. Good feel to this piece. Good luck, Sarah

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  12. I'm going to land on Fantasy though Historical was a strong runner-up. The setting, while not modern, didn't feel anchored in any particular era. That, coupled with some of the word choices made Fantasy the winner.

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  13. I AM NOT SURE
    I can't decide between Fantasy and Historical...

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  14. Historical.

    Kaptan and middle-caste made me think fantasy, but the sailor's big problem doesn't lead me into an alternate world.

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  15. Alternate History

    The floor to ceiling elephant tusk that marks the half-way point of the license line was the sentence that leaned me in this direction. It could also be Speculative Fiction, depending how the seal rings are given.

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  16. A female sailor wearing a headscarf paired with the old-fashioned language makes me think fantasy or alternate history. And I think the MC is female because of the "I was a fool for not reacting to [him]" Odds are the barge master is straight, so if he expects the MC to react to his appearance, this leads me to think female.

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  17. FANTASY.

    I was tempted to say PIRATE FANTASY, if there is such a thing. :-) But overall it was a combo of the headscarf, the mention of castes, and the boat reference that got me there. Historical was a close second.

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  18. historical adventure?

    I really want to say "pirate fantasy," but I'm not sure anything I'll come up with is going to be an actual genre. It sounds like fun though.

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  19. I can't tell

    It somewhat feels historical, but I can't ay for sure.

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  20. I can't tell.

    Historical? Fantasy? It seems Persian-inspired, whichever it is. Which is neat. I haven't seen as many of those around lately.

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  21. Fantasy. A fantasy world based loosely on real historical places.

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  22. I felt fantasy all the way through, though other commenters have good points.

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  23. FANTASY

    I thought maybe Indian historical until "the Pass." I like the world this is setting up.

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  24. Fantasy.

    I had to read it several times to make a guess, though. The elephant tusk and caste system could suggest historical, but the seal rings are something that sounds like it belongs in a fantasy world rather than being historical. Steampunk wouldn't surprise me either since it sounds like about the right time period.

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  25. Fantasy

    The barges, the caste system and the title Kaptan don't jibe with any historic setting I can think of. Seal rings may imply magic.

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  26. Fantasy

    There is a lot of details that could mean historical, but I think the tone suggests fantasy.

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  27. Fantasy

    The spelling of Kaptan. I'm guessing the mc is a woman (headscarf,bells) and I don't expect a woman to be a sailor responsible for shipping grain and passengers in historical.

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  28. Fantasy

    Kaptan, barge master, headscarf, elephant tusk, The Pass (invented place).

    Sidenote: the line about the MC noticing their own headscarf feels a bit author intrusive; that it's meant to explain to the reader a visual detail rather than shown organically through the scene. It feels oddly distanced for first person POV.

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  29. FANTASY

    That massive elephant tusk -- floor to ceiling?! Even if it can happen (yeah, I Googled it ;) ), this size here seems like an intentional exaggeration of the ordinary for an extraordinary alternate world. Plus "seal rings" and "The Pass."

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  30. Fantasy.

    Odd spelling of Kaptan, bells on headscarf, middle-caste and low-caste, seal rings, and sharp waters of 'The Pass' all suggest fantasy adventure.

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  31. Fantasy

    THe mention of castes and the fact that she's a sailor. If it was historical, she probably wouldn't be.

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  32. Maybe historical. Maybe fantasy. To be honest, I'm not even sure I know what's happening in this excerpt. I think someone is waiting in a line with other people and there's a pompous guy in his/her way. I'm afraid the worldbuilding details are overwhelming the flow of the narrative.

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  33. Fantasy

    There are a lot of references to world building that I don't recognize and I'm a little lost. It sort of feels like it could be historical, but there are just so many things I don't recognize that it feels like an original world.

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