# late bloomers



## Cloud (Nov 3, 2006)

Do think it's common--or even possible--for someone to suddenly become a fan of SF or F late in life without a foundation of early exposure?  I'm probably talking about serious fans and readers (like us); I know most  people can't escape casual familiarity with SF through film and TV.

I got to thinking after reading some of the comments about E.E. "Doc" Smith's "Lensman" series, which many people have read and enjoyed (including me) but now regard as unsophisticated and juvenile.  I certainly started my journey into SF/F fandom at an early age (also see the "earliest SF memory" thread.)  I'm just wondering if it just kind of grows with one.


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## Loner (Nov 3, 2006)

I think its possible, but not common.
I can't think of a single example from my own experience. All of my sci-fi loving friends have enjoyed it since childhood.


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## j d worthington (Nov 3, 2006)

I'd tend to agree... I've seen it happen, but most of the times I've encountered or read people describing their experience with it, they've grown up with it. I've encountered a few that didn't, but who fell in love with the field, though.

Interestingly enough, in light of the comments about Doc Smith... I have a friend who had only read scattered pieces of sf most of his life, in the way of his heterogeneous reading (he preferred either the classics or modern European -- specifically German and French -- literature) ... and my mentioning Smith got him curious about those... and he quite enjoyed them, in his late 20s... I think he likes the older style of writing, and I know he has developed a taste for the old pulp hounds; so it's definitely possible.


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## Nesacat (Nov 3, 2006)

It's absolutely possible. I know of several people who only started reading SFF as adults. Two of them I introduced to the genre a few years ago and now they are quite hooked. They are both my age and I'm 37 now.

I think there are many such people here at least if only because SFF has only very recently started making it's presence felt in the bookstores. Most of those I know who started reading it from childhood had an external source books and then went abroad to study. In my case the books came from relatives abroad and a mother who loved myth and always said that dragons did in fact exist.


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## Cloud (Nov 3, 2006)

Great for those older readers who have taken it up!  

I disagree with your statement that SFF has only recently made its presence in bookstores, though.   You haven't been shopping in the same stores as I have, I guess.


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## BookStop (Nov 3, 2006)

My only exposure to sci-fi, before I married a sf fanatic, were the Star Wars movies. It's really only very recently that I've been reading sf and fantasy.  My husband had been bugging me for years and years to read some of his books. I didn't really relent until he wrote one himself, then I had to read to read it to show my support and all. It was quite exciting and entertaining and I now read sci-fi or fantasy all the time.


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## Sharukem (Nov 7, 2006)

Cloud said:


> Do think it's common--or even possible--for someone to suddenly become a fan of SF or F late in life without a foundation of early exposure? I'm probably talking about serious fans and readers (like us); I know most people can't escape casual familiarity with SF through film and TV.
> 
> I got to thinking after reading some of the comments about E.E. "Doc" Smith's "Lensman" series, which many people have read and enjoyed (including me) but now regard as unsophisticated and juvenile. I certainly started my journey into SF/F fandom at an early age (also see the "earliest SF memory" thread.) I'm just wondering if it just kind of grows with one.


it is very possible and becoming more common among the new of of children. but the more common it becomes the more adn more the authors have to come up with which could be very strenuois for the new sf/f writers.


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## steve12553 (Nov 7, 2006)

Nesacat said:


> It's absolutely possible. I know of several people who only started reading SFF as adults. Two of them I introduced to the genre a few years ago and now they are quite hooked. They are both my age and I'm 37 now.


You're still a child. J/K There are so many classics that laid the Foundation (pun intended) for Science Fiction, I feel it would be hard to ever get up to speed but then you always have the rest of your life to try. I do also think you've really missed part of it if you don't start with the early classics or at least go back and pick them up.


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## WhiteCrowUK (Nov 7, 2006)

I think typically sci-fi is something which is associated with childhood and in general it's something which people are expected to grow out of.

Possibly part of this is the fact that children have no limits to their imagination, and the same goes for good sci-fi, there should be no limits.  As we get older we seem to naturally straight-jacket our imagination.

That said I see no reason why someone might not get into it at a later age.  We all somewhere in our life if we're open enough will experience a Road to Damascus event where we somehow see the world and our life a little differently.


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## Who's Wee Dug (Nov 7, 2006)

Steve I do disagree with you there, some of the older one's were good some were utter dross,read what you want to read and if through reconmendations or serendipity something grabs your fancy read it, but by no means stipulate that all the older classics must be read, that is of course my opinion,but there again I have only been reading the goodies for around 45 years.


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## Dirthouse (Nov 8, 2006)

Cloud said:


> Do think it's common--or even possible--for someone to suddenly become a fan of SF or F late in life without a foundation of early exposure? I'm probably talking about serious fans and readers (like us); I know most people can't escape casual familiarity with SF through film and TV.
> 
> I got to thinking after reading some of the comments about E.E. "Doc" Smith's "Lensman" series, which many people have read and enjoyed (including me) but now regard as unsophisticated and juvenile. I certainly started my journey into SF/F fandom at an early age (also see the "earliest SF memory" thread.) I'm just wondering if it just kind of grows with one.


I can say its definately possible, but SF is something that people would get into(and decide their oppinion) early in life, probably in their teens... so it wouldn't be the most common thing. peoples tastes change, much like many may eventually "grow out" of such book and film genres...


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## dustinzgirl (Nov 8, 2006)

I'm very slowly rubbing off on my hubby, who actually is watching some sci fi shows with me, like BSG and stuff. I doubt he will ever be a fan, but at least he shows some interest.....or perhaps that is because he is tired of hearing:
I HAVE TO SIT THROUGH HOURS OF RACING, so you can sit through hours of my shows.....

lol......


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## Dirthouse (Nov 8, 2006)

CL is a champ, theres nothing wrong with NASCAR!!!!


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## WhiteCrowUK (Nov 8, 2006)

dustinzgirl said:


> I'm very slowly rubbing off on my hubby, who actually is watching some sci fi shows with me, like BSG and stuff.



Oh good luck there - my other half tried to watch that with me and the conversation went like this ...

_Who's she?_

She's a cylon

_I thought they looked more like robots with a swishy eye_

They still do but some of them look human now

_Wait a second, she was on a ship a minute ago, now she's on a planet???_

No thats a clone, she has a load of look a likes.

_This is rubbish_


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## Loner (Nov 8, 2006)

That's pretty funny, Whitecrow!
I think BSG is an example of bad sci-fi. I tried to watch it when it started but gave up after the first episode. Same with Jericho.  
If it takes too much explanation and there is little focus on *realistic* characters it's hard for non-fans to get attached.

Buffy is an example of a show that got some non-sci-fi people interested in fantasy and sci-fi. Well written. A good balance of characters and plot/action.


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## SpaceShip (Nov 8, 2006)

I don't suppose I started to read anything seriously until I finished school and then it became a pleasure to read whatever I wanted simply because I didn't have to.  Fantasy has always been top of my list although my reading covers a large spectrum.  I expect fantasy, though, together with SF, didn't really stick its claws into me until my two sons reached the ages of 10 and 12 - then we all got hooked and thus got good value out of our books as they were read by all of us from Hitchhikers, through HG Wells to SK.  However, we were all agreed that it had to be believed that whatever we were reading could possibly, if not actually, really happen - otherwise how could you possibly allow the hair to rise at the back of your neck or have to sit on your hands in case you chewed your nails down to the quick, unless you knew that whatever it was you were seeing in your mind wasn't actually waiting behind that door to get you?


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## SpaceShip (Nov 8, 2006)

Loner said:


> That's pretty funny, Whitecrow!
> If it takes too much explanation and there is little focus on *realistic* characters it's hard for non-fans to get attached.


 
How funny Loner - we were thinking the same thing at the same time!


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## Loner (Nov 8, 2006)

SpaceShip said:


> - otherwise how could you possibly allow the hair to rise at the back of your neck ... unless you knew that whatever it was you were seeing in your mind wasn't actually waiting behind that door to get you?



This will sound funny to some but I had that reaction to the book _Jurassic Park_! Not the movie, that was naff. But the book really made me believe that eventually genes of dinosaurs could be recreated if the money and organisation could be obtained by someone crazy enough to pull it off. 
And - SPOILER ALERT - in the book a few dinosaurs inevitably escape the island and start to populate the earth.
For weeks afterwards I was convinced that every rustle in the bushes was a compsognathus or raptor come to get me! 
(Well you know, not _really_ but it made me wonder - which is what good sci-fi should do!)


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## WhiteCrowUK (Nov 8, 2006)

Loner said:


> I think BSG is an example of bad sci-fi. I tried to watch it when it started but gave up after the first episode. Same with Jericho.
> If it takes too much explanation and there is little focus on *realistic* characters it's hard for non-fans to get attached.



I think it's a great show, but you're right, not really very sci-fi.  I love the retro technology feel of the show.

It's a very earnest show and a very dark one.  Sometimes I find I cannot watch it because I'm not up to feeling THAT depressed.

You know sometimes it's nice to have sci-fi which is just a bit of fun!


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## Nesacat (Nov 9, 2006)

Cloud said:


> I disagree with your statement that SFF has only recently made its presence in bookstores, though.   You haven't been shopping in the same stores as I have, I guess.



The bookstores here have been very slow in according this genre space. I remember being very, very surprised when I first went to a bookstore in India and then in the UK where there were whole aisles devoted to the genre.

It's slowly coming into its own here though especially with the opening of Kinokuniya which devoted whole sections to Fantasy, Sci Fi, Horror and Graphic Novels. Borders, which just came here has done the same and the other stores have followed suit.

I see more and more people in the SFF section now including parents with children; something which had not been present even five years ago. Local reviewers are also beginning to do reviews of SFF books and newspapers/magazines and devoting sections to the genre.


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## Nikitta (Nov 14, 2006)

Cloud said:


> Do think it's common--or even possible--for someone to suddenly become a fan of SF or F late in life without a foundation of early exposure? I'm probably talking about serious fans and readers (like us); I know most people can't escape casual familiarity with SF through film and TV.


 
I might qualify as a late bloomer. I've alway loved books and have read many different kinds of books. SFF has been included there too, but it's only the last couple of years that I've begun seeking it out deliberately. I'm 32.

Having moved from Scandinavia to Ireland, I also now find a lot of books in normal bookstores, which would've been hard to find in Scandinavia without going to a specific SFF bookstore. Maybe that's partly because a lot of it is written in English, but since I'd rather read a book in English than a translation, if it's orginally written in English, I just see that as an extra perk.

With the big number of "classic" SFF-writers that I've never heard of before and most certainly never read, it can be discussed if I'm really an SFF-fan or not. I don't think it's that important whether I fit a label like that or not - as long as I can keep reading.

I like both Sci-fi and fantasy.


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## j d worthington (Nov 14, 2006)

Nikitta said:


> With the big number of "classic" SFF-writers that I've never heard of before and most certainly never read, it can be discussed if I'm really an SFF-fan or not. I don't think it's that important whether I fit a label like that or not - as long as I can keep reading.


 
Well, I think that many people who are fans of sff have tons of "classic" (or perhaps "formative" might be a better word in this context) writers they've not read... While I'm fairly decently read in the field, I know this is the case with me. But with the proliferation of sff books over the past 30 years or so, it'd be almost impossible for anyone who had a life other than reading to make any serious inroads in getting caught up.

Which is a long way of saying ... Yep. I think you're a fan!


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## Nikitta (Nov 18, 2006)

j. d. worthington said:


> Which is a long way of saying ... Yep. I think you're a fan!



Heh!

Looking at the list of authors who have their own sub-forums, it also looks like you have a broader definition of SFF than I'd expect, since you include both Stephen King and HP. Lovecraft, both of whom I like.

Stephen King, I haven't read for a long time, but I've fairly recently found myself buying collections of short-stories by HP Lovecraft.

By that definition, I have been a fan for much longer than I normally think I have, so I might not count as a late bloomer after all.

All of that confusion with definitions... I tried to search for an FAQ to find out how you define it, but didn't manage to find one.


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## Jason_Taverner (Nov 18, 2006)

My friend is 25 and reading his first sci-fi book, the forever war, he is really enjoying it, do you think he is a late bloomer


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## j d worthington (Nov 18, 2006)

Jason_Taverner said:


> My friend is 25 and reading his first sci-fi book, the forever war, he is really enjoying it, do you think he is a late bloomer


 
Compared to most of the fans I've known... I'd say yes. But a point of interest may be that, by that definition, so was R. A. Lafferty:

R. A. Lafferty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Jason_Taverner (Nov 18, 2006)

well it is only the 4th book he has ever read, not including school study books


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## Pyan (Nov 20, 2006)

j. d. worthington said:


> But with the proliferation of sff books over the past 30 years or so, it'd be almost impossible for anyone who had a life other than reading to make any serious inroads in getting caught up.


I agree, but think of the fun you can have trying! I've often wondered if it would be possible to be hypnotized into _forgetting _everything you've ever read by an author, just for the pleasure of reading it for the very first time - again!


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## Roy1 (Nov 22, 2006)

SF can be pretty addictive to a 14 year old male but I doubt it's addictive to a 40 year old. (Sorry can't speak for females)


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## j d worthington (Nov 23, 2006)

Roy1 said:


> SF can be pretty addictive to a 14 year old male but I doubt it's addictive to a 40 year old. (Sorry can't speak for females)


 
I wouldn't be too sure about that. It all depends on how flexible their thinking is, and how much they enjoy having their imagination stretched. And, if they hit some of the post-modernist stuff, how much they can handle the unconventional techniques. I've known more than a few to come to sf late that got quite addicted to it... just depends on what they hit; it's a pretty damned broad field, from "Doc" Smith's space opera to intensive inner-city stories such as Disch's *334*; from nuts-'n'-bolts stories such as George O. Smith to prose-poetry such as Delaney. And that's not even counting what's been done in the last 30 years or so.....


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## K. Riehl (Nov 27, 2006)

I worked for a large book chain for about 10 years and spent most of my time turning on teenagers to "good authors". But there is also some cross pollination from other genres. I recommended Weber to Griffin fans. And Laura Hamilton to horror fans which led to Lovecraft discussions and dark fantasy reading. Currently there  seems to be a trend from Romance to Fantasy through books like Irresistible Forces- a collection which includes Lois Bujold and Mary Jo Putney. Adults want to read quality books whatever the genre.


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## Curt Chiarelli (Nov 27, 2006)

In a world where Presidents receive oral ministrations from their interns but didn't have sex and dead carpenters are resurrected I suppose anything is possible.


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## j d worthington (Nov 27, 2006)

Curt Chiarelli said:


> In a world where Presidents receive oral ministrations from their interns but didn't have sex and dead carpenters are resurrected I suppose anything is possible.


 
*hefting Christmas package* "It's my tombstone! Eleanor, you spoil me!"


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## Curt Chiarelli (Nov 27, 2006)

j. d. worthington said:


> *hefting Christmas package* "It's my tombstone! Eleanor, you spoil me!"



YES!!! You're the only one who got that allusion! All it needed was a bit of dusting off for the impending Holiday Season!


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## j d worthington (Nov 27, 2006)

A bit early (hmmmm, in a thread about late bloomers, no less!) but:

Merry Christmas, Curt!


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