Grown up fiction with no sex and very little violence

[The Big Peat]

There's not much physical combat - although I remember it being fairly brutal - but a lot of torture, which I'd count as pretty strong violence.

I remember a reviewer describing Where Eagles Dare as having an incredible body count. It probably does, but it's all done very quickly and there's no moral ambiguity. I wouldn't count that as a particularly violent film, although technically speaking the second half is one long shootout.

Hah, I'd completely forgotten the torture. Or didn't count it as violence.

In any case... heist fantasies with relatively little fighting are as in as anything.


Ooh. I forgot Empire of Sand as a great book with very little physical violence, although a ton of emotional trauma. There's a lot of ways it can be played.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

That's interesting, as I remember Locke Lamora as being quite violent, in part because it was about criminals and felt generally seedy.

I also remember it as quite violent, including at least one scene where revenge violence is graphic and extended and disturbing. But maybe that's just how I remember it, because the scene upset me so much.

Which makes me wonder if we're looking at books that feel wholesome in atmosphere: ones where the hero might be a scientist or explorer, say, rather than a hacker or a mercenary.

Yes, there are a lot of possibilities for heroic action that wouldn't involve violence. Would readers buy such books? Perhaps they would, if they are getting tired of the same sort of thing over and over and would be drawn to the idea of something fresh.

 

[Toby Frost]

I've no inherent problem with violence in books (at least, that wasn't my main issue with Locke Lamora) but I do find it strange when the press reviews for a dark revenge drama say things like "Tremendous fun" or "A delight" like Miss Marple describing the WI cake stall.

 

[AlexH]

This is what worried me. I grew up with this kind of fiction and I would like to write this kind of fiction (Sorry the original question was not clear). I am worried that tastes have moved on, which would be sad for me. I actually will not change my writing style, but I'm trying to understand if I need to be careful that my fiction will fall into a no-mans land: not YA and not Adult.

I know the markets are out there if you write short stories. Sometimes it might mean you're published in the same issue as something with strong sex/violence - though I don't see these things often in the magazines I read, which are some of the most well-known.

There's also a thing where some publishers say don't write to the market, because it might have moved on by the time your book is published. The world is pretty dark right now, and maybe the kind of stories you write will be in high demand in 2-3 years. Why are you writing? Why not write what you want to then take it from there?

 

[SashaMcallister]

I liked Game of Thrones in *spite* of the violence, not because of it. I think it would have been better all around if they took that down a notch. Seemed like they did it only for shock value, not for enhancing the plot.

 

[Fiberglass Cyborg]

Graphic sex scenes in novels always feel a little weird to me - if I'm interested in the characters, I'd rather leave them some privacy. Over-the-top violence can sometimes put me off reading a book, and definitely makes it less likely that I'll ever re-read it. Which can mean the difference between me borrowing it from the library and going "er, no thanks," and me borrowing it from the library then buying my own copy and buying all the sequels. I'm not that old, either: born and raised in the golden age of the video nasty.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Graphic sex scenes in novels always feel a little weird to me - if I'm interested in the characters, I'd rather leave them some privacy. Over-the-top violence can sometimes put me off reading a book, and definitely makes it less likely that I'll ever re-read it. Which can mean the difference between me borrowing it from the library and going "er, no thanks," and me borrowing it from the library then buying my own copy and buying all the sequels. I'm not that old, either: born and raised in the golden age of the video nasty.

I agree. It feels like you're being pulled away from the story for no special. We know that characters will have intimate relations, same as we know that they will go to the loo; it isn't important or necessary for these things to be described in graphic detail.

 

[Danny McG]

there is no sex and very little violence

*Sighs*
That's my life right there

 

[Rufus Coppertop]

Hi Friends,

I'm not a fan of the level of sex and violence that I often read/see in science fiction these days. In my writing there is no sex and very little violence, and especially no graphic/sadistic violence. I do see the success of things like Game of Thrones and The Expanse where graphic violence seems to be a key element. Does fiction without these elements not sell any in the adult market any more? I'd say my preferred level of both is at the YA level (or even milder) but I'm not writing a YA story. Will this become an issue with market fit?

Thanks!

I found GoT unwatchable after a while because of the gratuitous violence.

 

[Toby Frost]

Was that the one where one of the soldiers was tortured by a Nazi putting pressure on a gangrenous leg?

No, but there's a fight on top of a cable car that's suddenly quite a lot more desperate and brutal than a lot of what's happened before. One of the villains spits blood, which seems to me to cross a line. Then again, the shower scene in Psycho and the "Is it safe?" bit of Marathon Man have no real gore - but tend to stick in the mind somewhat.

Anyhow, assuming we're not purely talking about SFF, how about the older Le Carre novels? They're very grown up, but not graphic. And there are some good crime writers at the less gory end of the spectrum. Anne Cleeves strikes a good balance between hard-boiled and cozy.

 

[Juliana]

Brandon Sanderson does very well without sex (or when it happens it's off page), both in his adult and YA books. Really not necessary. And right now, books that are light on both sex and violence seem to be doing very well — look at the huge success of TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, and Becky Chambers' work, as already mentioned.

 

[Devin]

if the story needs something and it appears, then fine, I think a lot of times authors include it, in movies as much as print, not because the plot or the characters need it, but because the author wants to raise an eyebrow or ten. if the character is brazen then their violence or sex might be brazen, if someone is reserved or private perhaps showing it at all would feel invasive.

Unless you learn something about them in extremis, extremis doesn't necessarily have to appear.