fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3047 ]

[ SECRET POST #3047 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3047 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[Suzanne from Orange is the New Black]

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[Soul Caliber V]

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(Rick and Morty)

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[Love The Way You Lie - Eminem feat. Rihanna]

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[Bones]

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11. [SPOILERS for Grimm]
[WARNING for rape]

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12. [WARNING for rape]

[Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby]

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13. [WARNING for incest/underage]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #435.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 1 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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Hi all.

I'm trying to find more media of a particular type of story, but I don't quite know what the type of story is. I want to guess it's neo-noir, but searching for neo-noir doesn't quite Scratch that itch. Things like "Chinatown" are good, but not what I'm feeling. I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it's a sub genre of neo-noir? I really don't know.

If I list the stories can y'all help point me in the right direction?

With Games it's somthing like

Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy - Just finished it. Brilliant game. Shitty rushed ending but decent story. Wish the ending had got the build up it deserved. Anyway this is the game that started me on this kick.
Heavy Rain - Playing it now. Pitch perfect, Like F:IP but with a solid complete story.
Beyond: Two Souls is quite a few parts felt right.
Max Payne 1 and 2 - 3 did not hit the spot at all. Decent gamplay, but the world felt wrong.
Watch_dogs.
Hitman - The later ones in particular.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

In terms of books it would be something like

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
American Gods

And for movies we have

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
The Matrix - First one only.

So yeah, Can anyone figure out the name of this itch I'm trying to scratch? Or point me in the right direction of more stories of this world?

Can you describe some qualities that those stories share, in your eyes, or what about them appeals to you? What sort of feeling you're looking for?

Tricky to put my finger on, but give me a few mins, and I'll think about it.

Kinda sounds like sci-fi noir to me, for the most part. Have you seen Blade Runner?

Re: Help Identifying a genre / stories in that genre

(Anonymous) - 2015-05-08 23:27 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Help Identifying a genre / stories in that genre

fingalsanteater - 2015-05-08 23:28 (UTC) - Expand

Maybe something like this?

Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy - Crime, Urban setting, Heavy oppressive weather (Snow), Interesting characters, Interesting female protagonist, Ancient conspiracy, Detective work, World feels alive, Nudity, Story driven, Happy ending, Hero feels powerful.

Heavy Rain - Crime, Urban setting, Heavy oppressive weather (Rain), Interesting characters, Interesting female protagonist, Slightly futurisitc technology, Detective work, World feels alive, Nudity, story driven, Happy ending.

Beyond: Two Souls - Urban setting, Interesting characters, Interesting female protagonist, Slightly futurisitc technology, Supernatural powers, World feels alive, Nudity, Story driven, Happy ending, Hero feels powerful, Spylike.

Max Payne 1 and 2 - Crime, Urban setting, Heavy oppressive weather (Snow), Interesting characters, Interesting female protagonist, Ancient conspiracy, Detective work, World feels alive, Story driven, Mythology.

Watch_dogs - Crime, Urban setting, Interesting characters, Interesting female protagonist, Slightly futurisitc technology, World feels alive, Safehouses feel safe, Hero feels powerful, Spylike.

Hitman - Crime, Urban setting, Heavy oppressive weather (Snow, Rain, Night, etc), World feels alive, Safehouses feel safe, Hero feels powerful, Spylike.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - Urban setting, Heavy oppressive weather (Night), Interesting characters, Interesting female protagonist, Ancient conspiracy, World feels alive, Nudity, Story driven, Happy ending, Hero feels powerful, Supernatural powers.

Dark City? (is a movie that might fit the genre)

Edited 2015-05-08 23:07 (UTC)

Have you read Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series? It's a bit more historical, but he's a good friend and contemporary of Gaiman's. I'd say he's a far more complex writer. Simon R. Green's supernatural Nightside series is about London's hidden underworld.

For movies, how do you feel about Underworld and its sequels? I can't recommend the last one ("Underworld: Awakening") but the others were fun, I thought. Also see:

Priest - vampires, sort of sci-fi/westernish
Byzantium - modern

Oh Priest. How promising you were, yet you ended just when you were getting good.

But at least you get to see Paul Bettany's fine ass.

Re: Help Identifying a genre / stories in that genre

fingalsanteater - 2015-05-08 23:27 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Help Identifying a genre / stories in that genre

(Anonymous) - 2015-05-08 23:49 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Help Identifying a genre / stories in that genre

fingalsanteater - 2015-05-08 23:50 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Help Identifying a genre / stories in that genre

(Anonymous) - 2015-05-09 01:25 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Help Identifying a genre / stories in that genre

(Anonymous) - 2015-05-09 04:09 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Help Identifying a genre / stories in that genre

(Anonymous) - 2015-05-08 23:33 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Help Identifying a genre / stories in that genre

solticisekf - 2015-05-08 23:40 (UTC) - Expand

Underworld - YES! Love it. this definitely belongs on this list!

Byzantium was good, but not a fit for this genre I'm trying to identify.

The Anno Dracula series is good. I think he's a better writer than Gaiman, tbh.

Agreed.

You seem to like hard realism with a slightly off-kilter edge. If there's a name for that, I don't know it either.

Charles de Lint is possibly the closest you'll get to American Gods and its blend of reality and myth - the Newford books especially. They didn't quite click with me at the time, but he's a solid writer. Try Dreams Underfoot?

Also, True Detective season 1.

The Fall is quite dark crime drama with a strong female protagonist, but no supernatural element. Ditto Prime Suspect if you don't mind an oldie, but a goodie.

Michael Palin did a 3-part miniseries called Remember Me. Not urban, but dark and supernatural.

Marchlands is a 5-part supernatural drama that again is not urban but has this great tension and suspense.

Your talking about the Helen Mirren original right, not the NBC remake?

You might be interested in James Blaylock's work? Especially his contemporary stuff - The Rainy Season, Land of Dreams, or The Knight on the Cornerstone might all be up your alley, I don't know.

E: Also similarly Tim Powers. Also just straight-up detective stories, I guess, like Rex Stout etc.

Edited 2015-05-08 23:34 (UTC)

Tim Powers is damn good, but caveat lector: he's also really, really fucking weird and like 75% of everything he's ever written is either thinly veiled mythology references or an excuse for body-swapping. Sure taught me a hell of a lot about Arthuriana, though.

Haha, yeah, that's true. I feel like my internal calibration for weirdness in books is kinda off at this point. There is a lot of body swapping in his stories, though, isn't there?

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is awesome. It's a detective kinda parody with a speck of dark humor. Idk, maybe you'll like Going Postal the movie?

Kane and Lynch is the game that comes to mind looking at your list.
Sam & Max is a nice point and click game with a silly pseudo-noir setting, but it's really silly.

Hmm, you might be interested in The Yiddish Policemen's Union, except for the lack of fantasy/SF elements, unless you strictly count all alternate history as SF.

To use your breakdown of elements: Crime, primarily urban setting. Heavy oppressive weather (rain/snow...Alaska). World feels alive (remarkable because it's building a society from the ground-up). Interesting characters. Detective work/murder mystery. Government/religious conspiracy (arguably with ancient roots).

On the other hand, your "hero feels powerful" criteria seems like it might be a total miss. I don't want to get into spoilers because it is a remarkable story, but I'll just say that a.) "powerlessness" could be said to describe multiple characters/arcs and b.) that doesn't mean it's a really depressing/grim book!

Maybe you like sci-fi noir mixed with urban fantasy?

Blade Runner is a screamingly obvious choice.

Not one of you normally impeccable FSers with usually unimpeachable taste have mentioned Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat. All y'all need Cthulhu in your lives.

SA

http://www.michaelowencarroll.com/hh/

FREE EXCERPTS OP. Thank me later.

Maybe Blade: Trinity.

Weirdly, Inception might work.

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