# Trust me! The story's better than it sounds! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 9, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141 "2010-07-09T19:53:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/21 "2010-07-10T03:44:34Z")
Seconding the above mentions of _Watership Down_ and _World War Z_. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/22 "2010-07-10T04:02:31Z")
Glen Cook’s _Black Company_ It’s about this band of has-been medieval mercenaries who sell their services to the highest bidder, they don’t really care who. There’s, like, prophecies and ancient wizards and revolutions going on, but the mercs don’t really care about that either - they’re mostly interested in surviving, getting paid, eating and finding ways to deal with the boredom of day-to-day military life. It’s really brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/23 "2010-07-10T04:50:44Z")
Any Christopher Moore novel. The Stupidest Angel: A Christmas zombie story. Fluke: An undersea civilization built of living organic goo with cyborg whales and Amelia Earhart… I love Christopher Moore. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/24 "2010-07-10T04:54:25Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Star Wars: Well there’s this farm boy who is in love with his sister, and want’s to kill his father and… hey wait don’t leave. Luke is not in love with h is sister in Star Wars; nor does he want to kill his father. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/25 "2010-07-10T05:19:36Z")
I’ve never found a reasonable way to tell anybody why they really need to read _Infinite Jest_, and I’ve tried plenty of times. What’s it about? Well, some kids play tennis, and a guy’s in rehab, everybody’s sad, and there’s some math, and a Quebecois separatist movement co-opts a piece of entertainment that’s so perfect it kills you, and, um. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/26 "2010-07-10T05:26:41Z")
Never really thought that _Chinatown_ was easily explained. [spoiler]“It’s about power politics in the Los Angeles water department!” “…zzz…” “Er, it’s about this crazy lady who has a fling with a gumshoe!” “…zzz…” “Well, it’s also about a man who impregnated his daughter!” \ “… erm, what? He does his own daughter? I’ve gotta see that shit.”[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/27 "2010-07-10T06:33:20Z")
Avatar: The Last Airbender can come off pretty bad in description. “OK so there are these 4 nations, and they all control an element, but one attacked the three others and now everything is out of balance, that is if it weren’t for the avatar. Oh yeah, the avatar is a kid who hasn’t been seen for 100 years, but now he’s back. Oh, did I mention each nation is tied to a classical element? Wait…no this show is fun for adults too. Come back!” The good way to do it is the opening narration in each episode. ---
**Author:** ![Anduinel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Anduinel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduinel)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/28 "2010-07-10T09:05:24Z")
Trying to describe the set-up to most of my favorite comics… “\* [Age of Bronze](http://www.imagecomics.com/iconline.php?title=age_of_bronze_001&page=cover&resize=now)\* is a comprehensive retelling of the Trojan war…” “So you already know how it ends going in?” “_[Elephantmen](http://www.imagecomics.com/iconline.php?title=elephantmen_001&page=cover&resize=now)_ follows genetically engineered war vets as they’re integrated into a dystopian society…” “Wait…elephants? Is this a furry book?” “_[Chew](http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=2728)_ is about a cop who gets flashes of a detailed history of everything he eats…” “Dude, ew.” Mr. Head, meet Mr. Desk. ETA: Links go to publisher-provided previews and online first issues. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/29 "2010-07-10T09:05:47Z")
> [@The\_Piranha\_Brothers](#): > > Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it’s about a girl in highschool who has been chosen to fight vampires. The description is true, but doesn’t do it any justice at all. I forget who said it – probably Joss himself – but the title alone tells you it’s a mixture of horror, action and comedy. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/30 "2010-07-10T10:45:33Z")
The manga _After School Nightmare_ is about a biologically intersex child raised as a boy who experiences his first menstrual period and is afraid that he’s actually a girl; he gets enrolled in a “dream therapy” class where his dream self has to fight the dream selves of other disturbed students for the right to graduate (with much Freudian symbolism and general surrealism), while in the daytime he’s stuck in a love triangle between an emotionally damaged girl who does not like men and likes him because he’s not really a guy, and a guy who sees him as a beautiful girl but can’t commit because he’s in love with his own sister. Except not really. It’s half romance and half gory psychological horror. The story is actually an extended metaphor for pregnancy. Did I mention that it’s absolutely excellent? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/31 "2010-07-10T10:55:48Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Glen Cook’s _Black Company_ > > It’s about this band of has-been medieval mercenaries who sell their services to the highest bidder, they don’t really care who. There’s, like, prophecies and ancient wizards and revolutions going on, but the mercs don’t really care about that either - they’re mostly interested in surviving, getting paid, eating and finding ways to deal with the boredom of day-to-day military life. It’s really brilliant. The funny thing is that that description sounds awesome to me. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/32 "2010-07-10T11:30:46Z")
Stephen King’s novel _Gerald’s Game_, which is probably one of my all-time favorite works by Stephen King, is really difficult to do justice with the description: There’s this woman, see, and she ends up being handcuffed alone to a bed in a cabin in the middle of the woods. And the entire book is about the things she thinks about while she’s laying there. Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/33 "2010-07-10T11:42:23Z")
…plus a few bonus thoughts from the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/34 "2010-07-10T12:08:28Z")
\*The Gone Away World. \* It’s known for its meandering, so that’s a challenge in itself. Then there’s all the strange bits thrown in together. Romance, martial arts, war, mimes, the apocalypse, monsters, and philosophizing about corporate life. It’s also impossible to talk meaningfully about _The Shape of Things_ without destroying the experience of watching it. (The experience of watching it, IMHO is of dubious value anyway, but still.) ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/35 "2010-07-10T12:33:07Z")
The Tim Powers novel _The Stress of Her Regard_ is about how Lord Byron, Shelley, and an obstetrician teamed up to fight vampires. No, really. Depending on your perspective this is either going to sound pretty dumb, or like a potentially humorous blend of campy horror elements with classic literature (a la the more recent _Pride & Prejudice & Zombies_). It’s neither. I’ve described it as “Stephen King for English majors”, and I think it is a good supernatural thriller that is also surprisingly well-researched when it comes to the lives of the Romantic poets. Some of Byron and Shelley’s historic actions actually make _more_ sense in this book, where they’re given an invented secret agenda. Powers also managed to tie a lot of myth/legend together and explain how these stories were all based on the same vampiric beings. He even finds a plausible-sounding scientific explanation for many of their powers while still keeping them mysterious enough to be scary. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/36 "2010-07-10T12:44:00Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > My personal #1 example is the (out of print) fantasy novel _Gossamer Axe_, by Gael Baudino. When I have reason to refer to this I usually say it’s about a traditionally trained Celtic harpist who takes up the electric guitar and forms an all-female rock band. Even THAT sounds pretty ridiculous, but the stuff I’m leaving out sounds a lot worse. > > Like the part about how the heroine is traditionally trained because she was trained in traditional times – she’s actually a pre-Christian Celt who’s traveled through time to the present day. She’s hoping to rescue her lover who’s been held captive by the elves for hundreds of years. I forgot to mention she’s a lesbian. A time-traveling Celtic lesbian rock musician. Who can do magic using music. Oh, and this book was published in 1990 (just before the grunge explosion) so the band is actually a hair metal band and most of the references to contemporary music are also about hair metal. That sounds…frigging awesome. I just bought it on Amazon, so thanks! ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/37 "2010-07-10T13:16:16Z")
> [@Sefton](#): > > _Moby Dick_. A one-legged guy attacks a whale and dies. And it’s chock full of factoids about sperm-squeezing and whale foreskins! ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/38 "2010-07-10T13:26:15Z")
> [@Stauderhorse](#): > > That sounds…frigging awesome. I just bought it on Amazon, so thanks! I’m happy to see there are several cheap used copies available through Amazon now. I spent YEARS trying to track down a copy of this book that wasn’t ridiculously expensive. I mean, I liked it and wanted to own my own copy, but I’m not paying $75 for a used paperback. I eventually stumbled upon a copy in a local secondhand bookstore. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/39 "2010-07-10T13:46:14Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I’m happy to see there are several cheap used copies available through Amazon now. I spent YEARS trying to track down a copy of this book that wasn’t ridiculously expensive. I mean, I liked it and wanted to own my own copy, but I’m not paying $75 for a used paperback. I eventually stumbled upon a copy in a local secondhand bookstore. > > Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. 🙂 Someone should start a thread ranting about the ridiculous prices some used booksellers want for paperbacks on Amazon. I’d do it myself but I don’t know how to start threads. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141/40 "2010-07-10T15:08:06Z")
I go thru this nearly all the time on “movie night” with **Mrs. FtG**. “So let’s see _The Hurt Locker_.” “What’s it about.” “These guys who defuse bombs in Iraq. But it’s not really a traditional war movie. It’s supposed to be really good.” “Doesn’t sound good to me.” Later: “Wow, that was really great.” Happens over and over and over. The worst extreme was probably _Juno_ between her lack of initial interest based on my blurb and her post-viewing response. How can one summarize that movie to make it sound interesting to someone who is more-than-a-few-years from her teenager days? Of course, sometimes it really does turn out to be a dud. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trust-me-the-storys-better-than-it-sounds/546141.md?page=3)