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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/43157
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/43157
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **Premise:** I believe that breaking genre expectations can alienate readers. If you go into a book expecting one thing and get another thing out of it - especially if that other thing is the complete opposite of what you were expecting - then you didn't get what you signed up for. Readers generally don't like this.

**Example:** As an example, I think this was a major contributor to the fan displeasure over _A Phantom Menace_. People wanted action, battles, force powers, all that. They got some, but they also got a lot of political intrigue and debate, which they weren't counting on and therefore didn't appreciate.

I think the same thing can happen in fiction. If you write what is technically a fantasy book, readers go into it assuming you have elves, dragons, knights, battles, etc. You can of course control their expectations with things like the title, but the general idea remains. If your book then turns out to be, say, a tale of two aged farmers living their last days, and there are no elves, dragons, or battles to be found (even though the setting is definitely fantastical), the readers will feel cheated and generally dislike the book, no matter how well it was written. (If this was indeed the case, you would obviously re-brand the book. This is an extreme example.)

**Assumption:** What I'm trying to say is: readers want what they are promised.

**My Problem:** Here's my problem: what if, out of necessity, you are writing a book (or series) which contains aspects of TWO genres. What if, for example, you write a fantasy book about two aged farmers, but there's also a side plot involving dragons battling knights in the next town over? Or to use Star Wars again, what if you have a movie which contains both political intrigue and gripping space battles/lightsaber duels?

**Question:** Is there a way to both prepare the reader for **everything** in your story, _and_ keep them interested in both 'genres'?

Original score: 2