Stein or Pike?

[captain_slinky]

I have a theory that pretty much all the females I know that are between 25 and 40 years old (not the Dudes though, for some reason) can be divided in to two categories: Those who loved R.L. Stein, and those who loved Christopher Pike. Seriously.

All the "Geek Girls" I know within that age bracket, those who I like to think of as the "First Wave Geek Girls" (the ones who ushered in the current age of Geek Girl acceptance and domination), got their start with those late-80's/early-90's horror novels in one way or another.

The followers of R.L. Stein tend to be the collectors, the completionists and the data-gatherering nit-pickers. Which episode of Next Gen did Data's cat, "Spot" first appear in? They know, and probably have it on their phone.

The followers of Christopher Pike are the ones more likely to get *in to* the things they geek out over. Cosplay, crafting, fan fic... they know that Data had a cat and can probably recite the poem that he wrote about his cat.

Am I right?

Comments

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

But what if I nitpick and write fic?

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

Depends on your brand of nit-pickery and fan-fickering? Your Fan-Fic is more likely to spend large chunks of text on detail, or your nit-picking is about character motivations and dialogue rather than physical details. The difference between "Spock would never say that" and "Kirk's shirt was torn in scene 12 but then was miraculously repaired by scene 14, then back to being ripped at the top of the second act".

So for you... which was it? Team Stein or Team Pike?

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

Pike by a large margin, though I do have a soft spot for some of my Stine books.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

That makes sense :) I'm looking for an equivalent indicator for males, haven't found one yet...

[whiskeyjack.livejournal.com]

I'm older than your first wave. I never read horror at all, but I recognized RL Stein as an author and Christopher Pike as the former Captain of the Enterprise and I was baffled as to why he would have a real fan following.

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

You're old enough to be a Pioneer Geek Girl - the young women who jumped head-first in to what was largely considered to be a "Boys Club" of fandom.because screw societal conformity, this stuff is AWESOME! Unlike the Modern Geek Girl who finds herself having to PROVE that she's a geek to paranoid males who are weary of being tricked, Pioneer Geek Girls and First Wave Geek Girls were most often welcomed in to the Geek Community with open arms as potential superior breeding stock :)

[whiskeyjack.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read this. :)

[lynna12000.livejournal.com]

I never found either of them very interesting, or memorable. I collect AND craft, by the way and can nit-pick any number of fandoms to death. (Sue Storm is a MUCH better candidate for team leader than Reed Richards. She doesn't get distracted by science in the middle of a fight).

Star Trek is an awesome fandom though. With the exception of Voyager. If Janeway had planted her hands on her hips ONE MORE TIME......I swear, I would have found a way to reach across the divide between realities and done something drastic. She was far more annoying than Troi sensing hostile emotions from ships preparing to fire on the Enterprise and teenybooper Wesley always being the one to save the ship.

The late 80's and early 90's was the time when being a sci-fi geek, regardless of gender became acceptable. Pike and Stine just managed to out publish their competitors.

[aurora77]

I know I read at least a couple books by both of them, but I don't remember details about either and didn't get much into that genre. Pretty sure I read Chain Letter and Slumber Party at some point. I know I read more than one Goosebumps, but I don't remember anything about the plots. Sorry, can't help!

[plumxxjam.livejournal.com]

I fit your description of a follower of Christopher Pike, but am actually a follower of neither even though I read the heck out of R.L. Stein as a kid (oddly enough, my overbearing Southern Baptist mother found his brand of horror wholesome enough for my precious mind).