A strange complaint today (and for the last twenty years) is that there's too many of a certain kind of story. First it was ninjas, then wizards, then vampires, then it was...I've lost track.
There are several problems with these complaints beyond how annoying they due to how often they're said. First, they follow every media fad, never sticking to the original complaint. They shadow popularity, trying to drag it down for reasons I have yet to conceive, other than a sheer dislike for popularity of anything besides themselves. (If anyone can tell me why,I'd like to know).
The second reason is the more obvious to those who stop to think for a second or two about the complaint. Exactly who defines 'too many?' Is literature really something to limit to a finite number? Does each subject have the same numerical limit? How is that limit determined?
And then there's what those who read find flawed about the argument. Too many? With all the possibilities in regards to plot, setting, style, character, genre, audience, theme, and tone? Every single possibility has been covered already? Are you sure?
When you dissect the argument even slightly, the only real thing that there are too many of is possibilities.
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