Just finished reading the Boleyn Inheritance, and yesterday I read book two of Game of Thrones. Two very different novels, completely different content, although I suppose you could argue they are both about royalty.... but they've left me feeling pretty depressed.

Both have a really blunt view of sex/marriage and women in general. Men control things. Men play games and use women for their own purposes. There is no triumph of honesty or goodness anywhere. No matter what the characters do in either books, the message seems to be that the only way to survive is to lie and cheat and only look out for your own interests.

Depressing.

I'd say this is why I write fairy tales, and why I read teenage fiction. Things turn out a lot better in those worlds. Sure it's less complicated, but at least people are fighting for the right things.