" The thing that is called ‘mainstream fiction’ is an invalid masquerade of the world. It wears masks identical to the faces under the masks; it wears costumes identical to the clothes under the costumes; it enclosed the ‘world sets’ in ‘theatrical sets’ of the same appearance. What kind of masquerade is that which does not mask? "

― R.A. Lafferty , It's Down the Slippery Cellar Stairs (Essays on Fantastic Literature 1)