Fantasy

[Atiri]

What are your opinions on this genre ?

I enjoy it emmensly and find that the(best) writers in this genre far surpass writers of other genres in their ability to not only create convincing characters but also convincing worlds , which many writers fail to do sticking to reality.

My example J.R.R Tolkien is in my opinion one of the greatest writers and his work is so expansive and detailed that a serious literature student (like myself) can spend hours enjoying not just LOTR but his other works as well.

If you haven't read it I suggest you do , cast of preconceptions of sword and sorcery and of the bespecled IT technicians who enjoy this particular genre

What do you think?

[JBI]

I would say 99% of fantasy is rubbish. There are a few excellent fantasy authors, but for the most part a large majority of them seem to be junkie (though a large portion of regular mainstream/other genre authors now a days are junkie as well). I personally cannot read most fantasy, simply because of the poor writing quality, and the repetitive plots.

I personally don't care for Tolkien's work, I feel he goes into way to much detail, to the point where it's just onerous for me as a reader to get through the boring story, having to stop every ten sentences for him to tell me about the family tree of the Hobbits. I just don't care. (though I have read til' the end of the Lord of the Rings).

Authors like Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald, and Ursula K. LeGuin I really enjoy, but authors like Terry Brooks, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Terry Goodkind I absolutely loathe. For the most part I feel that the writers who actually possess some skill at the craft of writing are the ones who I like, whereas the ones who focus more on worldbuilding, or other tedious things don't really get my time.

There are plenty of creative minds out there, specifically in the fantasy genre. Unfortunately however, creativity isn't the only thing necessary for a book to be deemed readable by me. I like the right balance, with the proper writing skill to pull it off. That being said, another problem with fantasy is the repetitive plot lines that we see. For instance, I don't know how many times I have seen the "Young boy, usually a farmboy or some other lowborn boy, goes on a quest to save the world, and usually finds out he is some sort of prince or something." or you have your traditional grail quest plot thread, like we see in Tolkien's work (though theres is a little bit different) and all the spinoffs. Going to the edge of the world to either recover a relic to save the world, or to destroy a relic that will kill the world. BORING. for a genre based on creativity you do see quite a bit of repetition.


That being said, there is good fantasy literature, but you need to dig through a seemingly bottomless pile of slush to find it.

~JBI

[Atiri]

Trudi Canarvan and David Eddings I believe are some of the most creative in the field I would read their work if you ever get the oppertuinity

[JBI]

I have read Eddings and I must say I find his style junk, his characterization almost pathetic, and his world building unrealistic. He, according to me, is one fantasy author who should be avoided (well I have only read his Belgariad, though I hear his later works are a regurgitation of that series).

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy fantastic elements in stories. But whereas Shakespeare uses fantastic elements to enhance the plot (specifically in a Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Tempest, as well as other works) fantasy authors just overdo it, and try to compete with each other to have the most magical story, losing the quality of characterization, or the probing of interesting themes.

[Niamh]

Trudi Canarvan and David Eddings I believe are some of the most creative in the field I would read their work if you ever get the oppertuinity

I prefered her black magicians trilogy to the age of five(so far.)
I think Philip Pulmans Dark materials was fantastic, Garth nixs old kingdom books are wonderful(rereading them at the moment, and i'm a fan of Most of terry brooks books. I also think that Raymond E Fiests Magician is one of the best fantasy books out there. Not to mention the Bitterbynde trilogy by Cicilia Dart thornton which is breathtakingly wonderful.

[andave_ya]

I don't know much about fantasy but I agree with you 100% on Tolkien. I am thoroughly in love with all things Tolkien. Peter Pan and the Wizard of Oz are fun though meant for a younger audience. C.S. Lewis is enjoyable as well.

[EAP]

Atiri,

Trudi Canavan and David Eddings are the two of the worst hacks writing in any genre, period.

Good fantasy is rare, excellent fantasy is hard to find but has few equals.

[Nightshade]

hey Niamh has the second age of five come out? I had to do age assement reading on that for work in under 24 hours said in the end that I wouldnt give it to the boss's ( vicars wife) 11 year old daughter but I marked the sectioons so she could decide herself....:rolleyes:

Fantasy is my favourite genre, and sorry if people find it crap but I find it a way saying more that you could otherwise say. And if people are too narrow minded to see that then I pity you from the bottom of my heart, I truly do.

[JBI]

hey Niamh has the second age of five come out? I had to do age assement reading on that for work in under 24 hours said in the end that I wouldnt give it to the boss's ( vicars wife) 11 year old daughter but I marked the sectioons so she could decide herself....:rolleyes:

Fantasy is my favourite genre, and sorry if people find it crap but I find it a way saying more that you could otherwise say. And if people are too narrow minded to see that then I pity you from the bottom of my heart, I truly do.

I did not say fantasy was crap. I just said most of its writers are crappy.

Just out of curiosity to anyone who posts bellow me. What are all your thoughts on magic realism in literature?

[kathycf]

I did not say fantasy was crap. I just said most of its writers are crappy.

Just out of curiosity to anyone who posts bellow me. What are all your thoughts on magic realism in literature?


I would say 99% of fantasy is rubbish. repetition....That being said, there is good fantasy literature, but you need to dig through a seemingly bottomless pile of slush to find it.

~JBI
*use of bold in the above quote is by me*

Actually, fantasy is one of my favorite genres as well. I do tend to agree that there is a good bit of trash out there as well, but you can say that about most of what is being written nowadays. Actually that is inaccurate of me because bad writing and trash novels are not a modern phenomenon.

For magic realism I would have to say I greatly enjoyed Seventh Heaven by Alice Hoffman.Now we must realize that a great deal of our likes and dislikes in reading are subjective in nature. If someone is not a fan of Hoffman, or any other writer that is fine. Everybody has the right to their opinion, whether I or anybody else agrees with it. :)

[Taliesin]

Originally Posted by JBI View Post
I would say 99% of fantasy is rubbish. repetition....That being said, there is good fantasy literature, but you need to dig through a seemingly bottomless pile of slush to find it.

~JBI
*use of bold in the above quote is by me*

Kathy, it is said that 99% of anything is rubbish. We too, for instance, find most fantasy bad yet it is our favourite genre.

[Basil]

it is said that 99% of anything is rubbish
A variation on Sturgeon's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon's_law). Interestingly, the context of Sturgeon's speech was actually about science fiction when he made his observation:

"...they say 'ninety percent of science fiction is crud.' Well, they're right. Ninety percent of science fiction is crud. But then ninety percent of everything is crud, and it's the ten percent that isn't crud that is important, and the ten percent of science fiction that isn't crud is as good as or better than anything being written anywhere."

[Stieg]

I've enjoyed the works of George R R Martin (haven't picked up the latest A Feast For Crows, that five year layoff it took him to complete it sourly diminished my enthusiasm to finish the series) and Steven Erikson (beware the first book of the series Gardens of the Moon reads abit amateurish like a D&D module or something, but gets much better with a couple exceptions of the six or seven novels I've read. Haven't finished this one either.)

The basic opinions of science fiction and fantasy also applies to horror unfortunately, there is also repetitious elements, the junk features all too often a grieving widow/er or reticent divorcee on the bounce back as a protagonist. The hackwriter is attempting work some psychological angle into the characters and story and failing miserably as I have been de-sensitized to any such feable notions by third-rate writers. Oh yeah, let's not forget the religious zealot, everyone these days has to have the religious zealot.

But then there are writers that have genuine talent and know their craft too well they send chills up one's spine and create an atmosphere rivetted by a cast of characters and setting with great ease. Such people as Jack Ketchum, Dan Simmons, Shirley Jackson, Richard Matheson, Michael McDowell (RIP, this author was too damn scary not to be more widely known), yes even the penny dreadful Stephen King, and numerous others waiting to be re-discovered.

But by and by, the short story craft excells most.

[Nightshade]

A variation on Sturgeon's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon's_law). Interestingly, the context of Sturgeon's speech was actually about science fiction when he made his observation:

"...they say 'ninety percent of science fiction is crud.' Well, they're right. Ninety percent of science fiction is crud. But then ninety percent of everything is crud, and it's the ten percent that isn't crud that is important, and the ten percent of science fiction that isn't crud is as good as or better than anything being written anywhere."

Kathy, it is said that 99% of anything is rubbish. We too, for instance, find most fantasy bad yet it is our favourite genre.

Which is why I read everything I can lay my hands on in search of that elusive 10%

I did not say fantasy was crap. I just said most of its writers are crappy.

Just out of curiosity to anyone who posts bellow me. What are all your thoughts on magic realism in literature?

I havent had that much contatc with magical realisim I orignally forund it a bi odd but I did enjoy Isabel Allande's House of spirits and 100 yeears of solitude.

[Stieg]

I did not say fantasy was crap. I just said most of its writers are crappy.

Just out of curiosity to anyone who posts bellow me. What are all your thoughts on magic realism in literature?

Hmm, this is a expression I haven't heard much, how do you define magic realism, something more subtle, mundane, and lucid.

[Niamh]

hey Niamh has the second age of five come out? I had to do age assement reading on that for work in under 24 hours said in the end that I wouldnt give it to the boss's ( vicars wife) 11 year old daughter but I marked the sectioons so she could decide herself....:rolleyes:

Fantasy is my favourite genre, and sorry if people find it crap but I find it a way saying more that you could otherwise say. And if people are too narrow minded to see that then I pity you from the bottom of my heart, I truly do.

Yes the second book last of the wilds came out this time last year. the last book will be out this summer. think in may. It makes up for the first one being a bit of a disapointment. She is also writing another trilogy based on sonea and akarrins son.