I've been trying to read Fantasy, mostly because the majority of people on Forward Motion seem to be writing and referencing Fantasy stories. But I have yet to read anything that I like. Nothing grabs me, and the very fact that some of these novels made it to print dismays me. One novel actually changed so drastically in mid-plot that I believe the original author died and the novel was passed on to someone else. Someone with a drastically different style!
I have hesitated to rant against against other authors. Since I'm a wannabe romance writer, I've got no room to bitch when somebody else makes good. I posted one rant on vampires, then took it down when the movie came out.
My hat's off to her, she's making a killing writing syrup and sparkle instead of blood and darkness.
Today, however, I am presenting this address as the answer to all my prayers: Somebody who is still reading and ranting about a genre I gave up on, for the very reasons that I gave up on it.
Behold, a reader who thinks: http://limyaael.livejournal.com/559559.html#cutid1
Whoever this person is, they have nailed it. Every rant has me nodding my head and saying 'oh yeah! Tell 'em, baby, tell 'em straight.'
This is a sample quote from some old "Live Journal" rants:
"3) There doesn't have to be a typical Quest Object. As Tolkien's characters themselves note, the Ring is a rather odd Quest Object. The journey in LOTR isn't actually about finding the Ring, but returning it to the place it came from and destroying it. The fantasy Quests that spring from bastardized versions of Tolkien ignore this, however. The Quest Object is just about always beneficent (in fact, some of them can't be used by evil guys at all) and far away, so that the point is getting there and using it. The idea of destroying it even if it's dangerous rarely, if ever, occurs to your typical fantasy
Whoever is writing under 'Arin i Asolde' has taken the words in my heart and put them on the web. I have no need to comment further.
We live in an age where the suspension of dis-belief is not a good trait. We need to be critical readers, and thinkers. The world is full of bullshit, and if we can't tell gold from compost, we will always have a handful of compost.
I have a compost pile.
I want to write gold.
2 comments:
Hey there,
Liked the post. And limyaael is funny, I've checked out that blog before too. I'm with you on the fantasy thing, though my end result has been a little different. I'm a mostly Lit reader and writer who grew up on fantasy... and I get frustrated with a lot of the stories, in that there's so little to my taste anymore. Not to say they're bad (they work for a lot of readers), but just that they're not exactly good for me. My solution, though, was to try and write some of the fantasy I felt was missing from the field. An ongoing experiment...
My best, as always,
Ink
Hi Ink,
Thanks for stopping by. I understand being frustrated with the majority of modern fantasy.
Most "urban fantasy" screams "written by a suburban housewife." (G) I mean talk about sanitizing a myth! We now have 'sparkling' clean vampires!
Enjoyed the new Blog. I'll keep watching to see what you three come up with.
Post a Comment