Like this is somehow a measure of quality? You would have written that book if you could have. Don't hide laziness under integrity.
I'm not sure I completely agree. What we consider "worthy of academic study" is just our individual opinions. There are entire classes dedicated to YA literature and (gasp!) even Harry Potter is discussed in such classes. Of course, there's always the issue of trying to academize (not a word, I know) popular fiction, but if one looks hard enough, there are political and social things we can take out of such books. On the flip side, there are many books that academia doesn't really discuss. Part of it has to do with the funding departments receive. Departments like Middle Eastern studies, for example, are usually small; thus, there isn't going to be much discussion about Middle Eastern literature.
That's true, I guess it could depend on what exactly you mean by 'quality'. Books known for being good are often studied in Creative Writing classes as a way of teaching good writing technique or good form and style. Cultural importance does almost always trump any aesthetic quality in academia, yeah - you are right, but I remember hearing that the University of Toronto's fantasy course does not teach Tolkien because the lecturer doesn't like him, so the pleasure of actually reading the text must also have some impact, especially if the book is studied in a number of universities at the same time. As much as this sentence feels so bloody weird coming out of my fingers: I do think Potter has some certain aspects that makes it worthy of academic study. It has some good points. And now I think I'll go wash myself.
I've heard similar things about professors at other universities. Seems like it's fairly common. Who are you, and what have you done with Lemex?
While every genre has a majority of garbage, in fantasy it seems disproportionately large. Especially when we see what's popular, like Wheel of Time (no offense to any WoT fans), or Harry Potter. I think its a tragedy series like these are seen as the best example of the genre. Which is why I love series like George R.R. Martin's books, which eschew conventional fantasy tropes. But even this seems to be going the way of Wheel of Time, since the story has pretty much derailed with this last outing, and the author is stringing us along. In spite of this fantasy (really anything medieval) is still my favorite genre when done right Books like The Worm Ouroboros get everything right imo.
Michael Moorcock has some very good fantasy. I've always enjoyed his work, but mostly I tend to enjoy UK fantasy writers more than their other counterparts. England seems to breed a certain kind of fantasy writer that handles the genre with a practised ease yet avoids cliche. Neil Gaiman's Stardust for example, was not in any way cliched even though it followed a typical quest plot. At least the book wasn't. The problem with some fantasy novels for me isn't the races they choose, the weapons or even the setting. It's in creating a story with weak and unbelievable characters, doing things that don't make sense. That has been the common theme for every novel (fantasy or otherwise) that I have not enjoyed. Novels are first and foremost about human nature, the scenery just helps your reader connect to the characters by providing a backdrop they enjoy and feel comfortable in. Fantasy for me is all about the break from reality (being the modern world, work, taxes and other inane things). The writers I have most enjoyed created characters I cared about and wanted to know their deepest secrets and all the drama of their lives.
Do not worry, all hope is not lost. I gotCHA covered. I suppose there are also spell books and wizards, but that is just me parodying that theme for the laugh. I also have two dragons, one of eastern and one of western design, but they are minor characters written in because there is a need for a diversity of creatures. I also find that writing about the same things over and over gets a little boring, so when I started this story, I purposely did not want to use the popular creatures of fantasy, with the exceptional few. I like the medieval-ish setting, but that is only because I also like writing about natural scenery and travel. The setting itself is actually more like the dark ages after the collapse of an advanced empire, but that is too because exploring ancient ruins if ridiculously fun.
Well it really matters on how you write the the fantasy. In my fantasy story it is about the Brother of a hero and how he becomes a man. There is magic, elven like creatures, dragons. But they are put to the side for another creature. The main character isn't a well shaved badass. He is terrible in combat and can't even use a sword. Infact he picks up a spear and later on a spoonton. Medieval settings have certain amazing things. Its just hard to find a good medieval setting. Mine is based right before the renaissance, but gunpowder is still not created at all. There are creatures called vampyr (I like vampires, but think more zombie immortal). But they are just fairy tales to scare childern in the world. Its all surrounded in myth, some are true, but most are not. (In this universe anyway). Magic should always be apart of a fantasy setting in my opinion, so we really can't get rid of mages or wizards. Because without magic, it really isn't a fantasy novel. It would be more supernatural and alternate history. Infact magic is rarely done, LOTR: magic isn't really prevalent, Game of Thrones: magic is not existent until later on in the series. My book would be classified as dark fantasy, as characters die left and right, in horribly gory ways. Leaving a bitter after taste. The creatures that are seen aren't fantastic or beautiful. They are horrifying. A creature made of fire who feels not of fire but of the cold water. Its face blazing within the skull of the man's former owner. It's scream is but deafening to the ear. Those are my creatures, and the main villians of the story. They are a new creature. An original idea, a combination of ideas really. Bringing them all together into something new. And yes urban fantasy is really bad. To a point. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Awesome, Angel, incredible! Supernatural, meh, Twilight, oh dear god no. They are all different but they use certain cliches that might make you angry. And they make me angry sometimes as well. But if you really hate those fantasy setting cliches, then find me an example of a Horror Novel, without a supernatural inspired idea or a movie that is a horror flick that does not have a supernatural idea or execution. Those are rare. Infact 9 times out 10. A horror movie is about the supernatural and the unknown. And that angers me to no end. But fantasy has certain things that are bad. Vampire novels, Werewolf novels. Novels about them are so overdone, and most times magic is just thrown in because it is a fantasy novel. But rarely is there a book, that uses vampire and werewolves, but they only mention them as myths, and have magic and say it is basically a myth, and have creatures that defy the logic of a fantasy novel. Where the main hero is not a stout man with a well trimmed beard and uses a sword. I mean there are quite a few celtic myths that don't have that. Like Cuchulainn, the Irish Achilles. Who was he? He was a myth, a man's man, he was the greatest warrior to have ever lived. But what makes him so different? He was a blood thirsty jerk. He only fought for himself and to get titles. He wasn't a good guy, he wasn't really a hero. Infact he was a villian. Very rarely do we see something like a Lovecraftian inspired idea be put into use. Where the hero is the villian of the entire story. Like Sir Lancelot (He is a villain), Achilles, and Paris. They aren't good men, they aren't heroes, they are jerks. And they are defined by their passion. And all three of them do it in the name of love, yet they kill and maim, for something that is already taken by another. There are quite a few fantasy novels that defile these expectations and it is up to use to pick up these books and learn from them.
Fantasy video games also suffer with this genre. Every RPG I played is like a copy cat of World of Warcraft. Plus their stories are highly cliche'.
That is a problem in the field not the genre. As a designer in training it is so freaking common. World of Warcraft though does capture some great ideas. Until.... well WoW hit the stores. Play WC3 and you got a well developed, and very incredible characters.
The current trend of RPGs started long before WoW, so if anything WoW is the copycat. Nevertheless, I agree that storyline is usually not a strong point of video games.
Except the incredible games I've played. The Crooked Man FEAR (The First one) WC3 Diablo 2 Spec Ops The Line Outlast (Good story hurrah!) Mermaid Swamp Final Fantasy Games 1-6 (play em you'll see) Mass Effect Knights of the Old Republic But lets not forget its more about gameplay and the combination of the two. Its extremely hard to balance a great story and great gameplay. It is extremely rare to have both in a game.
My fantasy project, Terra, has a medieval setting but it has no magic. That was one of my curve balls for the development of the universe. If i can fully grasp this world into a fantasy realm without magic, i have officially succeeded. At least in that regard. The only cliche about my fantasy story is the medieval setting. I also made certain species LOOK like cliched creatures, but function in a completely different manner where you can't label them as such. My main character is white but it's because of where he actually lives that makes him pale. I try to make sure the humans get an equal treatment of different skin colors, because i'd hate to make any group of people feel left out. I'm a innovator, so i try my best to give my story freshness and life and create a real game-changer. If only i wasn't only 312 pages into the lore, would i be able to prove that just yet. It is often one of my favorite projects, because not only am i still working on it, i'm actually learning from it. This is a very rough estimate but i don't see any possible way of it being completed till i near around 1,000 pages or more. If i have that much lore, i can create one spellbinding piece of work. But crazily, Terra is not my only project. I've been hard at work on my poetry career, along with another fictional universe that is slowly being built, which is The Blue Kaminari. It's a science fiction project, focusing on breaking most cliches as well. It's kind of hard juggling so many things at once, but i've done it recently. Next time you state how bland fantasy is, just remember not ALL fantasy writers write bland stories. This one isn't trying to, at least. I'm very stoic to see how Terra will work out in the future.
Heavy Metal has a lot of unique fantasy stories with a blend of science fiction. Too bad it is aimed to adults.
I don't think the problem is the setting. A medieval fantasy is just as terrible as a steam punk fantasy if the writer using overplayed characterizations and themes. Writers are leaning on the trappings of the genre as a crutch, because they know there are readers out there who will lap it up only because it has elves and dragons etc. or half-vampire/angel/demon adolescents in love triangles, no matter how well-developed the characters or plot. There is a similar problem with steam punk and western steam punk genres. It either revolves around a mysterious city that is actually a portal to hell or someone has invented a mechanical computer and evildoers are hunting for it.
