So I've come up with what I think is a brilliant idea, but I have a tiny bit of a dilemma. No matter what I do, this story will be classed as Fantasy, but that's not an issue. I love reading Fantasy novels (a particular favourite of mine is the Sword of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind), so writing in that genre is by no means a problem for me. My question is, can Fantasy have guns? Does that make sense? I mean, basically all Fantasy novels I've read are the generic sword and bow type, but is having at least modern-ish pistols too much? I'd really love your opinions and thoughts on this
Would you be upset if the book was more neo-noir than fantasy when it was finished? Do you feel strongly that you should write a traditional fantasy novel? Personally I would write the novel and worry about labels later. Good luck!
I have no idea what neo-noir is, but I'll google it right away. And no, not really, but the setting I've chosen seems to be leaning towards a traditional fantasy setting. It doesn't bother me whether it does end up coming under the label of Fantasy or not, I was basically just wondering. And thanks, I hope it goes well
Neo-noir was just a random example really. It's more a film thing I guess, sorry! A film example for neo-noir could be Minority Report which was what came into my mind when reading your post. Basically, I was just thinking that labels may end up restricting you. I never view fantasy as having restrictions and limits but I looked it up on Wikipedia which says it does have 'tendencies' apparently...
I think it's completely plausible for a fantasy setting to have guns. It's a question of what kind of guns are we talking, are we talking renaissance pistols, colt .45's, or semi automatics? note: there is also a question of what you're doing with the tech in the world as a whole, do they have semi-automatics, but lack indoor plumbing, are other types of weaponry still available and common, things like this.
Of course you can. "Fantasy", as a genre, is not defined by castles, wizards and swords (however much the media are desperate for it to be classified as such). You can have a fantasy tale in almost any setting with any kind of technology.
Fantasy doesn't mean no guns. In fact several famous fantasy settings include guns like Final Fantasy and Warcraft. Go for it man.
LIF - Ah, thanks for clearing that up Sid - the guns I was thinking of wasn't anything like gattling, or light machine, just stuff like revolvers or double barrel shotguns. Plus, the tech will be somewhat middle ages, but a few advances that I haven chosen yet. Obviously, it might seem a bit out of place to have firearms and no factories to make them, but I'll work that out sooner or later. Tobias - Thanks for clearing that up Knight - Now that I think about it, I should have realised Warcraft had guns -_- Oh well, thanks for your help and the encouragement
Walshy12238, Yes, it's absolutely possible. I can say from experience as my fantasy novel (Flank Hawk) has firearms in it and found a publisher. Going off the beaten path with respect to fantasy can prove advantageous. Write the story you desire to write. Make it the absolute best you can. If it's good enough and with a little luck thrown in, it'll find a publisher and readers. Terry
There are plenty of fantasy stories out there with guns, gunpowder, cannons, etc. Look at the last two Rigante books by David Gemmell, for example. Pretty sure they have guns in those.
TWErvin2 - That's good to hear; I hope I can do exactly that. I really love my idea, and think that I can do it justice Steerpike - Would it be worth my while to read them? Mostly for research purposes, I mean.
They're excellent books. Gemmell was a good writer. The Rigante series is four books, but the first two take place early in the timeline, the last two later. You can read the last two without having read the first two, and those are the ones where the technology level includes guns. Plus if you're writing fantasy Gemmell is a good author to study, particularly in terms of how he makes readers care about characters.
Of course you can have guns in your fantasy world. Remember, it's YOUR fantasy world, not someone else's, and you're the one who makes the rules. But, as someone else pointed out, you should make sure that the rest of the tech in your world is of the same level as your gun tech. You can't have guns without the mining, smelting, casting, and machining tech to make them AND the ammunition they use, and that level of metalworking tech will find its way into products other than just guns. It would be a strange world indeed if guns were the only items made of metal, if you know what I mean.
I see no reason why you couldn't have a fantasy novel with guns and no magic if you really wanted. It is up to you but if your characters go around shooting Chimeras and dragons then by all means do it. I believe dungeons and Dragons even has a scenario with guns and mech, I believe it is Ebberon but don't quote me on it.
Eberron does have guns and magical tech. A better setting for 3.X D&D is the Iron Kingdoms, which has a really cool steampunk, magic & guns world going.
I was thinking about including guns and magic (not really spells and wizards, but items of great power).
Ah nothing wrong with items of magic. Especially if they can't be created anymore but that really depends on what your intention is for including magic in the first place. Steerpike - I will have to keep that in mind as I find a severe lack of books in the steampunk catagory and such a unique catagory it is. I hope the amount of writers for this genre eventually increases.
Iron Kingdoms was the best setting for 3.X. Problem is, it is out of print and the publisher is focusing on their Warmachine and Hordes miniature games. You can still get the books, but I saw the Character Guide going for $80 or $90 on Ebay.
That doesn't surprise me. Any of the good series always seem to be out of print. While I am not huge into D&D I do find some of the books to be pretty good.
Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, especially The Guns of Avalon is a fantasy with firearms, plus his world (Amber and all of its shadows) isn't standard fantasy.
Guns powered by magic instead of gun powder. Kidding. But yes fantasy can have guns, take a look at the Fable series. Mainly Fable 2 and 3. Both had guns, both were fantasy.
Dude, look at warhammer 40000, its a perfect hybrid of both fantasy and sci fi. There are giant robots, fighting demons from a place called The Warp. Go nuts man.
The objects I intend to have can't be created or replicated. The way they work is by empowering the user. I reckon it seems reasonable, at least.
Fantasy is just that - a fantasy! It can include anything you can imagine, even guns, if that's what you want. I think it's a shame that fantasy is so pigeon-holed with the swords and magic and whatnot, it's such a potentially powerful medium of expression (not that there's anything wrong with swords and magic!).
