Whether fantasy be told in the form of fairy tales, or Greek gods and Hercules, men have always told stories to escape into worlds where men have powers and gods are as fickle and corrupt as the men who worship them.
Of every genre fantasy is the most fun and most exciting.
However, fantasy has a bad reputation, and for damn good reason. There are not a lot of great, even good, fantasy writers. With J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" the genre was brought to the forefront of literature. C.S. Lewis also did a lot to help with "The Chronicles of Narnia". These two series are some of the most beloved tales regardless of the genre.
The fantasy genre probably exploded in the 70s. Maybe a little earlier. This isn't really a history lesson so I'm guessing. An influx of fantasy writers were being published in this time period. The problem with so many writers being published is that not a lot of the writers were very good. That hasn't changed a whole lot over the last 30 or 40 years.
I'll list a few of the problems with the fantasy genre:
A) REHASHED STORIES: Fantasy writers are experts at beating a dead horse. There are more than a handful of fantasy tales where the average farm boy becomes a great and mighty king. Another aspect of fantasy that's been over done is the quirky wizard who takes the average farm boy under his wing, and mentors him to greatness. A final tale that has had its carcass beat to mush is the damsel in distress story. Personally, I hate this direction of plotting. I love a story with strong female characters who aren't afraid to stand by men in battle and are beautiful while chopping off heads and slaying dragons.
B) MAGIC WITH NO RULES: The first fantasy series I ever read was the first trilogy of "The Dragonlance Chronicles" by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I was 16 and had never read anything like that before. If you're just getting introduced to fantasy "Dragonlance" is a great place to start. You're not going to read anything that is revolutionary or will push the limits of literature, but the stories are fun. One of the big appeals of "Dragonlance" for me was the magic. Since reading that series I've looked for fantasy stories with unique magic systems. I hate, with a burning passion, fantasy stories that have magic systems with no rules. When you have stories like this basically you have a bunch of demi-gods running around doing whatever the hell they want. When it happens that they get in a situation they don't know how to get out of they don't turn to their god-like powers, but instead act like a mere man. Stories like that just suck the reality out of what you're reading. Magic needs rules. That's what will make the powers unique and interesting.
C) BAD WRITERS: I'm going to step out on a limb here and point the finger at someone who I consider a horrid writer, Terry Goodkind. Everything I mentioned above he's built a career on. His series "The Sword of Truth" is a blatant rip off of a series that made me want to become a writer. I've mentioned it many times, "The Wheel of Time". Not only has Terry Goodkind built his career on recycled stories he pushes the limits of sex and bondage to the point that you're extremely uncomfortable reading the story. I know everyone has this image of fantasy writers as geeky guys who haven't shaved, cut their hair, or have taken a bath in many moons. The aforementioned sit in their basement beating off to the steamy scenes of whatever fantasy tome they're reading. First, there's not a lot of fantasy stories I've read with steamy or trashy sex scenes. Usually it's barely mentioned. Terry Goodkind has had graphic rape scenes in at least every book he's had published. Women are abused and beaten to a pulp. I can't really remember when his male protagonists have suffered tragedies of the same nature as his women. It takes all the fun and escape out of the stories. His protagonist Richard is also the only War Wizard to have lived for a thousand years, and has such grandeur powers that he might as well be considered a god. That's boring.
In anything you have to take the good with the bad, and there are a lot of bad fantasy writers out there. But there are many fantasy writers who really shine. If you're looking for fantasy writers who have created epic adventures and fantastic worlds look no further than this list of people:
I've said over and over that "The Wheel of Time" has changed my life. I'm not lying. It's one of the grandest stories that have ever been told. If you're looking to get into fantasy WoT is a great place to start.
Before Rowling ever wrote Harry Potter Ms. Le Guin wrote "A Wizard of Earthsea". Ursula's prose is unmatched in all of litreature. It's deep and intimate. Quite frankly, her writing is so beautiful I want to lick the words off the pages. She's one of my personal heroes. Read. Her. Today.
There is no writer out there, now, like Brandon Sanderson. He dominates the fantasy genre with little competition. His debut novel Elantris is so good that you would think Sanderson had been published many many times before. He's rescued WoT and is finishing the final books. I've not read them, yet, but hear only great things about them. His magic systems are unparalleled. I read his novels just to enjoy the complex systems of magic that he creates. Not only does he imagine great worlds and greats powers, but he's a fantastic writer and superb story teller. You can't miss the mark by reading any of Sanderson's books.
Mr. Rothfuss is one of the only competitors that Brandon Sanderson has. Patrick's story telling ability is unmatched. I've been reading his debut novel "The Name of the Wind" and it is the most well told story I've ever read. I've never read a fantasy story in the way that this one has been told. Amazing! You must read his work. Unfortunately, Wind is the only novel that Rothfuss has published. The sequel "Wise Man's Fear" is scheduled for release in March of 2011. Until then you have the words of "The Name of the Wind" to salivate over.
These four writers are some of the best fantasy authors to have ever been published. I think you would enjoy any of their books that you picked up and read. I believe without a shadow of a doubt that you would become a life long fan of any of these writers. Hopefully, I've persuaded you to give fantasy a try if you're not a reader of the genre. If you are I hope I've introduced you to some new faces.
Until next time,
Adios and via con dios.
***Click on the names of the writers so you can be transported to Amazon to preview or buy their work.
***Click on the names of the writers so you can be transported to Amazon to preview or buy their work.
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