Frustration, Concluded

Now I said that I had learned something from this ultimately frustrating experience. And I suppose that nothing is a waste if something is learned of it.

What I learned is that High Fantasy is the cheapest, easiest, most unimaginative form of fiction in existence.

What brings me to this conclusion?

William Goldman says, essentially, that a writers main objective is to write himself into a corner, into a box that he can’t easily get out of. Because it is then that you become truly creative. You are forced to wade through the clichés and the contrivances in order to reach the creatively original solution to your dilemma.

High Fantasy operates outside of any such limitation. Got a problem? Just us magic. There is a spell for everything. Insurmountable odds? Don’t worry, a dragon will swoop out of the sky for no logical reason and deliver you. Fortunately there is no spell to make an author a better writer, or a dragon to bear him to the land of GloriousInspiration.

The other thing that I noticed was how much fantasy has been influenced by The Lord of the Rings. Now don’t get me wrong. I love The Lord of the Rings. And infact have been thinking on a LOTR inspired story for some time. What I am talking about are the storys that range from pure knockoffs, to what this work is. Not a pure copy, but containing enough similar points as to be obvious: like the assimilation of a company of heroes to combat a similar number of adversaries; the "dragon crown" with the power to rule over the world, much like the "one ring" in LOTR; a man who was "raised" by the elves; etc. ad infinitum.

I wonder how Tolkien feels about this. I wonder if he would be happy for inspiring people to create similar works of fancy, or if he would be appalled by the monster that has come into existence in his wake.

My final quip has to do with titles. Mainly, what Mr. Stackpole titled his books. Or perhaps, what the Publishers titled his books.

The two most important attractants, after word of mouth referral, are Title and Cover. The title and cover of a book are what draws the reader in. They are what makes you stop and look closer. And in this case, it was both that got me started. The art on the first two books was very good, the third not so much, and the titles where a complete misleading dissapointment

First, there is Fortress Draconis. Now, the name promises an adventure at a fortress called Draconis. But none really ever happened. Oh, the companions do briefly visit said fortress, and one of the secondary characters does wander around in the fortress for a little while, but it never gets enough action to truly warrant the title.

And the second, When Dragon’s Rage just seemed like an outright lie. One gets the image of dragons fighting constantly from page to page while riders on their backs hurl spears and swing swords and axes at each other. When in fact, the actual dragon fights take place over the span of probably three pages. Again, not that I was looking forward to mythical, magical creatures brawling through my imagination, I felt robbed.

And the final installment, The Grand Crusade, while filled with lots of technical stuff (to the point of boring me), when the two "new" leads weren’t pining over each other or lamenting the loss of the Norington, was, as I said earlier, anything but grand. And there was no actual crusade. There was no pressing into the enemies country to conquer and expell. In fact, it was really the Evil Chytrine who was Crusading, and the Southern countries were simply marshaling against her. Now it’s possible that The Grand Crusade was really referencing Chytrine’s endevors, but I do not believe that, nor was there anything in the work to suggest it.

Now, I’m not saying that the title of books should be lifted dirrectly from the pages of the work; but it can’t be so abstract that you can’t tie the two together.

The title of these books where the exact oposite of the title of the second most boring mystery that I have ever read: A Safe Place for Dying. Catchy isn’t it? Intriguing, right? That’s why I picked it up. And, in keeping with it’s title, it is about a series of explosions that take place in a very exclusive, very secure, gated community. Unfortunately, I solved the mystery half way through and made myself finish it. But it’s a great title.

At the start of this monster I said that I was interested in finding out what made the current top listed authors great, and I am beginnning to wonder if it is just depravity calling to depravity. Birds of a feather, that sort of thing.

Now you might be wondering: why don’t you just read the other works by authors that you have tried and know are true?

If you are an avid reader you already know the answer: there is only just so much of the same author that you can take before you need a break. And I KNOW that tallent isn’t dead. I know that there are more writers out there writing in the classic, logical, precise, elloquent styles of the 19th/early 20th century masters.

I’m just trying to find them.

As always: Let ‘em rip!