Comments on: [GUEST POST] Helen Lowe on Why Epic Fantasy Speaks To Us

By: Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:56:56 +0000

Louise, I’m glad you enjoyed the post–& thank you for saying so.:) I read the Greek and Norse (and Egyptian, and Celtic–I think i ran out of puff around about Babylonian) myths avidly as a kid and so when I first read “The Lord of the Rings” I recognised the depth of influcen from the Norse sagas immediately–and loved the books more because of the way Tolkien had woven them into his own storytelling. In terms of book enjoyment, a few years ago a friend was telling me about a book she had both really enjoyed and gotten a lot out of, “but she wasn’t sure whether it would be regarded as a ‘good’ or ‘great’ book.” I replied with great firmness that if she had gotten great things out of it, then for her it was a great novel–and it didn’t matter a cent what anyone else thought!

By: Louise Marley

Louise Marley — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:37:45 +0000

Wonderful post, Helen! It was worth coming to read your piece to make that connection with mythology and epic fantasy. Now that you've said it, it seems so obvious. Should have drawn that conclusion before now!

As to enjoying fiction for sheer entertainment--let us please do that! A friend and I were rolling our eyes over some award-winning novel neither of us could slog through, and I was reminded that reading can be--should be, must be--fun.

By: Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:07:55 +0000

Thank you, June and Alicia, for stopping by and commenting.

By: Alicia Ponder

Alicia Ponder — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:43:24 +0000

Nice post - and I think you found the perfect quote.

By: June

June — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:24:16 +0000

I like fantasy and one of the reasons I like fantasy is becasue of what you wrote in this post.

By: Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:04:48 +0000

Andrew, sometimes there are epic fantasy stories that speak to me more than others, but I've never gone away from the genre, which I have loved since I picked up my first volume of Greek myths and legends. I hope I always will--and that there will always be new voices speaking to us, as well as old favourites to return to.

By: Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:59:23 +0000

PaulNYC: ‘in my book’ story is primarily all about enjoyment, and sometimes we get that from lighter/shallower and sometimes from darker/deeper waters. I think perhaps the need to ‘justify’ comes because there are those–both in the literary pantheon and amongst readers–who do look down on SFF, but I know that as a writer I approach SFF in exactly the same way as I approach my writing in any other genre: I give it all I’ve got!

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:42:13 +0000

I have been reading in the genre for over thirty years now, and even though my interest waxes and wanes at times, I keep on coming back to it. I think that one of the reasons for this is the broad scope of the canvas available to the writer. The whole of human history, myth making and story telling is available as a guide – to be used or not used as desired. The best writers weave these threads into their stories then do something new – either with the world or the people in it. Great stuff when it comes together!

By: PaulNYC

PaulNYC — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:25:52 +0000

What irks me is that people who like fantasy seem to have a need among "serious" speculative fiction fans to always justify their enjoyment. It's as if there is some need to prove to naysayers that, no, I'm not just some person who likes wizards, sword fights and quests -- there's depth to my enjoyment.

As far as I'm concerned, there are no caveats for enjoyment of any genre. I might think pulpy action stories are great and honestly not give a damn whether someone else turns his nose up at it in favor of his fiftieth reading of Gormenghast.