Comments on: [GUEST POST] Helen Lowe Asks: Do We Need To Make Epic Fantasy New?

By: Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:31:24 +0000

I think there can be both outstanding and poor examples of any genre, and that just because each genre has its tropes doesn’t mean we should get away with treating them as a ‘formula.’ I find I look mainly to the world building and the characters–the new and the freshness, as well as the depth to the storytelling, can really come in there, even if there is a ‘quest’ (ie ‘problem to be solved/resolved–I mean, go figure!), or a band of buddies etc. And I have also found that sometimes when a writer appears to be trying to subvert the tropes, that can feel very contrived–as though it is really getting in the way of the story, as much as polemicizing/proselytizing does. (And any ‘exterior’ agenda getting in the way of the story is the cardinal sin, imho!)

By: Paul (@princejvstin)

Paul (@princejvstin) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:33:52 +0000

Hi Helen

I think there is plenty of life in the old Tropes, if they are told well. That’s the key, though. Painting straight by the numbers gives any genre, especially one as prominent and large as epic fantasy, a bad name.

Therein lies the rub. I read a highly publicized epic fantasy last year that felt to me not much more than paint-by-number, and I was not amused.

By: Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:10:55 +0000

Thank you, John.

By: John R. Fultz

John R. Fultz — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:03:41 +0000

Well said!