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Posted By: Magus Nov 25, 2004 - 06:03 am

The question has been brought up on this site about "non-traditional fantasy". I began pondering oer it and I have a question for you all.

What kinds of non-traditional fantasy would you like to see, or see more of?

I'd like to see some oriental fantasy, ie. culterally based around China/Japan.

I'd also like to see more genre-bending fantasy.

And I'd also like to see more fantasy that somehow crosses over to our "real" world.

What do you think that there should be, or be more of? I'm very curious.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Posted By: Berry Nov 25, 2004 - 08:14 am

I coudn't agree more and in fact all my stories so far are fantasy set in the here and now. Worlds within worlds is a favorite theme of mine. I am greatly influenced and inspired in this endeavor by Clive Barker's fantasy (rather than his horror)and Neil Gaiman. As for Chinese fantasy, are you kidding? There is lots it, it's intrinsic to thier culture and has been around for them for so long they turned to a more pragmatic approach to things for a while but I think you will find some mordern fantasy/fiction from them. As for people who use thier culture in fantasy I don't know much apart from Idoru by William Gibson. Maybe that's something you could work on, I might even give it a go mmmmmm...

Posted By: ForeverZero Nov 25, 2004 - 09:23 am

Considering that I make a point to make each and every one of my stories stray from traditional fantasy, let me explain something.

I see traditional fantasy as cheating, plain and simple. I don't see a story with familiar and loved races and concepts, I see a story where the writer was too lazy to come up with his own ideas and used races of creatures that have been used and overused for decades to fill the gap.

I have various races of my own creation. One of them is a splice of Chinese and Egyptian cultures. Another is a race of half-beasts which I call Demi-Humans. Another is the race of Seraphim, which took about four months of conceptualizing before we got them the way we wanted them.

So yeah, I've had enough of this Elves and Dwarves and Orcs crap. This isn't directed to any of you, but to writers in general: Come up with your own ideas instead of reshaping a dying mold.

Posted By: Magus Nov 25, 2004 - 07:59 pm

My epic that I'm writing is something of non-traditional. The protagonist is a Half-Orc/Half-Human whose mother was raped by an Orc as her entire village was burnt around her. She gave birth to him, tried to kill him, and then killed herself. Eventually we're introduced to his Full blooded Orc brother. There's far more to it, but I wouldn't want to give all of it away.

As far as Oriental fantasies go, the only book I've read that can be considered as such was Cloud of Sparrows, and I am planning on reading the sequel, Autumn Bridge. Could you perhaps tell me some titles of interest for this category, as I have heard more or less nothing of such a genre.

Posted By: cleasterwood Nov 26, 2004 - 04:28 am

Well, I want to corner the market on Egyptian fantasy while creating a new niche for myself. Fantasy that crosses over into the 'real world'? Wouldn't that be time-travel? Ah, I have that too. I think Egyptian fantasy should get around more and I don't mean Mummy stories either. They are so burnt-out that I'm sickened by them. I just hope my recent mss falls into the realm of non-traditional as I don't have all the elves, dragons, knights, and such but I do have gods, demigods, and lots of demons causing havoc. To add, I'd also like to see more plots that twist and turn, always keeping me guessing as I try to do that with every story I write. I don't like being able to foresee what's going to happen, keep me guessing!

Posted By: Magus Nov 26, 2004 - 05:07 am

Yeah, I know a little of what you men. My epic starts simple enough, but then grows. The plot developes and becomes a complicated web of choice and vengeance. The characters reveal their past and the world expands in brilliat color and texture. I find that to properly explain it to a person, in all of it's comlexity over all twelve books I'd need an hour or so. Even to explain it so that they get the jist of it would take 15 or twenty minutes for all twelve books.

But Egyption fantasy, I must say, sounds extremely interesting. That's definately something you don't see at every book store.

Posted By: Neurolanis Nov 26, 2004 - 05:05 pm

I'd like to see really, really strange stuff. I've written much of what I call "psychedelic fantasy", unfortunately, no one could possibly make sense of it but me. That's why the epic novel I'm working on is a "traditional fantasy", as to play it safe to just get a career started.

Man, I gotta read your book someday, Magus!

Posted By: Magus Nov 26, 2004 - 09:10 pm

And I've got to write it someday.

Posted By: Caegaraneva Dec 21, 2004 - 04:09 pm

I agree with Cleasterwood in that I think a lot of todays fantasy is just an exercise of leading the reader down a straight trail of vicious orcs, noble elves, and charming helpers, straight to the epic battle scenes.
My fantasy novel that I've been working on for quite some time now has some of those stereotypes...not the narrow plot, and not the vicious orcs, and the noble elves are certainly changed around.

The most important thing to see in fantasy is either a theme, or an exceptional plot. If your theme is just good vs. evil, or romance, or any one of the other hackneyed "main ideas" that have driven books since Gilgamesh, then it's ok, but the plot and characters need to be STUNNING. If, on the other hand, the basic plot structure is fairly simple and straightforward, and your characters aren't revolutionary, their needs to be some deeper moving force behind your writing to stop it from falling out of the realm of originality and into the realm of BORING.