Comments on: Fantasy genre misunderstood: Janny Wurts http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/08/23/fantasy-genre-misunderstood-janny-wurts/ All you can eat sci-fi and fantasy books Sat, 11 Jun 2011 17:55:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: J M Cornwell http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/08/23/fantasy-genre-misunderstood-janny-wurts/#comment-340 J M Cornwell Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:09:27 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=375#comment-340 J. R. R. Tolkien's work is definitely fantasy, but who has read his books and thrilled to the movies based on his novels would class them as infantile or for young or immature people has merely skimmed the surface. That is the problem with labels, people tend to get stuck with them and have no idea what they mean. No wonder artists and writers prefer to be called graphic novelists instead of writers of comic books. Until readers stop accepting labels and simply jump into literature with no regard for genre, willing to accept books and authors on a book by book basis, we will be stuck with labels. Haven't we grown past this yet? J. R. R. Tolkien’s work is definitely fantasy, but who has read his books and thrilled to the movies based on his novels would class them as infantile or for young or immature people has merely skimmed the surface. That is the problem with labels, people tend to get stuck with them and have no idea what they mean. No wonder artists and writers prefer to be called graphic novelists instead of writers of comic books. Until readers stop accepting labels and simply jump into literature with no regard for genre, willing to accept books and authors on a book by book basis, we will be stuck with labels. Haven’t we grown past this yet?

]]> By: Marc Vun Kannon http://www.keepingthedoor.com/2009/08/23/fantasy-genre-misunderstood-janny-wurts/#comment-300 Marc Vun Kannon Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:22:36 +0000 http://www.keepingthedoor.com/?p=375#comment-300 Fantasy is one of the best literary media for examining some of the great philosophical and psychological concepts of the world. Good and Evil can be real things, monsters can escape the dreams they were formed in, alternative points of view can be presented as they are, would be, could be, actually lived. LOTR is a fantasy novel, yes, but it's also a comparison of the values of two competing ways of life, as represented by the Shire and by Saruman, among others. We all know where the monster came from in Forbidden Planet. How many science fiction stories bog down in sermons about the importance of reason over emotion? Even Rand and Goodkind are trying to do something meaningful, whatever one may think of their philosophies. The main reason fantasy gets associated with childhood is that it's a literary form most readily understood by children, with more vivid imagery than a textbook, and less subtlety. Which doesn't mean it has to stay that way. But the ability to combine thoughtfulness, insight, and imagery in this way is rare. Most of the icons have been made already. Making new ones is hard work, while the old ones rapidly degenerate into caricature, broad brush strokes suitable for comic books and little else. Fantasy is one of the best literary media for examining some of the great philosophical and psychological concepts of the world. Good and Evil can be real things, monsters can escape the dreams they were formed in, alternative points of view can be presented as they are, would be, could be, actually lived. LOTR is a fantasy novel, yes, but it’s also a comparison of the values of two competing ways of life, as represented by the Shire and by Saruman, among others. We all know where the monster came from in Forbidden Planet. How many science fiction stories bog down in sermons about the importance of reason over emotion? Even Rand and Goodkind are trying to do something meaningful, whatever one may think of their philosophies.

The main reason fantasy gets associated with childhood is that it’s a literary form most readily understood by children, with more vivid imagery than a textbook, and less subtlety. Which doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. But the ability to combine thoughtfulness, insight, and imagery in this way is rare. Most of the icons have been made already. Making new ones is hard work, while the old ones rapidly degenerate into caricature, broad brush strokes suitable for comic books and little else.

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