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fantasy books....

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  • 28-06-1999 3:50pm
    #1
    LoLth
    Registered Users Posts: 10,339 ✭✭✭✭


    ok, I know fantasy books aren't everyone's cup of vodka but I wouldn't mind an opinion or two on the following (and no - ALL fantasy are crap posts pleeeeeze.. well, if ya want to...**** it, you're going to anyway. Why do I bother..? smile.gif )

    Righty, on a mailing list I am on at the moment, there is a lovely argument going on - started by moi and watched with great amusement by same.... - but it's running out of steam, so I need something to stir the pot a bit..

    The argument is, the majority of fantasy (not so much sci-fi) is written with a PG or U rating in mind. No-one swears (except fantasy swear words which don't count. For example in the RA Salvatore book about eh drow, the little guy swears using 'Magda Caramma' ALL the time! It's supposed to be a biggy but it's actually annoying...), god guys are usually 'good', very few are realistic, very few are tempted to look out for themselves more than others. (Thomas Covenant was a better than average character because, as well as being the hero, he was a complete *******!). So, opinions? Do fantasy authors treat readers like imbeciles? Is there a reason for the general ****tiness of the fantasy scene at the moment? Is there any example of a book that doesn't lapse into this general taint of bollicosity (hey, I say it's a word! Websters is WRONG!!!!)....

    I'm currently reading Darkspell, the seecond in the Deverry series, and I must say... the first book was good, this one is a step below it...

    Waiting til I'm finished to start Inversions by Iain Banks..


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    #2
    Slosh
    Registered Users Posts: 861 ✭✭✭Slosh


    Deleted useless blabbering post....

    [This message has been edited by Slosh (edited 28-06-99).]

    [This message has been edited by Slosh (edited 28-06-99).]


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    #3
    LoLth
    Registered Users Posts: 10,339 ✭✭✭✭LoLth


    huh?

    smile.gif


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    #4
    Slosh
    Registered Users Posts: 861 ✭✭✭Slosh


    I blabbered - found it waaaay off topic and deleted it smile.gif


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    #5
    LoLth
    Registered Users Posts: 10,339 ✭✭✭✭LoLth


    hmmm, never stopped you before.. tongue.gif


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    #6
    WhiteWashMan
    Registered Users Posts: 20,099 ✭✭✭✭WhiteWashMan



    i would say that yes most fantasy writers, while not treating their readers as idiots, seem to tone down their books somewhat.
    i dont know why?

    a good case of this is stephens king fantasy novel (cant remember the name of hand)
    certainly wasnt his usual style. no swearing, no butchery or anything. it was a child fairy tale.

    tomas covenant was a pr1ck. complete pr1ck. he wasnt a nice character and was selfish and mean. thats what made it a good book coz he just had no intrest as all. in the end he only did what he should have done in the first book coz he realised that he was going to die in the real world and thought that at least this fantasy land in his mind should survive (bit of a paradox that one i know.. but i dont write the book smile.gif )

    gemmil is just a waste of time

    that muppet that wrote the belgariad or whatever. eddings i think is crap. talk about long winded sh1te. same stories over and over again. and over again sparhawk was more a pain in the ass than a hero. talk about ultimate nice guy rogue type person. basg of sh1te.

    only real good fantasy books ive read are the wheel of time series and tolkien

    feist gets boring after a while as well.


    oh, terry pratchett rules as well smile.gif


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    #7
    Draco
    Subscribers Posts: 1,911 ✭✭✭Draco


    Hmmm....maybe fantasy auther are very aware of the fact that they are seen as kids books by the great unwashed masses that they tame things down a bit....Eddings Real Life books do have swearing and sex in them (not his usual "he swore/they didn't sleep much that night sort of stuff)

    Draco


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    #8
    DeViant
    Closed Accounts Posts: 89 ✭✭DeViant


    Draco,
    Lis just finished a book "LadyLord"
    Suggested for Mature readers.
    Quote "For First Lord, I'm going to take you as a man takes a woman, Then for my own pleasure i'm going to take you as a man takes a boy"
    Gets Heavy in places...Dig it out next time yer up

    B.


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    #9
    Shinji
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,275 ✭✭✭Shinji


    This is something that turned me off fantasy a good while ago... it all gets very samey, and you can only take so many clean cut heroes and evil nasty villans. Shades of gray make a great novel, imo. Fantasy has never grown up in the way that SF has, and never diversified.

    Currently reading JG Ballard's Empire of the Sun... It doesn't have the power of Spielbergs movie, but it's still a damned good book.

    (Oh, and I'm stil perpetually reading Snow Crash from cover to cover repeatedly... tongue.gif)

    Ja,
    Shin


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