Is Fantasy for Grown Ups?
Once people find out I’m a writer, they inevitably ask what kind of books I write. When I tell them it’s fantasy this tends to provoke one of three reactions:
Indifference/bemusement (the standard response)
Avid enthusiasm (the rare, highly desirable response)
Disdain (my least favoured response)
Whilst I can work with indifference and delight in enthusiasm, the one I find hardest to deal with is disdain. This is usually rooted in thoughts along the following lines:
Isn’t that stuff for kids?
Fantasy writing is easy – all you have to do is make stuff up
Linked to the previous point, fantasy isn’t ‘proper’ literature
It might have been popular in the 1950s when The Lord of the Rings came out but everything since is just a derivative copy of that book
Linked to the previous point, The Lord of the Rings is crap too
Ouch. As a fantasy writer you’ll be unsurprised to learn I don’t agree with these points of view. Taking the first one, Harry Potter, a book aimed firmly at the children’s market when it first came out in 1997, was a series adults flocked to in droves as word began to spread. Whilst children certainly enjoyed JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis the richness of their writing (and the fact it operated on multiple levels) meant there was much for adults to appreciate. Perhaps what lies behind such disdain is the grudging recognition these books require you to have an imagination. Children and young people are much more accepting of new or alternative ideas – something we should all learn from.
Anyone who has either attempted or managed to complete a novel-length story will know the huge amount of effort and determination required to get to the end. Fantasy is no different from any other genre and actually presents some unique challenges. Yes, anything is possible but the author still has to create something credible and believable, otherwise the reader won’t become invested in the story. It can be a fine line to tread. In fact, for it to work most fiction requires the suspension of disbelief to an extent, as readers eagerly read about far-fetched romantic entanglements, ludicrous spy capers and mysterious whodunnits. Whilst reading, it’s unlikely they’ll ever seriously wonder why the county of Midsomer is the murder capital of the world.
Obviously some extremely high quality and successful literature is rooted very firmly in real life. People are entitled to write and read whatever they like. However, it annoys me when fantasy is dismissed as lightweight. At its best it provides a medium for rich, in-depth characters and makes the imagination soar. When A Game of Thrones was first published in 1996 it was to little fanfare, outside the critical acclaim of fantasy aficionados. That first book didn’t trouble the bestseller lists until years later, as the popularity of the series grew. However, if you pick up that book today and read the opening prologue you’ll instantly realise you’re dealing with a writer here of the highest quality. GRR Martin paints a vivid picture with those opening pages, drawing the reader effortlessly into his world. It doesn’t take long to realise this isn’t just good fantasy literature, this is first-class literature, full stop. This is just one example, which resonated particularly strongly with me. Other readers will point to a whole host of their favourites to make the same argument – take your pick.
The Lord of the Rings clearly set a benchmark when it came to fantasy literature. Alongside that classic and Harry Potter, A Song of Ice and Fire is probably the most well-known fantasy series and even those who don’t profess to enjoy the genre will have heard of those books. And that doesn’t touch on the long list of inventive writers who have pushed the genre forwards. You only have to look at authors such as Le Guin, Moorcock, Gemmel, Pratchett, Gaiman and Pullman to name but a few to see how fantasy exploded with creativity after The Lord of the Rings was released.
It’s a trend that continues to this day and I’d argue the fantasy genre has never been healthier. Now we’re seeing a new wave of authors, from an increasingly diverse range of backgrounds, tackling fantasy in new ways. If you want examples beyond your local bookstore then check out some of the reviews of the participants of this year’s Self Published Fantasy Blog Off competition. I’ve been blown away by the incredible ideas coming out from independent authors at the moment. This is an exciting time to be a fantasy author or reader (or even better, both!).
Why is fantasy in such rude health? It’s worth remembering humans have always been avid consumers of fantasy stories. Even if you haven’t studied the Classics, you’ll be familiar with the myths of ancient Greece and Rome and those stories and ideas are so ubiquitous they continue to appear in modern literature, TV programmes and the like. Examples such as Theseus and the Minotaur or the Labours of Hercules are so familiar we often don’t stop to question their obvious fantasy origins. There might be some historical truths mixed up in those myths but there’s no doubt the storyteller’s imagination has been given free rein in those tales.
Like the Greeks and the Romans, cultures throughout the world were founded on their myths, stories and legends, passed down through oral traditions. It was only much later that these tales were transcribed and turned into the written word. Fantasy and the imagination are intrinsically linked and this was where it all started, when humans first tried to make sense of their surroundings, their place in the world and began to understand who they were. Language grew out of an evolutionary advantage, which helped our ancestors to cooperate and deal with the complex problems of hunting and day to day survival. From that unique skill grew the stories told around flickering camp fires, used to ward off the evil spirits of the dark and, more importantly, establish and reinforce our ancestors’ culture.
So is fantasy for grown ups? It won’t come as any surprise if you’ve reached the end of this blog post to hear my answer is an emphatic yes. In actual fact it’s for anyone, young or old, who has an imagination. It’s for those of you who want to tap into something harking back to an older age of storytelling. And when you do that, you might just learn something new about yourself or those around you. It’s time to pick up a fantasy book.
