Fantasy Fiction

So, I'm reading "The Last Kingdom" (the first in The Saxon Chronicles) by Bernard Cornwell. Not fantasy. More historical fiction. I loved The Winter King. (And all of his Arthur books) so I figured I would enjoy the Saxon series.
I also thought it would be good inspiration for writing some "realistic" fantasy (there's an oxymoron for you). It got me thinking about fantasy styles.
On the one hand, there is the Tolkien-esque style (exemplified by RA Salvatore). I guess this is "High Fantasy" or "Heroic Fantasy"? I'm not sure of the term, but if the good guy (like Drizzt) can annihilate 50-100 bad guys singlehandedly in combat, then you are in this camp.
Then there is the George RR Martin style or the Joe Abercrombie style where the action is more realistic, but it is fantasy because magic does rear its ugly head and do unspeakable things. Magic in this style is more frightening and rare. Magic in the heroic style is a common tool used by everyone.

Any preferences out there? I am guessing people fall firmly into one camp or the other though most fantasy readers probably dabble in both. I think I am firmly in the "realistic" camp though I do love most Warhammer Fiction and Gotrek definitely stretches the suspension of disbelief a bit.

I guess I love them both, but since George RR Martin and Joe Abercrombie top my list of favorite authors, then I guess I have to say "realistic" fantasy (the oxymoron) wins out for my vote.

Song of Fire and Ice

You've got to love George R.R. Martin. Anyone whose middle name sounds like a pirate laughing (arr, arr) should be a good writer. George is a great one.
I have always loved the Wild Cards series, but he only writes occasionally for it. He mainly edits and compiles the stories (and they rock).
I am reading (for the second time) "A Game of Thrones" from his "Fire and Ice" series and I am reminded just how darn good it is.
It's not just the writing, though his writing style really fits me, it is the storyline, characters everything.
He pulls off some of my favorite stuff.

1. No character feels safe so you are afraid that, at any moment, your favorite character might bite it
2. Magic is mysterious and scary, though it follows its own rules so I know the author understands how it works in his world
3. The good guys have attributes that are despicable and the bad guys are completey understandable so that they make great bad guys. I love it when the heroes are flawed and the bad guys have admirable qualities. Makes the characters seem so vivid.
4. It reminds me of Arthurian fiction the way it should be written.

So, I will be spending a good portion of my Sunday curled up with "Game of Thrones".

Ciao

Arthur War Lord

I am a bit of a King Arthur aficionado. My tastes seem to be for pretty classic...um...classics. I like King Arthur, Sherlock Holmes, Superman, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen - just to name a few.
Anyway, I ran across a book in a used book store (Pauper's Used Books in Clayton, NC) entitled "Arthur War Lord" by Dafydd Ab Hugh. Without even googling Dafydd Ab Hugh, I believe I have read a Star Trek novel by him but I can't swear to it so I couldn't say for certain how skilled he is as a writer (yet). The book though is a cross genre piece, which I enjoy. I enjoy crossing genres when it is done poorly (like Jason X) but I REALLY enjoy it when it is done well (Like the Valley of Gwangi). So, this book combines time travel and King Arthur in a way that is a bit more sci-fi than "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court".
For fans of time travel and/or King Arthur, it is probably worth a look.

Benefits of a vacation

Hey there,
I am on vacation this week. Of course, I will still be writing. That's the beauty of GGE. I love writing and creating sci-fi/fantasy stuff. I guess the term is quickly becoming "speculative fiction". Like Confuscious said, "Find a job you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life". Did Confuscious say that? Anyway...you get the point.
Even when you love what you do, vacations are important. Those of us who are creatives and those of us who love the worlds of speculative fiction have a benefit over everybody else. What's our benefit? It is not our resistance to scorn after being made fun of in High School. Our benefit is imagination. In the "real world" imagination can be kind of ground out of a person. In our daily grind, it can get squashed. Vacations can change all that.
I know when I have been off a few days, I get this profound feeling of remembering just who I am. It's worth taking a few days off for. Go somewhere with a salt breeze, boat drinks and no responsibility and see what happens. Make sure to take your notebook so you can record the magic!

Back from the break!!!

Didn't know I was going to take a break from blogging for a few days, but my vacation spot didn't have internet access so it made it a bit hard. Not a great excuse...I should have sought out a wi-fi spot and kept on rolling. I'll do better next time!

I did have a great meeting with Green of Green Gates and we did some company business and all that jazz, but THEN, we really got down to "bidness" and completed our outline for our current storyline. The working title is "Insurrection" and I am loving being involved with it. I can't wait to finish it. It has everything that GGE stands for: Action, sex, gritty settings, three-dimensional characters, dark magic, heroes and best of all Orcs like you've never seen Orcs before.

So that's what we are working on. Send us a summary of your project! We'll encourage one another!

Genre

The great thing about genre is it leads to some built-in expectations. For example, if you read a western, you expect a gunfight or two. If you read a horror novel you expect some chilling scenes and possibly some gore. In sci-fi you'll probably see some spaceships and some faster than light travel. Fantasy of course and you expect to see some sword and sorcery.
So, the great thing about picking a genre is you can fit right in. Louis Lamour, in many ways defines the western. Of course there are other giants in that genre (Zane Grey, et al). Stephen King is horror. R.A. Salvatore is fantasy. If you write like these people, then are you going to automatically succeed in the chosen genre? Maybe not. I would say probably not. The best thing in the world to do is to pick a genre and include all the formulaic pieces, but also to have something uniquely yours. What's a great example? JK Rowling. Clearly fantasy. Wizards, swords, trolls, dragons, wyverns all that jazz, but it is quite a bit different as well. And JK Rowling has birthed a whole new industry of young adult fiction.
So, find your genre...be an expert in it...and then put your uniqueness to work and watch what happens!

Why is Watchmen so important?

Why is Watchmen so important? There are storytellers just like me who long for just that sort of story. We are fanboys (and girls) who love Star Wars and comic books but who need a more updated fix. Something that speaks to us now the way these heroes spoke to us as kids. We are older now and understand adult issues and we want to see heroes that face the same issues we do, but manage to overcome them (or sometimes can't overcome them so we can see how they deal with them). It's a matter of taking our lives now and letting us see something heroic in them.
That's why Watchmen is so important. It is the sort of story an adult fan boy can really enjoy.
We need more of them and that's what GGE is all about. Of course, the beauty of the creative world is that there is no real competition if you have a great story! So let's all write something great! Then our niche becomes mainstream! Why not get started?

Later
JG