There are some critics who claim that fantasy literature is in some way a soft option; that in choosing to write in a more fantastical world, telling emotional character truths can take second place to worldbuilding. This post is my attempt to debunk that myth. There have been several scenes in fantasy literature which had me bawling like a baby. These aren’t necessarily death scenes, but simply beautiful writing illustrating the deep impact the situation has had on the character. Olver’s story in A Memory of Light, the last book of the Wheel of Time. This particular section was just so powerfully emotive. For those of you unfamiliar, Olver is a young orphan – around eight years old – in the Wheel of Time universe who was adopted by Mat Cauthon and his warband. Being brought up in a war camp, he exhibits a lot of his “uncle”’s enthusiasm for battle and the band has a hard time keeping him away from battle. In the particular scene that had me sobbing, Olver has become separated from his friends and is being attacked by bestial Trollocs as he desperately tried to hide. All of his bravado is stripped away and you…
During my reading for the recent BookTubeAThon in which I compared classic works of literature with more modern novels, I realised fairly early on that there is usually a very good reason why “classics” continue to be read year after year and why they have stood the test of time. It seems to me that what they have in common is a combination of exploration of universal themes, interesting characters, entry into a fantastical new world, understanding of the human condition and/or a witty and engaging writing style. 1984 explores the theme of government control, and Big Brother is a pretty dominant “character” in the book. Pride & Prejudice has Jane Austen’s wonderfully witty narrative combined with the eternal quest for true love. Naturally it made me wonder which of today’s novels will become tomorrow’s classics. Looking at Amazon’s 100 top selling books, there are several I see there that I don’t believe we will still be reading in years to come. I’m sorry E.L. James and Dan Brown, but I really doubt people will even remember Fifty Shades of Grey or Inferno in fifty years’ time. I simply don’t think they combine enough of the criteria to last. So…