Elves and Dwarfs and Dragons, Oh My!
Imagine if like 90% of science fiction had Klingons and Romulans as races in it. That would be boring, right? That's how I feel whenever I try to get into a fantasy themed anything and it be all like "the ancient dragon is awakening, join this elf and dwarf on a quest to fight orcs". Why does everything have to copy Lord of the Rings?
I mean, I get it, fantasy has medieval stuff and magic as much as sci-fi has space ships and robots. But is it too much to ask that people exercise a little creativity when it comes to world building rather than just throw elves and dwarfs at us like it's mandatory?
I mean, I get it, fantasy has medieval stuff and magic as much as sci-fi has space ships and robots. But is it too much to ask that people exercise a little creativity when it comes to world building rather than just throw elves and dwarfs at us like it's mandatory?
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i get what you mean man , could be bacause not much people like to take risks , most of the books , movies , and games like to do the safest thing , every story is just heavily inspired in Norse Mythology , could be because LOTR its really famous and its purely based on Norse Mythology , so that could be the reason why most of the fantasy stories have elfs , dwrafs , goblins , dragons , trolls , etc
......I'm not writing a novel with dwarves and elves. Yep, nope...... 
Or with dragons........
Or with dragons........
Or I would not mind it if they use the elves from the German myths and not use Tolkien's elves.
That's why when I write, I try to put something different into the creatures and species that inhabit my world. Dragons, elves, dwarves, etc? Check. But I try and do something different with them at the same time. I have have some breeds of each that are what people expect, or close to it, but I'll also have some that aren't. Plus, I like to throw in some real world level stuff. Like... what happens if you set a full out psychological thriller in a full high fantasy setting?
urban fantasy is fine, but even it gets boring to me after a while if it's not well done. but take that urban fantasy stuff, and put it in a high fantasy world and see what happens. Character being chased by cops? Okay... why, how are they dressed, what technology and magic do they have at their disposal to catch the character, if any? How would photographs work in a high fantasy, magic filled world? What about long distance telecommunications? Different offices of the same company networking together... that sort of thing.
urban fantasy is fine, but even it gets boring to me after a while if it's not well done. but take that urban fantasy stuff, and put it in a high fantasy world and see what happens. Character being chased by cops? Okay... why, how are they dressed, what technology and magic do they have at their disposal to catch the character, if any? How would photographs work in a high fantasy, magic filled world? What about long distance telecommunications? Different offices of the same company networking together... that sort of thing.
I guess its bound to happen when the stories just about always have similar settings. If you don't put effort into the locations, you probably won't put effort into the species that live there. Anyway, does anyone else think that Vulcans are cool space elves? I thought they were space elves.
Definitely space elves.
I like dwarves and elves.
I prefer low fantasy anyhow [think Conan the barbarian] in that case you cannot hide behind magic or fantasy creatures...oh and Steel/technology works just as well as witchcraft, possibly more so because it's more common [in otherwords unless you are the most powerful wizard/witch/mage/ect magic will NOT save you from a seasoned warrior equipped with ordinary weapons...not at close range!] 
This came to me just now:
atop a mountain between two peaks, you and your militia of 100 men against a steadily approaching army of Berserkers. You have magic users at your disposal and 10 archers on the port side-----the army is equipped with runes that make them impervious to log range weapons, and there is danger of an avalanche killing both you and your aggressors
how are you going to get out of this one?
This came to me just now:
atop a mountain between two peaks, you and your militia of 100 men against a steadily approaching army of Berserkers. You have magic users at your disposal and 10 archers on the port side-----the army is equipped with runes that make them impervious to log range weapons, and there is danger of an avalanche killing both you and your aggressors
how are you going to get out of this one?
fire logs at them! "the army is equipped with runes that make them impervious to log ranged weapons"
XD ha...oops!
Lately, I've been growing increasingly fond of "low" fantasy if only because it greatly reduces the risk of Deus Ex Machina and "a wizard did it" plot holes.
Always better than convenient giant eagles flying in at just the right time, or having to destroy what is also conveeeniently the world's entire supply of personal time-traveling devices that were introduced in an earlier story, because you never, ever, EVER introduce time travel into a story unless time travel is the story, GOD, what was Rowling thinking?? ...okay, I either need to cut back on the coffee, or on the books...and neither is gonna happen, because I'm friggin' addicted to both. Literature is a hell of a drug.
Always better than convenient giant eagles flying in at just the right time, or having to destroy what is also conveeeniently the world's entire supply of personal time-traveling devices that were introduced in an earlier story, because you never, ever, EVER introduce time travel into a story unless time travel is the story, GOD, what was Rowling thinking?? ...okay, I either need to cut back on the coffee, or on the books...and neither is gonna happen, because I'm friggin' addicted to both. Literature is a hell of a drug.
Silly people and their silly trump cards
And coffee is too damn delicious to quit cold turkey
And coffee is too damn delicious to quit cold turkey
I kind of have to agree. I mean, I don't mind elves (I admit, I'm a bit bias there XD) but it is gettung a bit old.
I kind of have to thank worlds like Final Fantasy for changing it up a bit.
I kind of have to thank worlds like Final Fantasy for changing it up a bit.
You're equating the definition of "fantasy" to "middle-earth themed" and/or "medieval". Read the introduction at the back before you pick up a book. That's what they're there for. Also, try to stay away from mainstream books (or the "popular" shelf) for a while. Dragons and shit are the stuff in there right now because of the recent Hobbit craze and the ending of the Eragon series. Have you tried Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett? I also enjoyed the Demonata series (except for the ending, it could have been better).
You must not be very good at finding fantasy books, then.
Name of the Wind and the rest of the Kingslayer Trilogy (once the 3rd book is finished, that is).
There, I just made things a HELL of a lot easier for people who don't put enough effort into finding things that don't suckle on Tolkien's dried up man-teat (lovely mental image).
There, I just made things a HELL of a lot easier for people who don't put enough effort into finding things that don't suckle on Tolkien's dried up man-teat (lovely mental image).
Like legit, I can go to half a shelf of fantasy books in my library and judging by the back covers, pick out a good handful of non-Tolkienish books. Rinse and repeat for the rest of the section.
Don't see why he's complaining though. Tolkien is boss. If the book is boring, it's 'cause the writer sucks.
Oh eww. Thanks.
Don't see why he's complaining though. Tolkien is boss. If the book is boring, it's 'cause the writer sucks.
Oh eww. Thanks.
To be fair, there is a dragon in Name of the Wind.
You mean the big junkie lizard that was so hopped up on drugs that it had to be put down for reasons of "dangerously tripping balls"?
That was a draccus! Just a big tree-munching, narcotics-gulping cow-lizard. And dragons wish they could be as less cliche as it was. Best of all, it didn't have a goddamn button on its underbelly that read "Press Here For Deus Ex Machina" like that pussy smaug did.
That was a draccus! Just a big tree-munching, narcotics-gulping cow-lizard. And dragons wish they could be as less cliche as it was. Best of all, it didn't have a goddamn button on its underbelly that read "Press Here For Deus Ex Machina" like that pussy smaug did.
That was a draccus!
Ah, excuse me. Not a meaningless distinction at all.
(It was even an animal take on a dragon with a horde. Instead of gold, this one had it's field of fantasy-heroin trees.)
Ah, excuse me. Not a meaningless distinction at all.
(It was even an animal take on a dragon with a horde. Instead of gold, this one had it's field of fantasy-heroin trees.)does anyone get high in that book? *imagines elves and what have you getting high on the trees*
Yeah, one of the many stupidly written chicks who think he's the greatest thing in the world does. The one who is his Speshul Love Interest. Also, in the Cheap Appeal To Human Misery Heartstring-Pulling Tear-Jerker opening, he discusses how some homeless folks have drug problems in a kind of throw-away line.
It's... really not as good a book as a lot of people say, in my opinion. I did like the part with the strings breaking during his show. I can't decide what the worst part was, though. Hell, I'll go with his idiotic waiter-buddy's attempts at quips during those scenes from the slogging, smug breaks in the self-congratulatory narration. Y'know, the framework for the whole story. Hah.
I am the worst.
It's not bad, but if you go into it expecting to shit your pants over how awesome it is, you'll probably be disappointed. The first book wasn't a bad waste of an afternoon, though. If you're going to read junk food, you may as well read junk food that literally, for real, serious has a scene with a chick breathlessly and gratefully answering her door in a nightie.
It's... really not as good a book as a lot of people say, in my opinion. I did like the part with the strings breaking during his show. I can't decide what the worst part was, though. Hell, I'll go with his idiotic waiter-buddy's attempts at quips during those scenes from the slogging, smug breaks in the self-congratulatory narration. Y'know, the framework for the whole story. Hah.
I am the worst.
It's not bad, but if you go into it expecting to shit your pants over how awesome it is, you'll probably be disappointed. The first book wasn't a bad waste of an afternoon, though. If you're going to read junk food, you may as well read junk food that literally, for real, serious has a scene with a chick breathlessly and gratefully answering her door in a nightie.
Planescape: Torment. Problem solved forever.
Also, when you look into it, you'll find that lord of the rings was hardly "original". Hell, a good chunk of it is just stolen from Norse mythology and culture, right down to the "elvish" writing. You'd think a fucking linguistics professor would be a bit less "copy & paste".
Also, when you look into it, you'll find that lord of the rings was hardly "original". Hell, a good chunk of it is just stolen from Norse mythology and culture, right down to the "elvish" writing. You'd think a fucking linguistics professor would be a bit less "copy & paste".
because lord of the rings is awesome and set the definition also even lord of the rings is based off folk lore so you can have an elf and not have it be a lotr elf.