11-15-2007, 12:18 PM
Perhaps this doesn't belong here, but being as it's a discussion about books... what truly draws you in to read a story?
It's been a while since I've read a thing. Back in middleschool I read through some random books that honestly didn't stick with me, though I will say the the Heir to the Empire saga by Timothy Zahn was entertaining for what it was.
So here I am now, flipping through what lies on the shelves in Borders or Barnes and Noble, and silently wishing I could toss it all into a fire.
I believe fantasy is dead. Same formulaic plots, same trite drama and interactions. It cannot continue with this Lord of the Rings emulation, and even then after reading through Tolkien's masterpiece I found that trilogy to be superfluous for my tastes, though I won't argue it is a classic in the portrayal of a persistent and well developed world. One thing that bothers me, is how much these plots drag out. Ten books? Really, can you even remember what happened in the beginning by the time it reaches the climax? I never knew it was possible to say nothing with 800 pages.
Science Fiction, at least, is a realm which still has some spark of creativity left within it. Most importantly? No sodding elves. Instead of relying on archetypes of Elves and Orcs or whatever, you can just completely pull something out of your ass and use unique alien species as a vehicle for some kind of satire. Even then, I find humanity to be quite capable of representing itself without having to rely on these character-masks...
Maybe you can tell me something that might be worth reading.
It's been a while since I've read a thing. Back in middleschool I read through some random books that honestly didn't stick with me, though I will say the the Heir to the Empire saga by Timothy Zahn was entertaining for what it was.
So here I am now, flipping through what lies on the shelves in Borders or Barnes and Noble, and silently wishing I could toss it all into a fire.
I believe fantasy is dead. Same formulaic plots, same trite drama and interactions. It cannot continue with this Lord of the Rings emulation, and even then after reading through Tolkien's masterpiece I found that trilogy to be superfluous for my tastes, though I won't argue it is a classic in the portrayal of a persistent and well developed world. One thing that bothers me, is how much these plots drag out. Ten books? Really, can you even remember what happened in the beginning by the time it reaches the climax? I never knew it was possible to say nothing with 800 pages.
Science Fiction, at least, is a realm which still has some spark of creativity left within it. Most importantly? No sodding elves. Instead of relying on archetypes of Elves and Orcs or whatever, you can just completely pull something out of your ass and use unique alien species as a vehicle for some kind of satire. Even then, I find humanity to be quite capable of representing itself without having to rely on these character-masks...
Maybe you can tell me something that might be worth reading.