WHY I LOVE FANTASY
For as long as I can remember, my favourite genre has been fantasy. From the Enid Blyton books I read when I was very little, that filled my head with thoughts of elves, fairies and sprites; to the Chronicles of Narnia and books written by J.K. Rowling, R.A. Salvatore and George R.R. Martin, I have been obsessed with works of fantasy for most of my life. I would like to put into words a few reasons why I do.
Firstly, I think the sense of a huge scale and wonder that these authors put into their stories and the worlds of their characters is a big reason why they have captured the minds of several generations of readers. From the sprawling and exciting halls of Hogwarts to the grim and foreboding mountains of Mordor; great fantasy authors have the ability to put you right into the story. Your imagination cannot help but picture how cool it would be to soar over the Beor Mountains on the back of your dragon or how cold and beautiful the caverns of Menzoberranzan would look.
There is also a rich tapestry of characters across the numerous subgenres and series of fantasy books. The good old “Chosen One” trope has slapped from Aragorn and our favourite lightning-scarred boy, to this day. However, if such simple “good vs evil” conflicts are not your cup of tea and you prefer more complex and nuanced protagonists, there is definitely something for you. A lot of somethings, in fact.
George R.R. Martin delights in and is supremely talented at crafting characters who have conflicting motivations, who may do despicable things but that we readers cannot help but empathize with, and even root for. Characters that feel human, who aren’t perfect but completely fallible. A personal favourite of mine is the character progression of Artemis Entreri in the Legend of Drizzt series. He is introduced to us as a classic evil villain; a cold, remorseless and efficient assassin. A mirror opposite to the hero Drizzt Do’Urden.
However, as the books go on, we learn that he has been forced to create that persona and cultivate a rigid mask of brutal efficiency to protect himself from the trauma he suffered as a child and to survive in a world that only values his skills as a killer. The Sellswords trilogy places him as a central character and protagonist in the story, and thus we can learn more about him and understand his character.
Magic. Ah…yes, magic. It is the central point around which the plot, worldbuilding and even the characters of fantasy stories are built on. The wonder and fun of magic is what attracts even he youngest of readers to this genre, keeps them hooked, and makes these books timeless. I am certain that there are many like me who have said the spells of Harry Potter out loud and secretly hoped something would happen.
There are different magic systems that can be discovered in the several fantasy series out there. It is incredible that after so many years, new authors are able to build on the foundations of older books and create distinct forms of magic and its use. This is done in a way that keeps the stories fresh and influences the action in intriguing ways. After all, after plot and character are stripped away, it’s the fight scenes we come for.
So there it is, for the first time, I have decided to try and express exactly why fantasy will always be at the top of my genre list. I know some people reading this do not rate these books at all or just cannot find them interesting. Hopefully a few of you would want to give one a try after this. If you catch me with a novel though, there’s a good chance it will have a sword, on the cover or in the title.
