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What do I dislike?
Naked women fantasy art.
What do I like?
It's as far from reality as you can get. And the good vs. evil is clear and plain.
Yes, I agree. That's one thing I don't like about the Lord of the Rings - there's a little bit of God, but not enough. In the fantasy that I'm working on, there is a God, and he is a more active in the world. Also, there is a savior and a need to be saved. So in a way, it's sort of a parallel universe.
I love fantasy more than science fiction.
I like the fact that it transports me to a different world, where I can meet cultures that are quite unique.
I like to escape into such worlds during reading.
Sadly, though, most fantasy portrays God in a not honorable light. Or they don't portray God at all. This is due to perhaps the fact that most writers of fantasy are not christians.
Or perhaps is is that most writers write at least in part to make a living.
See the earlier post where someone complained about LOTR not being Christian enough. Seems that poster wants a very heavy handed Christianity. And if Christianity gets heavy handed it almsot always results in a poor read, and one where doctrinal differences come out. The result is a work where the Christian aspects are a plus ONLY for a subset of Christians who fall in line exactly with the sect of the author.
I suppose so.
Still, I will think that if an author is a christian, his or her worldviews will influence his or her writings in some ways or another.
For instance, if the author is a staunch christian, there will be less vulgarities, incests, sex in his or her writings.
And he or she will be more likely to create a God in his or her story, and more likely to portray God in a positive light. This is due to the fact that he or she personally feel God's presence in his or her life.
Take C.S Lewis and Philip Pullman.
They are both writing children's stories. Yet one portrayed God in a positive light, while the other didn't.
I agree.
I take it you are fine with LOTR and can see that just as magic is built into the very earth of the story so is Tolkiens Catholic viewpoint. Problem is many who are loking for Christian themes see the magic and miss the Christian.
For me a good fantasy has to have a well fleshed out and elaborate world. Lotr would have been afwul if it was set in say utah. The bigger the world the better in my opinion. Some of my favorite books have worlds so big there are glossaries and maps included.
And I like might and magic. Not a real scifi fan. I really liked the rangers apprentice series and there's no magic. And the game of thrones series is great and the magic there is a bit understated. Its mostly about the political intrigue and backstabbing(sometimes literally!). And then there's wheel of time. Its magic system is unigue and original. And it plays a huge part in the story. Same with the abhorsen trilogy. The magic is unique, original and a big deal.
And as for what I don't like: I don't like it when authors give up. Case in point- the last eragon book. Paolini just gave up and upchucked an 800 page tragedy(not a shakespearian tragedy just a bad book). Plot points were dropped. Massive amounts of questions left unanswered and more raised. He tried to add a tragic element at the end and it failed utterly. If you are not shakespeare please don't try to be. His world got too big and got away from him so he just rushed to the end to get it over with. Finish what you start. While I'm not saying that you should pander to your readers you shouldn't completely ignore them either and make them universally hate your last book.
keith99 said:Bolding mine.
Some authors make the opposite mistake, trying to answer all the possible questions raised.
Since LOTR has been mentioned I'll use it. Tons of unanswered questions, at least a dozen on the origins of different races.
BUT those were not central to the story, they need not be answered. But if a question is raised center stage it usually needs to be addressed.
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