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Paul Twigg

Can some-one help me with fantasy races?

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Paul Twigg
, November 18th, 2010 at 11:45 AM (688 Views)
I must admit I do like the spot of fantasy reading as well as the wargaming fantasty 'stuff'. But one thing I do struggle with, when reading fantasy (don't ask me for specifics as I don't have any to give this is a general point) is that more or less the fantasy races are the same, e.g. Elves, Dwarfs, Ogres, Dragons,Humans, Wizards, Witches etc.

Now, a few questions :

1. where is the challenge in writing about these types, given that they seem to all have their set of characteristics (e.g. grumpy, greedy dwarfs)?

2.Or have I missed something important?

3.How far can a writer go in changing the established 'myths' about these types of races?

4. How does a writer make any of these races look new/origional if they have been done to death (so to speak?).

5. As and aside, why does fantasy normally include these types, why has no-one invented (or dared to invent) something other than a grumpy dwarf; for example with Sci-Fi you can invent aliens with 9 heads or something, but that does not seem to happen with fantasy writing. Why is this?

6.And also is there any good books about there which perhaps challenge whatever sterotypes one has of these fantasy races?

Just asking as I would like to brush up on one or two fantasy books.

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  1. expatrie's Avatar
    Good questions. I guess the races are ...static... if you would in "traditional fantasy" with Tolkien and so on as roots.

    Urban fantasy has made some distance from those standards, although I wouldn't say it is deliberate and won't identify specific books either (as I don't read many of them).

    As to how far you can stretch it? As far as your reader will let you. Farther if you're doing satire or parody. Not sure if Christopher Moore has done any fantasy books, but...

    I don't have good answers. Try posting your question in the fantasy forum rather than your blog and you might get more 'traffic.'

    --Brian.
  2. Gkarlives's Avatar
    My answer is that you may have allowed yourself to look at only these types of books. Fantasy is a much more diverse field then you know. Yes, there are a lot of tropes out there, including some very hammy Tolkien knock offs, but there are also some very amazing pieces of work out there. For a different take on the fairy world, try Tad William's "War of the Flowers". It may be slow at first, but it does pick up. Give the early Elric tales by Michael Moorcock a try. He is an elf, but he would not fit into Tolkien well. A good twist on the whole race situation would be the DeathGate Cycle by Weis and Hickman. The tropes are there, but the story grows far beyond their early bounds. Stephen Brust's Taltos series blend the tropes with the mafia. When you really want to break out, try Brandon Sanderson's Elantris novel or Mistborn trilogy.
  3. Paul Twigg's Avatar
    Thanks people for the feedback! Always appreciated.