# I want to see more...



## Butterfly (Aug 13, 2012)

There's got to be something we would all like to see more use of in fantasy literature.

Me? I want to see more Firemares!

Krull - Ride Of The Firemares - YouTube

What about you?


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## danr62 (Aug 13, 2012)

Dude, I think your horse is on fire...


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## Penpilot (Aug 13, 2012)

Hey that was Liam Neeson in that clip. Ahhh..... eighty's cheese fantasy, why do I love thee so. Is it the music? Is it the 'special' effects? Maybe it's all of the above.

As for the initial question, I'd like to see the light and innocent fun make it's way back around. I love the dark. I'm all about the dark, but something light, kind of like those eighty's cheesy movies, I'd like to see more of that. Maybe I just reading the wrong stuff.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 13, 2012)

What actually strikes me the most about that clip isn't the cheesy effects, it's how incredibly _long_ it is. Minutes and minutes of dudes... riding... horses...


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## Jabrosky (Aug 13, 2012)

Sexy African warriors chicks and dinosaurs. Preferably in the same story.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 13, 2012)

Jabrosky, have you seen this collection called "Sword and Soul?"  It's like sword and sorcery but usually based in African types of settings.  It may be worth a look.  Amazon.com: Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology (9780980084283): Milton J. Davis, Charles R. Saunders: Books  Charles Saunders seems to write in this vein.

As far as what I'd like to see more of:

1.  More epic fantasy that doesn't follow the same stylistic choices (Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen is a good example)

2.  More darkly comic fantasy (which is what I hope to write)

3.  More sword and sorcery

4.  More China Mieville "genre-busting" style writing

5.  Unique monsters that actually scare me


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## Jabrosky (Aug 14, 2012)

Phil the Drill said:


> Jabrosky, have you seen this collection called "Sword and Soul?"  It's like sword and sorcery but usually based in African types of settings.  It may be worth a look.  Amazon.com: Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology (9780980084283): Milton J. Davis, Charles R. Saunders: Books  Charles Saunders seems to write in this vein.


As a matter of fact, I have five of Saunders' novels (_Dossouye _and the _Imaro _series). They are among my favorites!


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 14, 2012)

Bodice-ripping Elvish erotica?


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## shangrila (Aug 14, 2012)

Steampunk. Lots and lots of Steampunk.


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## robertbevan (Aug 14, 2012)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> Bodice-ripping Elvish erotica?



oooohh... i like the sound of that.


as for me, i'll take this as an invitation to repeat myself again.

i want to see more and more varied comic fantasy. no puns. no anachronisms. just straight up laugh out loud comedy in a fantasy setting.


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## Lorna (Aug 14, 2012)

Awesome mythic heroes / heroines with world changing powers

Dark Ladies

Mind boggling magic


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## Kit (Aug 15, 2012)

Hippocampi. Hippocampi are just way too cool to not put into my story.

If you have to Google "hippocampi", that's a shame and that's why we need more of them.


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 15, 2012)

Fewer larger than life heroes and more regular folks stepping up to do their part to change their world for the better.


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## Jabrosky (Aug 15, 2012)

TWErvin2 said:


> Fewer larger than life heroes and more regular folks stepping up to do their part to change their world for the better.


I would welcome such characters too, being a "regular guy" who would like to change the world for the better, but the issue is that such people don't exercise a lot of power individually, especially in the hierarchical societies most fantasy settings are based on. They _might _wield a lot of power if united into large groups, but most stories focus on a small number of protagonists rather than whole mass movements.

The kind of story that would probably resonate with me the most would have regular individuals working their way up into becoming larger-than-life heroes. The most satisfying heroes, but possibly also the hardest to write, are the ones who _earn_ their greatness.


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## CupofJoe (Aug 15, 2012)

Kit said:


> Hippocampi. Hippocampi are just way too cool to not put into my story.
> 
> If you have to Google "hippocampi", that's a shame and that's why we need more of them.



Squishy brains!?!?! Icky...


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## CupofJoe (Aug 15, 2012)

I like the idea of seeing a story from people that aren't the movers and shakers but the bag carriers...
Gandalf is great but he has to keep disappearing [or at least being elsewhere] for either the Hobbit or LOTR to really get going.


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## Mizily (Aug 20, 2012)

More steampunk, more original magic systems, IMO  And I'm not a guy, but bromance is good whenever the author can get it in.


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## Anders Ã„mting (Aug 20, 2012)

Peter Pan-style unaided flight as a general skill.

Because riding is for squares.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Aug 20, 2012)

Sentient plants.


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## Kit (Aug 20, 2012)

Feed me, Seymour!!!!!!


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## Varamyrr (Aug 21, 2012)

I'd like to see more 'mortal' heroes who die a horrible death and bad guys that aren't that bad, once you get to know them.


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## Butterfly (Sep 18, 2012)

Some great things coming to the fore. 

Keep them coming!!! 

Any more, any more?


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## SeverinR (Sep 18, 2012)

Butterfly said:


> There's got to be something we would all like to see more use of in fantasy literature.
> 
> Me? I want to see more Firemares!
> 
> ...



What about Firestallions? And mating season would have to be in the rainy season or it would destroy their home.

From a reality point of view, having a horse with flaming hooves would be very limiting, if they didn't stay on the maintained road, a very large brush fire would erupt.


Alright from watching cheesy Fantasy movies on tv. How about:
I'd like to see more MC's not doing something just because its in the script.

Pegasis and Chimera- The man knocks the Chimera down(long enough to grab the girl and fly away) The girl knocks the villian down long enough to be pulled onto the pegasus and fly away without being attacked.  When you have the advantage you don't suddenly retreat. I could see the evil beast not being able to be killed by normal weapons, but the villian was human, and would have taken one hit to kill. But they fly away leaving both to regroup.

Even better, I would like to see more good fantasy writing used to make movies.


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## Shockley (Sep 19, 2012)

Kit said:


> Hippocampi. Hippocampi are just way too cool to not put into my story.
> 
> If you have to Google "hippocampi", that's a shame and that's why we need more of them.



 You are well on the right track.

 I'm going to second this as what we need more of.


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## Legal Rose (Sep 20, 2012)

I was playing the first Risen game a little bit ago, and thinking that I'd like to see more tropical fantasy.  Everything's always so bleak and grey, it'd be nice to liven things up a little.


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## ncpendergast (Sep 20, 2012)

Phil the Drill said:


> 4.  More China Mieville "genre-busting" style writing
> 
> 5.  Unique monsters that actually scare me



Absolutely! China MiÃ©ville is awesome, as is Jeff VanderMeer. And yes, scary monsters. We definitely need those.

Also, orcs.


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## Mindfire (Sep 20, 2012)

ncpendergast said:


> Absolutely! China MiÃ©ville is awesome, as is Jeff VanderMeer. And yes, scary monsters. We definitely need those.
> 
> Also, orcs.



Who is this China person I keep hearing about? All I really know about him is that he exists and he hates Tolkien.


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## JCFarnham (Sep 20, 2012)

Read his writing and see. I started with _Perdido_ _Street Station_. I can't recommend him enough. It's the same for others I see haha.


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## shangrila (Sep 20, 2012)

Yeah, I second Mieville. He really needs to be read.


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## Akahige (Sep 20, 2012)

I'd like to see more low fantasy.  I'm not actually sure if that's what it'd be called, but something where there exists a created world with unique cultures, but less emphasis on magic and such.


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## SeverinR (Sep 21, 2012)

Legal Rose said:


> I was playing the first Risen game a little bit ago, and thinking that I'd like to see more tropical fantasy.  Everything's always so bleak and grey, it'd be nice to liven things up a little.



Thinking of it, only pirate movies deal with the tropics, can't think of one fantasy that is set in tropics.  Either European weather or Oriental weather not commonly tropical Oriental locations either.

Of course, in our world wasn't all the tropics areas more primative, until colonized by Europeans? So they went from tribal to medievil(or more modern) at warp speed? Would be a very nice area to colonize for fantasy. Also use island magic rather then traditional european magic.
"Grass skirts and Breast plates."
examples:

Hawaii, central america, Central american islands, Australia, are areas I am thinking of, all of which were primitive prior to a European infestation.


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## sugarpixie (Sep 21, 2012)

more epics or series based...i like the stories long...


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## Mindfire (Sep 21, 2012)

SeverinR said:


> Thinking of it, only pirate movies deal with the tropics, can't think of one fantasy that is set in tropics.  Either European weather or Oriental weather not commonly tropical Oriental locations either.
> 
> Of course, in our world wasn't all the tropics areas more primative, until colonized by Europeans? So they went from tribal to medievil(or more modern) at warp speed? Would be a very nice area to colonize for fantasy. Also use island magic rather then traditional european magic.
> "Grass skirts and Breast plates."
> ...



Only someone with a Eurocentric bias would call tropical cultures "primitive." There were already powerful empires and complex cultures in the Americas and Africa before Europeans ever set foot on that soil, bringing with them their colonialism and diseases. 

That's something else we need more of in fantasy. Smug colonialist villains who look down their nose at "primitive" cultures. Bonus points for being white and/or elves. Double bonus points for being a British analogue.


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## Jabrosky (Sep 21, 2012)

In my WIP _A New Home_, there is one white culture and one black culture, but while both look "primitive" by modern standards, the black culture has a larger population, a more agricultural economy, and more "advanced" architecture (especially walls) than the white culture. Hey, why can't the white people be the "primitive barbarians" for once?


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## Legal Rose (Sep 21, 2012)

SeverinR said:


> Thinking of it, only pirate movies deal with the tropics, can't think of one fantasy that is set in tropics.



Yeah, I agree.  The setting I'm trying to set up in this thread will probably end up being on the Caribbean.  Specifically the French colony of Saint-Domingue (modern day Haiti).  My thought was that the type of society I was imagining would end up with a tiny group of elite nobles controlling a massive population of peasants / slaves.  And what drew me to the colonial Caribbean setting was that the slaves in that colony literally outnumbered the free people over 100 to 1, and there was just horrific brutality on such a level that the death rate among slaves actually outnumbered the birth rate.  So hopefully it'll be interesting.



Mindfire said:


> Only someone with a Eurocentric bias would call tropical cultures "primitive." There were already powerful empires and complex cultures in the Americas and Africa before Europeans ever set foot on that soil, bringing with them their colonialism and diseases.



Yeah, in cases like this it's tough to use terminology that isn't loaded with some sort of offensive meaning.  I guess you could say 'pre-industrial', but that's not quite specific enough.  Primitive might be offensive, but most people can instantly imagine what it means - a society with stone-age technology, no writing system, few domesticated animals, a hunter-gatherer or limited agrarian society.  Obviously that description wouldn't make sense for multiple pre-Columbian societies, but for many other places mentioned previously it would.  So long story short, I know it's offensive to some people, but until a better term comes along I think it has it's uses.


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## SeverinR (Sep 24, 2012)

Mindfire said:


> Only someone with a Eurocentric bias would call tropical cultures "primitive." There were already powerful empires and complex cultures in the Americas and Africa before Europeans ever set foot on that soil, bringing with them their colonialism and diseases.
> 
> That's something else we need more of in fantasy. Smug colonialist villains who look down their nose at "primitive" cultures. Bonus points for being white and/or elves. Double bonus points for being a British analogue.



Interesting, will start a tropics question(Don't want to derail this thread.)


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