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Modern Fantasy

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I have tried to read the first Mistborn. I can't seem to get into it for some reason, and have ended up with numerous starts and stops.
 
I think the genre is very well established - especially in film and TV. Movies like Highlander...just about anything involving time travel...and god-knows-how-many shows about sexy young vampires and their ilk.

I've always written such books and had one published earlier this year. I call it speculative fiction but it could just as easily be called urban fantasy. The thing is, the more fantastical elements are never explained, they just happen. They might be magic or they might be unfathomable technology or unusual natural phenomena. It doesn't matter. The reader still gets to kinda understand how they work and how they can be manipulated...and what it ultimately means if they are manipulated.
 

shangrila

Inkling
Once he's done with everything else he's set out to do ;)
No kidding. He's got, what, nine more books in the Stormlight Archive left to go? Along with the Wheel of Time and I think something else that he plans to release every other year (with SA in between).

He's not human. Or he's planning on a few years of pewter dragging.
 

JCFarnham

Auror
No kidding. He's got, what, nine more books in the Stormlight Archive left to go? Along with the Wheel of Time and I think something else that he plans to release every other year (with SA in between).

He's not human. Or he's planning on a few years of pewter dragging.

Such is the curse of the epic fantasy writer.
 

Saigonnus

Auror
I think part of it is escapism. People are drawn to epic fantasy because its not like the real world, so making it exactly like the real world is somewhat defeating the point. Even in books where the fantastical and mundane coexist, there is usually some kind of barrier between them, whether it be physical distance, secrecy, or simply tradition. It allows you to include modern elements while keeping the sense of escapism, of "coming out" of the mundane world. Whenever fantasy and mundanity directly clash its seen as a negative thing, e.g., an (alien) invasion, a tear in reality, etc.

Why should they be kept segregated like that? I would think if it was done right, a "modern" fantasy could work all the races together so they at least they coexist in the same place without much static between them (beyond the small percentage of the population that would inherently be racist). I could see a city where you walk down any street and see dwarven craftsmen selling their wares from a storefront which is next to an elvish tailor who makes fine clothing for the halfling family that enters her store. Across the street is an Orcish painter working on a mural with a goblin, half-elf and a human for assistants as far above them kobold workers scurry over the scaffolding of a building under construction.

You wouldn't even necessarily have to incorporate many of the things we take for granted in a "modern" world; electricity and internal combustion could be unnecessary given that magic or even other "mundane" methods used properly could accomplish the same jobs or perhaps life is different enough that the idea of "cars" is pointless. Perhaps they breed giant lizards for a mount or giant birds (rocs) capable of carrying the whole family to visit grandma in the hills. Maybe they have doorways they step through to go from one part of the city to another with ease instead of mass transit. Perhaps for long distance travel they use underground trolleys that are powered by levitation magic and propelled using air magic forced though vents... the list goes on. I would think if the writer were creative enough that you could still have the modern "feel" to the story without having to sacrifice the "escapism".
 

Mindfire

Istar
Why should they be kept segregated like that? I would think if it was done right, a "modern" fantasy could work all the races together so they at least they coexist in the same place without much static between them (beyond the small percentage of the population that would inherently be racist). I could see a city where you walk down any street and see dwarven craftsmen selling their wares from a storefront which is next to an elvish tailor who makes fine clothing for the halfling family that enters her store. Across the street is an Orcish painter working on a mural with a goblin, half-elf and a human for assistants as far above them kobold workers scurry over the scaffolding of a building under construction.

You wouldn't even necessarily have to incorporate many of the things we take for granted in a "modern" world; electricity and internal combustion could be unnecessary given that magic or even other "mundane" methods used properly could accomplish the same jobs or perhaps life is different enough that the idea of "cars" is pointless. Perhaps they breed giant lizards for a mount or giant birds (rocs) capable of carrying the whole family to visit grandma in the hills. Maybe they have doorways they step through to go from one part of the city to another with ease instead of mass transit. Perhaps for long distance travel they use underground trolleys that are powered by levitation magic and propelled using air magic forced though vents... the list goes on. I would think if the writer were creative enough that you could still have the modern "feel" to the story without having to sacrifice the "escapism".

I never said it was impossible, only that it would be going against the grain.
 

Jabrosky

Banned
Never mind modern fantasy, how about fantasy that diverges from the standard medieval setting in the opposite direction? In other words, how about pre-medieval, or even prehistoric, fantasy? I'm thinking primitive tribal settings with shamans and warriors dressed in animal skins. In fact that's the type of fantasy I am writing right now.
 
Everyone always reads the magical ancient stories reminiscent of a medeival style. But what about a more modern fairy tale? Why can't the high school girl go out and find the magic orb of doom and save the world?

Honestly, unless I'm writing urban fantasy set on Earth, I like to go a step beyond that and avoid emulating any specific historical eras at all.
 
I think the attraction of modern fantasy (for want of a better word) is that we're looking for something closer to our every day experience so that the fantasy seems more real. I've always wanted to read a fantasy/sci-fi book that felt real/required less suspension of disbelief and that's exactly what I tried to achieve with my book THEM. Some fairly bizarre things happen in the story but it gets there only gradually - starting very much in the black and white here and now and slowly the atmosphere changes.
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
As I (have probably) mentioned I've written a few short stories in the genre modern/contemporary fantasy setting. While they are set in a different world they might just as well have been set in an alternate version of Earth. I won't post them here as they're a bit too long to fit in a post and they're not recent enough that I want to post them in the showcase thread but I'll give some examples.

1. Yalinea is an elf and a tree-shaper. She's working as designer/gardener and has been hired by a young and wealthy human couple to make sure their garden is as pretty as those of their neighbours. While working on the trees her escort receives a phone call and has to leave. When he does not return Yalinea is forced to stay the night at her client's place and take a morning train back to her own part of town; it's not safe for elves to walk alone in the city.

2. Neta is a human and a shaman. She works for the local police and one morning she gets a feeling that something's wrong with the Innastarn - the spirit of the city. By riding around town on her bike to observe new-stands and commuters she's able to better divine the nature of the brewing troubles. She also has time to stop at a cafe to have a quiche and a latte.

I'm trying to mix mundane everyday things with standard fantasy elements to see where that gets me; elves with cell-phones, a shaman on a bike, paladins as action heroes and werewolves as bodyguards or prize-fighters (etc etc etc).
Does it work? I don't really know, but I do enjoy it. In a way the main purpose of the stories is to figure out the setting rather than telling a story - though I do try to make the stories interesting. I guess a reasonably accurate genre description would be "speculative contemporary fantasy".

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A fair number of authors writing modern fantasy has been mentioned and while they obviously do exist I still feel that the genre is far less explored than more traditional versions of fantasy.
 
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