buyjupiter
Maester
I used to read a lot of high fantasy, but outgrew the limited characters I was finding in the subgenre.
I've read all of GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire, so other than his work (which I wouldn't really classify as "high" fantasy, but that's another debate entirely), is there anyone else out there writing really good characters?
What I mean by a good character is someone who has a motivation beyond "ooh look evil, I must fight it" or "oh dear, here's the good guy, bring out the sharks and laser beams". I'm looking for characters that have depth. Not the kind that feels like they've been transported from 1960s comic books, where the heroes are good looking and innately good and the villains are evil evilness that must be defeated.
As a side conversation, if the characters are less than wholly good or wholly evil, does that make it something other than epic fantasy? Or can you have the good v. evil struggle with gray characters and still have it feel epic?
Thanks in advance for any recommendations.
I've read all of GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire, so other than his work (which I wouldn't really classify as "high" fantasy, but that's another debate entirely), is there anyone else out there writing really good characters?
What I mean by a good character is someone who has a motivation beyond "ooh look evil, I must fight it" or "oh dear, here's the good guy, bring out the sharks and laser beams". I'm looking for characters that have depth. Not the kind that feels like they've been transported from 1960s comic books, where the heroes are good looking and innately good and the villains are evil evilness that must be defeated.
As a side conversation, if the characters are less than wholly good or wholly evil, does that make it something other than epic fantasy? Or can you have the good v. evil struggle with gray characters and still have it feel epic?
Thanks in advance for any recommendations.