Sometimes I wonder...

[Mad Swede]

It's definitely the reviewer who hasn't read enough modern fantasy tales. Most of the popular fantasy novels published in the last decade feature only (or mostly) humans. I can't find too many traditionally published novels featuring elves. There are a few with dragons, mainly because they're more animal than actual characters.

Well, maybe. A lot of modern fantasy is in English and hasn't been translated into Swedish, so the reviewer may not have seen it. This country is sometimes a little more insular than you might think.

 

[Mad Swede]

I have chosen to explain the races. I dont feel it was wasted space, it kind of enhances the discover process the characters (and readers, I hope) experience. But, I can't say as that is the right way.

Just another comment on the above, if the reader who made the comment found it in you, that is not a bad thing. Does not hurt to be in a category of fantasy that does not have elves or dragons. Just speaks to a perception that many have that all fantasy is Tolkien clones. It would be easy to assume that, there are a lot of Tolkien clones.

No, I don't mind the comment, in fact it's quite flattering. But I do wonder about what it says about the genre and how it's perceived here in Sweden. I thought we'd come further, but maybe not.

 

[Finchbearer]

In terms of a potential Swedish taste for new fantasy that doesn’t have too many traditional tropes, perhaps it’s because Sweden is rooted in a lot of the mythology and folklore that gets used in classic fantasy.

 

[Jason]

I'm finding it tricky to pitch speculative fiction that is neither fantasy (elves and dragons) nor SF (spaceships and robots) though inspired by both. It's asking readers to step away from the familiar with no gauge of who is going to like it.

 

[Devor]

I'm finding it tricky to pitch speculative fiction that is neither fantasy (elves and dragons) nor SF (spaceships and robots) though inspired by both. It's asking readers to step away from the familiar with no gauge of who is going to like it.

What's it about?

 

[Jason]

What's it about?

It's an adventure with alternative Renaissance science - please see Portfolios for the prologue.

 

[Guy]

Seems a little like being tired of seeing horses in westerns, but whatever. Like Queshire said, everybody has their own tastes.

 

[Mad Swede]

Seems a little like being tired of seeing horses in westerns, but whatever. Like Queshire said, everybody has their own tastes.

Yes, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a critic to be a little more open minded.

 

[RagnartheBread]

...about the fantasy genre. I read a new review of one of my books today, and it opened with the words "This is a fantasy novel which is refreshingly free from the elves, dragons and other things which all too often populate fantasy worlds."

Hmm. Is it the reviewer who hasn't read enough fantasy stories, or are too many of the settings some of us create something of a cliché?

I think sadly that it's becoming a cliche .. I've not read any fantasy book that doesn't have elves or dragons mentioned..I have to wonder are writers scared to go into new territory? Perhaps a better question is how dose one write a fantasy novel without dragons or elves?

 

[Queshire]

I imagine much like how one would write a sci fi story only the aliens are other races in a ye olde setting.

That said, I prefer putting my own twist on classic fantasy races rather than coming up with new ones.

 

[pmmg]

I think sadly that it's becoming a cliche .. I've not read any fantasy book that doesn't have elves or dragons mentioned..I have to wonder are writers scared to go into new territory? Perhaps a better question is how dose one write a fantasy novel without dragons or elves?

I think this mis-identifying the cause and effect. Its not 'I love fantasy therefore Ill use it to explore something unseen', its more 'I love dragons and elves, and that's why I like fantasy'. No one is scared of new territory. They just write what they are interested in. Should not be a bother to anyone. If you are writing the more unfamiliar stuff, that just leaves you more room to separate from the crowd.

 

[ThinkerX]

I think sadly that it's becoming a cliche .. I've not read any fantasy book that doesn't have elves or dragons mentioned..I have to wonder are writers scared to go into new territory? Perhaps a better question is how dose one write a fantasy novel without dragons or elves?

I suggest you broaden your reading.

There are multiple major series out there that do not have either elves or dragons.

 

[Miles Lacey]

I think sadly that it's becoming a cliche .. I've not read any fantasy book that doesn't have elves or dragons mentioned..I have to wonder are writers scared to go into new territory? Perhaps a better question is how dose one write a fantasy novel without dragons or elves?

Weirdly enough, most of the fantasies that I read had no dragons, elves, faeries or other creatures often associated with high fantasy. Then again, most of the fantasies I read had female main characters and the fantasy stories they featured in were dieselpunk, steampunk, supernatural (vampires, werewolves etc) or myths from cultures where dragons, elves etc simply don't feature (e.g. Maori and other Pacific Island mythology).

If people use a very narrow definition of what constitutes fantasy they will find that fantasies are full of cliched creatures.

If I have any issues with dragons, elves, dwarves etc it's the clichéd roles they perform and the settings they're placed in. In my WIP dwarves mostly live at sea, elves are weird white people who can't handle the tropics, dragons live in the mountains and don't bother anyone except during their breeding season when they attack anything that gets too close to their breeding grounds or gets between themselves and their food, faeries live in abandoned buildings and survive by recycling and orc-like creatures work as bouncers, police officers and construction workers.

 

[skip.knox]

>I've not read any fantasy book that doesn't have elves or dragons mentioned.
I echo ThinkerX on this. Fantasy is an extremely broad genre and has thousands upon thousands of books for just about anything you'd care to name. Individual books as well as series.

In truth, "broaden your reading" is good advice to us all.

 

[Finchbearer]

The last ten books I’ve read (or thereabouts) haven’t had any classic fantasy tropes in and have still felt distinctly ‘fantasy’, and still contained all your fantasy ‘must haves’ including rich world building, lore, myth, beasts and magic.

 

[pmmg]

Incidentally, there are not Elves in my story, and while some have mentioned dragons in a mythical sense, none have appeared. I am not sure if I will have a dragon appearance or not, but I do like dragons....

I did add other races into my story, and I think if I had it to do all over again, I would have left them out. But they are in now. Maybe one day, Wizards of the Coast will rip them off and put them in a monster manual

 

[Prince of Spires]

I think sadly that it's becoming a cliche .. I've not read any fantasy book that doesn't have elves or dragons mentioned..I have to wonder are writers scared to go into new territory? Perhaps a better question is how dose one write a fantasy novel without dragons or elves?

I actually feel it's the other way around. None of the big fantasy novels released in the last decade or so have elves and / or dragons. Maybe with the exception of the Song of Ice and Fire novels (though the last one is from 2011), and even there the dragons only play a small role. But Brandon Sanderson, Scott Lynch, Abercrombie, Fonda Lee all don't have any of the traditional fantasy races in their novels. And the genre is getting broader each day, moving away from the traditional Medieval, Western setting.