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Why I Read Fantasy? or A Defense of Fantasy

It's always more scholarly when you have two titles for an article, although less so when you mention it. If you're looking for a discourse on why Fantasy and Science Fiction should be recognized as literary works, you may want to look elsewhere. Not only am I unqualified to address such an issue, but what I wish to discuss is much more personal.

I've grown up reading fantasy (which I will use interchangeably with science fiction) and what began as a form of escapism has more than developed into a love and appreciation for the genre. Picking up anything else has become a hassle most of the time with only the rare exception.

I love lists and I am probably only upstaged in that regard by Harry Markov, who has more than an obsession. :) In light of this, I will present why I love reading fantasy in list form:

1. Magic. I grew up wishing I could be a combination of Wolverine, Spider-man, and the Silver Surfer. I realize the last one kind of nullifies the rest, but I wanted it anyway. In Economics, we talk about magic being one of the reasons why people have developed technology - finding a quicker, easier way to get rid of our every-day tasks. In fantasy, I want more than this, I want to read about magic that dispatches the orcs, the goblins, and the pompous prick who gets his just deserts.

2. The characters. Fantasy characters come alive. They can be not only hilarious, but the toughest of the tough, the baddest of the bad, the...you get what I mean. They're not afraid to stand up for themselves, their family, or their friends. They represent the 12 year old in all of us who wants to conquer the world and who suffers from none of the anxieties and fears that many of us have come to know. They represent who we want to be in more ways than just a cool swordsman (or swordswoman).

Moreover, I love the character who just sucks it up, who never complains, who's worked hard to develop his or her talents and don't take nuthin' from no one. I honestly think this has added a lot to my personality because I actually try to be like these people - to work hard and become good at something, however mundane, is a real pleasure for me.

3. Imagination. What's the difference between an author writing fantasy or science fiction and an author writing mainstream fiction? Imagination. A fantasy author creates his or her own world or at least adapts to one not like our own while adhering to rules and history that make it just as real.

4. Travel. See new lands without the cost or the jet lag.

5. Simplicity. Stephen Deas, author of The Adamantine Palace, wrote an article about Fantasy asking "What is it good for?" (You can find it here) He explains that the reason we read fantasy is because it's simple. It may involve a complex world, but many times Fantasy lays it out plain, these are the good guys, these are the bad. In a complex world, sometimes we need something that is just simple.

Going a bit further, I enjoy fantasy because characters have the chance to make the big decisions; to be selfish or sacrifice for a cause. Many times this enters a grey area. Do the ends justify the means? What's more important loyalty and courage or beating out all other opponents?

I haven't been given too many chances to make such monumental decisions, but on a day to day basis, I make decisions that show my character. Reading fantasy helps me to envision who I want to be.

6. Hope. As we discover time and time again, the scullery boy or girl can become king or queen or the most powerful Wizard-King-DragonSlayer-MonsterTamer (went overboard again, sorry). What could we achieve if we just took a risk, started an adventure?

I'm sure I could keep going since it happens to be a favorite subject of mine. :) R. Scott Bakker provides some more enlightened and interesting commentary on this subject at sffworld.com called "Why Fantasy and Why Now?" I recommend checking it out.

What keeps you reading Fantasy and Science Fiction?

Review: The Summoner, by Gail Z. Martin

The Summoner (2007), by Gail Z. Martin is a standard tale of a young prince on a quest to reclaim his kingdom, stolen from his murdered father by his sadistic older half brother. No big twists or surprises and a minimalist magic system make The Summoner, Martin's fantasy debut, bland fare for the seasoned fantasy reader, but a possible good start for those just getting their feet wet in the genre.

I am a poor hand at recaps (such boring work), so the dust jacket will have to do:

The comfortable world of Martris Drayke, second son of King Bricen of Margolan, is shattered when his older half-brother, Jared, and Jared's dark mage, Foor Arontala, kill the king and seize the throne. Tris is the only surviving member of the royal family aside from Jared the traitor. Tris flees with three friends: Soterius, captain of the guard; Carroway, the court's master bard; and Harrtuck, a member of the royal guard. Tris harbors a deep secret. In a land where spirits walk openly and influence the affairs of the living, he suspects he may be the mage heir to the power of his grandmother, Bava Kava, once the greatest sorceress of her age. Such magic would make Tris a Summoner, the rarest of magic gifts, capable of arbitrating between the living and the dead.

Now that the basics are out of the way, it is time to delve into the deeper mysteries and literary worth of The Summoner, or lack thereof. The novel, for all intents and purposes, opens with the aborted rape of a hapless serving girl by Jared, a.k.a. the evil half-brother. Cliche? Slightly, but the scene sets the tone for the rest of the night, which incidentally is a fantasy retake on Halloween, where the dead get to party with the living. Good times, laugher, and drink ensue with the heavily foreshadowed murder of the royal family, minus of course our fortunate protagonist and his companions.

One daring escape later, the would be adventurers find themselves on the road to restoring Tris to the throne. I'm glossing over the minutia, obviously, but it all seems so remarkably unremarkable. Slavers and daring escapes follow, with Tris steadily but surely remembering the magical teachings of his grand mother. As the title of the novel suggests, Tris is a Summoner. He is capable of seeing and talking to the dead and doing nifty things with his own spirit to ward and help heal others. Generally, the magic system is vague and somewhat incoherent. The seasoned fantasy reader will scoff at the number of times Tris uses "every shred" of power available to him, or some variation thereof - so much so that his ability seems to have an on / off switch with nothing in between.

Stumbling blocks out of the way, The Summoner is a simple and straightforward tale that fulfills the requirements of generic adventure fantasy. It has royal heroes and villains, an ex-soldier turned sell-sword pushed towards redemption, and a court bard handy with daggers (*cough*, Wheel of Time anyone?). A healthy heaping of romance later, The Summoner seems to me to be targeted at a younger audience easily satisfied with the consumption of fantasy cliches and sadly ignorant of the rich potential of the genre.

I readily admit that Martin's writing and plot is solid and consistent. My only complaint is that the prose lacked the descriptive richness or je ne sais quoi necessary to plunge readers into the story - D&D with a poor dungeon master if you will. Not that I ever played, but it seems an apt analogy. What shocks me most is that the depth of knowledge and passion Gail Z. Martin shows during interviews seems absent in the novel. The Summoner is without a doubt an entertaining tale, but by no means a gripping one; it falls just short of being really good and contends itself with passable. So, to sum things up, not bad but also not the best.

If you like your reading like your water (some people agree, kinda), the story started in The Summoner [US] [UK], Book One of Chronicles of the Necromancer, continues in The Blood King [US][UK], which I will not be reading. Nuf said.

Winners: Drood, by Dan Simmons

Two notable pieces of Snark this week for which I will award two bonus entries each. Yetikeeper dropped this gem:

I would love to give you a snarky comment but I believe your understanding of the Irish language is worse than mine.

The other piece of colorful prose came from Jer White:

Snarky comments... why don't you just ask a normal question I can google?

Snark fail of the week, which was just plain mean, goes to Joe Scanlon. You just lost the right to enter the next two giveaways...

Dan Simmons went to my undergrad, other than that, he pretty much has nothing going for him.

Slowly but surely, you guys are refining your snark - I am so proud!

Last but not least, the grand winner of the Drood giveaway is none other than Dan Simmons, who entered the contest! Ok, ok, that wasn't very convincing. Congratulations to Maarten Bouwman, who lives all the way over in Italy. I think I might just deliver the book personally...

Check out The Left Hand of God giveaway, and good luck!