You can forgive a fantasy novel anything as long as it succeeds with...

3 Comments

  • Nick - 16 years ago

    Chaz, that is indeed odd! I can assure you that the poll is not rigged!

  • Chaz - 16 years ago

    This poll is rigged. I voted for style, and "Style" still comes up with no votes. Fixed! Boo!

  • Nick - 16 years ago

    Forgive my crude maths, but so far approximately 70% go for character over everything else as a consideration in a fantasy novel, with World Building polling just under a third of the votes so far. It just goes to show that no matter how fantastical and 'other' the fantasy milieu, we need character to identify with first and foremost and truly put us 'there'. Reading Gemmell's stand alone Dark Moon recently, when all else might fade, the character of Karis will remain with me.

    And when one thinks of The Lord of the Rings one criticism often cited is simplistic characterisation (refutable on so many levels). And yet, the characters of Gandalf and Aragorn and Frodo to name but three have loomed large, even before the film versions. Tolkien may have to an extent created archetypes but they are so quintessentially spot on (the man was a world expert on mythical archetypes, let us not forget) that they are unforgettable. By his deeds shall ye know him...! Or some such. We remember them by their deeds and it tells us a lot about them as characters and with time and memory they grown in stature within *my* imagination. It's something to think about as a writer!

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