BOOM!
Compared to the amount of high fantasy I read, it's probably unexpected that some of my favourite books are high fantasy. Graceling, Poison Study, Finnikin of the Rock, Shadow and Bone all come to mind. I love shows like Game of Thrones too. At its very best, fantasy is all engrossing. 
It's a completely imaginative new world with a different set of rules from that of our own. Fantasy is thrilling. There are so many enormous battles and prophecies. There is this undeniable feeling of fate. There is action, and magic, and overall, the story telling in fantasy is epic and phenomenal.There are no fantasies I like.
When fantasy clicks, it's storytelling and heroics and politics merged into this beautiful, epic read. It's not a book I like but a book that instantly becomes part of my favourites. I'll gush about it everywhere because it's that awesome. Fantasy, when it clicks, is a beautiful thing.
BUST
But when it flops, there is no comparison to how irritated a fantasy book can make me. When it doesn't work, fantasy is slow and complicated. It's full of irrelevant characters I give no shits about and by the end of the book, I end up wishing that every character would just die because they irritate me so much. I'm not usually that bitter in real life, but some fantasy books just bring out the worst in me.
To this day, if you ask me what was the worst book ever, I could point you towards Modelland by Tyra Banks which I started to read as a comedy because it was so godawful in terms of plot, character development, world building, plausibility... pretty much anything you need in a book was done badly.
Many high fantasies try to be epic, and when they fail at that, I am extremely harsh on them. Ellen Oh's Prophecy is one book I can't stand. I thought everything was forced. I also despised reading The Golden Compass (description overload), Garth Nix's Sabriel series, wasn't into Narnia (beyond The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).Some fantasies have awful lingo that I can't get over, and the imagery bores me. I don't really visualize much when I read, so reading descriptions of some kind of half scorpion, a quarter dragon, a quarter porcupine thing does not sound appealing. When a fantasy tries to be interesting by having descriptions of different types of worlds rather than having action (of the type I like), I shut it down.
Is it just a fantasy thing?
Other genres elicit similar responses from me, but none to the extremities that fantasy does. I'm always a little cautious about fantasy, because on the one hand, I adore it. I love the mysticism, I love the action, and the possibilities are really glorious. On the other hand, I'm not a hardcore fantasy reader. I can't join a fantasy fan club because it's really not my genre of choice- I think speculative fiction with a focus on characterization and plot, is.
What do you think? Are you a fantasy fan? Or do you avoid fantasy?
I'm like that as well! I either love or hate high fantasy, and most of the time, it comes down to whether it has a nice romance to keep me invested in this new and often incredibly detailed world. Great choices for 'boom' btw haha Grave Mercy is pretty good too :)
ReplyDeleteI think I'm less about romance, and more about either an exciting world/plot or really emotional characters. As soon as something starts feeling cliche, it ruins my perception of the story completely.
DeleteAlso, both Mari and I love Grave Mercy!
-P.E.
I like fantasy but sometimes the series require a kind of commitment that I don't always feel like giving it! Still, my reactions are not as extreme as yours, at least on the negative side! Mostly I can find them boring and lose interest...
ReplyDeleteHaha I think I'm pretty definitive when it comes to my taste in books. I adore series though! I don't mind the commitment.
Delete-P.E.
I feel the same way about The Prophecy. It had so much unfulfilled promise! Finnkin and Graceling, however, are standards for me. They're the yardstick I go by.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, P.E.
Yeah, Prophecy wasn't my favourite read... fantasy can be SO GOOD sometimes, I just wish that happened more often.
Delete-P.E.
I can be the same way, either love it or loathe it - but, as you said, that can be said about all genres. I, personally, loved Northern Lights; that is one of my favourite books and series. I loved reading the first A Song of Ice and Fire series, brilliant series. Quite a few of the other great ones that you mentioned are on my TBR list and I hope to get to them soon, I hope I love them all :)
ReplyDeleteI wasn't a big fan of Northern Lights, but I do hope to read a Song of Ice and Fire! Enjoy!
Delete-P.E.
LOVE this! I haven't read Finnikin but I hear great things and it is on my TBR. Have read Prophecy, however, and it was...pretty bad, yup. DNFed it, I think. Graceling was so good :) High fantasy is usually a hit for me, even if its a bit slow at times. It's probably because it's my favorite genre so I give out a few passes ;)
ReplyDeleteSeems like we have pretty similar tastes! I think you'll really enjoy Finnikin... it's genuinely a great book. :)
Delete-P.E.