Culhwch
Lost Boy
Well, my life is so hectic, jet-setting and full of adventure that I like the normalcy, the nice quiet peacefulness of a good fantasy novel...
Wait. Strike that. Reverse it.
You know I've been thinking about it, and my first thought was to say, 'Escapism.' Then thirty others said it and stole my thunder, so I thought some more. Okay, escapism is part of it, and imagination and all that, but what I really come back for are the sweeping themes you just don't get in other genres. Courage, honour, duty, loyalty, valour, love, hate, life, death, sacrifice. Okay, so you get courage in To Kill A Mockingbird, but it's not the courage of a fantasy novel. You get love in a bodice-ripper, but it's not the love of a fantasy novel. These themes are transformed by their setting and by the imaginative gifts of their authors. They become so much bigger and - I guess this is the idealist in me coming out - are so much more than they are in most of our realities. A rousing speech before a battle will get your blood pumping. The dying words of a fallen hero will choke you up. The sacrifice of two lovers torn apart by duty will tear at your heart. That's what I love about fantasy. That's what keeps me coming back for more.
Granted it's done well, of course.
Wait. Strike that. Reverse it.
You know I've been thinking about it, and my first thought was to say, 'Escapism.' Then thirty others said it and stole my thunder, so I thought some more. Okay, escapism is part of it, and imagination and all that, but what I really come back for are the sweeping themes you just don't get in other genres. Courage, honour, duty, loyalty, valour, love, hate, life, death, sacrifice. Okay, so you get courage in To Kill A Mockingbird, but it's not the courage of a fantasy novel. You get love in a bodice-ripper, but it's not the love of a fantasy novel. These themes are transformed by their setting and by the imaginative gifts of their authors. They become so much bigger and - I guess this is the idealist in me coming out - are so much more than they are in most of our realities. A rousing speech before a battle will get your blood pumping. The dying words of a fallen hero will choke you up. The sacrifice of two lovers torn apart by duty will tear at your heart. That's what I love about fantasy. That's what keeps me coming back for more.
Granted it's done well, of course.