The Issue with Fantasy…

‘So, what’s your book about?’

When I’m talking to someone about my writing and this question comes up, I always feel the need to first explain that ‘it’s a fantasy novel’.  But why?  Well, from my stand point, it comes down to stigma.  Whether real or imaged, I can’t help but see the divide between contemporary fiction and fantasy or sci-fi.  Of course, that’s my issue and I know that many readers out there are simply concerned with reading a good tale, no matter the genre.  That’s not to say, however, that I haven’t come across those who have scoffed at the mere notion of “Fantasy”.

I’ve seen the way that some smirk, when they spot me reading some swords and sorcery novel, or outright chuckle at the idea of it.  ‘Why don’t read something real?’ ‘People fighting dragons, pfft!’ ‘That’s not literature, it’s just tripe.’  Of course, I’m translating here, but I’ve come across arguments along these lines.  Reasons folk overlook fantasy.  Unless, of course, it’s Lord of the Rings.  (Of course, that’s usually where I scoff inwardly and think, ‘Buddy, that’s just the tip of iceberg.’)  So, what’s the problem?

The way I see it, it really comes done to the surface of the genre.  Some folk see the cover a fantasy novel, usually depicting a group of stalwart heroes, cresting a ridge, with a dragon soaring in the distance and for them, that’s as far as it goes.  ‘Magic and knights, give me something real!’ I imagine they cry out.  And yes, much of what we find in the genre does indeed have magic, dragons, immortal beings and other oddness that some can’t (okay, to be fair, won’t) wrap their heads around.  The problem here, the thing that gets my goat, is that there is plenty real in these stories.

Here’s an example, to illustrate my point.  My wife’s boss overheard me talking about a short-story that I recently submitted for an anthology.  So, being the curious sort, she asked me about it.

‘What’s your story about?’

To which I said, feeling self-conscious about it all of a sudden, ‘Well, first off, it’s fantasy fiction.’

‘Oh, I don’t know if I’d like that.  Would someone like me be able to understand it?’

Needless to say, I was rather surprised by the question.  Understand it?  Of course!  Then I realized that all I had done was give her the genre of the story, not the premise.

‘Well,’ I said, framing my answer, ‘it’s about a soldier, returning home from a war.  He finds that his wife has died from an illness while he was away and that his daughters had been married off and left.  Now all he has left is an empty house.  So, he turns to his troubled neighbours, a younger couple and their children, and takes care of them.’

‘Oh,’ she said, ‘I’d like to read that.’

There it is.  A simple premise, but one that (I hope) strikes at the heart of the human condition.  Or, at least, some aspect of it. 

This is what has railed me so much in the past.  If people would just read these stories, they would see that that magician, that black knight, is a human being.  Sure, often a human being that has found themselves in an over-the-top, dare I say, fantastic situation.  What we are doing here is what any fiction writer does, exploring.

That’s really it; exploration is at the heart of any fiction.  We explore characters.   How they act and react, how they deal, how they crumble and how they rise above.  If they rise above.  Is it any less important that a character’s love dies by the fiery breath of a dragon, as opposed to getting knifed in a mugging?  She’s still dead.  The character must still deal with the grief, the mourning and the loss.

It all comes down to the human condition.  That’s the unifying element of all fiction.  Whether it takes place in someone’s back yard, or across the galaxy, these are stories about people.  Stories about lives lived and lives lost.  Stories about love, hate, fear and hope.  Stories about people, plain and simple.

So, I suppose, in the end, all I’m really trying to say is (to those who would normally pass through the fantasy/sci-fi section of your bookstore without a second glance) give those stories a chance.  You’ll see that past the sorcery, past the mythical creatures and past the higher concepts of Otherworlds, what you’ll find are the stories of humanity.  Just filtered through different eyes.

God’s speed fair wizards.