The Hunger Games

Is Fantasy Fiction Too Safe?

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fantasy booksThe last dozen fantasy books I’ve read would be classified as epic fantasy. Some kind of hero or heroine goes on a quest, or there are world-spanning conflicts between kings and queens.

I guess you’re expecting me to say, “Ugh, I’m so sick of epic fantasy.” Actually, no. I quite enjoy these kinds of stories for the most part, and have done so for around twenty years or more.

However, I found myself in a bit of a quandary recently when I thought, “I’d like to read something a bit different in tone, structure, and scope.” So I started looking through my collection of books.

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4 Elements of Epic Storytelling

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One RingWhen I’m immersed in fantasy, a trance envelopes me. There’s something about great fantasy storytelling that trumps all other genres in drawing me into the world and story.

Call me crazy, but I think I’m onto something here. And that something is the recipe for the domination of the imagination. Much like The Hero with a Thousand Faces, I think epic storytelling has a certain formula that can produce a killer product.

What is it that makes your heart plummet when the screen goes black after Master Chief detonates the nuke at the end of Halo 4?

What is it that makes you want to lend your back to carry Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom?

What is it that makes your muscles tighten every time your hero takes a blow, as if you were the one receiving it?

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