Ah, here we are.

Just as with the rant on transformative fantasy, I’m essentially defining a subgenre here. As with transformative fantasy, it’s a subgenre I like, and one that a lot of the fantasy books I love fall into. This means that I burble.

Like, a lot. As in, this isn’t as much of a rant as a long, long stream of burbling.

( Brutal fantasy )

This rant is very similar to one I did a little while ago, things Limyaael thinks would be really cool. Transformative fantasy isn’t a defined genre of fantasy as such. It’s one I’m defining. The books I like best tend to have at least one of these qualities, and the more they have, the better I like them. Summed up, they tend to add up to:

( Change is Lord, and God )

A couple people asked for advice on writing fantasy short stories. So here it is.

( A lot of fantasy short stories would be improved by authors remembering that they are writing actual short stories )

Quick definition of a bildungsroman, courtesy of dictionary.com: A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a usually youthful main character ( Read more... )

So this is the other part of the mystery rant-this time, less about detective fantasies or detective heroes, and more about plots with political conspiracies.

( Court intrigue, plots that make the Labyrinth look simple, and stupid villains.-oh my! )

There are two main parts to this rant, and they can be summed up like this if you're not really curious: 1) Less fantasy authors should use mystery elements in their fiction, since they aren’t good at them. 2) The fantasy authors who want to use them anyway should not give them less respect because they aren’t climactic battles, the rebellions of ( Read more... )

Dark fantasy rant, crossed with horror fantasy rant. I’ve read some good examples of this, but sooner or later they pick up the same constellation of sins.

( When horror isn’t enough… )

Quote of the Day: “Feminism is the radical opinion that women are people.” -Seen on a bumper sticker; I haven’t been able to find the original.

Yes, people, and not the Masters of the Universe.

( Feminist fantasy: Another genre I don’t hate, just wish would change )

Quote of the Day:

"I sometimes wish that I could control the weather. But this might be uncomfortable for other people."

-Swinburne.

( I don't hate urban fantasy. I just wish the prettification would stop )

Quote of the Day:

"There is assuredly something wrong with you." -Ruskin, to Swinburne.

( Crossover fantasy rant )