Do you think that the Fantasy genre is being flooded with low-quality pulp? Are there any shining stars?

Question

Please explain your opinion either way

Answer 1

I'm a believer in Sturgeon's Law: Ninety percent of everything is c**p. This is true of fantasy, mystery, horror, sci-fi, romance... even the so-called "literary fiction."

Personally, I'm pretty picky about my fantasy. Too much of it does read like bad Tolkein/Lewis rip-offs. Some that I've loved, a mix of children's, ya, and adult:

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, by Patricia Wrede

Prydain Chronicles, by Lloyd Alexander (a good Tolkein rip-off, actually)

Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling

Beauty, by Robin McKinley

A Song of Ice and Fire series, by George R.R. Martin (best adult fantasy I've ever read, absolutely brilliant)

Discworld series, by Terry Pratchett

Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

There are more, but these are some of the ones that come first to mind.

Answer 2

Yes it is!

You can't beat some of the old stuff like Lord of the Rings

I have also enjoyed reading Terry Godsend's Sword of Truth series and The Dark Tower by Stephen King is fantastic, pulling different characters from some of his books in along the way in different parallel worlds...ingenious!

I have recently read American Gods too and that was okay too.

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips was a really funny twist on fantasy.  Greek and Roman gods living in London in the 21st Century

was hysterical!

Answer 3

JK Rowling is one of the best! I know that.

I kind of so agree on that low quality thing. Lots of people are either using someones ideas to help them write, and it gets sorta boring. And by that I meant as an "inspiration". But on some points, there are some really good stories in Fantasy/Fiction.

Jo inspired many of the readers we have today, I know her fantasy is the most different I have heard.

The Maximum Ride books are alright, although it isn't much of a fantasy.

Christopher Paolini is also a great writer, I enjoy reading his Inheritance Trilogy, creative!

I also liked Gail Carson Levine books, like Ever and Fairest and Ella Enchanted.

Then my brother likes the Artemis Fowl series, I dunno why.

Answer 4

Terry Pratchett has a particularly acute observational humour to his writing, his legion of adoring fans will be only too happy to tell you. I find his wry take on people absolutely hilarious.

Neil Gaiman has a darker side to his writing, American Gods being a very unsettling tou de force through fable and history although Stardust was a lighthearted romp.

His collaboration with Prachett on the novel Good Omens was a masterpiece of gothic humour and moments of genuine horror. Marvellous!

Going back a few decades, Stephen Donaldson's Thomas Covenant Trilogy was and is a fine read.

More recently, Philip Pullman is excellent.

Answer 5

I think anymore that an inspiring author can take a book that someone else took the hard time to write and that person can twist the characters a little bit and make it there own. Because the are too lazy to do the work there self's. The book ends up being just different enough that it can sell but same enough that I do not want to read it.

There are a few that I enjoy though

Eargon Christoper Pallinie

The Soward of Truth Terry Goodkind

Artimus Fowl Erin Collen

Harry Potter J.K Rowling

The Golden Compass Philip Pullman

Those are my absolute favorite fantasy books ever  

Answer 6

Sorry Potter Krazzy, but JK Rowling is late in the genre and there are far better.  Only someone who has ONLY read her would write that.  They are great stories and I LOVE them, but there is little in them that is original.  Certainly she has not been around long enough to have inspired anyone...that remains to be seen.  She may prove to be influential, but she simply hasn't been around long enough to influence any great writing.

Yes, there is a lot of low-quality pulp, but don't forget that the whole genre survives on that low quality pulp.  It's ok.  There is nothing wrong with trashy novels, they're fun.  

After Tolkien, Beagle, Brooks, Weis & Hickman, Gene Wolf, Feist, Robert Jordan, etc, there are still some great writers out there.  Peter David, Salvatore, Gaiman, Pullman probably hundreds of others we haven't heard of yet.  The cool thing about literature is that what is important and relevant and remains relevant for years is often hard to figure out right away.  We look back and we find what stories touch us, move us and keep doing it generation after generation and that becomes a classic.   So, buried in all the low-quality pulp are the greats, we just have to find them and keep reading them.