Recent Reading and Rambling
So I recently finished a couple anthologies. As mentioned before, it seemed like a low-investment break as far as reading, plus it gives a chance to be exposed to more writers. Of course, as far as any "review" they're also something of a mixed bag. Fairly little struck me as outstanding in either direction.
Blackguards is pretty much just rogue fantasy centered on "bad" people - some of them likable rogues and some not so much, as a book like this gives authors opportunity to flesh out side characters and backgrounds from their own series. Nothing too remarkable, though I saw enough interesting in one tale to delve into the attached series.
Unfettered is almost as appealing for the story behind it as the stories within it. I don't think I'd heard of Shawn Speakman prior, but he certainly knows quite the list of current fantasy authors to draw upon. The stories vary much more wildly from twists on Arthurian legend to Kushiel series background to ghost cats. Of those, the one that struck me most deeply was "The Sound of Broken Absolutes," for interesting use of music-magic and for some deep, powerful emotional themes.
So after Blackguards, I got into The Book of Deacon, perhaps largely because of a fox-humanoid "malthrope" character. This book, in turn, got me thinking a bit about a "simpler time" in fantasy writing. It feels to me like something written early in an author's career, perhaps informed by the genre staples of the early nineties (which I'll get back to in a moment). It has a certain charm to it, though the main character feels more pulled by fate and circumstance than given much in the way of true agency. I probably wouldn't hold it up as a prime example of the art form, but I have enjoyed it enough to follow the series.
And, as said, it got me thinking. I really don't know how much of these thoughts is accurate depiction of the changing genre versus my perceptions thereof. "Pulpy" fantasy like Conan and whatnot was a little before my time, so I can't judge that period very well, but the fantasy I was "raised on" in the 80's and 90's felt like it fit a certain mold. Characters were frequently driven by fate to great heights to save the world/kingdom. A hero might buck societal trends, but it all seems somehow innocuous and "clean" to me now. Then, though, that was all okay. It's what the genre was. Or it's what it seemed to be to me. Admittedly, these days it's easier to be exposed to a wider range of published works online when it used to be a matter of a small bookstore and library.
I don't want to over-credit George RR Martin, but the popularity he hit upon seems to reflect the more current fantasy trends. Characters can be more morally ambiguous, warring nations no longer have to be objectively good vs. bad, and sometimes the stakes have a more personal level than the fate of the world (also, publishing options are not "1 book or a trilogy"). Overall, I feel like there's more nuance and more "realism" in the fantasy genre, and most of the time I feel more drawn to that.
But in thinking about how the genre seems to have change, I keep coming back to wondering if it's really just a matter of perspective and if those things have always been there, but I just didn't see them...
Blackguards is pretty much just rogue fantasy centered on "bad" people - some of them likable rogues and some not so much, as a book like this gives authors opportunity to flesh out side characters and backgrounds from their own series. Nothing too remarkable, though I saw enough interesting in one tale to delve into the attached series.
Unfettered is almost as appealing for the story behind it as the stories within it. I don't think I'd heard of Shawn Speakman prior, but he certainly knows quite the list of current fantasy authors to draw upon. The stories vary much more wildly from twists on Arthurian legend to Kushiel series background to ghost cats. Of those, the one that struck me most deeply was "The Sound of Broken Absolutes," for interesting use of music-magic and for some deep, powerful emotional themes.
So after Blackguards, I got into The Book of Deacon, perhaps largely because of a fox-humanoid "malthrope" character. This book, in turn, got me thinking a bit about a "simpler time" in fantasy writing. It feels to me like something written early in an author's career, perhaps informed by the genre staples of the early nineties (which I'll get back to in a moment). It has a certain charm to it, though the main character feels more pulled by fate and circumstance than given much in the way of true agency. I probably wouldn't hold it up as a prime example of the art form, but I have enjoyed it enough to follow the series.
And, as said, it got me thinking. I really don't know how much of these thoughts is accurate depiction of the changing genre versus my perceptions thereof. "Pulpy" fantasy like Conan and whatnot was a little before my time, so I can't judge that period very well, but the fantasy I was "raised on" in the 80's and 90's felt like it fit a certain mold. Characters were frequently driven by fate to great heights to save the world/kingdom. A hero might buck societal trends, but it all seems somehow innocuous and "clean" to me now. Then, though, that was all okay. It's what the genre was. Or it's what it seemed to be to me. Admittedly, these days it's easier to be exposed to a wider range of published works online when it used to be a matter of a small bookstore and library.
I don't want to over-credit George RR Martin, but the popularity he hit upon seems to reflect the more current fantasy trends. Characters can be more morally ambiguous, warring nations no longer have to be objectively good vs. bad, and sometimes the stakes have a more personal level than the fate of the world (also, publishing options are not "1 book or a trilogy"). Overall, I feel like there's more nuance and more "realism" in the fantasy genre, and most of the time I feel more drawn to that.
But in thinking about how the genre seems to have change, I keep coming back to wondering if it's really just a matter of perspective and if those things have always been there, but I just didn't see them...
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