VIEW FROM THE PARAPET
Welcome to the first issue of View from the Parapet. This column, which will be updated regularly is a departure for me. Most of my time is spent writing fiction, such as the Adventures of Alaric Swifthand, Dragonsclaw's very own fantasy serial. Herein I will attempt to enlighten and entertain fans of the fantasy genre.
For my first issue, I thought it might be appropriate to define a few key words, so that, in future issues, when I say something, you as my happy readers will be able to understand. For those of you who don't know it, a parapet is the battlements at the top of a tower, such as you might find on a medieval castle. On a clear day, one could see far and wide from such a vantage point. For a fantasy author, I felt it an appropriate roost (though my legs are tired from all of those stairs.)
For my next trick, I would like to talk a little about the genre itself. Keep in mind that these definitions are not from the dictionary. They are mine, and I stand by them. If you have another view, I would love to hear from you. I'd like to print some of the reader response in my next issue.
I have long been a fan of both fantasy and science fiction. Some would say that the two are one and the same. Yet there must be some difference, as there are fans that read exclusively one or the other.
Fantasy is fiction that goes beyond the realm of established reality, without making any explanation of how this is accomplished. A magician casts a spell. A cat speaks. In our own reality, neither of these happen (at least they haven't happened to me). It is the reader's job to suspend his disbelief for the sake of being entertained.
Science fiction is a fiction story in which some type of fantastic event occurs (fantastic as in fantasy, not as in really good), yet there is a logical explanation. Somehow, we can reach that reality from ours. We have never traveled to Alpha Centurai, but we can imagine doing so by principles or theories that exist today.
If these definitions were absolute, all would be well, but there is a crossover.
If I write a story about a wizard casting a spell, that's fantasy, right? Yet if that mage is actually a mutant, and is able to use part of his mind that is off limits to other humans, because he has been exposed to a high radiation count, fantasy becomes science fiction. Many authors have linked the two together. Others have written in both genres and cross over with alarming frequency. I frequently step across that line myself.
To make matters even more confusing, there are several examples I can sight of a fantasy mystery, or science fiction political thriller. Or a fantasy horror story or a science fiction love story.
A fine author named Randell Garrett wrote a book called Too Many Magicians, in which a murder takes place at a magicians convention. The book is a locked room murder mystery, set against a fantasy backdrop. The movie Outland, with Sean Connery, is a crime drama, that just happens to take place in a mining colony on a moon of Jupiter. Does that make it science fiction?
Examples of crossover are fairly common. Less so are books that seem to be so fantastic that they are almost beyond belief, yet the author explains them in such a way that they are sort of possible. Roger Zelazny's (may he rest in peace) Chronicles of Amber are an excellent example of this. If you haven't checked them out, stop reading this column, and go and find them. After you've finished at least the first five books, then you can come back and read the rest.
Finally we come to sub-genres. There are many smaller divisions within each type of genre that further helps to classify books (or movies and computer games for that matter). SF is the parent genre, but space opera (laser guns, aliens, earth invasion, zap zap, etc.) is only a small segment of it. One could hardly compare Star Wars with Jurassic Park, though both are SF. Or are they? One might well argue that the force moves Star Wars clearly into the fantasy category. Others claim it falls into the genre of Science fantasy. To each his own.
One of my pet peeves (which I keep in a small tank and feed regularly) is the tendency of fantasy gamers to call themselves fantasy fans. Most are not. They are swords and sorcery, heroic adventure and high fantasy fans, which are all sub-genres with a great deal of crossover. Remember, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins and the National Enquirer are all forms of fantasy as well.
So when you next call yourself a fantasy fan, think about it. Are you a generalist like me, or do you just enjoy a barbarian hacking an ogre to pieces with an ax? Are you a science fiction fan as well? Let me know. Perhaps, if I get enough feedback, I could enter the results in my next column.
Until then, keep thinking and reading, especially the adventures of Alaric Swifthand (blatant, shameless plug). Part four is up and part five is written. Remember, you can e-mail me directly from the fantasy serial section or at alaric@dragonsclaw.net. I look forward to hearing your opinions.
Webpage & Graphics by Samandi Adams
Copyright (c) 2003-2004 ~ All Rights Reserved
VIEW FROM THE PARAPET
Welcome to the first issue of View from the Parapet. This column, which will be updated regularly is a departure for me. Most of my time is spent writing fiction, such as the Adventures of Alaric Swifthand, Dragonsclaw's very own fantasy serial. Herein I will attempt to enlighten and entertain fans of the fantasy genre.
For my first issue, I thought it might be appropriate to define a few key words, so that, in future issues, when I say something, you as my happy readers will be able to understand. For those of you who don't know it, a parapet is the battlements at the top of a tower, such as you might find on a medieval castle. On a clear day, one could see far and wide from such a vantage point. For a fantasy author, I felt it an appropriate roost (though my legs are tired from all of those stairs.)
For my next trick, I would like to talk a little about the genre itself. Keep in mind that these definitions are not from the dictionary. They are mine, and I stand by them. If you have another view, I would love to hear from you. I'd like to print some of the reader response in my next issue.
I have long been a fan of both fantasy and science fiction. Some would say that the two are one and the same. Yet there must be some difference, as there are fans that read exclusively one or the other.
Fantasy is fiction that goes beyond the realm of established reality, without making any explanation of how this is accomplished. A magician casts a spell. A cat speaks. In our own reality, neither of these happen (at least they haven't happened to me). It is the reader's job to suspend his disbelief for the sake of being entertained.
Science fiction is a fiction story in which some type of fantastic event occurs (fantastic as in fantasy, not as in really good), yet there is a logical explanation. Somehow, we can reach that reality from ours. We have never traveled to Alpha Centurai, but we can imagine doing so by principles or theories that exist today.
If these definitions were absolute, all would be well, but there is a crossover.
If I write a story about a wizard casting a spell, that's fantasy, right? Yet if that mage is actually a mutant, and is able to use part of his mind that is off limits to other humans, because he has been exposed to a high radiation count, fantasy becomes science fiction. Many authors have linked the two together. Others have written in both genres and cross over with alarming frequency. I frequently step across that line myself.
To make matters even more confusing, there are several examples I can sight of a fantasy mystery, or science fiction political thriller. Or a fantasy horror story or a science fiction love story.
A fine author named Randell Garrett wrote a book called Too Many Magicians, in which a murder takes place at a magicians convention. The book is a locked room murder mystery, set against a fantasy backdrop. The movie Outland, with Sean Connery, is a crime drama, that just happens to take place in a mining colony on a moon of Jupiter. Does that make it science fiction?
Examples of crossover are fairly common. Less so are books that seem to be so fantastic that they are almost beyond belief, yet the author explains them in such a way that they are sort of possible. Roger Zelazny's (may he rest in peace) Chronicles of Amber are an excellent example of this. If you haven't checked them out, stop reading this column, and go and find them. After you've finished at least the first five books, then you can come back and read the rest.
Finally we come to sub-genres. There are many smaller divisions within each type of genre that further helps to classify books (or movies and computer games for that matter). SF is the parent genre, but space opera (laser guns, aliens, earth invasion, zap zap, etc.) is only a small segment of it. One could hardly compare Star Wars with Jurassic Park, though both are SF. Or are they? One might well argue that the force moves Star Wars clearly into the fantasy category. Others claim it falls into the genre of Science fantasy. To each his own.
One of my pet peeves (which I keep in a small tank and feed regularly) is the tendency of fantasy gamers to call themselves fantasy fans. Most are not. They are swords and sorcery, heroic adventure and high fantasy fans, which are all sub-genres with a great deal of crossover. Remember, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins and the National Enquirer are all forms of fantasy as well.
So when you next call yourself a fantasy fan, think about it. Are you a generalist like me, or do you just enjoy a barbarian hacking an ogre to pieces with an ax? Are you a science fiction fan as well? Let me know. Perhaps, if I get enough feedback, I could enter the results in my next column.
Until then, keep thinking and reading, especially the adventures of Alaric Swifthand (blatant, shameless plug). Part four is up and part five is written. Remember, you can e-mail me directly from the fantasy serial section or at alaric@dragonsclaw.net. I look forward to hearing your opinions.
Webpage & Graphics by Samandi Adams
Copyright (c) 2003-2004 ~ All Rights Reserved