Adult Fantasy Is Not A Myth

When Stef and I tell family, friends, and other potential readers that we write fantasy, we usually receive one of two responses: “You mean like Harry Potter?” or we just get “the stare.” You know, the kind of condescending ogling that indicates that grown adults—married, no less—should not be wasting their time creating a silly children’s tale. We still don’t know why people think we’re writing and drawing a massive comic book. There’s also the response of polite interest which usually degrades into the infamous stare after we open our traps and explain the World of Secramore.

Now to be fair, most people don’t wish to be inundated with the difference between mages and wizards, and why it is we made Arcturus’s skin red. (Note: it’s red because Matt said so. Period.) We’ve learned when to divulge our passion to people, but how do we explain that not all fantasy is for children and AD&D (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons) players? How do we make the average adult understand that it’s all right to pick up J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and let it sweep you away?

The answer is not as simple as one might think, and it stretches far outside the reach of the literary world. The movie industry, for example, has made the leap into fantasy, but that’s not necessarily a good thing. Most of the time Hollywood gets the genre wrong. Really wrong! Not all fantasy classics—old and new—translate well to screen, if at all. Peter Jackson’s rendition of the Lord of the Rings is one of the few films to get it right, and that’s because of the director’s passion for the books…and New Line Cinema’s loose purse strings. J But for every good fantasy movie, ten forgettable or downright awful duds find their way to the big screen.

On the flipside, Harry Potter books managed to rake in readers of all ages. Surely J.K. Rowling’s magnificent story of a boy wizard made people open their minds to the world of fantasy, right? Nope. Why? Timing? Could it have been a passing fad? Maybe it’s because her books didn’t take themselves too serious. Or perhaps they were just so well written that they transcended the genre.

But there’s more out there than Rowling and Tolkien. Why hasn’t Patrick Rothfuss’s name snared the attention of millions? How come Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman aren’t household names? Why isn’t Raven’s Heart the New York Times’ #1 bestseller? Well, for starters, our 2nd edition has yet to see the light of day, so there’s still a chance. But as for everything else, I believe the genre carries with it a deep and irreversible stigma. Fantasy seems to be considered second rate literature. Its name is synonymous with role playing, gaming conventions, video games, geeks, and the escape of reality. All of this is true, but consider this quote from fantasy author Terry Brooks before making and judgments.

“People who view fantasy as second rate or childish are usually people who don't read or understand it. I like to tell them that good fantasy is social commentary combined with good storytelling - Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, the Oz stories and so many others. Sure, the stories take place in an imaginary world. But those worlds mirror our own and tell us things about ourselves that need to be said and understood. I also like to tell them how often other forms of literature use fantasy as the bedrock of their own stories. Fantasy transcends its own form in wider scope than any other type of writing.”

Adult fantasy exists, and there are those who read and write it. The genre’s roots are ancient; the Odyssey and Beowulf come to mind. Fantasy has evolved since those early times, but it’s just as valid a genre. The world needs to take a break from reality and plunge headfirst into the world of dragons, magic, uncharted lands, and most important, fine literature. A little escapism never hurt anyone.

-Matt

Grown-Ups Have No Imagination

Matt recently wrote a blog about adults and the fantasy genre. This is my take on that subject. He has already illuminated the obstacle we face as authors: most adults don’t recognize fantasy as an adult genre. While I agree with some of the reasons he touched upon, I’d like to take the blog a step further and dispel—perhaps purposelessly—the notion of grown-ups having no imagination.

The roots of fantasy are deeply imbedded in myth and folklore. At one time, what we call mythology was accepted as both truth and religion by ancient cultures. The Ancient Greeks, for instance, believed that Apollo rode his sun chariot across the sky, marking the duration of the day. Of course, now, as a society, we’ve “matured” in that science has led us down the path of logic. A man riding a chariot across the sky with the sun in tote is ridiculous and can only be given any credit in metaphorical poetry. You wonder how it was those ancient people ever concocted such a notion.

You can compare the maturation of a society to the individual. As kids, we use our imaginations, play games of make-believe. We put faith in the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus because our parents (who would never lie to us) said they exist. One rite of passage to adulthood is learning The Truth about these holiday heroes. As we get older, we can handle The Truth, and thus we learn that such fictitious characters are just for little kids. We’re too mature for that.

Peter Pan is the ultimate character to illustrate this point. He lives in an imaginary world and never grows up. Tell me that’s not a lesson to our children about maturation. Now I understand that our perceptions of reality and the world we live in will change as we get older. You can’t live in a world of make-believe all your life, or others will seriously doubt your sanity and ability to cope with life and its hardships.

The Truth that we refuse to see as adults is that grown-ups need imagination/fantasy time too. We all need to escape the real world from time to time, and there are different ways of doing so. Video games, T.V., movies, books…all these are creations from someone else’s mind—fictitious works that provide entertainment. You can’t honestly tell me that you’ve never indulged in these venues of entertainment; I won’t believe you if you do.

I think of authors like Matt and me who try to write adult fantasy fiction. What we’re doing is not so different from any other general fiction author. We create a world, characters, a plot, etc. The difference is the fantastical ideas we weave into it. Maybe that’s too radical for some adults to handle, but certainly fantastical ideas don’t make it a kids’ book. It’s not a fairy tale; it’s a novel with adult concepts enhanced by our imaginations.

In the end, what I’m trying to say is that fantasy is not just for kids. Adults still have an imagination locked upstairs somewhere, and the only difference is that they (unlike kids) rely on someone else to prompt the fantasy. Give me any movie, any T.V. show, and I’ll pick out the fantasy elements for you. Don’t be ashamed. There’s nothing childish about daydreaming or listening to someone’s story. It says there’s still hope for the Human mind, that we’re not all destined for a boring life of reality and unimaginative pastimes…like work, for instance.

So before you go and dismiss the adult fantasy fiction genre by saying, “Oh, I don’t read that.” Or, “Would that be good for my kids to read?” Give yourself permission to explore a part of your imagination you may have shoved in the toy box of your mind. You’re never too old to dream, and you just may enjoy it.

-Stefanie