Cliches

How to Make a Clichéd High Fantasy Cover

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 79 Comments
Book Cover Magic. (Nicola Alter, CC BY SA 4.0)

I’m not averse to a few fantasy clichés on a book cover – they let me know at a glance that I’m looking at a fantasy fiction novel, and can be nice if used in creative or appealing ways. As with all clichés, however, they become eye-roll-worthy when used en masse, i.e. when several standard tropes are all packed into the one artwork. If a book tries to cover too many bases, it can start to look a little silly.

I’ve encountered a few covers that take it a bit far, but I thought it’d be amusing to go even further, and have a bit of fun with the tropes of my favourite genre… so here is my recipe for a no-holds-barred, all-boxes-ticked, epic high fantasy book cover (accompanied by examples from the most clichéd design I can muster). I’m no graphic designer, but I imagine that will add a nice level of unprofessional shine to my examples. Continue reading →

Tough Travels: Adepts

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 17 Comments

I’m on the road doing a little real-world travelling at the moment, so I’m glad to still be able to join in for a little fantasy travelling too. This feature was originally created and run by Nathan at Fantasy Review Barn and is now hosted by Laura Hughes at Fantasy Faction. Inspired by Diana Wynne Jones’s humorous classic The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, every month it puts the spotlight on a particular fantasy trope, theme or cliché, and invites bloggers to list stand-out books related to that week’s theme.

This month’s theme is adepts:

The Tough Guide defines an Adept as ‘one who has taken what amounts to a post-graduate course in Magic. If a Magic User is given this title, you can be sure he/she is fairly hot stuff. However, the title is neutral and does not imply that the Adept is either Good or Evil.’

Ah, the study of magic – who doesn’t secretly want to be trained as a witch or wizard? Sadly I don’t have that option, so here are three well-trained fictional magic-wielders through whom I’ve enjoyed the vicarious experience of magical excellence: Continue reading →

Tough Travels: Non-Human Heroes

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 19 Comments

It’s the 1st of June, which means it’s Tough Travelling time once more! This is a feature hosted by Laura Hughes at Fantasy Faction (originally created by Nathan at Fantasy Review Barn). Every month, with the help of Diana Wynne Jones’s classic The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, it puts the spotlight on a particular fantasy trope, theme or cliché, and invites bloggers to list stand-out books related to that week’s theme.

This month’s theme is non-human heroes: Continue reading →

Tough Travels: Assassins

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 31 Comments

It’s Tough Travelling time again! This is a feature hosted by Laura Hughes at Fantasy Faction (originally created by Fantasy Review Barn). Every month, with the help of Diana Wynne Jones’s classic Tough Guide to Fantasyland, it puts the spotlight on a particular fantasy trope, theme or cliché, and invites bloggers to list stand-out books related to that week’s theme.

This month’s theme is assassins: Continue reading →

Tough Travels: Beginnings

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 19 Comments

I always enjoyed coming across the ‘Tough Travels’ weekly feature on fantasy blogs – started by Fantasy Review Barn, every week it highlighted a different fantasy trope, theme or cliché from Diana Wynne Jones’s classic Tough Guide to Fantasyland, and participating bloggers listed books related to that week’s theme. Now Laura Hughes has brought Tough Travels back and is hosting it as a monthly feature on Fantasy Faction, so I thought I’d join in and become a tough (or not-so-tough) traveller myself!

This month’s theme is beginnings: Continue reading →

Why Gods Are Usually Better Left Off-Stage in Fantasy

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 25 Comments
Depiction of God on 19th Century French Postcard. Photo by Ted Van Pelt (CC BY 2.0)

Call me old fashioned, but a God in fiction should have god-like powers. What exactly are those? Well, a snap of the fingers and they can bring drought, famine, flood or plenty, kill hundreds, create hundreds, change the world or influence people’s lives and fates. Hell, they are usually the ones that created the world in the first place. Most importantly, their powers trump everyone else’s. If they’re a god, they’re more than everyone else: they’re the ultimate power.

This leads me to why I often have a problem with gods traipsing around centre-stage in fantasy novels, TV shows, or films. If they’re no longer a mysterious, largely absent and only mildly-interfering power, they can become problematic. Here are a few reasons why (and I’m well aware other people may not mind these things as much as I do!): Continue reading →

Crows and Ravens in Fantasy

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 26 Comments
Photo by Srdjan Jovanovic (CC BY 2.0)

Dragons are strongly associated with fantasy fiction, so much so that they have become a symbol for the genre. Given that these imaginary beasts only inhabit the realms of fantasy, fairy tale and legend, and thrill many a reader, this makes sense. However, I’d argue the humble crow or raven pops up in fantasy books and films just as often, even if it is sometimes in a more symbolic or background role.

Since I love crows, and recently changed the look of my blog to feature a crow rather prominently, I thought this might be a good excuse to take a closer look at these sometimes under-appreciated birds and their prevalence in speculative fiction. Continue reading →

When Evil Characters Switch Sides

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 12 Comments
“Yin Yang”. Photo by Hartwig HKD (Creative Commons CC BY-ND 2.0)

I like a plain old dastardly villain I can hate, but a seemingly evil character who gradually discovers their soft, gooey core, and crosses over to join the good guys? No matter how many times I see it, if it’s done well it still gives me the warm and fuzzies.

I was thinking of this because I’ve recently been reading the Throne of Glass series, which is full of villains that change their colours and show their softer sides, as well as morally questionable heroes and heroines in general. I’ve also finished the Red Rising trilogy, which has so many characters crossing back and forth it’s hard to tell who’ll be left standing on the “good” side in the end. Clearly, it’s something many readers, myself included, enjoy.

So what is it that’s so compelling about this ‘crossing over’ from evil to good? Here is my attempt at breaking it down: Continue reading →

The Power of Competitions and Selections in YA Fiction

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 9 Comments
Photo by Kreg Steppe (CC BY-SA 2.0)

If a best-selling young adult novel sucks me in after only a few pages, it’s often because the book is wielding a secret weapon. Or rather, a not-so-secret weapon, because I’ve seen it many times before. And although I recognise it, it still has the power to peak my curiosity and get me rooting for a character I know next to nothing about. So what is this clever trope?

It has two components, and these usually form a kind of structuring device that shapes the plot and climactic points of the novel: Continue reading →

10 Common Mistakes I See in Paranormal Romance and YA Fantasy Writing

/ Nicola | Thoughts on Fantasy / 16 Comments
Photo by Birame (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Last week, I discussed some common “fatal flaws” that might make me give up on an epic high fantasy novel, rate it poorly, or even avoid reading it in the first place. This week I’ve decided to do the same thing for paranormal romance, YA and urban fantasy novels, because I enjoy reading these genres as well, and I’ve found the problems I encounter in them usually differ to those I encounter in traditional epic high fantasy.

So here are 10 key things that will often turn me off a paranormal romance or YA fantasy (genres I normally like!): Continue reading →