[HPforGrownups] Facile fantasy (was: Dumbledore the not-necessarily-good (Far too long))

[Peg Kerr]

No: HPFGUIDX 1287

Jinx wrote: <snip>

Some fantasy is really good.  Some of it sticks with the same

> Elves/Men/Orcs/Dwarves mould with virtually interchangeable characters from
> book to book and never really evolves beyond swords and sorcery LOTR fanfic.
> It's like action flicks with magic involved.  You have to be careful with
> these things.
>
> Jinx

Tappan King, a fantasy/sf editor refers to that sort of book as "elfy-welfy
books."  Which I have always found rather hilarious.

[<OT:>  I also think the most devastating comment I ever heard about a fantasy
novel was that it was "too derivative of Terry Brooks' _Sword of Shannara_.

Having said that, I'll add that I've never read _Sword of Shannara_ myself, and
I was surprised to discover that I liked his Magic Kingdom for Sale series,
mostly because I was vastly amused by his depiction of an attorney from our
world who becomes the king of a fantasy world--and yet he STILL KEEPS THINKING
LIKE AN ATTORNEY.  As a woman who is married to an attorney and pays the
mortgage by working as a legal secretary, I found it to be a lot of fun, despite
all the cliches. </OT:>]

I don't particularly hear anyone accusing JKR of writing facile fantasy (well,
except for Harold Bloom, of course).  And although JKR does use some familiar
fantasy tropes, I haven't heard of anyone (other than Nancy Stouffer) accusing
her of lazily/blatantly ripping anyone off.

I wonder what Harold Bloom would say about Nancy Stouffer's work?  ;-)

Peg