tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post2723253678966174355..comments2024-03-18T23:39:15.375-07:00Comments on Stars, Beetles, and Fools: Why I Like FantasyJG Keelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-83032977710727709382018-07-20T05:15:36.391-07:002018-07-20T05:15:36.391-07:00For us, there is no favored tendency over making o...For us, there is no favored tendency over making our clients' <a href="http://www.pakistanvipescorts.com/vip-escorts-in-lahore/" rel="nofollow"> Escorts in Lahore</a> experience satisfaction of the most essential demand. It gives us a dormant sentiment of joy something which is on a non sensible scale. At whatever call attention to models go out with their clients, <a href="http://www.pakistanvipescorts.com/vip-escorts-in-lahore/" rel="nofollow"> Lahore Escorts</a> they certification to make their experience something which they will think about durable.miss hinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08811209513266226654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-91734524540843830722017-08-15T11:35:11.825-07:002017-08-15T11:35:11.825-07:00Well, one of the Xanth books is titled 'The Co...Well, one of the Xanth books is titled 'The Color of her Panties', if that gives you some idea of his approach. It's certainly appealing for an adolescent, when sex is this taboo subject that you're curious about, but can't necessarily just ask adults to tell you. I've known a lot of people who stumbled onto sexuality through books, but then ended up with rather weird preconceptions.<br /><br />For example, Anthony tends to write sexuality as prurient and naughty, and much of his sexual focus is on young women--even prepubescent ones. It's not exactly sex-positive. Goodkind, on the other hand, is more interested in S&M torture scenarios, rape, and putting women on a pedestal. Neither one presents a very good model of healthy, positive, balanced relationships for a young person to emulate.JG Keelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-66745916756538250452017-08-14T10:13:27.184-07:002017-08-14T10:13:27.184-07:00I've never read anything by Piers Anthony or T...I've never read anything by Piers Anthony or Terry Goodkind, but I stumbled upon this in the Wikipedia entry for A Spell for Chameleon: "Both [Melissa De La Cruz and Michael Johnston] said that reading the book as adolescents strongly affected their perceptions of sexuality and relationships, and gave them the confidence to accept themselves as they were, and believe that a potential partner would also accept them."<br /><br />Apparently you weren't the only impressionable youth.<br /><br />(Please note I'm not trying to refute your experience. I just found it telling that both you and the folks quoted above singled out romance, relationships, and sexuality as prevalent themes. I guess they're ones he revisits often?)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02129010410745981853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-84943840968379546852017-08-03T10:20:07.314-07:002017-08-03T10:20:07.314-07:00Oh, a lot of the early stuff I read was bad, like ...Oh, a lot of the early stuff I read was bad, like Piers Anthony, Terry Goodkind, various Dragonlance books. Of course, I didn't know any better then, but as an impressionable young teen, it gave me some really messed-up ideas about romance and human relationships, and it took a while for me to realize that they were just nonsense.JG Keelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-60935763081189448232017-07-24T08:26:49.873-07:002017-07-24T08:26:49.873-07:00I'm curious to know which books you once loved...I'm curious to know which books you once loved but no longer do.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02129010410745981853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-29890029164822650912015-02-04T01:28:36.654-08:002015-02-04T01:28:36.654-08:00This is less why I like fantasy and more why I dis...This is less why I like fantasy and more why I dislike fantasy reader strawmen.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04822851824483079956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-90057381972608730952014-10-20T16:29:12.071-07:002014-10-20T16:29:12.071-07:00I did eventually read a Let's Play of the game...I did eventually read a Let's Play of the game on the Something Awful forums, and while the rest of the game seemed like it might have promise, I couldn't get past the tedious first act and the way the game mishandled its use of Planescape. Who knows, maybe if I went and tried the game again and persevered, I might be able to discover and appreciate some finer points in the game, but again, I'm still washing the taste out of my mouth.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01358843435125296806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-3264959831574459862014-10-20T16:25:27.929-07:002014-10-20T16:25:27.929-07:00See, I couldn't even get interested in BG2. W...See, I couldn't even get interested in BG2. While I appreciated the fact that the party members had actual character as opposed to being speechless combat units, the game had this nasty case of sidetracking syndrome. I need to raise money to save my sister, so I go out and meet someone who can pay me for a job. So far so good. On the way there, someone begs me to help them defend their home outside the city with time being of the urgence. Ok, I'm down with putting off the original client, he'll keep. No sooner do we set outside the city then we find someone who has been poisoned and needs to be transported back to the city. No sooner do we get in the area to drop off the poisoned man, than one of the party mentions he needs to make good with the local thieve's guild. The thieve's guild has us infiltrate a rival guild, and while doing that, the moment we get near our objective we get tasked with investigating a cult. No sooner do we start asking around about the cult, then a church official asks us to talk to a local painter regarding some religious art. No sooner do we get to the painter's house then aliens beam down and tell us about how their world has been enslaved and that they need our help.<br /><br />Ok, I made up that last one, but still. The daisy chain of people asking me, unprompted, to do various unrelated and sometimes inconsequential things was so long that by the time I got the song and dance about the painter, I had forgotten why I was trying to raise money. I could have skipped out on most of the stuff I was being pestered to do, but in my experience sidequests are optional in theory but mandatory in practice, as they are the way the player obtains the means to survive, thus allowing them to proceed in the narrative.<br /><br />It probably also didn't help that BG2 would dabble with the mythology of the Planes in insulting ways. Torment used the Planes as a setting in the way that it should be, as a way to explore various abstract ideas and themes. This game, on the other hand, treated the Planes like a teenager who has just read the book of Revelations and taken nothing more away than "oooh, dragons!". Any time the game took us to the Planes, the game threw Planar monsters at us, to the point that I became convinced that the creators had little interest in the Planes beyond a source of tough fights and loot; it was the exact type of use of the setting which the writers for the original setting material cautioned against in the first few pages. Seeing such a high concept set of ideas used so poorly was like watching a lesser superhero series cross over with American Gods so that the capes could have a go at fighting gods to feel awesome.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01358843435125296806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-76788796886443769062014-10-20T12:04:08.890-07:002014-10-20T12:04:08.890-07:00Yeah, I found IWD and both NWN games uninteresting...Yeah, I found IWD and both NWN games uninteresting, and never finished them. I do like the Baldur's Gate series, but it's really the second game that has strong enough characters and story to be interesting. It's still no Torment, but then nothing is.JG Keelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-48925671971881982542014-10-18T17:33:23.396-07:002014-10-18T17:33:23.396-07:00This rings especially true to me when it comes to ...This rings especially true to me when it comes to fantasy games. I adore Planescape Torment (which I seem to remember you commenting on in a GR review) in particular for the richness of its narrative and the various ideas it explores. Naturally when I mentioned my interest in fantasy games to a friend, he encouraged me to look into the Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Neverwinter Nights series during a sale. I picked them up and was almost immediately repulsed by their lack of any of the wonder that I associated with the genre and all the philosophical and intellectual stimulation of a dishtowel. I understand that there is apparently an expansion for one of the games that is supposedly on par with Torment, but it's going to be a while before I can get the taste of tacky power fantasy out of my mouth and approach the game again.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01358843435125296806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-58978254204680034902014-08-04T08:42:06.645-07:002014-08-04T08:42:06.645-07:00Well, I haven't written up a history of fantas...Well, I haven't written up a history of fantasy, though I probably should. You could check out the wikipedia articles on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_fantasy" rel="nofollow">the history of fantasy</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sources_of_fantasy" rel="nofollow">the sources of fantasy</a>.JG Keelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-1888992330225425742014-08-02T04:32:57.960-07:002014-08-02T04:32:57.960-07:00Michael Moorcock have written numerous essays on f...Michael Moorcock have written numerous essays on fantasy, and they are being compiled in Wizardry and Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy. The essays are insightful for me, and personally I would called it as a must read for anyone who want to have serious take on fantasy. Though as far as I can remember, it don't have any essay that discuss history specifically especially the pagan stories.Shengarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15920714579095955816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-8907166561902955082014-07-31T11:07:16.072-07:002014-07-31T11:07:16.072-07:00"Likewise, when I bring up Fantasy books with..."Likewise, when I bring up Fantasy books with people who are compulsive readers of the genre, the conversation quickly and awkwardly diverges. I begin to mention the reinvention of the epic tradition--and the monomyth in particular--and the use of the more abstract pagan system of the Fairy Tale"<br /><br />Hi Mr. Keely, do you have any essays that discuss the history of fantasy? I know about the Monomyth and fairy tale pagan system in general, and would love to know more about fantasy and its evolution.<br /><br />TIAYonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03942984350023019614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-12188318148359008642014-07-01T20:39:20.899-07:002014-07-01T20:39:20.899-07:00Actually yes, I do have some ideas about why fando...Actually yes, I do have some ideas about why fandom arose, and why it has mostly become a game of memorizing and repeating little facts as a way of 'beating' other fans. I talk about it more in my <a href="http://starsbeetlesandfools.blogspot.com/2012/10/worldbuilding-and-origin-of-fandom-part.html" rel="nofollow">three-part series</a> on the idea of 'worldbuilding', which I think is at the core of why fantasy came to be what it is today--and which is largely due to Tolkien's influence.JG Keelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-40461472529132732922014-07-01T15:55:43.447-07:002014-07-01T15:55:43.447-07:00…now that I think of it, I remember you did discus...…now that I think of it, I remember you did discuss Tolkien's influence and LotR spawning several poor imitators which nevertheless very marketable. On a wider level though I can't understand how Tolkien alone could have such a huge reach, over both the fantasy written and the prevailing attitudes towards fantasy...Jocelyn And Jacquelinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06782520391472849536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-83677685133697720582014-07-01T15:41:38.911-07:002014-07-01T15:41:38.911-07:00Nicely stated. It seems like a lot of the fantasy ...Nicely stated. It seems like a lot of the fantasy fandom (for lack of a better word) is a sort of childish one-upmanship game of who likes this, who doesn't like this. The object and degree of liking and disliking matters more than the why. <br /><br />I'm curious, do you hypothesize a historical reason for this, some movement or byproduct of our culture that somehow developed? I think you said at one point that fantasy was once a respected genre.Jocelyn And Jacquelinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06782520391472849536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-71592354745844042642014-07-01T15:32:44.674-07:002014-07-01T15:32:44.674-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jocelyn And Jacquelinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06782520391472849536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-81427709612576435762013-08-08T15:08:05.981-07:002013-08-08T15:08:05.981-07:00Well, fantasy is defined by fantastical events--by...Well, fantasy is defined by fantastical events--by impossible, magical things happening. This can occur in an adventure story, in a realist, psychological story, a historical drama, a romance, or any other genre. After all, there are authors like Borges and Calvino who have written fantastical works in literary genres.<br /><br />A constructed world isn't necessarily fantasy, either. I mean, if someone made a constructed world that was in every way normal, with no fantastical elements, then it wouldn't be a fantasy. I mean, Faulkner created his fictional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoknapatawpha_County" rel="nofollow">Yoknapatawpha county</a>, where many of his stories take place, but just because it isn't real doesn't make his work fantasy.JG Keelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-14920938185135281312013-08-01T20:52:23.826-07:002013-08-01T20:52:23.826-07:00I kinda understand that thing you've experienc...I kinda understand that thing you've experienced since me too have taking something so seriously while normally doesn't. It's like we're talking a whole different language even though we love the same thing. But again, there is a big difference between people who love pizza because how good the spice and ingridients combination was to people who just love to order it via home delivery at midnight for watching a sports match. Now I understand it why was every intelectual or academic character in Chekhov short stories easily find peoplem around are so dull and why was The Student is Chekhov personal favorite.<br /><br />Well, I have a question myself regarding fantasy: what make a work qualified as fantasy? I write some short stories myself and have constructed world where most of my stories take place. That alone, fictitious constructed universe, is enough to classified it as "fantasy". But the more I read and understand my own on work, it doesn't feels like fantasy at all beside the setting since most of my short stories are influence by either Chekhov or Gogol in which I told a slice of life story.<br />Shengarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15920714579095955816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-15694253321356616462013-07-26T20:03:26.311-07:002013-07-26T20:03:26.311-07:00Ah, sure--it is nice to be able to have people you...Ah, sure--it is nice to be able to have people you can explore ideas with, especially when they have ideas of their own. For me, recognizing the short circuit is usually enough to get me to start rethinking things.JG Keelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-40208202557504028372013-07-26T13:46:46.284-07:002013-07-26T13:46:46.284-07:00Among my close friends I'm usually less put of...Among my close friends I'm usually less put off by my own lack of an immediate explanation; our normal conversations are like a book with footnotes, anyway, so I feel comfortable descending into a rambling panegyric until I finally land on the concise, clear defense of my opinion that I really should have come up with in the first place. It takes far more than my own short circuiting to shake my stance on something. usually it takes a few years of retrospective as well as regular spoonfuls of reasonable counterargument. That's how I realized that Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, much as I still respect the youthful earnestness of the first volume, wasn't as fantastic as I thought it was in fifth grade.Njordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12517760174309412006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-20065681440458339702013-07-25T19:08:36.618-07:002013-07-25T19:08:36.618-07:00"what it *THE* Blank Stare?"
Well, it&#...<i>"what it *THE* Blank Stare?"</i><br /><br />Well, it's not just 'a blank stare', we get those all the time from friends, family, &c.--it's that much deeper look you get when you realize that you're talking to someone who may as well be an alien, because your perspectives on life are just so radically different. It's a gap between two people that can't really be bridged without years of thought and discussion--and maybe not even then.<br /><br /><i>"there ARE examples whizzing through my head, and yet none feel exemplary enough of why I harbor such a fondness for something, or lack thereof."</i><br /><br />Yeah, and that's one of those feelings that's anathema to me--it's like I've suddenly realized that there is a glitch or short circuit in my brain that's sending out bad data. I mean, if I can't explain my opinion, then how did I end up holding it in the first place?JG Keelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-67623660363447614292013-07-25T18:01:37.504-07:002013-07-25T18:01:37.504-07:00First, a question: what it *THE* Blank Stare? I&#...First, a question: what it *THE* Blank Stare? I've received many a blank stare in my life -- mostly vocabulary-induced, but maybe not *THE* Blank Stare.<br />Anyhow, I can understand the frustration of both sides of those conversations. Much like when someone criticizes or praises something I've written, when talking about why someone enjoyed/didn't enjoy something I like... no, I NEED specifics. I, too, feel the need to back up an opinion with supportive evidence.<br />And yet, I can understand the deer-in-headlights reaction of having that support demanded of you. For example:<br />"You [liked/disliked] [insert film/book/movie/show, etc.]? Why did you [like/dislike] that aspect of it?"<br />"Well..." And there ARE examples whizzing through my head, and yet none feel exemplary enough of why I harbor such a fondness for something, or lack thereof. The subjectivity of it all makes examples a bit sticky, besides; one man's trash and all that.Njordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12517760174309412006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-11946046732245625972012-10-26T18:44:06.650-07:002012-10-26T18:44:06.650-07:00I started to write a comment on this, but it got e...I started to write a comment on this, but it got extremely long, so I put it on my own blog instead: http://howtokillyourcharacters.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-we-need-fantasy.html<br /><br />More importantly, where do I subscribe? You seem to be missing the button.Bradyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09023135056577390451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8292243573706628824.post-48006138960622986182012-10-17T15:00:04.995-07:002012-10-17T15:00:04.995-07:00Glad you're enjoying the blog. I personally ha...Glad you're enjoying the blog. I personally have trouble getting into the 'love to hate' mood. If I pick up a book, I want it to be good, and it's just so disappointing to read one epic fantasy book after another and have them all fall so short of the mark. Hopefully someday I'll find a good one. Thanks for the comment.JG Keelyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16194265398177420233noreply@blogger.com