The other issue about this is one that I've had with fantasy for some time. I really don't like how much magic is used in fantasy, and this often seeps into my own writing (my first novel, which I consider fantasy, had absolutely no magic in it). Does having a world with a different history but the same physical principles still qualify as fantasy and is it really believable?
I know this is old ground, and I'll probably get old answers but I want to see what people say before I start trying to say what I'm not asking for.
Jon
It seems in speculative publishing there are extremes--magic fantasy in an entirely different world or historical/contemporary fiction in our world or future-heavy sci-fi in whatever world it wants--but not much in the wide spaces between.
We'll just have to be trail-blazers, bladeofwords.
So, I'd say sure that it's ok to write fantasy. I loved reading the original Dragonlance Trilogy by Wiess and Hickman.
But my other one that I'm still working on is a bit of a question mark. I know the genre is superheroes and stuff like that but would it fit in with sci-fi or what?
Just asking is all.
-Bryan-
I like alternative history, but swords without the sorcery doesn't interest me personally.
That said, I have nothing against magic in fantasy, myself. I actually like it, but here's the thing--I hate magic done boringly. Look at the slew of D&D novels, for example. Magic should be defined much more concretely, in my opinion, and should do something unique and interesting. If the magic user is just waving his hands and muttering random words and a fireball comes shooting out, that's boring, stereotypical fantasy. Fantasy needs more than that these days, unless you are writing stories set in the Forgotten Realms.
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This still leaves my second question, is it believable that the main characters be from our world even if there is little (or no) magic as we know it? How much explanation would be needed for the reader to buy it?
Jon
Call this speculative fiction. It fits as well as any other label. You could even call it slipstream if you include enougb of that genre's elements.
quote:Have you ever read a book called To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Phillip Jose Farmer? It pretty much does exactly what you just said, except that there's an explanation. And it's a great explanation. I recommend the book to everybody.
This still leaves my second question, is it believable that the main characters be from our world even if there is little (or no) magic as we know it? How much explanation would be needed for the reader to buy it?
Also, A Conneticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court does something like what you're talking about.
Of course it's possible to write a story in a fantastical setting void of magic, and of course it's possible to send a regular guy from our world over there.
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You could leave the means by which they got from one world to the other basically unexplained, as long as it was clear that it was something that was simply unexplained. A Conneticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court takes this road (though magic does come into play later). You could even make it an unexplained entity like a mysterious person or door or something like that. As long as your characters react properly to the events that led to their journey from one world to another, it is up to you how "explicable" those events are.
On a more fundamental note, I think that yanos has a good point in asking whether you have any reason for what you're doing. You say that you had some questiong as to whether this should be set in another world at all, which suggests to me that you don't really need to set it in another world. Since it is an implicit promise when you set something in another world that the basic differences between that world and our own are an important part of the story you're telling, it might be a good idea for you to clarify in your own mind whether there are such elements in what you're doing.
But here is an idea Since they are the "Princes of Suburbia" Set it in Suburbia. Remember OSC says not to go with your first Instinct.
As to anything being too weird, Speculative fiction is all about weirdness.
Unless you're trying to be formulaic for some odd reason, worry about genre issues later.
Why are these guys called "The Princes of Suburbia"?
What is the basic plot you are going for?
Because I don't know the answer to these two questions I can't really think what the solution might be. The princes of suburbia could be any number of things, each option lends itself to a different plot copncept.
i.e.
Gang of anarchist teenagers from suburbia bent on destroying the idea of middle-class America (Something à la "Fight Club").
Group of guys caught up in a fantasy role playing game who slowly become the personas they are acting out. (See below note about D&D).
Middle-class America types who work their way up into the "nuveaux riche" and into positions of power effectively ruling over Suburbia.
I could come up with a lot more, but these are a few ideas that came to mind based on what I've read in your posts. I like the title and the possibilities are intriguing.
Just thought of another question:
What is it about your idea that prompted you to set it in a foreign world?
Because of the whole "Suburbia" thing, I can understand why you want to set it in our world, but I don't know what you actually want the story to be about, so I can't suggest ways to flesh everything out. You could try an alternate dimension/reality thing (sort of like that show "Sliders").
quote:
I was wondering if it would be weird for somebody from our world to go to a decidedly foreign (and probably fantasy world).
[This message has been edited by Robyn_Hood (edited February 20, 2005).]