It’s Not the Action! What makes a great fantasy epic?

AuthorAppleton on February 3, 2020

Bold heroes, wise heroines, terrible beasts, and insurmountable odds. What could be better than a fantasy epic that embraces good versus evil? For me, what makes a fantasy great versus mediocre is a little more precise.

When I was growing up the stories that grabbed my attention were the stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Roundtable, and those similar. Brave knights battling dark magicians to rescue beautiful maidens . . . To my thinking, this is the epitome of a great story, and it is missing in a lot of the politically-charged stories that make it into publication today.

I am all for strong female characters. Just look at my second novel for an example of that, my heroine is the lead in that story. But what I don’t appreciate is the reducing of the masculine and the destruction of the feminine.

The stories that stick with me are the ones that esteem beauty, even physical beauty, but they also place hard consequences on those that commit crimes. And that includes crimes of passion, crimes of physical violence, anarchy, and crimes against God.

I find it fascinating to look at the works of authors whose worldviews are very different from my own. Let’s take for example Terry Goodkind and his series The Sword of Truth. I have read and absolutely adored the story and the characters in several of his novels. I think it is the values that he and I share that make me connect with him as a reader. His hero finds a beautiful woman and of course falls in love with her, but they are unable to fulfill the desires toward one another without releasing her destructive power. Monstrous creatures fill his pages and the hero surmounts incredible odds to defeat both them and the most vile villains.

To name off some other examples: RA Salvatore and J. K. Rowling. Both excellent writers with vastly different worldviews to my own.

Could it be that all of these stories share western ideals that were born out of Judeo-Christian and Arthurian values? I think there is definitely an argument to be made for that.

Over the Christmas season this year I went out to see the latest Star Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker. I am a Star Wars nut, and I greatly enjoyed the wrap to the Skywalker saga. I am not going to give any spoilers here, just in case you haven’t seen it yet. But, while I did enjoy The Last Jedi, it missed the mark for me in many respects. Looking back at it, the story does not have the same coherence of good versus evil that the George Lucas films did. There was very little heart in it. Lots of forced humor, and big explosions. The Rise of Skywalker attempted to fix some of the last film’s mistakes, and I think it effectively did so. We went back to having faith in our heroes, instead of dragging them through the muck of regret.

So let me say that I am unabashedly a fan of classic good versus evil, and of knights rescuing fair maidens. I don’t think we have enough of those kinds of stories being produced today. And there are so many of those stories that we can tell. I want my children to aspire to be the best of themselves.

I will be the first to admit that the Arthurian legends or not the factual events but are vastly romanticized. But isn’t that the beauty of it? It is a fictional world where we can pit our darkest desires against the consequences of our actions. It is a recognition of the reward of a good soul and the quest for great beauty. It is the desire, nay! the intention, to fight with our last breath against tyrants and monsters.

So be unabashed in your quest for authentic knighthood, and the winning of a great love. If you’re a man, enjoy the fact! If you are a woman, throw in the world’s face the fact that you enjoy your feminine characteristics.

Great heroes and heroines come from the battle because they do not back down from cultural expectations. They stay true to their God and their convictions, all the while exercising grace and forgiveness to those around them.

Q: How is your cultural background affecting how you perceive the stories you read?

Why I want to put Wholesome back in Fantasy Stories

AuthorAppleton on October 20, 2014

When I was growing up I devoured tales of true heroism that demonstrated the growth of western society from Judeo-Christian values. King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Pilgrim’s Progress, even mysteries like The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. What has happened since then?

On my book touring travels I cannot tell you how often school teachers and parents were looking for wholesome fiction for their kids. Twilight was the big craze when I was on the road and some people were horrified by some of the content included in those books because they targeted Young Adult readers. I will not speak to Twilight in this post, but I do believe that authors have a responsibility to society to produce fun, wholesome fiction.

“You are what you eat,” is such a common saying. But it’s also accurate to say that “You are what you read.” If our youth are filling their minds with stories of gratuitous violence, casual sex, promiscuity, and vulgarity… what sorts of individuals would you expect them to become?

Books used to be filled with stories of chivalry, self-sacrifice, and self-discipline. Even through fiction young people can learn to be better people with stronger morals. And, very importantly, they can learn how to follow what is right instead of following the crowd. Tales of old were filled with stories of heroes and heroines who stepped back when confronted with temptation and evil. Those heroes and heroines said, “No,” and the readers said, “Wow! I vow to be like that so that I can live in good conscience with my fellow man.”

Thankfully there is a surge of this kind of fiction that is now coming. It will start with the Young Adult category and, I hope, grow into the Middle Grade and Adult fiction.

Question: What fiction books have encouraged you and made you a better person?