Fantasy Moods: Dark Fantasy

From my MLA 2012 Fantasy Presentation

Dark Fantasy –

·       Some will tell you that dark fantasy is fantasy and horror mixed together.  I don’t see it quite like that.  Too much of the dark stuff I’ve read doesn’t fit into that framework for me. 

·       Fantasy and Horror are on a continuum based on how stories are intended to make the reader feel.  Fantasy tends to be optimistic, horror pessimistic.  In fantasy the reader is pretty sure that things are going to turn out OK, regardless of the ups and downs of the story.  Even if a character has pretty much given up hope and is trudging on through sheer momentum, (think Frodo near the end of the ring quest) the reader, with her omniscient view, knows this is an event with an end and it will get better.  At the far end of Horror readers have no such assumptions.  Things look bleak because they are, and neither the characters or the readers have any real expectation that they’ll get better.  The monster will come back.  A character is irrevocably mad.  Dark fantasy rests somewhere on this continuum nearer the horror than the fantasy end, depending, of course, on the story and the author, but not giving up all hope that things will turn out as well as they can in the end. There is the hope of at least some redemption and healing.

·       Topics are no guarantee of dark.  Vampires, for instance.  I read a chapter on horror RA that classed Vampires as horror, period.  MaryJanice Davidson writes a series called Betsy the Vampire Queen that is about vampires with werewolves, ghosts, and zombies thrown in, but, while it has horrific moments and events, is anything but horror.  Betsy is a ditzy 30 something blond Minnesotan who dies in a car wreck and revives as the long foretold Queen of the Vampires.  She has no desire to fulfill this role, but if she has to, she’ll be a kinder, gentler Vampire Queen and drag the rest of the vampire world with her, kicking and screaming if necessary.  Again, full of humor, light reading, good outcomes, not horror by any stretch of the imagination.  This series was listed in this horror chapter because it has vampires. 

·       It can be hard to tell where dark fantasy leaves off and horror begins. My feeling is that a lot of it depends on where professional classifiers – publishers and catalogers – choose to put a particular title. Many authors write both, and win awards in both fields.

·       Another continuum in Dark Fantasy (and Horror) is the psychological. How much of the darkness is a result of fighting external monsters vs. internal?

·       Melusine by Sarah Monette is a really good example of more internal monsters than external. Of the two main characters, both were child victims of exploitation, and later assault. Both are stripped of the skills they’re proudest of and their chosen livelihoods, and both are forced to keep dealing with new, psychologically-scarring circumstances throughout the series.  Monette has a fascination with breaking her characters and seeing how they might heal and learn to live with the damage that won’t heal. They are dark.  And yet, there’s great beauty, too. She comes up with some breathtakingly lovely concepts that show that while there’s great dark, and it’s not an easy society to live in, there’s also great beauty if you know to look.  The dark is not all there is; there is hope. Monette is a fabulous writer, and her characterizations are amazing.  This is the first book in a long time that I got honestly angry over having to put down to go back to work after lunch.

·       A lot of it is much more external.  Great monsters to fight. Changing situations that are hard to handle.  Horrific situations. 

Fantasy Tropes: Steampunk

From my MLA 2012 Fantasy presentation

Steampunk

• Good example of a Science Fantasy trope: Feels like SF, has fantasy underpinnings.
• Magic and technology living side-by-side.
• Alternate version of the Victorian age.
• Premised on the concept of inventors in the late 19th century being able to use steam and their level of science to create all sorts of advanced technology – dirigibles for transoceanic flights, powerful clockwork computers, robots, etc.  What would that have done for the British Empire?  How would that technology have affected the Civil War?  What if the aether theory had been correct? How would that affect advanced science & technology, and everyday life?
• All steampunk includes implied magic in that in our world steam-level technology can’t do what steampunk has it doing. “The Iron Duke” by Meljean Brook, for instance, includes nanotechnology produced by the Horde and used to control Europeans in a steam culture. That’s just not possible.
• Might also include magic workers alongside mad (and not so mad) inventors. (The Iron Wyrm Affair by Lilith Saintcrow.  Main characters are a forensic sorceress and an expert at deduction working together in a wonderfully steampunk and magical society.)
• Often includes magical beings – vampires, werewolves, zombies. (Souless by Gail Carriger)
• Very popular right now.  
• As much of an aesthetic movement as a subgenre.  Lots of websites, costuming and crafting around steampunk mainly involving brass, gears, goggles and at least vaguely Victorian style clothing. Some of it is very clever.
• For an idea of the look a couple of steampunk movies - “Sherlock Holmes” (2009) and the 2008 Dr. Who Christmas Special “The Next Doctor.”  

Fantasy Tropes: Science Fantasy

From my MLA 2012 Fantasy presentation

Science Fantasy

·       Science fiction can be described as a subset of the fantastical, just with rationality, a.k.a. science. It too is filled with elements that are not part of our reality, like aliens and interstellar travel, although the balance ratio of improbability to impossibility certainly tilts much further towards improbability in science fiction than it does in fantasy. And for many elements are just a matter of time until they become reality. However the border between science fiction and fantasy is fuzzy enough to create difficulties with categorization. Science fantasy denotes stories in that gray area. where characteristics of both are present.

·       Sometimes it’s not a matter of what elements are used but how they are worked with.  The irrational, by its very nature is mysterious and ceases to be irrational when it is described in scientific or technological terms.  If a character can read minds, it might be magic if they cast a spell to do so, like in Harry Potter, but not magic if the author puts forth the premise that telepathy is caused by a part of the brain that most people can’t access, like in Anne McCaffrey’s Talents universe.  It’s becoming increasingly unreliable to try and define a genre by its elements or tropes, beyond a few basics.  It’s often much more revealing to examine how the author uses those elements and what effect she hopes to gain from them.  This is especially true with such closely intertwined genres as fantasy, science fiction, and horror. 

·       How important is it to categorize?  As long as it’s a good story, do we care? Maybe better to use specific story elements or a feel when doing RA. 

·       Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley

o      Uses a number of Fantasy themes – psi powers advanced to the point of working like magic.

o      However treated almost scientifically with natural laws, experiments, and repeated results.

o      Feudal societies – lords, serfs, castles, swords, etc.

o      Traditional gender roles.

o      Lost colony.

o      The wider galactic civilization comes more and more into play as the series timeline advances.

o      Depends on the book as to whether it reads more like SF or F.  Books about the society’s “lost” years are much more fantasy-like. 

o      I categorize it as SF because of the Lost Colony aspect and the incontrovertible evidence of it being part of a larger galactic community.  All of her “magic” is recognizable as some sort of science, even is some of it is (currently) considered pseudo-science.  However, if my first exposure was “Stormqueen” from the Ages of Chaos, I might very well go Fantasy.

·       Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

o      Dragons

o      Not very explicit in scientific explanations.

o      Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, & Mrs. Which read as witch-like

o      Travel to different planets.

o      Father is a scientist and they use science to travel.

o      I would label this SF because it has a high-tech feel. 

·       Warlock in Spite of Himself by Christopher Stasheff – first in the Wizard of Gramarye Series

o      Lost colony – you know this from the very beginning.  The main character – the “Wizard” is out searching for lost colonies.

o      All the magic is explained away as psi powers – which while pseudo-science is not entirely outside the realm of science, especially in SF.

·       Dragon Rises by Adrienne Martine-Barnes.

o      Strong Arthurian themes – main characters, including the POV characters, are incorporeal beings who keep being reincarnated to play the same roles again and again.  Including as Arthur, Gwenevere, and Lancelot. Fantasy.

o      However, the action is all SF.  Spaceships, space battles, different planets, alien species.  Science. Very techie.

o      The SF is all window-dressing for the drama being played out by the incorporeal beings.  And that window dressing has changed before and might very well change again.  

Fantasy Tropes: Arthurian

From my MLA 2012 Fantasy presentation

Arthurian

·       Based on the stories of King Arthur and the Holy Grail

·       A lot of fantasy readers go through an Arthurian phase and read everything they can get their hands on – fact and fantasy. I think it ties in to the medieval phase many readers also go through, and it’s the ultimate epic fantasy, really. And it might have been real! 

·       The main bit of source material is “Le Morte d’Arthur” compiled by Sir Thomas Malory, first printed in 1485.  Malory compiled his work from earlier French stories about Arthur (William the Conqueror was from Brittany, in modern day France – cross-cultural influences), and medieval English sources. Le Morte also includes “Tristan and Isolde” and the story of the Holy Grail (purportedly the cup that Christ drank from at the Last Supper.) There’s a lot of fantasy source material here.

·       Survived with such significance because it was the folklore of feudalism and the upper classes, proclaiming their literally god-given right to rule because they were high-born Christians, and reinforcing the rules of chivalry, which gave them a moral code and therefore moral authority. This was true long enough that it became firmly entrenched in the cultural fabric, and the story is malleable enough to take on new significance when warranted.

·       Very popular among fantasy writers and readers because:

·       in-built magic – Merlin, Grail.

·       the epic and mythic qualities of the stories – Once and Future King

·       the fact that it’s one of the basic British myths

·       Arthur promises to come back, which opens up all sorts of possibilities

·       There is also a whole field of study surrounding King Arthur. Did he really exist?  If so, what was his world like? What did he do? What are the sources of the legends? The supernatural bits? How does the Grail fit in? Lots of nonfiction scope here for interested readers.

·       Differences in Arthurian fantasies are roughly centered on:

·       place on the realism/fantasy scale (Firelord by Parke Godwin to Sword in the Stone by T.H. White)

·       who the story centers around (Hawk of May by Gillian Bradshaw – Gwalchmai, half brother of Mordred, son of Morgause (Morgan La Fay)

·       setting (Knight Life by Peter David)

·       A lot of fantasy novels have Arthurian themes and elements without being full-blown Arthurian romances/fantasies, including: 

·       Arthur or one of the other characters shows up

·       Includes the Grail

·       Includes a King who returns after millennia

Fantasy Tropes: Traditional Sources

From my MLA 2012 Fantasy presentation

Based Explicitly on Traditional Sources –

·       Myths, Fairy Tales, Gods, Legends, Epic poems, medieval, international.

·       An opportunity for the author to play with traditional sources and see what new significance she can get out of them.

·       Can be modern takes or very traditional (Hounded by Kevin Hearne)

·       Sometimes elaborated upon, extended or reworked with characters developed beyond stereotype or archetype and given human backgrounds and motivation. (Fire Rose - Mercedes Lackey)

·       Sometimes antagonist or minor character POV (The Rumplestiltskin Problem by Vivan Vande Velde)

·       Sometimes the traditional sources are used as jumping off points for an entirely new story. (American Gods by Neil Gaiman)

·       Reworked fairy tales sometimes referred to “fractured” or “cracked” fairy tales (Nursery Crimes series – Jasper Fforde)

·       For a title that includes many, many traditional sources from all over try Silverlock by John Myers Myers. The protagonist gets shipwrecked in The Commonwealth of Letters where he meets all sorts of mythological, historic, and literary creatures.  Quite extraordinary. 

Fantasy Tropes: Urban Fantasy

From my MLA 2012 Fantasy presentation

Urban Fantasy  

·       Fantasy in which magical beings live alongside humans in a recognizable contemporary urban environment. Most humans may or may not be aware of it.

·       Contemporary and urban – To a fantasy reader they are, somewhat jarringly, set in the here and now. Even though fantasy stories have often been set in cities in past time periods, the contrast between the reality we experience and what the characters are experiencing is one of the defining characteristics of Urban Fantasy. Magic entering into and disrupting our urban environment. 

·       Magic and technology work side by side. A potential source of conflict.  For example many of the fae are traditionally unable to tolerate cold iron, which is how humanity gets one up on them.  How do the fae deal with living in a modern city?

·       Authors have fun figuring out how different magical species could operate, often covertly, in our world.  How would they blend in? How would they be revealed?  What would the results be?  

·       Can be very, very set in the landscape and environment. Minute description of the contemporary environment – naming local landmarks, for instance – help with the sense of disconnect for the reader.  What do you mean Minnehaha Park is the battleground for the fae? (War for the Oaks, Emma Bull)

·       Often violent – Humans are not necessarily the apex predator anymore and this causes conflict.  Either humans are trying to keep the supernatural in check – (Anita Blake, vampire hunter) – or the supernaturals are policing their own for their own self-interest – trying staying hidden or as nonthreatening as possible.  (Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs)

·       A lot of very strong women protagonists who do what they have to do.  Authors are able to create roles for their women characters that defy or subvert traditional gender roles because they’re dealing with an “other” Earth. Watching the authors and characters figure out romance is … interesting, and sometimes a little uncomfortable making, especially when they involve the rules of magical societies. (Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff)

·       Tend to not soften the realities of magical beings’ cultures/necessities – vampires drink blood and werewolves spend part of the time being wolves – and what those imply for everyday life. 

·       Protagonists often up against beings or situations that are stronger than they are. (Seanan McGuire – Discount Armageddon.  In Cryptid series.)

·       Often tough humor thrown in. (Dresden Files by Jim Butcher)

Fantasy Tropes: Epic/High

From my MLA 2012 Fantasy presentation

Epic/High

·       This is the trope that non-fantasy readers most heavily associate with fantasy. Some of the RA sources I reviewed for this presentation made assumptions about the entire fantasy genre based on their understanding of this trope.  It is historically an important part of the genre, and it’s very big in scope, but it’s definitely not the be all and end all of fantasy.

·       Epics are profound in scope as well as size.  They discuss the big questions – about purpose, destiny, what does it mean to be human, etc.

·       J.R.R. Tolkien, with his quintessential modern Epic Fantasy stories  -  “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings,” brought back the traditional epic, and set a precedent in fantasy literature. 

·       Epic fantasy doesn’t necessarily need to be S&S – it’s defined by its scope, mission, and emotional content rather than by the presence of swords and sorcery. However, much of it does fit into that trope as well.

·       Generally involves a diverse group of characters heading out to remedy a desperate situation as best they can. Their different talents make for a strong group.  Sometimes there’s one character that stands out, sometimes there’s a true ensemble cast.  But they’re all heroes.

·       The fall of a civilization or end of the world hangs in the balance. Desperate times and desperate measures.

·       Characters are challenged and you see the best and the worst of the characters. They need to make difficult decisions and reach down into themselves to find strength they didn’t know they had. There’s a lot of character development.

·       Internal and social rules and boundaries often challenged – characters change state – pig farmer to High King and vice versa, with the accompanying abilities, as in the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander where Taran does just that.  Magical feats are performed that were previously thought impossible, right down to crossing the boundaries of death.  In David Eddings’ Belgariad series Belgarion brings a horse back to life, something strictly against the magical rules of his universe. 

·       Elegiac in tone for two reasons:

o      Often at least one character is asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, and decides the cause is worth it.

o      The characters are working unbelievably hard for a world-shaking goal and when they achieve it it’s the peak moment of peak moments.  But even as you, the reader, are rejoicing and sharing in the joy, you know that this is but a moment in time and not only will the story end for you, but there’s no way that the situation in the fantasy world that has become so real to you, can be maintained.  It is one moment in history that will not last.  And that is sad.

·       Good and evil are fairly clearly drawn, if sometimes hidden. 

·       The journeys are often on a grand scale – great distances and taking a long time. Maps are very common.

·       Can be very long. Can be many series within the same universe.

·       Has a definite arc; has an end point with a mission achieved. Often at least one quest involved.

·       Tends to get the reader very emotionally involved with both the characters and the situation.

·       Has very dark moments, which serve not only the storytelling, but also to highlight the over-all optimistic tone of the story – the dark is only temporary - and the triumphant ending.  Great heights require great valleys to be properly appreciated.

·       The world building is very developed – often several different races of people, detailed descriptions of places, complex politics, finely drawn cultures and customs.  And often the inference that there’s much more that you haven’t seen. Landscape itself plays a major part.

·       Destinarian and with a sense of moral order and symbolism to the adventures. 

Fantasy Tropes: Sword and Sorcery

From my MLA 2012 Fantasy presentation

Sword & Sorcery:

·       Began with Robert E. Howard’s “Conan the Barbarian” stories

·       American invention – American-type hero on an American-type frontier in whatever pseudo-time period the author chose.

o      Everything in the story exists in relation to the protagonist, who's out to fulfill his goals and that’s it.

o      Just enough world building to serve the story.

o      Not much, if any, character development. 

o      Stories tend to lack subtlety.

o      Lots of fighting, violent, might makes right.

o      Accomplished warriors, possibly armed with magic swords, fighting other warriors and magic-users of all sorts.  More sword vs. sorcery.

o      Formulaic

o      No question of who’s good and who’s evil, if moral distinctions are being made at all.

·       “In Robert E. Howards’s hands … the barbarian’s shrugging contempt for effete civilization is married to a wintry fatalism clearly reminiscent of the doom-laden worldview expressed by heroes of Nordic saga.” Clute & Grant, eds. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy p. 481.

·       Fritz Leiber quote from 1961. “muscular heroes in violent conflict with a variety of villains, chiefly wizards, witches, evil spirits and other creatures, whose powers are – unlike the hero’s – supernatural in origin.” (Clute and Grant, 1997). Leiber wrote a very popular sword & sorcery series Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser.

·       Genre has evolved and matured.  Now with a wide range of quality and sophistication, it has become fantasy involving

o      Swords

o      Sorcery/Magic

o      Magical beings

o      Pre-industrial settings

·       Episodic; Made up of linked adventures – sometimes previously published as short stories. Always room for another adventure. Often more adventure than quest.  “Sword & Sorceress” series of anthologies, edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley

·       Good & evil can be very clearly drawn.

·       Can cover the range of light to dark, serious to humorous.

·       World-building can range from just enough to tell the story well to intricately detailed worlds. 

·       Traditionally used to indicate stories written on a more personal level – about a person or group of persons with their own agenda(s) and who are trying to make their way in the world - someone out on a quest to avenge their father or their village.  A thief working to steal something and then running from the authorities. A sword for hire wandering the world. Not necessarily true anymore, it’s become something of a catch-all trope for stories that fit the basic requirements and are hard to fit anywhere else.

·       It is hard to find consensus on the definition of this trope. I’ve seen stories that I’d put here referred to by their setting – medievalist.  Some don’t make any distinction between quest, heroic, high, or Sword and Sorcery fantasy. So be sure to quiz any patron that comes in asking for any of those things what elements they’re looking for, and search accordingly.   

Common Elements of Fantasy: Hero

From my MLA 2012 Fantasy presentation

The Hero:

·       Conversation about the nature of heroism and the hero.

·       Perspective of Hero is key.  That determines what's heroic – it's a very personal thing.  Also, it's partially an internal journey so without the hero's perspective it loses a lot of meaning.

·       Sometimes the hero creates the situation in which he must become the hero.  In Ursula K. LeGuin's “Wizard of Earthsea”, Ged loosed a great evil and has to become a great mage to banish it again.

Heroic Journeys

·       The heroic monomyth that Joseph Campbell distilled in his Hero with a Thousand Faces” – “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

·       Hero’s journey – Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of fertility and love – descending into the darkness and finding that your ultimate enemy is yourself and embracing that.

·       Transformation – (“Riddle-Master of Hed” by Patricia McKillip – Transforms from the Farmer-Prince of an island nation to something much bigger and more mysterious.)

·       Growth into/discovery of power – form of coming of age that is not age specific – coming into oneself.  This is a much-loved fantasy element.  (“Fistful of Sky” – Nina Kiriki Hoffman – both coming of age and coming into her powers. )

Different types of hero:

·       Anti-Hero – a protagonist who is heroic and not at the same time.  A hero with many less-than-heroic characteristics and yet manages to get the job done. (“Sir Apropos of Nothing” by Peter David, 1^st in the Apropos of Nothing series.)

·       Reluctant Hero – A hero who has no desire for the job and yet gets forced into it anyway.  Sometimes by someone else.  Sometimes because they’re the only person with the right qualifications.  Sometimes purely by circumstances. (Guards, Guards by Terry Pratchett. Sam Vimes, commander of the City Watch, just wants to keep what order he can in Ankh-Morpork. Unfortunately he keeps unwittingly getting himself involved in crises that with ever expanding consequences, and solving them. The epitome of the person promoted above his comfort level, but never above his abilities.)