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.