Ilasir Maroa

The best way to respond to an exhortation to read some Dragonlance is a non-committal "maybe" to be followed in one's head by whatever your actual answer is.



DL is fun for a time-passer, but not really the epitome of fantasy literature by any definition.

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Crap! Haven't posted it anywhere yet, darn!
"Only tyranny cloaks itself in shadows. The light of justice can not be hidden."
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WriterDude

It's one of the biggest fantasy-series there is. 'nough said.

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Ilasir Maroa

And as everybody knows, quantity is equal to quality, or possibly, quality is equal to quantity-squared.

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My hopeful book:
Crap! Haven't posted it anywhere yet, darn!
"Only tyranny cloaks itself in shadows. The light of justice can not be hidden."
www.theoddvillepress.com

ClancyBoy

Sweet Valley High is the best series ever then.

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"Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons wait for you down there. Little pets they are, little little little pets. Cute little things, they say. Don't you believe it. No man ever saw them and walked away alive. You won't either. That's the final dash, flash. That's the utter clobber, cobber." --Cordwainer Smith, Norstrillia.

jewellz

I totally agree with you. It's like both fantasy and sci-fi have some sort of language only comprehendible to a specific audience. They seem overly technical, and aren't exactly easy to read. And not much humor. Although I'm not really one to talk, because there are very few fantasies or sci-fis that I've been able to get through! One very funny sci-fi-ish book that I did get through, though, would be hitchhikers guide to the universe. That really isn't my style of book, but I was hooked after accidently reading the first page. That was an exception for me, just because it didn't take itself seriously, ya know?

Harry Potter seems to be quoted often around here as a fantasy, but I've JK Rowling doesn't even consider it a fantasy. She actually has come out and said that she hates fantasies, which is interesting. That just goes to show that that series might be a readable fantasy just for that reason - it doesn't follow the typical formula. But I don't know.

jewellz

Yes, Sweet Valley High is the best series ever. At least it was when I was 13

geminye

I've read the two main trilogies for Dragonlance. There were good, however, i would never read another one again. I have a hard time reading "high" fantasy, or even hardline sci-fi for that matter.
If it has a wizard, or a dragon...i usually won't read it. Has anyone read "The Stone and the Flute?" A great fantasy with very little in the way of mainstream fantasy cliche. Written by Han Bemman.
If you are going to use a wizard as the main character, go as far into left field as you can think of. Don't use traditional magic. Maybe he has to sacrifice a part of his flesh to preform magic. Or, he preforms magic by consuming the flesh of another (i like dark fantasy and fiction if you can't tell.) Put your character on the edge of society. Make an anti-hero wizard. I guess this would be similar to Raistlin, but just avoid the standard fair.
I like when a little bit of steam-punk is incorporated in with standard fantasy, much like final fantasy.
Keep your story on the edge to keep me interested.

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WriterDude

You're read the two "main trilogies" (Chronicles and Legends, I assume?) and decided you hate it all? Nice one. You do realize the timeline in Dragonlance spans nine thousand years and that the two "main trilogies" are only a small part in the series? They aren't really that important, or even good. They were the first DL books ever, so of course they aren't that great. Try reading Dragons of Summer Flame instead. It's just one book, but is at least as important and the two trilogies. Or read the Kingpriest trilogy. It isn't even written by Weis & Hickman, but is one of the most important trilogies there are. Or War of Souls, although I hated it. Fifth Age Trilogy (by Jean Rabe) is also well worth a read, and so far that's just some of the important ones.

Only reading two trilogies is like reading the first two chapters of Lord Of The Rings and decide you hate the whole trilogy. No offense, of course.

BTW if you want comedy in fantasy, you might want to try Discworld. I don't like it much myself, but it's certainly funny.

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Rahvin

Well, I posted up the Turkey City Lexicon a while ago. It's a handy lexicon of the many many sci-fi (and fantasy) cliche's that occur. Take a look.

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dhyre

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*** correction: Writing is about individuality, breaking the rules, testing new grounds, listening to ourselves. That's why we do it, to show we are individuals, we are human and because everyone's idea deserves a chance, even if you don't think so.

dhyre

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*** correction: Writing is about individuality, breaking the rules, testing new grounds, listening to ourselves. That's why we do it, to show we are individuals, we are human and because everyone's idea deserves a chance, even if you don't think so.

geminye

WriterDude,

I didn't say that i hated it all. Its just that its not my kind of thing. It feels too pastiche for me. I like the fantasies that push the boundries. I like to avoid the general conventions, or the cliches that we've been referring to. No hostility towards high fantasy, i just prefer the darker elements.

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Suffer the little children...

Ilasir Maroa

Lol, steampunk is fun... I'm not exactly sure this is the thread to be arguing the merits of Dragonlance though. It's full of cliches... so are we arguing that cliches can be good or what?

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My hopeful book:
Crap! Haven't posted it anywhere yet, darn!
"Only tyranny cloaks itself in shadows. The light of justice can not be hidden."
www.theoddvillepress.com

Mike C

Sorry, but your response is laughable. Someone reads six novels out of a series and fails to be impressed... I'd say it's a pretty fair bet that they'll feel the same way about the rest of the series, don't you? Or is there a magic number of poor books you have to read before you hit a good one in the series?

And yes, it's equally possible to read a couple of chapters of LOTR and decide it's not for you. Most people make judgements about books in the first couple of pages. What about you, do you read a dire book all the way through to the end then put it down and say "Yup, it was all as bad as I thought it would be"? Or are you just unable to discriminate between good and bad?

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WTFtat

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