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Joined: 5/8/2013
Posts: 25
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I was looking at lots of cliché related stuff everyone hates... not just BookCountry discussions, but in other places too. The "special" orphan/farmboy is a particular cause of much teeth-grinding.
What is UNDER-done in fantasy, that you'd like to see more of?
Personally, I'm doing my bit to make gigantic man-eating otters the next cliché. How wonderful would it be if you couldn't go near bodies of fresh water in a fantasy novel for all the giant otters that would crush your MC's head like a clam?!
... Also, in my view, the antagonist/"villain" never gets the girl often enough. What's up with that?
What do you think should be done more?
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Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 272
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I'd like to see more of the blending of science and magic. There's this annoying tendency for magic to be treated as entirely separate from any other technology, while it's still a part of reality. What'd be really interesting to see would be the integration of summoning spirits with the scientific method.
Of course, there's no possible way that could go wrong...
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Integration of summoning spirits with the scientific method? I might take you up on that challenge. I already have runes functioning in an equation to get desired results. I might take you up on the challenge.
And right now I'm trying to "design" a steam engine that uses canisters of magical fire to head the water instead of a coal or wood burning stove. Being able to adjust the intensity of the heat is the problem that's bothering me the most.
Also want to use magic channeling microchips to enchant tech in the urban fantasy I'm planning to write. I just came up with the idea yesterday, so it's a bit fuzzy.
My husband and I were also sitting down trying to figure out how elements (fire, earth, water, air) are controlled on a molecular level since I have characters who use them and very inquisitive scientists. Fire and water are easy. Air is a bit tricky, and earth even more so. Both of those give me more options to choose from than I like.
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Joined: 8/13/2011
Posts: 272
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LeeAnna, you might want to steal the control rod model from nuclear reactors. Have you considered having the canisters move in and out of the water, heating more or less as they do so? This'd solve your problem with little more than a 'simple' lever system.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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I had a similar idea, so I just might. The problem would be how compact you can make the system so you can use it on smaller machines like cars. I mean, steam cars weren't light weights, but they're no train engine or steam machine to run factory equipment.
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Joined: 4/7/2013
Posts: 26
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I would like to see more settings based on cultures other than what you would find in Europe. Something from Asia or even Africa would be different. Wish I had the guts to try something like that, but I'm afraid my knowledge of their mythos and culture is so lacking that I would flub it badly.
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 412
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Masamune Shirow's Orion had some interesting magic technology mixing.
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Joined: 4/30/2011
Posts: 662
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Throne of the Crescent Moon is based primarily off Middle Eastern culture but is quite multicultural. I highly suggest it. It has a nice charm to it.
And for science and magic, Lawrence's Broken Empire books are good. He's a researcher, so science is second nature to him. His world is interesting.
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I'd like to see more of protagonists letting their hair down, having a life outside their quests or causes. Reading books for pleasure, going to theaters, playing chess with people, having a favorite food or type of music. Protagonists who have no life outside their cause, regardless of the genre, are boring to me. They don't come off as real people - just as walking archetypes.
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LeeAnna Holt wrote:Throne of the Crescent Moon is based primarily off Middle Eastern culture but is quite multicultural. I highly suggest it. It has a nice charm to it.
And for science and magic, Lawrence's Broken Empire books are good. He's a researcher, so science is second nature to him. His world is interesting.
I'd also recommend Howard Andrew Jones's The Desert of Souls if you're looking for Middle-Eastern based fantasy. It's set in Baghdad during the reign of Haroud El-Rashid, and it shows a more historically accurate view of the caliph's infamous vizier, Jaffar.
--edited by Ian Nathaniel Cohen on 7/1/2013, 7:22 PM--
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