A Yearning for the Epic: Belarrin’s Path
**********WARNING! This article discusses core plot and theme ideas, including major spoilers of what occurs in the climax of the story. I strongly encourage that you only continue reading this if…
A Tale of Too Many Tales
How long should a book series be? Is there really even an answer to this question?I believe there is an ideal length for a series… somewhere between three to six…
Is Combat Boring? Jordan’s High Lord Turok and Dumai’s Wells
Today marks the conclusion of this four-part revisiting of the theories of combat in literature. I had begun by positing that combat is boring for a myriad of reasons. The…
Is Combat Boring? Lloyd Alexander’s Taran Wanderer
After last article’s break to look at the potential impacts of COVID-19 on the future of fantasy, it is time to return to the current series on the potentially boring…
Is Combat Boring? Tolkien’s Pelennor Fields
Last article I revived the claim that combat in literature is boring. I talked about the tainting effect of movie special effects which have prompted authors to futilely chase after…
Combat is Boring – Revisited
In one of my first articles on this blog, I proclaimed that combat (in literature) is boring! Combat, in and of itself, often adds less value to a novel than…
Behind the Pages: Vitarria
It’s been a while since I last wrote a “Behind the Pages.” This stems, in part, from a desire for variety but also from my increased focus on the characters…
Individuals, Society, Change, and Story
This article centers on a combination of seemingly disparate thoughts, so I ask for your patience as I bring them all together. The conclusion, I think, will be interesting.So the…
The Author’s Dilemma: Who lives and who Dies
The fantasy genre tends to be violent. By its very nature, there are usually swords, sorcery, monsters, and dragons… or at least some variety thereof (although to be fair, fantasy…
Combat is Boring
This is probably a heretical article title given that I’m a writer of military fantasy. Nevertheless, it is a common occurrence I’ve noticed in recent years. Good fighting scenes are…