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All Prologue
Aug. 22nd, 2010 03:36 pmNov 2009
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - Gollancz, 2007
* * *
A common complaint levelled against epic fantasy by critics (when they deign to comment at all) is that it concentrates on world-building and simplistic manichean plotting at the expense of the character complexity and development that is the stuff of "real" literature. This might have been the case fifty years ago - no-one would, I think, read the Conan books for psychological insights into their protagonist - but since then there has been a progressive tendency for characterisation to be foregrounded over world-building. On the whole this is a good thing, but some writers are beginning to take it too far. Case in point: The Blade Itself.
( Read more... )
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - Gollancz, 2007
* * *
A common complaint levelled against epic fantasy by critics (when they deign to comment at all) is that it concentrates on world-building and simplistic manichean plotting at the expense of the character complexity and development that is the stuff of "real" literature. This might have been the case fifty years ago - no-one would, I think, read the Conan books for psychological insights into their protagonist - but since then there has been a progressive tendency for characterisation to be foregrounded over world-building. On the whole this is a good thing, but some writers are beginning to take it too far. Case in point: The Blade Itself.
( Read more... )