The popular thought these days is to be into the hard truths of life. You can see it in the movies Hollywood produces, the reality shows on television, and the novels on best seller lists. But I choose to live in the fantastic. I choose to read novels that create a world, a race of people, a species of magic, a history, a landscape, a foe, and a triumph that I have never before encountered nor will I ever except in the far reaches of imagination. J.R.R. Tolkien shares his opinion: “I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which 'Escape' is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?"
Escape is not the only aspect of fantasy that I love. I love the epic triumph of good over evil. I love the grasping ambitions of the hero who is reluctantly trying to save the entire world because there is a small village tucked away in a peaceful valley where his (or her) parents and the livestock only have wolves to fear, and the hero means to keep it that way. I love how magic is so prevalent. I love that fantasy novels use words like ‘vanquish’ instead of ‘win’. I love how I believe that every epic fantasy tale I read is real. G.K. Chesterton backs me up on this one when he says, “Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten” (emphasis my own).
I am not writing this to defend all fantasy novels; I am, in fact, quite picky about which ones I will spend time reading, and there are certainly some pretty awful ones out there. What I wish to share with you is why you will be reading book reviews, quotes, and thoughts regarding fantasy literature and why it is so hard for me to stay away from that genre.
Excuse me now while I escape my prison and slay some dragons.
This is your best blog posting yet! I agree with you 100 percent (which may be why I think this post is so good:-)
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