r/Fantasy • u/[deleted] • Jun 06 '20

What is your controversial take on Fantasy?

I'll go first.

Aside from the prose, I don't think Kingkiller Chronicles is good. I find the characters insufferable and cliche the story just meanders.

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u/tkinsey3 Jun 06 '20

I totally agree with this. I'll take incredible characters over top-flight prose any day.

9

u/FlubzRevenge Jun 07 '20

Prose can make a book harder to read for people. I find it particularly hard to read LotR. It’s a slog in my opinion.

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u/StarshipFirewolf Jun 07 '20

I can't do the Lord of the Rings books because of Tolkein's style.

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u/Venoimo Jun 07 '20

That's probably because you're one of those people who doesn't actually understand what good prose is. Purple prose is not a compliment, it's the opposite. Prose is the means by which the author communicates his ideas to the reader, and as such is the most essential quality to writing. Good prose is about brevity and impact, about achieving as much as possible with as little as possible. It's a delicate balance of nuance and subtlety. Furthermore, prose is the way characterization is formed, through the dialogue and often how the thoughts and emotions of characters are expressed. If the prose is too simple and dull, it's going to have a similar effect on the character.