I’ve often
pondered over why I enjoy the fantasy genre so much. The reasons I find are
numerous, but there is one aspect that stands out: Timelessness. Fantasy, well
written, has the potential to last forever.
Before I
continue, I’ll add a disclaimer saying that this is a blog based on my
particular reading preferences and – in spite of what it may seem like – I am
not saying other genres are horrible; I’m merely using them as a basis for
comparison.
Books come
and go, and part of the reason when a book goes is how well people can understand
and relate to it. This means that within sixty or so years of having been
written, books based in modern times are out of date – because society and
technology changes so incredibly fast. If my parents were to write a book about
their teenage years, I would be able to understand it, but everything was so
much different by my teens that I wouldn’t relate. Likewise, if a modern day
teenager (in a generation where everyone has a smartphone) read a book I wrote
based on my teen years (around the time when only about half the teens had cell
phones – flip or slide, rather than smart), they would find they had a very
different life experience. Most of them wouldn’t have a chance with my parents’
book containing record players, cassette tapes and stuff I don’t even
understand.
Science
fiction, on the other hand, is based in the future. It teaches people about a
possible view of the future and other worlds. It’s fun and awesome, up until we
pass the story in time, culture, or technology. Look at Back to the Future –
now out of date because we passed the time when we were supposed to have hover
boards and flying cars (yes, we have some reasonable facsimiles, but not what
we were expecting). On the other hand, there’s the early Star Trek which, while
doing very well for when it was made, had a culture that we have advanced
beyond.
Fantasy differs
from other genres in one major aspect: it is deliberately taking people to
another world, and therefore assumes that people need to be taught about that
world. A lot of time and effort is put into teaching about the fresh world and
cultures, without making any assumptions. As such, it never goes out of date –
assuming, of course, that the writer hasn’t allowed too much of their culture
to leak into their work.
Historical
fiction, of course, comes close to fantasy for timelessness. Once again, it is
taking people to a place that it’s assumes they don’t know much about and, as
such, it teaches them. Of course, with a subject much closer to home, it is
easier to make assumptions that the readers will know certain things, which
could cause the story to get out of date.
So, as you
can see, fantasy has the best ability to last forever. Will The Hobbit ever go
out of date? I think not. That said, it’s still possible for books from other
genres to last throughout the ages. Perhaps more of them could do so if they
were created with the specific intent to do so; written in a way that taught
about the world without making assumptions. However, I believe that fantasy is
the only genre to which timelessness comes naturally.
Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.
If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.
