by Jane Rutherford

Created on: July 20, 2008

If you take a look at the most popular fantasy books nowadays you'll see they have a lot in common with each other. A young boy with mysterious destiny, on his quest to save the world. Or a team of misfits, again, saving the world. Or dragons, saving the world

And looking at all those fantasy books (some better than others), I keep wishing that there was the author who, for once, would let the world die (get destroyed, overrun by evil take your pick). Because while that wouldn't be a particularly positive vision, it would at least be original. Or at least more original than the current collection of fantasy books we have on the market.

There was a time, when fantasy (like it's futuristic sister sci-fi) was a metaphor for the contemporary world. Where the reader could read about great journeys, get caught up in new, intriguing themes and all in all be sure that when reaching for a new book, he or she would get something different. Not a copy of a plot that proved itself popular and profitable.

And if you look at the fantasy section in a bookstore, you might think that there's just that many stories one can tell within this genre. And that is far from the truth.

In the fantasy world the only thing that limits the author is his or hers imagination. And I strongly believe that it's possible to create a captivating world and characters and tell their stories without having a mysterious prophecy and a great artifact that needs to be destroyed somewhere far, far away, within the enemy's lines.

Maybe it's just a temporary situation. I'd really like to think that. Fantasy genre is one with an indefinite potential and many stories are simply waiting to be told. New twists can be put on the stories we've heard, new solutions and new characters. The problem is we need authors who are ready to take the creative risk and step out of the comfort zone some many fantasy writers seem to reside in.

All it takes is few writers who will not base their universe on Tolkien's complex world. Nor will they include a poor orphan boy who needs to fight the big bad warlock (Harry Potter meet Eragon, I'm sure you two can exchange tips on how to bring down the Big Bad Wolf).

Maybe it's time the fantasy reinvented its protagonists, maybe the genre is ready for the return of anti-heroes like Conan the Barbarian. Maybe fantasy should start mixing with other genres to get more possibilities and fresher ideas.

I can't come up with a sure ways to reinvent fantasy and get the genre to the place it's been few years ago. But I know it's worth trying.

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