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Fantasy books are sending a bad message because a lot of books, which are often referred to as "rubbish fantasy", are nearly identical copies of each other. Tolkien, while a good writer, is partly to blame. Because his books are loved by many, people have tried to replicate his success both as homage to him and for personal gain. While books are quite similar to each other in other genres, it is really prevalent in the genre and it has led to some people becoming fed up with fantasy novels. It is also the main reason some people look down fantasy books as a whole. Pen and paper role-playing games are also largely to blame for the direction the fantasy genre has taken. However, it must be said that there are gems out there and if the genre begins to follow the lead of the best books, then the future could be bright. But until that happens, the message fantasy books are sending is that it's okay to recycle ideas over and over again in books, because it sells.

The effect of orcs and elves being in Tolkien's writing:

As a result of reading Tolkien's masterpiece, some people managed to think that orcs and elves equalled success and a lot of money. They also thought that everyone wanted to read about them and that including them in a tale always made for a good book.

It actually has the opposite effect for some readers, not all. If there weren't people out there who liked reading about orcs and elves, then the books wouldn't be published in the first place. Really, when orcs and elves are included in a book and a reader new to the author picks it up on the shelves, it can have the effect of labelling the author as a hack, meaning unoriginal. That's one reader lost if they don't like to read what's been recycled over and over again in the genre. What makes worse is the fact that orcs and elves are the same in some books. To emphasise the problem further, there are books out there that feature orcs and elves that are quite different to the ones in Tolkien's masterpiece. The question then is why did the author not choose to call them something else? It's pretty unfathomable and it could lead to a reader being unjustly put off from reading further if the races are much different than in other books.

The effect Dungeons and Dragons has had on the genre:

Next to the orcs and elves problem, there are too many books that seem to based on something from a pen and paper role-playing game. In this sort of book, there's usually a group of six adventurers and each is clearly modelled after the fighter, rogue, mage etc. classes and it lends a rather daft feel to the story. There's also an over-abundance of magical artefacts present and the heroes are pretty much unstoppable even when it's six versus one hundred enemies.

On farm boys and good versus evil:

There are also a lot of books out there that feature a farm boy destined to overthrow some evil ruler or stop the end of the world. Of course, being a farm boy, he shouldn't be able to do this because he doesn't have the skills. But naturally, he does. It would be refreshing if the prophecies mentioned in books never came true (there are some where this does happen). Also, characters are normally stereotypically black or white, with no in-between. People/characters tend to be shades of grey. Yet it's rarely taken into account in "rubbish fantasy".

Learn more about this author, Dan Cartwright.
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