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Author Topic: When did the "New school" of fantasy begin, exactly?  (Read 6929 times)

Aglondir

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Re: When did the "New school" of fantasy begin, exactly?
« Reply #90 on: August 04, 2021, 12:15:38 PM »
Also, "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever" by Stephen Donaldson - who put front and center a very unsympathetic hero (the first book was the first book ever that I finished in English; I had it with me when I visited England with my father in 1985; he grumbled a bit about the "fantasy stuff" but he was happy that I was reading a whole book in a different language; I ended it wondering for what reasons I should have rooted for a rapist and a general dick...)

Yeah, read that around the same time. Hasn't aged well.

Steven Mitchell

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Re: When did the "New school" of fantasy begin, exactly?
« Reply #91 on: August 04, 2021, 12:55:09 PM »
As Fantasy writing begin to become a thing of itself, the usual problem was "lousy writer, good story".  Donaldson was the opposite problem. In that he was in the minority at the time but also foreshadowing much recent fantasy fiction.

I've wondered if the story in Mirror of Her Dreams is any good, but can't ever seem to get around to reading it.

ScytheSong

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Re: When did the "New school" of fantasy begin, exactly?
« Reply #92 on: August 04, 2021, 01:06:34 PM »
As Fantasy writing begin to become a thing of itself, the usual problem was "lousy writer, good story".  Donaldson was the opposite problem. In that he was in the minority at the time but also foreshadowing much recent fantasy fiction.

I've wondered if the story in Mirror of Her Dreams is any good, but can't ever seem to get around to reading it.

The story in The Mirror of Her Dreams, and its sequel A Man Rides Through, is actually significantly better than any of Donaldson's other stuff, with the exception of a couple of his stand-alone short stories. The POV character is a passive whine-butt, but that's vital for the story, so if you can stand passive whine-butts you'll be good. The Gap series steals it's plot from Wagner's Ring Cycle, blatantly and unapologetically, so the plot is good, but I really don't like how he handles the story.

Reckall

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Re: When did the "New school" of fantasy begin, exactly?
« Reply #93 on: August 04, 2021, 04:53:48 PM »
It’s worth remembering that there were some….different art styles before Frazetta as well 😀



"Red Nails" is when Howard introduces Valeria of the Red Brotherhood. It is actually a Valeria tale, not Conan's, told from her point of view. IIRC it is also very funny. It was published one month after Howard killed himself.

True fact: Pulp magazines' editors knew very well that covers like this one sold better than others. If your tale gave the opportunity to create such a cover the probability that it was accepted increased.
For every idiot who denounces Ayn Rand as "intellectualism" there is an excellent DM who creates a "Bioshock" adventure.