What are you tired of in fantasy?

[Sean Patrick Fox]

I read a lot of fantasy, and much of it is well-written and original. However, there is also a lot of less impressive material. What are some plots/characters/themes that you're tired of in fantasy works? Here are some of mine:

- Prophecies (Just been done so many times, and more importantly it cheapens the decisions of the characters).
- Farmer/blacksmith/peasant turned world hero (C'mon - how many times has this been done?)

What bugs you?

[JBarry22]

I like your first one... prophecies. I hate them. There are so many "chosen ones" out there, I feel like the "unchosen" are actually a minority at this point.

I also think the cyclical "this has happened before and will happen again" stories are overdone.

[John Blackport]

I'm gonna love this thread . . . ! 

[Sean Patrick Fox]

I like your first one... prophecies. I hate them. There are so many "chosen ones" out there, I feel like the "unchosen" are actually a minority at this point.

I also think the cyclical "this has happened before and will happen again" stories are overdone.

Totally agree. This was one of the reasons I could never get into the Wheel of Time series.

[Nebula7]

Another agreement. Too much prophecy.

I also get tired of names and places that can not be pronounced.

[Coral Moore]

I like your first one... prophecies. I hate them. There are so many "chosen ones" out there, I feel like the "unchosen" are actually a minority at this point.

While I agree with your point, I think a story about the "unchosen" one isn't quite as interesting. I mean, do you really want to read a story about Bob, the hero's brother who just wanted a chance to be awesome too? Meh. Maybe, but I don't think Bob could carry his own story very far.

Edited because I forgot to answer the OP's question: I'm tired of Rapunzel, the girl who just waits around to be saved.

[Sean Patrick Fox]

Also can't stand when authors continually introduce something (character, artifact, spell, monster, etc) that's even more powerful/epic/BA than the previous powerful/epic/BA thing (*cough* Steven Erikson *cough*).

[Geoffrey]

I get tired of the fantasy series that just never end.  Get a new idea already.

[Tony Richards]

Characters with ridiculous, over-the-top names. I can't stand it, and put the book down.

[Seanathin23]

Names with apostrophes that I can't even fathom how to pronounce. It is like the author just threw some letters together and threw punctuation in the middle.  I care not for the adventures of Thr'gagqur.

Also people magically not being dead, they fall into pits, get impailled by spears, and some how they are not dead, part of the reason I gave on the Sword of Shannara, that and the endless LoTR rip offs.

[Geoffrey]

Also people magically not being dead, they fall into pits, ....

Unless they're Gandalf.  Gandalf gets a Get Out Of Dead Free Pass.

[Andrew Warwick]

Elves.  I hate, detest and loath the pointy-eared dandelion-eating holier-than-thou pretentious gits.  Tolkien gets a free pass because 1) he did them first and 2) if you've read the backstory you know that they aren't the perfect race that so many knocks offs tend to make them.

Oh, and Pratchett also gets a free pass as his are downright evil, which is what elves are.

[Brad Murgen]

I read a lot of fantasy, and much of it is well-written and original. However, there is also a lot of less impressive material. What are some plots/characters/themes that you're tired of in fantasy works? Here are some of mine:

- Prophecies (Just been done so many times, and more importantly it cheapens the decisions of the characters).
- Farmer/blacksmith/peasant turned world hero (C'mon - how many times has this been done?)

What bugs you?

Also can't stand when authors continually introduce something (character, artifact, spell, monster, etc) that's even more powerful/epic/BA than the previous powerful/epic/BA thing (*cough* Steven Erikson *cough*).

You hit the nail on the head with all of these.  Having read fantasy for a loooong time now, all these elements are overdone and it's really hard to find any original use of them now.  Even though the regular guy turned hero is the archetypal hero story and is fun to read about, it does get old sometimes.  This is why I'm really trying not to use prophecies or any of these elements in my fantasy... I feel I have to try something different.  Let the characters have free will for once.

And Steven Erikson... can't stand him.  His Malazan books make no sense, but then again they are based on D&D gaming sessions.

[nogdog~6op6ou]

While I agree with your point, I think a story about the "unchosen" one isn't quite as interesting. I mean, do you really want to read a story about Bob, the hero's brother who just wanted a chance to be awesome too? Meh. Maybe, but I don't think Bob could carry his own story very far....

I don't think that not being a "chosen one" means the story is not interesting. Rather, it means that the hero accomplishes whatever he accomplishes purely on his or her own merits, rather than because of some deus ex machina sort of thing where he succeeds because of his bloodline or because of some mystical alignment of the spheres that made him the chosen one. Which leads to one of my personal fantasy peeves: the idea that someone of royal blood is somehow more special than the commoners. To paraphrase Terry Pratchett (since I'm too lazy to look it up), royalty simply means someone who has an ancestor somewhere in his family tree who was the biggest, meanest, strongest SOB around at the time. However, the story about how that original SOB became the first king (or queen) of a line of royalty can be interesting.

[Laura Lond]

I feel rather torn about the "peasant boy turns out to be king" idea. It's been overdone, but then when it is done well, I still like it.

Elves.  I hate, detest and loath the pointy-eared dandelion-eating holier-than-thou pretentious gits.  Tolkien gets a free pass because 1) he did them first and 2) if you've read the backstory you know that they aren't the perfect race that so many knocks offs tend to make them.

Oh, and Pratchett also gets a free pass as his are downright evil, which is what elves are.

LOL, yes, they can be a little on the proud side, but come on, they are not downright evil.

[tahliaN]

Long convoluted plots with masses of characters, unpronouncible names, long & unecessarily detailed descriptions, lots of wars and politics. Yep I'm pretty much over sword and scorcey unless it avoids all that eg Graceling.

I'm sick of vampires and the christian style angels & demons stories, but I like demons that aren't associated with god, angels and hell. Theres a lot of leeway to be very creative with the idea of demons.

I don't mind prophecies if they're in the background, but not ones that are in your face all the time.

[tahliaN]

I don't think that not being a "chosen one" means the story is not interesting. Rather, it means that the hero accomplishes whatever he accomplishes purely on his or her own merits, rather than because of some deus ex machina sort of thing where he succeeds because of his bloodline or because of some mystical alignment of the spheres that made him the chosen one. Which leads to one of my personal fantasy peeves: the idea that someone of royal blood is somehow more special than the commoners. To paraphrase Terry Pratchett (since I'm too lazy to look it up), royalty simply means someone who has an ancestor somewhere in his family tree who was the biggest, meanest, strongest SOB around at the time. However, the story about how that original SOB became the first king (or queen) of a line of royalty can be interesting.

I agree with this. I like to see ordinary people who have to develop the skills and talents needed to overcome the evil. That's pretty rare in fantasy, but it's what I've done with 'Lethal Inheritance' - which isn't published yet, my agent is still looking for a publisher for that one.

[nogdog~6op6ou]

...It's been overdone, but then when it is done well, I still like it. ...

I'll give a free pass to almost anything when it's truly well executed.

[MariaESchneider]

I get tired of the fantasy series that just never end.  Get a new idea already.

This.  I'm about a 3-book person.  Maaaybe 5 on the outside. 

I avoid prophesies these days.  And actually, I wouldn't mind reading about the unchosen.  Everyday heroes are okay.  I recently read "Child of Fire" by...oh dang it.  By a guy who wrote it.  Anyway, the all-powerful heroine in the story was not the main.  The book was about her driver, as in chauffeur.  Okay, it went a lot over the top toward the end -- kind of down the rabbit trail type of thing, but it was a good book. And the guy was an ex-con. He was an interesting character. 

Harry Connelly was the author (might not have spelled that exactly right.)

[Laura Lond]

I'll give a free pass to almost anything when it's truly well executed.

Yes, that's how I feel. I'll even read about amnesia, if it's believable and has a justified purpose in the story.

[flipside]

Trilogies.

Monarchies.

Euro-centric settings.

Of course it boils down to execution...

[Chris Strange]

Trilogies.

Monarchies.

Euro-centric settings.

Of course it boils down to execution...

Are...are we the same person?

Pseudo-european-medieval settings are one of my biggest pet peeves. I tend to steer clear of them now and stick with more imaginative worlds.

[Seleya]

Euro-centric settings.

Ditto. Only, in the view of this European, that most often traslates into : 'settings that pretend to be Medieval Europe but the author didn't have a clue and didn't bother to go beyond 'folk knowledge' (which usually gets it wrong)'.

I'd like to see a well researched , believable, Eurocentric setting that moves away from pseudo-Northern Europe (more pseudo than Northern) every now and then.

[Andrew Warwick]

Actually, its mostly pseudo-English settings, with bits of French thrown in, and some Germanic or Norse barbarian cultures at the fringes.

Plenty of scope in the rest of Europe.

[JBarry22]

While I agree with your point, I think a story about the "unchosen" one isn't quite as interesting. I mean, do you really want to read a story about Bob, the hero's brother who just wanted a chance to be awesome too? Meh. Maybe, but I don't think Bob could carry his own story very far.

No, but that wasn't my point. I don't understand why all heroes have to be "chosen". When a firefighter runs into a burning building, he doesn't do it because it was foretold in some ancient text found in a cave in Bangladesh. The kid he saves from the fire is also never the "chosen one" meant to save all mankind from the coming apocalypse. It can still be a great story without the prophecy, and the characters can still be important without their heroism having been foretold.