Why Fantasy? Why do we read it? Why do some of us write it? Part 2

Continuing with last May’s thoughts, I’ll suggest that fantasy’s continued popularity is due in part to people’s desire to still believe in magic. Even as adults, we want to believe there is more beauty, wonder, and delight in life than what we can find in our everyday mundane world. Those thoughts are the reason I chose “Searching for the Magic” as my website’s tagline, and often, the reason I get out of bed in the morning!

Returning to our brief look at the history of literary fantasy, we cannot overlook the influence of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia has touched the lives of millions, and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is commonly considered the first (and greatest!) epic fantasy.

Which leads us to today. As much as I love Narnia and Middle Earth, fantasy has continued to grow and expand. From its beginnings in fairy tales and fables to Tolkien’s now-classic epic fantasy, the genre has evolved to include fairy tale retellings, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, steampunk, dystopian, space opera, super-hero tales, and the latest, I believe—romantasy.* Sarah J. Maas is the current queen of this genre with the first book in her Court of Thorns and Roses series garnering more than 268,000 Amazon ratings!

Readers are hungry for these larger-than-life fantasy tales. Just ask Brandon Sanderson, whose latest Kickstarter campaign grossed $41 MILLION dollars! Whew!

The Writers Speak

I recently asked fellow fantasy fans why they loved the genre and received some great responses. “It inspires me to face reality with the same courage and nobility that I see in my favorite characters,” said one. Another replied “It teaches me that the world can be at the same time a beautiful and brutal place. That there is hope despite fear. That if we are faithful to our dreams, we can emerge not just victorious but as people of deeper character. And maybe even make a difference in the world.”

The appeal to the imagination is also an allure for many. Writers said their love of asking outlandish “What-if” questions is often what pulls them in. What would happen if dragons lived alongside human beings? What if you hid in a large closet/wardrobe and discovered a hidden world? What if you dug up human body parts, put them back together, and zapped them with electricity? And what if there really WAS a Superman? A huge joy of reading and writing fantasy—just allowing your mind to fly free, stretch, and imagine!

And here’s a quote that surprised me. We don’t often think of theoretical physicists as being fans of the fantastic, but this one was. “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.” (Albert Einstein) Well, if it’s good enough for Einstein, I don’t think any of us need apologize!

Stretching the imagination to expand our mental capacities, to invent and discover, to seek nobility, to fight battles that must be fought, to become people of character, and possibly even change the world (or at least our small part of it)? Those sound like worthy goals to me. Amazing goals. It’s why I read those books, and it’s why I write them.

*Let me know if you’d like definitions of those fantasy sub-genres. I have a list I can pass along!

Thoughts? Please share them in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you think!