Invincibility is a story killer. The magic in fantasy or the technology in science fiction can be so awesome that nothing is able to stand against it. For storytelling, this is bad. Story needs conflict, a way to endure or overcome, a real chance of failure. If the hero is so endowed with greatness that […]
Let’s talk about fantasy worlds from various sources. I’m going to start, of course, with C.S. Lewis’s Narnia, a world simple enough for children and complex enough for adults. Magic Magic infuses Narnia from the beginning when Aslan sang it into being. But for the reader magic starts from the time Lucy hides in an […]
Is magic necessary in fantasy? My first inclination is to say, “I hope not,” because my book Curious Origins of a Restless World has no magic. Before you think, “Well, who would want to read that?”, at least stick with me through the end of the blog. Why? Because whether having magic or […]
