Fantasy
Fantasy is now considered to
be one of the most ancient literary genres. Many great epics and myths
of old, such as The Tale of Gilgamesh and Beowulf can be referred
to as the first fantasy books ever written.
In
the course of ancient history, the basic elements of fantasy were
taken over by a number of civilizations, and were thus incorporated
into folk tales and legends. Unlike the majority of traditions of
antiquity, fantasy was adopted and subsequently perfected by priests
and storytellers of the Middle Ages.
Until
the mid-20th century, fantasy was thought to be an authentic
feature of epic literature of the past, never to be revived in the
present-day industrial world. However, JRR Tolkien’s groundbreaking
works, including The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Hobbit,
have rediscovered the traditions of fantasy and revealed its full
capacities, revolutionizing out notion of modern literature.
Since
1953, the year when The Lord of the Rings was published, there has
been an outbreak of fantasy-related works which flooded the bookstores
all over the world. Some of them were based on Tolkien’s characters
and settings, others introduced an absolutely new perspective on contemporary
fantasy-writing.
In
general, fantasy stories can be broadly split up into two groups:
those which feature events taking place in an imaginary world, like
Arda of Tolkien and the Discworld of Terry Pratchett; and those that
are set in the world we are all familiar with, like the Tale of the
Nibelungs. Writers who choose either point of view will face certain
challenges. In the first case, conceiving a world would require a
great deal of creativity on behalf of the author. One also needs to
depict it in great detail, so that the reader’s every question about
its structure can be easily answered. The characters’ actions should
conform with the specific laws of that particular world, otherwise
the tale won’t be convincing and it will become far too “fantastic”
for most readers to appreciate.
On
the other hand, if the story is set on Earth, one should always be
in search of ways of incorporating magic and “fantasy” into the plot
without actually distorting the reality as we perceive it. This technique
has been used with great skill in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
What
is it that makes fantasy so special? First of all, it is based on
magic. The first legitimate purpose of fantasy is to introduce a touch
of unreal action into life. That is why most stories involve plots
based on wizardry, sorcery, witchcraft and other magic phenomena.
Imaginary worlds are often inhabited by magical creatures: trolls,
elves, goblins, dwarfs, ogres, golems, leprechauns, fairies and, last
but not least, dragons.
To
summarize the plots of thousands and thousands of fantasy books, it
is enough to say that the one thing always present is the conflict
between Good and Evil. Deep psychological analysis, reflecting on
what is evil and what is not, is not quite common. In most cases,
there is a straightforward Good and a straightforward Evil, opposite
in theor strivings and beginnings. Other important elements of fantasy
plpots are loyalty and betrayal, lover and hate, envy, greed and valor.
Following
this brief overview are the synopses of the three greatest fantasy
books ever written.
The Lord of the Rings
Gandalf,
one of the Istari, discovers that a golden ring that Bilbo Baggins
owns is actually the One Ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron in the
Cracks of Doom, possessing a power great enough to destroy the world.
Frodo Baggins, the courageous and mischievous hobbit, is faced with
the immense task of taking the Ring back to Mordor across the realms
of Middleearth. There he must cast it back into the Fire, and thus
foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
The Hobbit
Is
an account of events which took place sixty years before the Ring
was discovered. Whisked away from his smug hobbit-hole by Gandalf
the wizard, Bilbo Baggins finds himself involved in a plot to raid
the hoard of Smaug the Dragon, and to help the folk of Thorin recover
their ancient stronghold.
The Silmarillion
Is
a story of the heroic Fist Age of Middleearth. It is also the story
of the rebellion of Feanor and his kinsfolk against the gods, their
exile from Valinor, and the realms of ancient Beleriand, ruled by
valiant men and wise Elven-kings. The Silmarilli were three perfect
jewels fashioned by Feanor the Fiery, the most gifted of the Elves.
When Morgoth, the First Dark Lord, stole the jewels for his own ends,
the Elves waged a long and terrible war to recover them. The Silmarillion,
a genuine creation myth, tells of the estrangement of the races of
Men and Elves, the Siege of Angband, and the fiver great battles of
the First Age, hopeless despite their heroism.
The
Silmarillion was published along with several shorter stories: Ainulindale,
Valaquenta, Akallabeth and Of the Rings of Power, which tell of the
events preceding the Creation of Arda, the downfall of Numenor and
the War of the Ring.
