Beyond The Words, Past
A Science Fiction / Fantasy Column
By Lane Cohen and Steven Shrewsbury

RPG'S WOUND MODERN FANTASY
by Steven Shrewsbury

      The other day I was talking to a fellow about the latest re-release of some of Robert E. Howard’s original CONAN material. He nodded politely, and then informed me that he doesn’t read all of that “RPG” inspired stuff.

    Excuse me? Barbarian fury bubbling to the surface, I was in a rage that someone would imply that Howard’s primal S&S tales would be commonly yoked with the D&D universe.

    “Isn’t all that sword stuff the same?” he asked. “All of that (expletive) is just (same expletive) from the D&D handbook?”

     Then again, there is such a thing as HYBORIAN WAR…a Conan RPG…but I digress.

     From what I read of a great deal of modern fantasy, I think some new writers grew up playing these games and scenarios more than they did reading Howard, Leiber or Tolkien. A gamer lady I know (a rare breed indeed) said that this is why we get series like Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. I have read a few of Jordan’s Conan books in the 80s and they were pretty good as pastiches go. The WOT series looks so colossal one finds it too much of a commitment to start up, which sort of defeats the purpose.

      “Yeah,” the gamer gal told me. “My husband said nothing even happens in one of the later books.”

      Not wanting to get into how you write 750 pages about nothing and sell it, the entire idea amazes me. Are these long series in fantasy fiction really written to appease folks with a gamer mentality? Must the crusade go on…and on…and on? Yes, I love many books by Drake, Weber, and even Turtledove, but is this new, never ending series-book-modules what is watering down the genre? Are too many people obsessed with how many D&D manual characters they can insert in a storyline? Can no man or woman write a single, stand-alone adventure?

        Frankly, when I read a story, I always wonder about the grander scheme of evil involved, almost in a Lovecraftian sense of the universe, not just why a Minorc is chained to a treasure vault so a female assassin can break in with a cleric and a dwarf. I’m not big on caring what her hit points are, either.

        Has the RPG mentality of story construction made it harder for more traditional types of high fantasy to be published? Perhaps. When I talk to lovers of the genre these days and mention in my tales barbarians or warriors often go to a tavern (and really get drunk) and then perhaps a brothel, there is a look of astonishment. There may be such a thing as sanitizing a tale, but can one really sanitize reality, history or human nature?

         As with a western, a sci-fi book or a horror novel, tell me a story. Aside from all of the decorations, tell me a story I can be interested in. Fiction is escapism so allow me that portal out of the reality of every day existence. Storytelling around the campfires of the ancient tribes of any nation probably knew when to hit the crescendo and say THE END. Entertainment suffers when it gets to be about making more books or selling a series. Tell a tale and the book will work. Make me believe you have lived enough (and have went out of the house enough) to have experienced the reality of life. If I wanted to paint by the numbers, follow all the specific rules laid down by a Dungeon Master, I’d grab one of my son’s connect the dots and bore myself into oblivion. Tell me a story that I can recommend to a friend. I cannot see me writing a buddy, saying, “Ya know, ya gotta get this book. The armor class and life points on this hot babe warrior on the cover (I cannot even see in the book) are awesome!”

       Recently, a good friend sent me a copy of Midnight Sun by Karl Edward Wagner. This is a hardback collection of the Kane short stories from Night Shade books. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Why? Each story is memorable and Wagner throws out more rough hooks than Mike Tyson on crack. It isn’t the era or the monsters that make the stories work. Wagner could reach out and tell you a story. Sometimes it is funny, other times, he grabs you by the shirt and screams it. Either way, I can recall the plot of each story in Midnight Sun…and not the title of the first Whell of Time volume (which I did read) offhand.

      Conversely, if RPG’s inspire one to think or pick up a fantasy novel of quality, then they cannot be all bad. Are RPG’s a way to go beyond the reading (or writing) experience? Perhaps. I cannot help but ponder their bearing on current trends in such literature, though.

      Is it a sad day when merchandising and a lack of creativity start to dilute a genre? Sure it is. It’s also human. It’s also human to move on to another genre or pray that eventually, the wheel turns back to more realistic, character and story driven books.

© MyShelf.Com. All Rights Reserved.