I like reading fantasy because there is usually a good vs. evil theme and after many struggles, the good wins. I like this because it is true of the ultimate Story of the world – good and evil are real, they are warring against each other, but ultimately, eventually, finally good wins once and for all. Not all fantasy works have direct parallels to our world or Christianity, but you can often find at least hints of such parallels, and I enjoy looking for them. I also enjoy the fantastical worlds in which the stories are set, worlds with creatures and rules different than our own. I don’t have much of an imagination myself, so I’m amused by the imagintive works of others.
For those of you who enjoy fantasy, or if you’re new to fantasy or don’t think you’d like it, I’d recommend the novel Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Even though I’m a fantasy fan, I’ll be the first to admit that all those epic battle scenes in The Lord of the Rings sometimes left me turning the pages thinking, “Ugh, when can I get back to the interesting parts?” That’s one thing I liked about Stardust – no battle scenes. Perhaps I’d label it as Fantasy Lite. It’s also relatively short.
The story set-up: Tristran Thorn promises Veronica, the girl he loves, that he will find and bring her a fallen star. To do this, he leaves his little English town of Wall and journeys into Faerie, a land of mythical creatures. He finds the star, who is a living female being named Yvaine, and sets to bring her back to Veronica. Their journey back through Faerie is quite eventful, however, in part because various others want to capture Yvaine for their own purposes. Intrigue and surprise revelations ensue. It’s part adventure, part love story, and makes for a pretty quick and enjoyable read.
Perhaps you saw the movie version last year. If you have, leave a comment and let me know if it was good.
September 11th, 2008 at 10:35 am
This sounds good…I am a fantasy fan as well. :o)
September 11th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Saw the movie in the theatre and absolutely loved it. It’s a wonderful story and family friendly in the screen version. I thought the production was very good and the casting was excellent.
September 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
My sister and I both prefer the fantasy genre, too. Meredith said she was able to finish Stardust in one evening, so it can be a quick read, as you said. Having seen the movie and enjoyed it, I’ve been meaning to pick up the book.
September 11th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Sounds like I should rent the movie!
September 11th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
I LOVED the movie! But didn’t know it was also a book. I agree with Valerie that the casting was great!
September 12th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I’ll have to go get the book. I haven’t read it or seen the movie. I love fantasty, too. I have a friend who dismisses fantasy out-of-hand because she thought it was all evil, satanic stuff. Not sure where she got that from, but we had good talks about the pros and cons of the Fantasy genre. I agree, Anna, there are TONS of parallels between the fantasy stories and The Greatest Story ever told.