Fantasy is by definition unrealistic. My prime example, even though bookstores don't shelves the books in the Fantasy section, is Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Just finished A Wanted Man as a break in all the oldies I was reading. [And still itch to read]
Why do I think Reacher is a fantasy hero. How ofter do you think someone reaches into a moving car and not only grabs the the cell phone but the driver too? And, survives with their arm intact? Yet the New York Times Book Reviews will give Child and other mystery writers regular mentions but only it only reviews fantasy when it's Young Adult or written by the likes of Margaret Atwood.
In case you haven't heard, Jack Reacher is a 6'6", muscle bound, former military MP hitchhiker who gets in all sorts of trouble while he's travels around the country with his trusty toothbrush. A Wanted Man has Reacher getting involved in an FBI operation when he is picked up by some bad guys on the interstate.
Child writes a terse style which makes the action in his plots seem faster than it is. His character development shines with an ability to make the same-old, "stock" law enforcement people into individuals. His villains are well drawn too, but often sink into cliche territory.
Most enjoyable for me is Child's dead pan humor. An example, in A Wanted Man, he has an FBI agent copying Reacher's pattern of buying new clothes when the old ones get dirty. Only she saves her old blouse to wash later.
Again, how realistic is it for a guy to maintain basketball-sized biceps by throwing bad guys around rather than working out in a gym for hours. For me, every Jack Reacher novel is a must read ... at least until they become cliches of themselves. May that be many books from now.
An Addition
Re-discovered a gem: Katherine Neville's The Eight. While it's been sleeping behind a bunch of other books, it's become something of a thriller classic. I reviewed it for Goodreads. [I think.] If you like cross-genre fiction with a strong fantasy element you might look at it. Warning: The plot structure is more complex than most novels written today, and it's slow to start since there's a lot of back story about a mysterious, magical incident from Charlemagne's time involving a chess set.
Updates
You might take a look at the Far Isles Half-Elven site.
I've put up the opening chapter of The Pig Wars ... though I may change the title to The Black Tail War. Must give the pet pig her proper due.
And a little gift for all your writer's out there if you don't follow Janet Reid, Literary Agent. Watch this video.
2 comments:
Let me tell you on the onset that I found this book nowhere close to the Reacher I am used to reading about in the earlier books. The book starts as a typical Reacher novel where he finds himself in the middle of a situation in a new town while hitching a ride to Virginia. Meanwhile there is brutal murder in the nearby town which is being investigated by a special agent of FBI. Reacher’s intractions with the occupants of the car and the FBI investigation forms the basis of the book and how he is able to uphold justice the Reacher way eventually.
The book offers some good mathematical trivia, a Reacher trait which was not highlighted in earlier books. One is also treated to a nice geographical description of American towns, country side and interstate freeways. Keeping up with James Bond type image, Reacher manages to get to work with two beautiful ladies as usual.
Having said that I found the book very slow and somehow Lee Child has made the character of Jack Reacher a little less smart who takes more time to catch up to the clues than before.
Overall I think the book was only 50 percent worth my money.
You make some good points.
I've been feeling that Child is beginning to show signs of series fatigue. But, hey, it's fantasy ... without much world creation. I'm no longer shelving the later Reacher novels. I still like the ones with his days in the "early" army best.
Think Child has a tremendous task to work around current surveillance abilities.
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