Alvin Atwater
In coming realization then rant. It's not in an angry tone, but a discussion voice. Join in. Make me laugh too:
As I realize how much passionately love reading Epic fantasy (especially coming of the age types where the hero must develop), I decided to permanently ditch urban fantasy (though I'll finish No More Hope, making it the last of the Blood for Soul, which will be a trilogy rather than a series.
This will probably be the last Urban fantasy I write for a while. If ever.). There is simply not enough of the COA epic/high fantasies on the market in which I'm looking for --I READ THEM ALL. (And the installments of the next series are either in writing such as Lightbringer 5 or may not come out at all such as KingKiller Chronicle 3.). I can't believe it took me this long to realize, with a blazing fire in my eyes, of how much I truly enjoy these stories. So much that I'll write my own. I've already started a concept and to me, it's so good that I will accept nothing less of a traditional publish for it..
I'll find some way to get it an audience when it's done. The urban fantasy market feels alien to me, almost like piling garbage, compared to truly remarkable tales. I currently started the Riftwar series (Raymond E. Feist). There are a few humors I'm waiting for to hit audible such as some LitRpgs and so on, but they just don't cut it for me. Especially when editing is completely ignored. (These authors still end up with tons of reviews/fans though lol).
This genre probably isn't everyone's motif but Urban fantasy is just a mockery these days. Every cover looks the same: some shirtless dude on the cover. Or with a girl stand behind him, so on. Mockery of werewolves to obsessions with mating rituals, glossy vampires, and just seemingly random creatures from fantasy, awkwardly in modern times. Some of the explanations are just awful or in poor taste. Awkward female protagonists living out nearly identical fantasies but with a different "handsome" creature of the night. The male protagonists aren't any better. While there are few exceptions (such as Iron Druid books 1-8), it's a lot of the same nowadays: weak protagonists, whiny man-childs, or even HAREM-surrounded douchewads.
Not sure why some men feel the need to write harems, but if you're going to do so, at least make it a little believable. Make the main character...well, better. This writing has flooded the UF market to a choke-hold. While I can't get mad at its popularity, I'm just annoyed that some of them are literal rehashes or attempts to copy the Dresden Files. Like come on man, really? I know we apparently can't be truly original anymore (which is bullshit. I hate when authors or even worse: non-writers, spout this nonsense. There is not a single author that cannot sprout something truly original. You just haven't tried.).
Anyway, that's just a little rant. What do you think about UF? Beside me being over-the-top, what changes do you hope to see? What genre do you typically write? Do you agree or disagree with things stated above? Do you want to punch me in the face? Well, I'll continue hiding, xD
DAW Books, a division of Penguin/Random House, is the oldest publishing company devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy.
Timothy Bateson is now friends with Justin Edison.
I only worry about reviews if they point out major flaws in editing. If it is a review by someone I can connect with on social media I ask them to point out the issue. I fix it if I think it needs to be fixed. One of the joys of self-publishing.
Something to keep in mind: A LOT of people these days don't know the difference between POV and tense. (This is why we hear nonsense about stories being written in "third tense." There ain't no such animal, kids.) The reader may have meant that they were... more
Alvin Atwater is now friends with Justin Edison.
