Monday, October 29, 2012

Halloween and terrifying realism in fantasy

Image Source: Deviantart


Halloween is just around the corner and I am going out on a limb predicting that there will be a fair amount of bejeweled daggers, velvet sleeves and Grecian-esque outfits accessorized with dragons traipsing about thanks to the recent popularity of the Game of Thrones series. 

My anticipation of the street flowing with the nobles and small folk of the Seven Kingdoms has gotten me to really reflect on what this phenomenon is resonating.

While many are jumping on the Thrones craze because of the HBO show's popularity, I like to think there is something about series' gruesome realism that is both shocking and refreshing.

When Game of Thrones debuted last year, I quickly became intrigued with the unapologetic way George R.R. Martin kills, pummels and maims even the most beloved characters in his series. He throws the utopian Camelot mold out the window to show that kingdom building (and destroying) can be scarier than any magic and fantasy elements. 

In my novel The Evenarian, I was inspired by, and hope to do homage to, this darker side of the human experience. Because while time travel, magic and fanciful creatures make life more interesting, people's behavior can be a story's most outrageous element. 

This is what I'll be thinking about when I see drunken Lannisters and Starks milling about Halloween parties this year. Who knows, maybe in a few years people wearing Evenarian costumes will remind others of the fear that human responses can muster.



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