[Sever]

Perhaps original is not the word to choose when describing the plot i'm after - [un]original can mean different things to different people depending on their tastes/experiences. Less grandeur is a better term. Maybe i've just been choosing the wrong books lately but it seems in order for a book to be classified as fantasy, it has to have elements of impending apocalyptic doom and a rag tag bunch of nobodies pitted against it. Novels such as these may still have some original personalities and twists thrown in, but it's the whole tired and rehashed, big time, grand scale conflict that's making me bored.

Why can't the stories be set on a smaller scale? Less focus on wars and dark lords and more focus on the conflict resolution of the less stoic (but more interesting) everyday characters. Characters that are too often given only a cursory glance in fantasy novels and even then only to expand upon that main theme. There are dozens of writers who are very talented when it comes to illustrating the thoughts and drives of big heroes and whatnots but they always come up trumps when dealing with the lesser personas and political/social machinations of non-earth shattering proportions.

Er.. Am i making sense? Oh well.

I very nearly bought Faerie Tale the last time i went book shopping. Feist is one of the less predictable of the fantasy authors whose books i've read and i was keen to get into a story that wasnt't set in Midkemia. In retrospect, perhaps i should have. I bought Jordan's Eye of the World and although i'm finding his writing style to be refreshing... well, you can probably guess why i'm having trouble staying enthused.

The Discworld books were great when i was younger (and i still read one every now and then for a laugh) but they're not really what i'm after. They're certainly in a class of their own though, that's for sure.

I haven't read any of Martin's or Stephen Donaldson's works, though, so i'll have to check them out next time i go book hunting. Thanks for the pointers, guys. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]