Fantasy
Interesting how much weight atmosphere carries in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Even before you get to whatever someone brings to it from childhood memory, it seems like the kind of fantasy that has to earn its place through mood first. That matters to me. If a book is leaning on the fantasy itself rather than nostalgia, the air of the thing has to do real work.
Some stories live or die on plot. This feels more like one where the texture is the point.
Even before you get to whatever someone brings to it from childhood memory, it seems like the kind of fantasy that has to earn its place through mood first. That matters to me. If a book is leaning on the fantasy itself rather than nostalgia, the air of the thing has to do real work.
Some stories live or die on plot. This feels more like one where the texture is the point.
Atmosphere does a lot of heavy lifting in older fantasy, especially children’s fantasy. If the mood is thin, the whole thing can feel oddly weightless no matter how famous it is.
I’d also say this kind of book lives or dies on whether the setting feels slightly uncanny, not just “magical”. That’s usually the difference between memorable and merely established.
I’d also say this kind of book lives or dies on whether the setting feels slightly uncanny, not just “magical”. That’s usually the difference between memorable and merely established.