Sometimes I wonder why the fantasy genre has such a bad reputation, as many great authors have taken me to imaginative and exciting worlds. Then I come across something like The Dragonstone, which exemplifies the worst of bad fantasy. It's as close to absolute nothing as you can come and still have something on the page. So why is this book so bad?
Unoriginal worldbuilding - nothing in this book is remotely original. The Elven forests and Mageholts are Tolkien-lite, while other countries visited are just real-world countries with different names - like Ryodo, which is Japan, without the author bothering to make anything more out of it. Characters speak in actual Japanse and German. There's a reason Fantasy Counterpart Culture is a trope, but this is taking things too far. George R. R. Martin took a lot of inspiration from history, but in the end Westeros is its own place. Nothing in this book is. The closest thing to originality is the dragon life cycle, and even that idea has been worked out much better by Robin Hobb in her Liveship Traders trilogy.
Paper-thin characters with no development - there is no meaningful character growth or interacton. Oh sure, the main characters all pair up, but it just... happens. Like the elven lady and the viking raider who randomly fall in love. I don't mean like a sudden infatuation or fling - they become total soulmates within days of meeting. Likewise, the villain is never developed. We have no idea what his plans or motivations are.
No sense of urgency or tension - There's a prophecy of doom, but other than that, things seem very peaceful in Mithgar. Are evil armies on the move? Are shadowy forces trying to stop our heroes? No. In fact, the journey is leisurely and quite unevenful, taking close to two years. It takes 170 pages to get to a random encounter with a troll. As such, the book becomes little more than a travelogue, and due to the lazy worldbuilding, there are no interesting sights to see.
Literature The Dragonstone: staggeringly unoriginal and bland
Sometimes I wonder why the fantasy genre has such a bad reputation, as many great authors have taken me to imaginative and exciting worlds. Then I come across something like The Dragonstone, which exemplifies the worst of bad fantasy. It's as close to absolute nothing as you can come and still have something on the page. So why is this book so bad?
Unoriginal worldbuilding - nothing in this book is remotely original. The Elven forests and Mageholts are Tolkien-lite, while other countries visited are just real-world countries with different names - like Ryodo, which is Japan, without the author bothering to make anything more out of it. Characters speak in actual Japanse and German. There's a reason Fantasy Counterpart Culture is a trope, but this is taking things too far. George R. R. Martin took a lot of inspiration from history, but in the end Westeros is its own place. Nothing in this book is. The closest thing to originality is the dragon life cycle, and even that idea has been worked out much better by Robin Hobb in her Liveship Traders trilogy.
Paper-thin characters with no development - there is no meaningful character growth or interacton. Oh sure, the main characters all pair up, but it just... happens. Like the elven lady and the viking raider who randomly fall in love. I don't mean like a sudden infatuation or fling - they become total soulmates within days of meeting. Likewise, the villain is never developed. We have no idea what his plans or motivations are.
No sense of urgency or tension - There's a prophecy of doom, but other than that, things seem very peaceful in Mithgar. Are evil armies on the move? Are shadowy forces trying to stop our heroes? No. In fact, the journey is leisurely and quite unevenful, taking close to two years. It takes 170 pages to get to a random encounter with a troll. As such, the book becomes little more than a travelogue, and due to the lazy worldbuilding, there are no interesting sights to see.
This book has nothing at all going for it. Avoid.