Photo by Daisa TJ
Vincent Bivona’s book about revenge, Blood of Deception, is another example of the growing maturity in fantasy. With themes of vengeance and retribution, it’s worth the read.
As an avid fantasy reader, I am quite pleased with the growing trends and explorations of the genre in recent years.
While I grew up with the more popular subgenres like the heroic fantasy of fairy tales, wizard schools a la the Harry Potter series, the talking animals like in the Redwall series, and other similar examples, I have become increasingly hungry for stories that go beyond the staple binary of good and evil, the surface-level exploration of fantasy concepts and the absence of violence and sexual themes—of course; this is not to say that I have completely thrown away stories that lack any of the aforementioned tropes; only that as one grows older, their expectations change also.
There is yet room for standard black-and-white morality plays and the like, but the space afforded with more mature fantasy is troublingly small.
I don’t know why that is, but something does have to change. With the way that the world is changing so rapidly, contemporary mainstream fantasy has to adapt to the times so that young readers can grow up with mature examples of fantasy to read.
And what is mature fantasy, you ask?
Mature fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that’s found increasing popularity recently, most notably during the run of HBO’s A Game of Thrones, a fantasy television series that was adapted from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.
What mature fantasy has in store for its readers is a more adult-oriented approach that features serious themes and subject matter and a closer reflection of contemporary issues. This stands in opposition to the traditional fare in fantasy, where there is a more whimsical perspective and a lighthearted approach to themes.
This is wonderful news for me. Our heroes are getting darker and more mature. Fantasy now seems to be growing up along with its readers.
The most appealing characteristic of this growing maturity in fantasy is its more realistic portrayal of the world, where there is rampant corruption, subtle power plays behind the scenes while people suffer, the worst issues are seldom fixed, and more. Instead of relying heavily on magical tropes and other supernatural aspects, mature fantasy often goes to practicality and realism when trying to solve plot issues.
The baseline for most mature fantasies is the exploration of the complexities of human nature and the struggles that come with it in relation to the self, the community, the world, and truth.
Another intriguing aspect of mature fantasy is its investigation of moral ambiguity, the total elimination of the traditional dynamic between good and evil. In more “childish” fantasy stories, good and evil are clearly defined. You know who the bad guys are, and you know who the good guys are; it’s very difficult to find any semblance of a grey area in these kinds of fantasies. The hero fights the villain, and you don’t question why they are, only that it should happen, and when it does, the hero should win.
However, in more mature fantasies and the like, there is no such thing as good or evil, only factions that claim to be the former and factions being accused of being the latter–like in real life. Good and evil are subjective concepts, and people seldom tag themselves as evil. The right thing to do is often argued in mature fantasy stories; what is right is not always the easiest thing to do.
Moral ambiguity is featured prominently in Vincent Bivona’s book about revenge and dark themes, Blood of Deception, which features the protagonist as a cold-blooded murderer raised by a secretive cult that worships a dark god! It presents a story with a complex and morally ambivalent cast of characters, a deceptively alluring plot, and a realistic portrayal of combat and treachery.
In general, the growing maturity in fantasy has something to offer everyone (except those under eighteen, of course), whether it’s a gritty, more violent, and more realistic outlook of the world or a compelling blend of fantastical concepts and introspective and philosophical explorations of the human condition. There’s so much growing variety on the horizon, and I absolutely love it.
Oliver’s Twist 