Action
Fantasy novels are action novels. Take away the action scenes from a fantasy novel and what you are left with a philosophical novel. And those simply don’t make the bestseller list and get into turned into big budget movies. Not like they used to. So the lesson here is that if you are thinking about entering the fantasy novel game, learn to create vivid imagery which creates a visceral reaction appealing to the sense like this example:
“I gasped as Alexei’s arm was yanked from mine. In a spurt of flame, I saw him clutching at the railing with one hand. I saw his howling mouth, his wide, terrified eyes, and the monstrous thing that held him in its glistening gray arms, its wings beating the air as it lifted him from his feet, its thick claws sunk deep into his back, its talons already wet with his blood. Alexei’s fingers slipped on the railing. I lunged forward and grabbed his arm.”
The Fold
Get ready to take a deep dive into the centerpiece of setting in this novel: a little place called the Fold. If the imagery that brings to life the Fold is not conceivable, the entire premise collapses upon itself. Fortunately, the author seems more than capable rising to meet this challenge:
“The Fold was alight, as bright as noon, as if its impenetrable darkness had never been. I saw a long reach of blanched sand, hulks of what looked like shipwrecks dotting the dead landscape, and above it all, a teeming flock of volcra. They screamed in terror, their writhing gray bodies gruesome in the bright sunlight.”
Greed
In this fantasy world, greed is infinite and infinitely capable of damage and harm. Well, that’s not really fantasy, of course, so imagery certainly helps to punch home the reality of just how penetrating into the infinite greed goes. This is established by using the term to describe the most seemingly mundane of actions:
“I caught sight of Zoya sulking on a pile of cushions. She stared greedily at the collar as I passed.”
“The water had a flat metallic tang, but I was parched. I sipped, coughed, then drank greedily.”
Magic
Magic or science? When does the one become the other? This is an issue which is uppermost in the plot and mythology of the novel. This theme also presents an opportunity for a demonstration of the simplicity of imagery—a single image even—to convey the entire underlying concept of a narrative:
“When the leaves change color, do you call it magic? What about when you cut your hand and it heals? And when you put a pot of water on the stove and it boils, is it magic then?”
