I’ve wanted to do a long epic for a while. I guess that’s what comes from reading Jordan and the others while growing up. And so, way back in the late 90’s–when I was experimenting with my style–I started working on ideas for a longer form series. I knew the real trick for me would be to do it in a way that it didn’t feel stale after just a few books; there needed to be enough to the world, the magic, and the plot arcs that I (and hopefully readers) would keep interested in the series for such a long time.
What it gives me (the thing that I want in doing a longer epic) is the chance to grow characters across a larger number of books. Dig into their pasts, explore what makes them think the way they do, in ways that even a trilogy cannot. In KINGS, I don’t want to do a longer ‘saga’ style series, with each book having a new set of characters. I want this to be one overarching story.
One of the things that has itched at me for long time in my fantasy reading is the sense of loss that so many fantasy series have. I’m not complaining, mind you–I love these books. But it seems like a theme in a large number of fantasy books is the disappearance of magic and wonder from the world. In Tolkien, the Elves are leaving. In Jordan, technology is growing and perhaps beginning an age where it will overshadow magic. It’s very present in Brooks, where the fantasy world is becoming our world. Even Eddings seemed to have it, with a sense that sorcerers are less common, and with things like the only Dragons dying, the gods leaving.
I’ve wanted to do a series, then, where the magic isn’t going away–it’s coming back. Where the world is becoming a more wondrous place. Where new races aren’t vanishing, they’re being discovered.
Obviously, I’m not the first to approach a fantasy this way. Maybe I’m reading too much into the other books, seeing something that isn’t there. But the return of magic is one of the main concepts that is driving me.
Well, that and enormous swords and magical power armor.