I've been reading a high fantasy novel series lately. While I'm enjoying it, I'm struck by the amount of killing in it. The protagonist is a fifteen year old girl, but she acts like an adult so it bascially reads like adult fantasy.
The story actually jumps around several characters' points of view, all of whom are involved in life threatening situations that require fighting and lots of killing. One of the characters is a professional assassin that's apparently killed hundreds of men and continues to do so in these books. And of course, there are large battle scenes described in great detail, which again result in lots of deaths.
Maybe I'm just not accustom to this kind of fantasy, but the level of killing is getting a little distracting and I find myself skimming past the chapters that describe the battles. They really aren't developing any characters anyway. Is it just me that finds all the battling and descriptions of killing a thousand different ways a bit dull after awhile?
What kind of fantasy do you like to read? Is the gore a necessary element? Does it come from the video game/role playing realm? I'd really like to know.
I had to ask myself this question, trying to write the sequel to my fantasy. I decided that I'm not a gore and murdering type of writer. It does not appeal to me. And now that I think about it, most of the fantasy I've read, does not deal much either.
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