Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
We all have our limits for the crazy stuff we will, or will not, accept. They are just at different levels or types.
The best fantasy worlds have their own rules and must operate within those rules or the story falls apart - and there are some that do fall apart, I had one series do this around book 5 or 6 (they were long books). And some do cheat for their ending (literally the hand of God in some cases), although a few seem to get away with it, at least for most their audience.
All that said, one of the things I've noticed about the many variations of stories based on ancient mythology is that the rules tend to be quite loose. This can be because my knowledge is limited, and so sometimes the author is using some aspect I was previously not aware of, but I also think it's because the myths themselves played pretty fast and loose. I didn't find Percy to be any more guilty of this than most.
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Yes, I agree about the best fantasy worlds having an inner consistency with their own natural laws. That’s why I especially love the first three volumes of Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea Trilogy—particularly the second,
The Tombs of Atuan.
And there’s no doubt but that playing with worlds based on mythological narrative structures can go in all sorts of directions. In my last post I mentioned Tenn’s
A Lamp for Medusa. There’s a case where the myth becomes science fiction. Yet it all works (for me, anyhow). I think the liberties taken by Riordan are par for the course and are generally entertaining. I am going to read more because, as you note, the ratings remain high. Maybe I’ll be disappointed but the Harry Potter series certainly increased in strength and possibly this will happen to Percy Jackson.