A while back, Book-tuber Merphy Napier presented thirteen fantasy tropes readers may hate; tropes so heinous, readers can’t just put the novel down, they want to burn it. Or do they?
Are these thirteen tropes still toxic to a story? Or do some remain stalwarts of the genre? Do they apply to all genres, not just fantasy?
Stupid Mistakes
The one where the protagonist makes a mistake so fundamentally dumb, the reader shouts abuse at the page. Normally committed for plot reasons, it reduces the main character to the level of village idiot, undeserving of our empathy, sympathy, or time.
It’s usually trust placed in another character, often the antagonist, despite all the signs and triggers that scream ‘don’t do it.’
The Chosen One
How many orphaned farm boys, marriageable princesses, or inept apprentices have you read? How many turn out to be ‘special’ by birth, blood, or hidden talent; by colour of eyes, hair, skin. Of those, how many fulfill the opening of a prophecy?
You either live for this one, or hate it with a passion.
Flashback
Like ‘Death by PowerPoint,’ some authors inflict vast tracts of info-dump and exposition as ‘Death by Flashback.’ Every object, emotion, or line of dialogue triggers a flashback. We spend so much time in the past, the present story goes nowhere for chapter after chapter.
This isn’t specific to fantasy, any genre can fall foul of this. But fantasy suffers more lengthy prologues and world-building by flashback than most.
Insta-love
The main characters fall madly in love at first sight for the shallowest of reasons. Because? Plot. It’s a fast way to elevate the stakes without ‘wasting’ time developing relationships. It’s fantasy; who cares? Most of us.
Cute Animals
There’s nothing like a bunch of cute animals to blackmail readers into sympathising. From Brere Rabbit to Reepacheep, a diminutive, furry, chipper and talkative critter is guaranteed to elicit ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ from readers. Unless they recognise this blatant heartstring tugging for what it is. The Spellsinger series. Saying no more.
Love Triangles
Whole decades of fantasy writing are paved with love triangles. Trope or cliche? Do you choose Team Edward or Team Jacob? Team Tamlin or Team Rhysand? Well, neither, because bad love triangles abound and it’s pretty clear from the start that one of those two boys is a loser, a jackass, or both.
Miscommunication
If only characters would stop and talk to each other. Coherently. In complete sentences. And finish their conversations. But no; it seems no one in literature can express anything complete or truthful without some sham plot point getting in the way. Introversion, self doubt or serial interruption, no one takes the time to clear the air and thrash out what they actually mean. Or ask a direct question for a direct answer.
This isn’t just fantasy, either. Jane Austen built every single novel on it. Including Pride and Prejudice. You’re welcome.
Everybody lives
In fantasy, the stakes are always life and death! So how disappointing that so many pull off miraculous escapes and recoveries. At the end, everybody important in the cast lives to love, laugh and fight another day. Maybe not the guys in red shirts; not the bit-players or the obvious cannon-fodder. See also resurrection.
Resurrection
Fantasy has magic, other worlds, other dimensions. There are gods and goddesses, wizards, witches, necromancers and immortal beings for whom death is no longer the final barrier. There’s no guarantee that any character will stay dead. It undermines the stakes and the finality of certain sacrifices. But, authors argue, resurrection is a staple of fantasy stories since ancient times, the sign of true worthiness, or of true villainy. The Righteous man returns as a reward; the embodiment of evil returns as the ever-present threat to peace and harmony. Horror and sci-fi are no strangers to resurrection in its many forms.
All talk no action
Readers like fantasy for that special kind of conflict; armed combat, magical battles; questing, flying, trekking. Travel to far off lands, meet new and dangerous people or creatures. They try to kill you, you try to kill them.
Seven chapters of walking across the Dead Marshes longing for a potato? Not so enticing. And yet… low stakes Cozy Fantasy is now a sub-genre of its own.
Sexual assault
Gone are the days when authors could throw around the R-word with abandon. We may finally have moved on from dark tales of gender-based abuse and bad power relationships. This isn’t just fantasy, either. This trope stokes the villainy of various antagonists or fuels the transformation arc of too many ‘strong female characters.’ There are other ways.
Casual/unjustified cheating
Call it a new romanticism, call it a new puritanism, but it seems readers no longer like free-lovin’ (promiscuous) characters. Committed relationships are the in-thing. Which makes 80’s revivals like Jilly Cooper’s The Rivals all the more mystifying.
How many can you count?
Murphy’s collection is by no means complete. Recall your favourite fantasy story. Can you count how many of these tropes appear in it? What of the others we missed? How many have I written into my series? How many do I subvert?