Fantasy Stories That Don’t Romanticise the Past

[DrunkonDuty]

I have to confess, I've never read any Harry Turtledove or Poul Anderson. Does this make me a bad nerd?

The genre that really romanticises the past isn’t fantasy at all, it’s historical crime fiction.

I can't agree with the bolded bit. Romanticising the past really is a major fantasy trope.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I can't agree with the bolded bit. Romanticising the past really is a major fantasy trope.

My point is, it’s a major everything trope. It’s not specifically fantasy, unless you define fantasy as “LotR and it’s knock-offs”.

 

[Parmandur]

Discworld by Sir Terry Pratchett.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

The big counterexample is Discworld, where a significant portion of the books are about making the world (or at least Ankh-Morpork) better through either social or technological progress. There's even one specifically about moving away from the hidebound prejudices of the past (Thud!).

I know in the other thread someone had the opinion that Discworld isn't fantasy – it's satire with fantasy tropes. But that feels very "No True Scotsman" to me.

Hard agree. Discworld is definitely one of those fantasy series that doesn't romanticise the past. Can you imagine Granny Weatherwax waxing lyrical (sorry not sorry) about the good old days of yore? Of course not.

 

[Parmandur]

What about Lord of the Rings? Sure the Elves are in decline and certain Kingdoms have corrupted rulers, but when you read about the earlier ages, things were certainly not better (for everyone). The Hobbitses lead idyllic lives, only when the start messing with the One Ring and move outside of the Shire do things turn ugly... That One Ring had been around since the Second Age, LotR is in the Fourth Age...

Tolkien is certainly not a propher of progress...but anyone who reads the history of the Numenoreans and Gondrians in the Appendices for RotK will see that he doesn't simply glorify the past as such, either. Aragorn's ancestors are, frankly, Targaryan levels.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

My point is, it’s a major everything trope. It’s not specifically fantasy, unless you define fantasy as “LotR and it’s knock-offs”.

Fair enough. Romanticising the past does happen a lot, no denying it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Discworld by Sir Terry Pratchett.

Actually some Discworld stories do romanticise the past - just not the medieval past. Raising Steam romanticises the age of steam. Unseen Academicals romanticises pre-professional football. And lots of stories romanticise religion to handing out pamphlets.

 

[Parmandur]

Actually some Discworld stories do romanticise the past - just not the medieval past. Raising Steam romanticises the age of steam. Unseen Academicals romanticises pre-professional football. And lots of stories romanticise religion to handing out pamphlets.

But it's rarely simple romanticism, even if he does like trsins.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Even Tolkien is only really romantic about pre-WW1 rural England. He may have loved the Saxon period, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to live there.

 

[Parmandur]

Even Tolkien is only really romantic about pre-WW1 rural England. He may have loved the Saxon period, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t want to live there.

The thing he is most grouchy about is literally Medieval French Romantacism. That and British Imperialism, bit for Tolkien the latter comes from the former I would say.