(RBE) CEO- Jason M. Waltz
Part One: What is Heroic Fantasy?
To look upon the home page of Rogue Blades Entertainment is to take a nostalgic glimpse of what is Sword & Sorcery, or at least what has become of it. Perhaps not just what has become of Sword & Sorcery, but a more personal view into the true heroes of Sword & Sorcery.
The fantasy genres have blended so much over the years (and sadly diluted through innumerable RPG games and misplaced Hollywood films) that the heart of this iconic genre has been nigh but lost—or at least incredibly misinterpreted to the common population.
Say the word “Sword & Sorcery”, and most people give you an, “Oh you mean like that old stuff that use to be in Weird Tales? Authors like H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard? Yeah and those old characters like Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Elric of Melnibone.. . Aren’t all those authors dead?”
And no, they are not all dead and no, they all did not write S&S. The actual terminology of Sword and Sorcery was originally given to Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories by a correspondence between Michael Moorcock and Fritz Leiber (Mr. Leiber being the one to actually coin the term)…If the account in Wikipedia is accurate and that is never an assured thing.
The sad truth is that video games and Hollywood have miscued fantasy characters and creatures to the point they all run together. I have read forums where youths think elves are, “Just humans with pointed ears.” Dwarves are “Short people” and Ogres…well, who else but Shrek? Dare you ask them about a goblin they will brighten immediately and say, “Oh you mean the Green Goblin from Spiderman?”
Go to the Middle School and older and all your replies will usually involve Forgotten Realms, R.A. Salvatore (Drizzt may have played a huge part in the revolution of RPGs), MORPG’s or novels constituted by Wizards of the West Coast. I happen to enjoy a good RPG game and have played many. I loved R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt novels and Mr.Salvatore himself is an alright guy. I tip my hat to any man who can sell over ten million novels. Plus he gave me very good advice on my first novel by saying (paraphrasing) enjoy it while you can because after the first novel you have deadlines to meet forever thereafter.
Still, the pulverization of vanilla fantasy characters into the younger culture does create a stereotype of said fiction characters. Other than a few different abilities and physical appearances, most interpretations of fantasy characters are just extensions of humans.
Yes, a small part of the media’s archetypical understanding is based on poor literature. Some stories have portrayed elves as nothing more than pointed eared humans, dwarves as short people (or in one Hollywood film that I recall, they didn’t even bother to make the dwarves short) fan fiction may play a huge role in diluting what was once a highly revered genre of fast action, brawny sword wielding men and voluptuous heroines. A time when a man was a man and a woman a woman…By Crom!
Could you imagine our politicians and liberalists in the Age of Conan?
“Oh Conan, you shouldn’t steal that man’s horse.”
“Conan, if they don’t want you to be king…you should just resign.”
“Conan, put that sword down. We need to communicate with our enemies.”
“Conan if they want to slaughter the entire village, you should let them. If you raise your sword against them you are just proving you are no better.”
…I could see the walls of Conan’s Aquilonian palace lined with the sun-bleached skulls of many a politician.
For that reason, I cringe to use the term Sword & Sorcery. Plus, most of the works today have blended the genres so much you can’t really place them in one category. Sword & Sorcery needed a face-lift, an upgrade for a newer generation and at Rogue Blades Entertainment, I assure you it has. Heroic fantasy is a new skin for a newer generation, an upgrade from Sword & Sorcery.
RBE describes heroic fantasy as, “This is the fantastical root of and father to all that RBE is interested in. Heroic fantasy incorporates the epic/high fantasy tale on one hand and the sword & sorcery/low fantasy tale on the other. It is a strictly heroic tale written in favor of neither one side nor the other. Its story often appears to be of a lesser magnitude than that of the epic tale, while its protagonist sometimes appears to have a higher purpose than that of the usual sword & sorcery character. David Gemmell’s novels are good examples of heroic fantasy.”
David Gemmell—(1948-2006) Bestselling British novelist best known for Heroic Fantasy and with over thirty novels to his credit.
The true heroes of this iconic genre are the writers themselves: Not just the pioneers like Howard, Leiber and Moorcock but all of those who sought to follow in the footsteps of heroic fantasy. Wielding pens like swords, weaving words like intricate spells, and pages the land both beautiful and deadly that their heroes embarked on with fearless passion. For without the writers, the legend of heroes fades…
Just as important are people like Jason M. Waltz and Rogue Blades Entertainment to keep the legacy of the writers alive or they too, would fade into dismal history. Small press publishers like Jason are devoted to the art of the literature not just the monetary value of it. Perhaps someday that will change and small press will grow as people’s interest in better quality literature increases. Perhaps one day big publishers will fail to reinvent themselves and inadvertently collapse into the ashes of a far less viable regime. Until then, we must rely on small press to read good heroic fantasy.
Does that mean that the heroic fantasy genre is dying out? As I mentioned earlier, it is commercialized into perpetual oversaturated boredom via Hollywood and video games (much like this sentence).
Do not be sad die-hard heroic fantasy fans, for the genre is far from dead. Don’t believe me you naysayers and skeptics? Well, of course you don’t.
Read the introduction under, “Welcome To Rogue Blades Entertainment” and all of your doubts of a dying heroic fantasy genre will begin to fade. How can you doubt a man who introduces his web site with:
“…We are invigorating a NEW Age of Heroes with hard-hitting, fast-paced tales reminiscent of mythic battles and warriors from pulp and lore. With a clash of swords and ringing steel, RBE delivers the ultimate in motivational entertainment…” --RBE
Jason M. Waltz has strived with fierce enthusiasm to wield a notch with sword, axe, fire and blood. A banner to the legend that is heroic fantasy fused with a younger generation. A hope that heroes and heroines, whether by wit or forged steel, will carve the immortal legacy of heroic fantasy into the hearts of readers both young and old. Heroic fantasy is not just about charismatic sword wielding heroes of another age, it is about hope, stamina to persevere despite the odds and bring forth victory even in the face of defeat.
It is about following a warrior as he fights through a throng of blood crazed savages only to be outmatched in brawn and forced to use his or her wits to win the day. After you close the pages you can reflect on life and say, “losing my job isn’t so bad, or even my home,” or any kind of hardships or tragedies that may come your way. You could say, “at least I didn’t have to fight through a thousand savages. I can get through this; I will get through this and become stronger for my troubles.”
In other words,
HEROIC FANTASY IS NOT A MEANS TO ESCAPE YOUR PROBLEMS; IT IS A WAY TO COPE WITH THEM. You can consider it a stress relief, perhaps just a momentary escape—or a literary aspirin, if you will. If you have no stress then consider it Nirvana for the brain.
I asked Jason M. Waltz a simple question and like everything that Jason does, he answered with a cogent tenacity that reflects his heroic personality.
I ask you—the reader—to take a moment and step into your mind’s parlor. That’s it, sit back in a carved walnut high-back chair. Tap the proverbial ashes from an A. Peyrau terracotta pipe (caricatured in the likeness of Joseph Pulitzer’s head) and pat the old English bloodhound one last time as we cogitate with Jason as he answers my question:
What in your words is Heroic Fantasy?
“Heroic fantasy is the conceptualized desire of mankind to save itself…or at least others more vulnerable than we. It is our hopes embodied within an iconic figure all and more than we could ever be that foremost faces the worst that can be done to us – and somehow survives. That’s the key: Success measured in survival. Surviving – hopefully but usually not unscathed – to renew assumption of those hopes and dreams, to shoulder anew a duty to persist in the face of any and all odds.
So what makes a hero? All that is done in spite of one’s personal desires or despite one’s inclinations. Aragorn succeeded as a hero not because he wanted to – but in direct opposition to his own hopes and desires…and fears. Conan succeeds as a hero not because he wishes to – but directly as a result of his normally-considered less than savory desires…the pursuit of wealth, women, and wine.
Heroes – as I stated in the Foreword to Return of the Sword – are ordinary people performing extraordinary actions. They are the ones who do what no one else does or will. They face down the ugly foes not because they dream of their body broken and the loss of their personal pleasure but because they cannot allow such things to happen to those around them. Inadvertent heroism is normal. Recurring heroics is abnormal. It bears repeating: Heroic individuals are those who do the extraordinary in ordinary times – and also those who continue to do the ordinary in extraordinary times.
Heroes have larger stories than you or I do. There is no tale that does not have a hero, though not all are bigger than life or face gigantic, global, or galactic foes – but the best ones do! The best tales of heroes are the ones most memorable, those most attractive, and most controversial. Mack Bolan. Jason Bourne. Odysseus. Drizzt Do’Urden. Hondo. Shane. Edmund Dantes. Tom Swift. Doc Savage. Tarzan. Jack Bauer. The list is endless.
What is ‘Heroic Fantasy’? Heroic Fantasy is man’s ideal experienced individually: It is the triumph of the one on behalf of the many through survival with a dash of élan.” -Jason M. Waltz
A huge thanks for all the writers who participated in this and yes, all of your golden comments will be posted here in the body of one of these parts as well as on the other site. Until then, if anyone wants to check them out here is the link: RBE Authors’ Praises
Most importantly I want to thank Jason for his kindness, patience, and his comments. Not to mention the time he took to write them and think them through…And for actually trusting me to do this!
Jason commented on “Return of the Sword” which is one of his anthologies chock full of stories by talented authors. If you haven’t picked up a copy you should. That way you can see what heroic fantasy is first hand. I have given you a link below. You can own a copy for under twenty dollars or have an electronic version for under ten!
…and that my friends [or enemies] is it for now. Join me next week as I bite my nails, rip my hair out and continue our journey with RBE. You want to know what I asked Jason next? Well, join me next week and find out.
Until then, why don’t you visit RBE and if you have already—do it again!
Rogue Blades Entertainment
-RBE-
If you are not happy with this article, or if I have offended you in anyway, please send any and all complaints here: Forward
Jason sums up things very nicely as always. It has been a pleasure to work with him over the past couple of years and I'll take this time to note a difference that we seem to have with the definition of heroic fantasy. He tends to take the view that S&S heroes move through life killing and pillaging as it suits them. I tend to write about heroes that are regular people pushed to the edge and they fight back just enough to obtain their goal. (This also happens to be a good way to sum everything up in one short story.) As usual, I'm sure Jason is right and I am wrong. It's not a terribly important distinction but rather just a slight difference in character motivation.
ReplyDeleteI think heroes are made in both ways and many other ways as well. I'm pretty sure Jason implied to the fact that heroes are made by choices and circumstances. A hero in one nation can be considered a villian in another. Jason Bourne for instance, never wanted to fight and kill, he was forced into it. Choices make the hero and those choices make the hero heroic. The differnece between a hero and a villian ultimatley is the choices they made. hope that helps...
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ReplyDeleteHey Jeff, we do not differ in our definitions. While for me the predominant S&S hero - for that matter heroic fiction hero - does move through life as he/she pleases, consequences be damned (for the S&S hero; consequences by eternally reconsidered for the epic quest hero), there is nothing less heroic than indiscriminately striking down one and all for no reason. I don't mean to imply that Conan is heroic simply because he takes what he wants; I believe him to be heroic because of what he does while taking what he wants. In the choices that he makes, albeit mostly self-centered, he most often chooses those less selfish, less crude, less anti-heroic, than he necessarily has to.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your perceived difference, at least as demonstrated above, I believe 'your' heroes are more than sufficiently included in my oft' repeated "Heroic individuals are those who do the extraordinary in ordinary times – and also those who continue to do the ordinary in extraordinary times." Oth is both your hero and mine. Rath, perfectly justified in his raging quest for revenge, awakens to his bloodthirstiness...but only after witnessing the rampaging behemoth befriending him. Minus that scene, I don't think Rath's bloodletting would have been enough to sate and then turn his mind. Again, though, he is hero to both of us.
The folks at Ft. Hood who continued to function in an orderly and commanding manner amidst the chaos of being attacked inside their own home by one of their own (in name and perception at least) were just as heroic as would have been the actions of anyone who grasped what occurred and reacted instinctively or protectively in bloodthirsty assault upon the a**hole. Granted, charging a menace hurtling metal projectiles at 1000s of feet per second at one is distinctly different and more difficult than closing upon a blade-wielding manic, but my point is, heroics is large word, encompassing many types of actions...
...though most of us prefer reading about the hard-charging, sword-swinging kind rather than the maintaining-her-bearing in the face of a road-raging idiot variety. It's simple the spice of life, more often than being the reality of it.