Fantasy cliches that make you want to kill someone

[Narkalui]

"Seize them!"

"Unleash the hounds!"

 

[Guttersnipe]

*villains are "dark" and/or embody darkness
*wainscot societies are getting pretty stale
*humans and magical beings share the world
*romance between humans and magical beings
*portal fantasy, at least the kind in which our world is the starting point

 

[.matthew.]

Potemkin World-Building.

There are, to be Frank, exceptions to this. For example, Sir Terence quite famously wrote the history of the Discworld as he went along and as far as I remember, there are no contradictions.

Read that as Pokemon World-Building and it confused me no end.

Mostly true, but there are quite a few retcons especially after the initial few books that were straight-up spoofs. Still love them though (currently re-reading Witches Abroad) and while contradictions normally annoy me no end (especially when you retcon stuff in trilogies or after like 7 books) Pratchett gets a pass because Discworld feels so alive and with all the zany stuff that happens there, I can pretend it was 'magic'

 

[The Big Peat]

Complaining about fantasy cliches

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Prophecies.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Unpronounceable names of people, places and races.

 

[Vince W]

Single qu'otes in the midd'le of words or names to make them seem exo'tic.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Single qu'otes in the midd'le of words or names to make them seem exo'tic.

Yes, this is the kind of thing I was referring to in my post above. Seems to happen even more in sci-fi. Using a ' or too many vowels doesn't make it more alien or fantastical, just a bit more difficult to read.

Having said that, lots of people seem quite happy with them, so as usual it's personal preference.

 

[Boneman]

Unpronounceable names of people, places and races.

Yes!! This. Especially names...

 

[paranoid marvin]

Yes!! This. Especially names...

Always makes me laugh when I remember Rimmer on Red Dwarf making up the name of an alien species 'Quagaar' and emphasising the fact that it's spelt with double 'a'.

 

[Toby Frost]

That reminds me of the great line in the SF part of Blackadder's Christmas Carol:

"No, my Lord Pigmott, I have not vanquished the Nibblepibblers, because you just made them up."

 

[BAYLOR]

Annoyingly cute characters whose inclusion does nothing to advance or help the story in any way.

 

[.matthew.]

Annoyingly cute characters whose inclusion does nothing to advance or help the story in any way.

YOU TAKE THAT BACK! THE EWOKS WERE HEROES!

 

[BAYLOR]

YOU TAKE THAT BACK! THE EWOKS WERE HEROES!

Isn't there a Star Wars game in which you get to hunt down the Ewoks?

 

[Sally]

The fact the "heroes" wife is always raped and murdered. Zzzzzz Can't it just be that she's far away and his struggle is to reunite? Oh no, she must be dead, preferably murdered and of course raped.

 

[Narkalui]

The fact the "heroes" wife is always raped and murdered. Zzzzzz Can't it just be that she's far away and his struggle is to reunite? Oh no, she must be dead, preferably murdered and of course raped.

And within moments of her death, of course, he bangs the Princess...

 

[Sally]

And within moments of her death, of course, he bangs the Princess...

Oh of course. Until his death scene, she doesn't get another mention.

 

[.matthew.]

When the heroes wife dies and leaves him a dog to love and the dog is murdered and his car stolen?

Every single one of his hundred-plus victims deserved to die for that

 

[BAYLOR]

When the heroes wife dies and leaves him a dog to love and the dog is murdered and his car stolen?

Every single one of his hundred-plus victims deserved to die for that

And worse , The surprise ending where the hero finds out that his beloved pet Cat Fluffy was the one who orchestrated everything for insurance purposes naming himself as the sole beneficiary .

 

[Vince W]

Isn't there a Star Wars game in which you get to hunt down the Ewoks?

If there isn't there ought to be.