Noblebright / Nobledark
I enjoy books of fantasy, mostly 'high fantasy', but I have grown tired of the overwhelming dark tone of many of these books. The trend for many years now has been to create morally gray characters is hat can only be called an evil environment. These characters sacrifice their core values of good and evil in order to achieve their goals by whatever means necessary. This has led to what I believe is a very depressing writing style. Fantasy has turned 'Dark'.
Yes, there must be an element of evil, a bad guy for the hero to overcome, to defeat. However, in more and more fantasy novels, the hero becomes just the best of the bad guys; they have no true morals other than their own self-interest, their own self-survival. This is what a good many fantasy readers have come to expect, and for many it is what they enjoy reading. I want my books to offer an alternative, something a little more upbeat, hopeful, Noble.
"Noblebright fantasy is fantasy in which there is at least one person with noble, idealistic motives who does the right thing out of a sense of principle, and which is generally hopeful in tone."
As mentioned, I understand there needs to be an antagonist. In the story "Little Red Riding Hood," if the little girl skips happily through the woods to grandma's house and takes her cookies with no risk, with no opposition, that isn't much of a story. In short, without the Big Bad Wolf there is no conflict, no dramatic element, no story. While this element of evil, perhaps even pure evil with no chance at redemption, is a critical part of the story, it does not mean the other characters must adapt the same tactics.
The Good people of the story, the noble people, may be required to do things they normally would not do, to step outside their comfort zone, but they do not have to become evil. True, the characters should be changed in some way, their view of the world slightly different than at the beginning of the journey, but this change, I believe, can be good. It does not have to be the acceptance that the world is evil and that to be a part of it, to survive, you must become evil as well. I would much rather have a story where, even in an evil world, the protagonist sees hope and believes that if enough people believe and do the right thing, they can make the world a better place. This is Noblebright.
Make no mistake, my novels are not all sunshine and roses; I know this. The novels contain death, destruction, evil in many different forms and in some cases a great deal of suffering. The "Blood on the Wand" series is perhaps the darkest of my novels. Even with the death and a number of selfish, evil characters, the protagonist (s) remain convinced that if they do the right thing and stay true to their values, they will overcome. This commitment comes at a price, sometimes an awful price, but together they will ultimately win out. This strays a little from the Noblebright setting into a second genre of the Nobledark.
"Nobledark combines a bleak, dangerous, and morally compromised world with genuinely heroic protagonists who strive to do good and enact positive change in their world."
The line between these two subgenres is often blurred. Just how much drama, how much evil can be in a book before it is classified as 'Dark'? That is up to the individual reader. In today's market, there are a number of excellent authors writing in these genres. These authors include C.J. Brightley, Chris Wooding, Katherine Addison, and Brandon Sanderson. These authors, and many others, take us into a fantasy world that, while perhaps not perfect, reflects hope. I personally believe the world can use a bit more hope. I hope you will join the adventure...
