On Why I Read Fantasy Novels
Because dragons are awesome. And, let's face it, so are wizards. And epic adventures.
They remind me that life is one sweeping adventure, that foes can be conquered, that hope wins out against the darkness. They remind me that the deepest magic is belief in our own abilities to take charge of our lives.
They are a waking dream transcribed to the page, pure inspiration, and imagination--a promise of other worlds and other times that exist alongside our own if only we take the time to pick up a book.
Even when these novels take place on the urban streets of today--dragons and other creatures no longer hidden in deep caves or dark forests, but in the subways and alleys of our industrialized lands--they show us the many layers that make up the world, the importance of seeing beyond brick and mortar and into the soul of a city.
Fantasy novels are, and always will be, books of hope and adventure, dreams and bottled magic, inspiration, and dragon scales.