What makes a great story to me.

[Mr Fox]

I am reading a series of books right now that everyone I know raves about, to the point of statements like “An Epic story”, “one of the best series I’ve read, evar!”, etc. So, I am reading them and scratching my head wondering why everyone thinks they are so incredible. I find the writing to be excellent, the story to be ‘epic’ in scope, and over all I think they stand among the best written books I’ve read. BUT, they lack… something.

So I started thinking about the books and even TV shows I consider to be ‘epic’ works, the ones that stand out as my favorites. None of them are flawless, they have their issues, but something about them stands out for me above and beyond other stories. What are my favorites? In fantasy, I’d have to list Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. For Sci fi I’d list Star Wars, Babylon 5 and Stargate.

But that led me to question what it was about these five that are so great? Tolkien was a philologist who wrote the Lord of the Rings in order to build a framework for his made up languages, the writing isn’t so great compared to more modern works. Jordan went off the rails on WoT, spinning off so many subplots he got lost in the details and almost ran the story into the ground. Star Wars is controlled by a megalomaniac who seems to care more about making a buck and controlling his empire than about it’s content. Babylon 5 had to bend to the constraints of network politics which screwed up it’s intended story arc because of being almost cancelled halfway through season 4. Then there is Stargate which was never intended to be a real ‘story’, and yet it went through 10 seasons and 2 spinoffs.

What is it about these particular stories that shine for me? Why is Babylon 5 so much greater than Dune, or the Wheel of Time better than the Belgariad?

Each of those five have inspired me to spend hours and hours, if not days, weeks and months worth of time fantasizing about being in those worlds. Dune, the Belgariad, and all the other works of fantasy and sci fi I’ve read over the years capture my attention for the span of time that I’m reading them, and to a small extent afterwards as well, but only these five stand out for me as holding my imagination even after years away from them. I still occasionally imagine myself in Middle Earth walking the lands. In the fall when the weather turns I still get the urge to re-read the Hobbit for the twentieth time. (Honestly, I’ve lost count.) I’ve roleplayed in Middle Earth and the Wheel of Time, in Star Wars and Stargate. Babylon 5 even made me rethink my religion. They each in their own way inspire me and fuel my imagination over and over again.

That brings me back to George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire. Everyone tells me how great it is. And it is great, but for me it lacks… something. It captures me during the reading. It is masterfully done, but the difference between it and those others is that it doesn’t fuel my imagination. I don’t fantasize about being in Westeros during my daily commute to work. Maybe it’s because I spent a year of my life working as a Knight, actually riding horses and donning armor to entertain crowds at Ren fairs around the country. Maybe it’s because it is a relatively low fantasy world and there just isn’t enough magic for my tastes. Whatever it is, it just will never stand in my view as the equal of those other five, never mind that it might be better and more skillfully written than those.

I don’t claim that it doesn’t capture the imagination of others and fuel their fantasies, but for me it does not, and when I finally put down the final book, the story will be over and it will live in my memory as only one of the stories I’ve read, although an excellent one. Unfortunately it will not burn in my imagination leading me to picture myself in that world and wonder what it would be like to be there.

[Ouroboros]

Nice post. I'm not sure what my top 5 would be.

[The Story Guide]

I've read all the books and watched the tv shows you've mentioned, save for Ice and Fire (the books) and most of Tolkien. I break my "Favorites" into two categories: compelling story/characters, and compelling setting. The Lord of the Rings manages to capture both: I hate Tolkien's writing, I just can't make it past the first few pages of any of his books, but I love the story (which I learned from watching the masterful movies, and yes I know they took some liberties especially when it came to Aragon and the elf girl who's name escapes me at the moment). I don't fantasize about being in the story because it is complete in and of itself; I do enjoy games in the setting because the world is well detailed but leaves enough room for ST's and players to put their own mark on in their games.

Babylon 5 is one where I love the story but haven't found a good way to expand the setting for use in roleplaying. It's the same with Battlestar Galatica (though I admit I haven't seen the newest incarnation of the show). The Wheel of Time is the opposite for me: I'm rather disenchanted with the story at this point (as you said, too many subplots that could have been books in their own rights that muddled or just outright uprooted the main plot through much of the later books), but the setting, my god, what a masterpiece. Fire and Ice....well, I blame my husband for my lack of interest in reading the books. He ran a masterful campaign for myself and group of friends that started before the main plot and went well past the published books at the time with our own characters upending and usurping most of the main plot. I've been watching the HBO series and understand now people's accolades for the story in the books, but it's still the setting that catches my imagination. Dune....eh....the books/movies were interesting, but the setting seems constrained. Short of inventing more content than is collectively already written for the setting so that the players would have something to do besides repeat the plot of the main books, I don't see the Dune setting as good roleplaying material.

I just don't like Star Wars, so I'll bow out of discussing it as I couldn't objectively critique it.

So, to sum up: of great stories, only those with a specific balance of detailed but open settings work for roleplaying (from my point view), while others have great stories but are so self-contained that short of usurping at least one of the canon characters, there's simply no place for you or your PC.