Quickpoll for 7th January 2011
submitted by Mix
The most essential thing in a fantasy novel is:
Interesting magic and other supernatural phenomena (7.79% - 12 votes)
The plot (56.49% - 87 votes)
World building (or setting) (25.32% - 39 votes)
Other worldly characters (3.9% - 6 votes)
Jokes (1.3% - 2 votes)
Other (please list) (5.19% - 8 votes)
1) The Plot
2) Interesting magic system
3) World building
4) Other worldly characters
All in that order.
3) World building
4) Other worldly characters
All in that order.
All of the above.
But of course plot is the most important.
Other?
I'll go with characters. They don't necessarily have to be "other worldly," they just have to be interesting. One of the things that I like most about fantasy is how you have this impossible world populated with believable characters. I'm always really impressed when an author has a cast of characters that I can understand and relate to despite them living in completely different circumstances than myself.
I said plot,
but really the most important thing is just that it's written well.
What Strykr said
I picked the Plot, but if the characters are really good then I'll forgive bad plotting. Plot and characters is the heart of any story, everything else is just icing on the cake.
Other
because without good character development - no matter how good the writing is - the story tends to be black and white.
All of ze above! *NM*
Its interesting because Plot varies rather slightly across most books
but world building and unique characters have dramatic differences in the SF/F genre and they are usually what I read for. Lets face it, how many SF/F books end with a happy re-union and all the red-shirts getting their asses handed to them.
Other
For a novel to be excellent, you have to make the reader care about something in the story.
strykr has got it right
it's definitely the characters that make up a fantasy novel, or any novel for the most part