If epic fantasy is often about coming of age…
- In order to do/get the thing, the character has to pretend to be someone they’re not.
- Sometimes that character isn’t willing to do so, and gets beaten down until they must fulfill that role.
- Either they discover they’re not really faking it, OR they discover that no, it was just the hubris talking, and they were always a fake.
- Often this type of story ends in a train wreck, especially if it’s a multi-volume series. The end-end might turn out okay, but individual volumes can be a moral or literal bloodbath.
This would be things like the Mistborn series, the Farseer series, pretty much everything by KJ Parker (he almost always goes for the hubris path). It all depends on whether you stay humble or get arrogant, and for how long.
…
It takes writing time to write these posts. If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to check out my latest book, One Dark Summer Night, or sign up for my newsletter.