Ask Nicholas Kotar discussion

In general, what sort of fantasy do you prefer, a strong narrative with a driving plot, or a more leisurely, philosophical story?

I enjoy getting in the characters mind and being involved in the process of how a specific incongruous event changes the character(s) (the inner conflicting voices) and makes the character(s) grow. What is the moment that catapults someone to become a hero, and as a result what is it that they have had to sacrifice. Upon that realization, what do they do with that pain and how they use it?

In real life we often encounter difficult scenarios where we don’t have choices about how something takes place, but we have a choice about how we can handle it. We pray we have the grace to handle it well.

I love the stories that not only challenge the characters, but in a sense . . . myself. How would I handle it? Could I? How does this story change the current chapter of my life?

Sometimes . . . I want mind candy and just love the movie in my head to wipe the ordinary away and be someone else somewhere else and imagine what could be. But a good book is magic when it can do both.

you've hit the nail on the head, Natalia! A book that can do both is magic indeed.

I think that this is one of the things that make novels like Dune, LotR, Narnia, etc, such classics is that they find ways to weave the two together so seamlessly. Of course, I think that for purposes of entertainment, driving plot is always good, as well.

Dune is a great example. Another one that I found surprisingly exciting, but still very philosophical is Perelandra by C.S. Lewis. There's entire pages of philosophical arguments, but you are with the characters from beginning to end. And of course if we go beyond fantasy, I'm just astounded at how Dostoyevsky can make philosophy read like a sci-fi pulp novel.