An interesting glimpse into the term and what it supposedly means, but I'm in no way sold on the idea of "Noblebright" being something of genuine worth and value. To me, when I see this term and how it mirrors Grimdark, I see another repetition of the exact same formula/counter-formula problem that's butchered creativity within fantasy fiction. This is nothing more than a repetition of the same reaction we saw in the 70's and 80's, where the overabundance of the day was epic fantasy clones that tried to ape Tolkien without truly understanding his work.
In the era of generic heroes saving generic maidens from generic dark lords, the pushback came in the form of a style of dark fantasy that did exactly the opposite. We saw that flip on its head again in the 90's with more lighthearted and youthful fantasy adventure fiction as the dark fantasy formula became oversaturated. Then the formula flipped again in the mid 2000's-2010's with the booming popularity of Game of Thrones, bringing us to where we are today.
Noblebright is nothing more than the continuation of this trend. Assuming the "genre" finds broader reach, in the short term, it might strike it lucky and hit one or two veins of gold in the form of stories that are worthy and lasting, as happened in the 80's dark fantasy flip. But these will be exceptions, not the rule. The pattern has already proven itself; if Noblebright becomes big, it won't be as a source of growing creativity beneath the greater fantasy umbrella. Rather, it will end up as another factory working in mass production, churning out fantasy by formula. This was the long term result of every single one of these "let's do the opposite" style flips. Without fail, they become slaves to their own formulae.
There's no reason to believe we won't see the same thing happen with Noblebright.
I honestly like the term. Probably for the same reason that many people will dislike it, because it's definitely something I could wear on a t-shirt. It's marketable. And in the world where everybody has their own thing, their own little box their own little club, it's nice to be able to point to something that I'm interested in and have a name for it. Heroic fantasy, to me, invokes negative concepts that I don't wish to tie myself to. Like books that are way too long, way too deep detailed, and self-indulgent. Pompous nerds. And endless lore of meaningless specific details about things I don't like or care about. It puts me in that mind frame and makes me not even want to start reading a book. Noble bright sounds like a section of a bookstore that's just getting started. Like a little nook in the library that I'm interested to see what's there. Even if some of those stories turn out to be the same thing, it kind of has this ring to it that gives me a feeling that I can still get those positive emotions without all of the schlage.
I’ve never associated Heroic Fantasy with anything negative, but to each their own, Noblebright seems more like something for kids so that I do see the appeal I suppose.
The "Game of Thrones" stories are the output of an ardent communist who hates God, mankind, and free markets trying to write characters that aren't evil, nasty, ugly, despicable wretches and failing nearly all of the time.
One of my favourite stories of epic heroism is _Glory Road_ by Robert Heinlein.
An interesting glimpse into the term and what it supposedly means, but I'm in no way sold on the idea of "Noblebright" being something of genuine worth and value. To me, when I see this term and how it mirrors Grimdark, I see another repetition of the exact same formula/counter-formula problem that's butchered creativity within fantasy fiction. This is nothing more than a repetition of the same reaction we saw in the 70's and 80's, where the overabundance of the day was epic fantasy clones that tried to ape Tolkien without truly understanding his work.
In the era of generic heroes saving generic maidens from generic dark lords, the pushback came in the form of a style of dark fantasy that did exactly the opposite. We saw that flip on its head again in the 90's with more lighthearted and youthful fantasy adventure fiction as the dark fantasy formula became oversaturated. Then the formula flipped again in the mid 2000's-2010's with the booming popularity of Game of Thrones, bringing us to where we are today.
Noblebright is nothing more than the continuation of this trend. Assuming the "genre" finds broader reach, in the short term, it might strike it lucky and hit one or two veins of gold in the form of stories that are worthy and lasting, as happened in the 80's dark fantasy flip. But these will be exceptions, not the rule. The pattern has already proven itself; if Noblebright becomes big, it won't be as a source of growing creativity beneath the greater fantasy umbrella. Rather, it will end up as another factory working in mass production, churning out fantasy by formula. This was the long term result of every single one of these "let's do the opposite" style flips. Without fail, they become slaves to their own formulae.
There's no reason to believe we won't see the same thing happen with Noblebright.
Well put, I’m not really sold on this either and much prefer Heroic Fantasy and Dark Fantasy as terms.
Doesn't chivalric romance also cover this genre? Or is that not broad enough?
I do think it covers this subgenre yes.
I honestly like the term. Probably for the same reason that many people will dislike it, because it's definitely something I could wear on a t-shirt. It's marketable. And in the world where everybody has their own thing, their own little box their own little club, it's nice to be able to point to something that I'm interested in and have a name for it. Heroic fantasy, to me, invokes negative concepts that I don't wish to tie myself to. Like books that are way too long, way too deep detailed, and self-indulgent. Pompous nerds. And endless lore of meaningless specific details about things I don't like or care about. It puts me in that mind frame and makes me not even want to start reading a book. Noble bright sounds like a section of a bookstore that's just getting started. Like a little nook in the library that I'm interested to see what's there. Even if some of those stories turn out to be the same thing, it kind of has this ring to it that gives me a feeling that I can still get those positive emotions without all of the schlage.
I’ve never associated Heroic Fantasy with anything negative, but to each their own, Noblebright seems more like something for kids so that I do see the appeal I suppose.
The "Game of Thrones" stories are the output of an ardent communist who hates God, mankind, and free markets trying to write characters that aren't evil, nasty, ugly, despicable wretches and failing nearly all of the time.
One of my favourite stories of epic heroism is _Glory Road_ by Robert Heinlein.