The fantasy genre has always been somewhat neutered romantically. Maybe it was just the authors I read growing up, but plots rarely culminated in the hero locking lips and dragging his girl of choice off into the sunset. The ease of small publishing has allowed all sorts of niche markets to thrive in modern times, but there is something to be said for puritan days gone by. Sexy is never sexier than when it’s unintentional, and in the past there have been a number of characters that oozed sex appeal, even if they were never intended to. Take Allanon from Terry Brooks’ Shannara series for instance, who was described as having an “imposing figure” with “strong hands” and a “dark face” with “deep-set eyes.” I don’t think Brooks was groping himself while writing Allanon, but he created a character that, underneath all those druid robes, was a brawny, hairy-chested bear of a man well suited for any magazine centerfold.
No doubt such romantically barren fantasy novels helped to usher in the era of slash fiction. Without every character being paired up with a wife, child, and white picket fence, readers were left free to imagine what couples they would most like to see. I suspect this is also the reason why Doctor Who has such a large gay following. Until recent years, the Doctor wasn’t tongue wrestling with anyone. Picturing a neutral hero in the sort of relationships you enjoy is much easier to do than with a flamboyantly heterosexual hero. Maybe that’s why fantasy novels held such sway over me when I was young.
Really though, I like it better these days. I prefer openly gay characters in books and no longer having to make up hot guy-on-guy romances. Besides those for my own stories of course. Speaking of which, I stumbled upon a rough sketch Andreas did of Tyjinn that didn’t make it in the novel or the art book. I’m not sure whose idea it was that Tyjinn should be wearing so little, but I approve. And speaking of sexy fantasy figures, if you name your favorite over on Reviews by Jessewave in the next couple of days, you can win a free print copy of The Cat in the Cradle. How sexy is that?