The Quest or the Battle?

[ras'matroi]

I prefere the quest.
But there should be at least one battle along the way.

[dwndrgn]

Originally Posted by Marky Lazer

Hpw often have you been on an adventurous quest?

Never, but that doesn't mean I can't judge it's reality quotient. I don't know how a phone works either but if given two explanations, one false and one true, I'd probably be able to spot the false one - because I'm not an idiot (and I'm not saying that you were calling me one either) and I can pretty much grasp the technical aspects of sitting on a horse and swinging a sword, etc. and so forth. So, when I read about someone slicing open someone's face who is 7 feet away...I know right away that the author didn't take the time to research the battle and I just don't care anyway.

[Marky Lazer]

Maybe it's a long sword

[dwndrgn]

Originally Posted by Marky Lazer

Maybe it's a long sword

[A1ien]

Can I be really different and say I prefer the one-on-one battles that usually turn up at the end of the quest or in the midst of a battle. that is where true skill in writing comes in in my opinion because the author has to make it gripping and also to flow. and i like detailed descriptions of great magics which usually happen in these scenes

[dragula_66]

In my opinion both quests and battles are essential to a good story. there cant be an epic battle without something leading up to it (i.e. the quest), and if the story simply ends when the quest, which usually has only a few characters, ends its somewhat unsatisfactory, meaning the story culminates with minimal characters. I believe you need both. lets consider this:

David Gemmell: quests + great battles = great read.

Raymond Feist: quests + great battles = great read.

Mercedes Lackey: quests + great (and very original) battles = terrific read.

J.R.R. Tolkien: quests + great battles.

Although i will admit that sometimes 1 or the other can be very gripping and sucessful, e.g. the fool, or liveship trilogies by Robin Hobb, where there is simply 'the quest'.

But from what i have read it seems that quests and battles go hand in hand with a good book. (at least the great writers of fantasy seem to think so, seeing as thats what they do...)

i would really like to hear thoughts on my opinion, as long as it is constructive critisim...

[dustinzgirl]

Well, you can't really have the battle without the quest, but you can have the quest without the battle. Personally, I like the quest, but the battle makes it all worthwhile. Its when the final climax occurs, its all on the line...especially when the odds are so overwhelming that utter defeat is imminent. That makes the quest worth questing, and the quest makes the battle worth fighting.

PS Marky: Every day is an adventure at my house. You should try it. We have jedi's, barbies, clay wars, food fights, incorigable language (Mom He is so STUPID!) and water wars.

[Sparks the Knave]

well if you could only have one, the Quest. Mindless battle is fairly uninvolving.

but the best quests have battles of course IMHO

battle, or a least conflict if not open battle, is very importan to a readers emotions. the threat of character death is important to stories.

[Nesacat]

A quest definitely. But I would like intrigue along the way and a battle of wits with the lives of those on the quest at stake; not necessarily a traditional with traditional weapons.

[j. d. worthington]

I agree. Some of the best fantasy ever written had some form of quest, often an internal quest, and the "battle", if there was one, was of the character with their own psyche -- and these can be extremely involving and very moving, without any exterior fighting whatsoever, though seldom without coming into conflict with other characters, I might add.

They are both valid, and each serve their purpose in the field, but, as Sparks says, mindless battle is just that -- rather mindless (not to mention pointless). So, if you must have one or the other, the "quest" -- though not necessarily one for a talisman (retrieval or destruction of), or book of knowledge, or anything of the sort -- sometimes it's simply an internal quest, but nonetheless powerful for all that.

[jenna]

i'm a battle girl through and through