The ONE THING All Modern Fantasy Lacks episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 13, 2025 · 52 MIN

The ONE THING All Modern Fantasy Lacks

from Lost the Plot · host SpectreVision Radio

🌐Request story notes: https://www.jgscammell.com/ ✍️Check out my writing: https://yeshua.substack.com/ 📹Bonus videos here: https://www.patreon.com/Josh_from_xbolive 🎙️My podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0p75BgKI0GhuCQVOJl8e8d 📸 My instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josh_from_xboxlive/ If you are translating the language of another world, then you have to ask yourself what sorts of phrases, metaphors, and idiom these characters would have used in their own native language, as well as what kind of epistemology, ideology, and mood these characters would possess. The translator's work is extremely difficult and complex. You can't avoid these questions just because by using the "Tolkien defense." I recommend Robin Hobb at the end of this video (calling her the perfect balance between Elfland and Poughkeepsie, which she is, absolutely, without a doubt) but I could have named a few other authors, among them Patrick Rothfuss, the graphic novels of Jodorowski, maybe Steven Erikson, and definitely Le Guin herself. I'm somewhat astounded how few fantasy nerds have actually read the Earthsea series. Do yourself a favour and do so! As for the "extreme" end of Elfland, there is the Codex Seraphinianus which is (as Borges once imagined) an encyclopedia from another world, even WRITTEN IN THE LANGUAGE of that other world (thus being entirely indecipherable). But I would say that James Joyce's Finnegans Wake goes pretty much as far as a work of elaborate, extreme, non-Earth fantasy can go. In a sense, it is the ultimate work of fantasy: a dream, written in a scintillating, multi-faced, and otherworldly tongue. CORRECTION: The word "crap" originates from Middle English and has roots in Old French and Medieval Latin. It originally referred to "chaff" or "waste," and later broadened to include other forms of discarded matter and eventually excrement. While a popular misconception links the word to Thomas Crapper, a 19th-century plumber, this is false, though his name may have helped popularize the word's use in relation to toilets. -- CHAPTERS: 0:00 One 0:42 Time and Space 1:56 The Tolkien Defense 4:32 Earthly Specificity 8:09 The Gray Area 13:26 The Craft of Writing 17:00 The Elfland Accent 21:43 Pegasus Without Wings 24:03 Style 31:13 Voice 36:33 Humor 38:08 Clarity 41:40 Anti-style? 43:47 Creation 45:55 The Middle Ground The soundtrack is here, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE: https://youtu.be/3Kv1-aLlTzg?si=vi9B9DWwHObQZ7Ls https://youtu.be/o4td2EImaG4?si=UjOvymcHPk3nVwNm https://youtu.be/W0EuoDu7V1U?si=GaQ3G1G6yCugFjUM https://youtu.be/UMGjcC_s0Ro?si=OHg-pjvryRn1X8yM https://youtu.be/ex2iwmIXd5A?si=mBvcNxkzgffuQG4H https://youtu.be/9GGmRawJFpc?si=tiWEn_dJLZairJCX https://youtu.be/--qluBjfx0U?si=byafjX6OqYijNIST https://youtu.be/V6lWntKl588?si=V5U7S89knGCA5P61 https://youtu.be/CKEHre6-Mo0?si=k6-CCyRT-k4MD2x7 https://youtu.be/z8WACKWJcc8?si=ulTAr_6T5ot1F_0M https://youtu.be/q8scuvZpgWg?si=m3wMAldvP_NjDKUw https://youtu.be/gFjveJ5sgeQ?si=QMEhmSdaL0U6OkcE https://youtu.be/u2hLJLQfwSI?si=h59EMaTnEDB-8I-D https://youtu.be/jfFTEQqdhyk?si=Sf53Epyp7FZrT1C_ https://youtu.be/JRhVkchLaX4?si=NavYgC_8jegwf-3a https://youtu.be/DCqaf5uVEA4?si=kV5rJL7J7nUFUBGE https://youtu.be/EqW3e1CacQk?si=Dbw6izClDQ2wtjXr https://youtu.be/x18pwnU-6ZM?si=IJOQlBdE66iJXS5e https://youtu.be/uQGrzMwVGtI?si=fXTi3Sw3Dx2VVDnE Thanks to James for telling me about smoots! #booktube #literature #writing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🌐Request story notes: https://www.jgscammell.com/ ✍️Check out my writing: https://yeshua.substack.com/ 📹Bonus videos here: https://www.patreon.com/Josh_from_xbolive 🎙️My podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0p75BgKI0GhuCQVOJl8e8d 📸 My instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josh_from_xboxlive/ If you are translating the language of another world, then you have to ask yourself what sorts of phrases, metaphors, and idiom these characters would have used in their own native language, as well as what kind of epistemology, ideology, and mood these characters would possess. The translator's work is extremely difficult and complex. You can't avoid these questions just because by using the "Tolkien defense." I recommend Robin Hobb at the end of this video (calling her the perfect balance between Elfland and Poughkeepsie, which she is, absolutely, without a doubt) but I could have named a few other authors, among them Patrick Rothfuss, the graphic novels of Jodorowski, maybe Steven Erikson, and definitely Le Guin herself. I'm somewhat astounded how few fantasy nerds have actually read the Earthsea series. Do yourself a favour and do so! As for the "extreme" end of Elfland, there is the Codex Seraphinianus which is (as Borges once imagined) an encyclopedia from another world, even WRITTEN IN THE LANGUAGE of that other world (thus being entirely indecipherable). But I would say that James Joyce's Finnegans Wake goes pretty much as far as a work of elaborate, extreme, non-Earth fantasy can go. In a sense, it is the ultimate work of fantasy: a dream, written in a scintillating, multi-faced, and otherworldly tongue. CORRECTION: The word "crap" originates from Middle English and has roots in Old French and Medieval Latin. It originally referred to "chaff" or "waste," and later broadened to include other forms of discarded matter and eventually excrement. While a popular misconception links the word to Thomas Crapper, a 19th-century plumber, this is false, though his name may have helped popularize the word's use in relation to toilets. -- CHAPTERS: 0:00 One 0:42 Time and Space 1:56 The Tolkien Defense 4:32 Earthly Specificity 8:09 The Gray Area 13:26 The Craft of Writing 17:00 The Elfland Accent 21:43 Pegasus Without Wings 24:03 Style 31:13 Voice 36:33 Humor 38:08 Clarity 41:40 Anti-style? 43:47 Creation 45:55 The Middle Ground The soundtrack is here, IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE: https://youtu.be/3Kv1-aLlTzg?si=vi9B9DWwHObQZ7Ls https://youtu.be/o4td2EImaG4?si=UjOvymcHPk3nVwNm https://youtu.be/W0EuoDu7V1U?si=GaQ3G1G6yCugFjUM https://youtu.be/UMGjcC_s0Ro?si=OHg-pjvryRn1X8yM https://youtu.be/ex2iwmIXd5A?si=mBvcNxkzgffuQG4H https://youtu.be/9GGmRawJFpc?si=tiWEn_dJLZairJCX https://youtu.be/--qluBjfx0U?si=byafjX6OqYijNIST https://youtu.be/V6lWntKl588?si=V5U7S89knGCA5P61 https://youtu.be/CKEHre6-Mo0?si=k6-CCyRT-k4MD2x7 https://youtu.be/z8WACKWJcc8?si=ulTAr_6T5ot1F_0M https://youtu.be/q8scuvZpgWg?si=m3wMAldvP_NjDKUw https://youtu.be/gFjveJ5sgeQ?si=QMEhmSdaL0U6OkcE https://youtu.be/u2hLJLQfwSI?si=h59EMaTnEDB-8I-D https://youtu.be/jfFTEQqdhyk?si=Sf53Epyp7FZrT1C_ https://youtu.be/JRhVkchLaX4?si=NavYgC_8jegwf-3a https://youtu.be/DCqaf5uVEA4?si=kV5rJL7J7nUFUBGE https://youtu.be/EqW3e1CacQk?si=Dbw6izClDQ2wtjXr https://youtu.be/x18pwnU-6ZM?si=IJOQlBdE66iJXS5e https://youtu.be/uQGrzMwVGtI?si=fXTi3Sw3Dx2VVDnE Thanks to James for telling me about smoots! #booktube #literature #writing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The ONE THING All Modern Fantasy Lacks

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🌐Request story notes: https://www.jgscammell.com/ ✍️Check out my writing: https://yeshua.substack.com/ 📹Bonus videos here: https://www.patreon.com/Josh_from_xbolive 🎙️My podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0p75BgKI0GhuCQVOJl8e8d 📸 My...

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