The end of the year means one thing for magazines: lists. Lists of bests. Lists of worsts. Lists of tops. Lists of bottoms. Lists of lists. Publisher’s Weekly caused an uproar when they released their list of Top 100 books for 2009. Only 29 female authors made the cut, and none of them cracked the top ten.

The Washington Post reacted with an article called “The key to literary success? Be a man — or write like one.” Salon.com responded in kind with “If you want to be a great writer, be a man.” Both articles were written by women, recalling advice from former college professors.

As I was reading both (valid) arguments that women get the shaft in publishing circles, I couldn’t help but compare the experiences of those women to the experiences of women in the fantasy genre. Sure, fantasy is full of epic male authors: Tolkien, Lewis, Jordan, Gaimen, Pratchett, Dahl. But fantasy also has its share of celebrated (and well-paid) female writers: Kurtz, Rice, Rowling, Weis, Bradley.

Is the fantasy genre simply more friendly to female writers?

I think so.

But why?

Let’s start by looking at the biggest bang (and bank account): J.K. Rowling.

By now, her personal journey is as well-known as that of of The Boy Who Lived. For example, that “K” in “J.K.” is not even her real name. When Bloomsbury bought Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, they feared that young boys wouldn’t want to read a fantasy tale by Joanne Rowling, so she adopted an androgynous “K.”

By the time Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire hit shelves, Rowling was the highest-profile author in the world, and everyone knew the “K” was for Kathleen. It didn’t matter that J.K. Rowling was a woman; what mattered was that she hurry back to her office and start writing about Hogwarts, Year Five.

Rowling also did another thing for female writers in the fantasy genre: she blurred the lines between children’s fiction and adult fiction. Women have always been trusted with cooking, cleaning and kids; so, the children’s publishing industry has historically been more accessible to females. During Harry Potter’s off-years, many adults went digging around in the children’s sections at their local bookstores, looking for an equally entrancing fantasy fix. And publishers paid attention.

But Rowling wasn’t the first woman to enjoy monetary success and critical praise for her fantasy writing. Before her, there were vampires — and three women who, er, brought them to life.

Marilyn Ross‘ Barnabas Collins series, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s Saint-German series changed the vampire genre. Under their pens, vampires became brooding, tragic, poetic heroes. And unlike the implicit sexual themes in vampire stories before theirs, Ross, Rice and Yarbro made it overt.

What they did for vampires, Marion Zimmer Bradley did for Arthurian Legend. Her Avalon series boldly turned Camelot on its head and examined it from the perspective of female narrators.

And what Bradley did for Arthurian Legend, Katherine Kurtz did for Medieval fantasy lit. And what Kurtz did for Medieval fantasy lit, Tanith Lee did for sorcery.

I think fantasy is more receptive to women writers because it has a long, proud history of financially successful female authors in nearly every subset of the genre. While most writers will tell you they want to bring fresh, engaging concepts to print, they will also tell you that it is much easier to get published if there’s a record of success with what you’re writing. To that end, it would be disingenuous to tell a female fantasy author that men won’t read her books simply because she is a woman.

Of course, financial success and excitement from publishers isn’t synonymous with critical acclaim. Even with the accomplishments of the women I mentioned — and the dozens I didn’t — last year’s Hugo Awards were awfully slim on female nominees. But I’m still not going to cry sexism.

If you want to be a great fantasy writer, they key isn’t writing like a man; the key is writing rich, textured, deeply-imagined stories. As women continue to do just that, it will only be a matter of time before full parity comes to the genre.

Or you could take a shot at writing your main characters sparkly genitalia.

Stephanie Meyer isn’t exactly celebrated, but she certainly hasn’t gone broke writing about vampires.

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Everyone has their favorite fantasy novels — those special books that you read over and over again, hoping each time to find something new that you might have missed in your last reading. It could be the daring swordfights that draw you in. Maybe the cleverly coded symbolism. Or maybe it’s steamy in the way that a hot summer day isn’t.

Whatever the reason, certain books just speak to us. Here are a few of mine.

The Princess Bride

When I was a kid, The Princess Bride was one of my favorite movie for three reasons:

1) The sword fights.

2) It starred Andre the Giant.

3) Mandy Patinkin used the phrase “son of a bitch.” (I was a kid, remember. Swearing automatically equaled awesome.)

When I picked up the book the first time in high school, I was utterly bewildered by the ruse set down by the book’s author, William Goldman, who claimed that the book was actually an abridged version of another author’s work, and then goes on to provide surprisingly intimate details of his life. It was all a trick, I later learned — he was using it as a literary device. But for his sly sense of humor, this book is one I keep dear to my heart.

The Marvelous Land of Oz

Though The Wizard of Oz gets all the attention, I have always been a huge fan of its first sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz, which features the young lad Tip, the ward of Mombi, and his own crew of misfits: Jack Pumpkinhead, the Saw Horse, the Wogglebug, and the Gump.

Author L. Frank Baum continued his sly brand of feminism (in The Wizard of Oz, all the characters with any real power are female) by having the Emerald City overtaken by an army of militant young women, and what’s more — SPOILER ALERT!! — he includes what might be the first transgender character in children’s literature, as it’s revealed that Tip is really Princess Ozma, who was transformed by Mombi in her infancy into a boy, in order to conceal her identity. At first hesitant to return to his true state, Tip is convinced by his friends and allows the spell to be cast that transforms him back into Ozma. Not something you read every day.

Interview with a Vampire

Long before she found Jesus and stopping writing readable books, Anne Rice emerged from the shadows of literary erotica and wrote this fascinating gothic fantasy, which earned her a legion of fans and an A-list film adaptation. Told from the point of view of Louis, a vampire who is less Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and more the kind of kid that today we’d call “emo,” it is a fun little book, never too wordy or challenging for a high schooler, which is when most people seem to discover it, and for all its pomp and audacity never seems to run that deep beyond the repeating sentiment that being a vampire, well, sucks. (Get it?)

Sexuality was always a prevalent theme in Rice’s works. As the books went on, homosexuality and bisexuality became more prevalent themes, despite her bold choice to render all of her vampires physically impotent. (I suppose this saves us from imagining squirm-inducing undead sexual scenarios.) All in all, Interview remains one of the strongest and, thankfully, least bombastic books in her Vampire Chronicles, and is an enjoyable escapist piece.

The Mists of Avalon

I love, love, love this book. This novel, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, took the utterly complex mythology of King Arthur and turned it on its head by emphasizing the power of the women in these stories instead of the men, and while much of Arthurian tale champions pure Christian values, this story places the Pagan Druids as the protagonists, with the encroaching Christian Church as an oppressive tyrant. But rather than being an anti-Christian piece, the main character, Morgaine, realizes it’s not the teachings of Jesus that are opposed to her, just the men in the Church who are threatened by another religion.

But beyond the basic themes, it’s a fascinating character study of four incredible characters: Morgaine, a woman reared in Avalon and dedicated to keeping the ways of the Old Religion alive; Gwenhyfar, a devoutly Christian woman who is terrified of the world; Arthur, the man whom greatness was thrust upon; and Lancelet, a warrior who is struggling with his forbidden love for his best friend, Arthur.

This novel really has everything you could ask for in a fantasy novel, and it’s an incredibly mature piece. And if you’re worried, no knowledge of Arthurian legend is needed to appreciate it. If you haven’t read it yet, get your ass of the internet and go to a bookstore right now. You’ll thank me. (But then come back to the internet. We need you.)

The Harry Potter Series

I resisted this series for a long time. I was one of those cantankerous twenty-somethings who utterly refused to indulge in a series of books meant for children. I was WAY too highbrow for that sort of thing. But then a friend of mine, one whose opinion I greatly respect, read the first few books and told me they were actually pretty good. I told her that although I value her input, I wasn’t about to cave. But then my late grandfather, a greatly distinguished writer and very literate fellow, told me he read them and they were delightful, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to at least peek at the first one. I did, and was hooked.

I loved how the characters grew over the course of the books, truly maturing and changing as the stories evolved, and how J.K. Rowling carefully crafted Harry to slowly evolve into a true literary hero of the old school. Does the Potter saga borrow liberally from Lord of the Rings? Yes, but what fantasy literature doesn’t?

At the end of the day, there’s some real art to be found in the bajillion pages of text that Rowling puts down, but none more so than in the conclusion to her epic, Harry Potter and the The Deathly Hallows.

The Iliad

I know it sounds like pretentious garbage to put The Iliad as one of my favorite fantasy novels, and perhaps even erroneous, as it isn’t technically a novel. And if I wasn’t such a foaming-at-the-mouth Greek myth nerd, I probably wouldn’t be too interested. But as it happens, I Greek-geek out with the best (or worst) of them, and The Iliad takes place during one of the most exciting and action-packed moments in all of Greek mythology.

One of the reasons that 2004’s Troy, which claimed it was based on The Iliad, felt so weak is that it ignored the best part of the story — the gods. Sure, the mortals in the film talked about the gods, prayed to the gods, worried about offending the gods, but it all came across as religious hooey that had no dramatic stakes, because for all we knew, the gods didn’t really exist, and these were just silly people running around in skirts.

Homer’s epic makes for great reading — if you’re a devoted fan of Greek myths. If not, and if you somehow got through school without having to read it, I’d say don’t bother.

The Lord of the Rings

Like you didn’t see this one coming.

Okay, listen closely, because I’m going to admit something incredibly shameful to you. It’s very embarrassing, and I only ask that you don’t judge me too harshly.

Okay, here we go.

When Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring came out in 2001, I went in cold.

Because I hadn’t read the book.

I hesitate to admit that, because I feel like it may compromise my integrity as the Associate Editor of a fantasy website. But when that first film came out, I just hadn’t read the books. I can’t give you any reason. I had read The Hobbit and loved it. I had read other fantasy works. I’ve always loved the genre. It just seemed like such a big undertaking, and it was always something I had meant to do, but I had just never got around to.

But then the cinematic version, which is a masterpiece in its own right, washed over me, and I knew I had to read the books before the next film came out. And I did. Twice, actually. And The Silmarillion.

By the time I sat in the theaters to watch The Two Towers, I was a Tolkien expert, and have read the books at least half a dozen times since then.

The Lord of the Rings is, quite frankly, my favorite book of all time. Every sentence is a pleasure. If I could read no other book for the rest of my life, it would be that.

Okay, well, that’s enough out of me. I want to hear what YOUR favorite fantasy novels are. I know you’ve got them. Now it’s your turn.

Looking to buy any of these books (or any other media)? Support TheTorchOnline.com by purchasing it through this link.

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Hello, fans of blood, gore, and general yuckiness, and welcome to another installment of the column that, like the Spike TV hit Deadliest Warrior, pits famous warriors against each other. (But in our case, we match famous fantasy warriors!)

Last time we checked in to see who would win in a fight between an Uruk-hai and a Skeleton Warrior. The result? A complete bonebath as the Uruk stood victorious.

This week we turn our attention to a grudge match that has been going on for a while among aficionados of the undead. Vampires are, of course, a force to be reckoned with, and while the general rules tend to be the same — drink human blood, killed by sunlight — the details changedepending on which pack of blood-drinkers you’re dealing with.

For example, according to vampire journalist Anne Rice, vampires have no aversion to crucifixes at all, whereas in the laws explained to us by student of the undead Joss Whedon, if a cross touches a vampire, said vamp will sizzle and burn, and eventually die.

We’ve brought in two experts to shed more light onto the situation. Up first, we have Azriel LeFeau, a resident of New Orleans and follower of the creatures of the night.

“The thing to remember about vampires,” moans Azriel, “is that they are here, walking among us, seeing our world with supernatural eyes and longing to be part of it, and yet they can never be so. Their greatest gift is their greatest tragedy. And that, my friend, that is their beauty.”

He wipes a tear from his eye, smearing his Midnight Black Eyeliner.

“You think you know what it is to feel? You can never know truly what a feeling is until you’ve been given the Dark Gift.”

Uh-huh. But what about taking on a Sunnydale vamp?

“It’s simple. The vampires in California are weak, but even worse, they’re ugly. What’s with their faces? That squished skin thing above their eyes? Ew. Vampires should be beautiful. Plus, Sunnydale vampires have too much fun. They should understand that life is nothing but pain.”

Moving on, we now take a closer look at said squished-skinned vampires. Joining us for this exercise is Adriana Van Salazar, a personal trainer and martial arts instructor living in Sunnydale, California.

“Okay, the thing about the vampires we have here is that they are kick-ass. No matter what they were in life, they inevitably learn a style of martial arts known as Vamp Fu. It’s a lot of jumping and spin-kicking. Professional stunt people wish they could move like that. Now, from what I understand, their social behavior is similar to that of the vampires in New Orleans, in that younger vamps act as drones, more or less, for older, more powerful vamps. There’s just one noticeable difference.”

Which is?

“The New Orleans vampires are pussies.”

So you’re hedging your bets on the Sunnydale vampires, then?

“No contest. They would cream those N’Arleans bloodsuckers.”

“Impossible!” Azriel shouts. “Those brainless Californian vampires could destroy the likes of Lestat de Lioncourt?!”

“Well, not just any one of them could. The newer ones would probably be get a beat down, but if you’re talking about someone like Spike or Angel … hell, even Drusilla, then yeah.”

“But, but..” Azriel sputters, “do they know how to feel?”

Adriana’s retort? “Yo, seriously, where did you find this kid?”

We took all of the info and fed it into the battle simulation computer. On paper, the New Orleans vampires seem more formidable: they are unaffected by garlic, crosses, and stakes through the heart. They can control the minds of mortals and read their thoughts, and with age many are able to fly. They have exceptional physical strength and speed and can mimic any physical action. Some can even set things on fire using only their mind. Many are telekinetic.

The Sunnydale vampires, on the other hand, are prey to almost all the classic vampire-killing methods: stakes, crosses, holy water, beheading, etc. Their mind powers are pretty much nil.

The result?

New Orleans vampires win in 95% of our battle simulations.

“Shenanigans!” Adriana yells.

Azriel, in a surprisingly upbeat motion, jumps up and down giddily. “See? I told you! Not so tough now, are — ”

He is unable to finish his sentence and Adriana spin-kicks him in the face.

Join us next time for the third installment of Deadliest FANTASY Warrior!

Battle #2: Joss Whedon’s Vampires vs. Anne Rice’s Vampires

Winner: Anne Rice’sVampires

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Enough already! I’ve had it with all the vampires!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my all-time favorite shows, but I almost didn’t watch it. As clever as I thought it was when I heard the title — the chosen vampire slayer is named “Buffy” — I was already sick-to-death of vampires.

And this was in 1997! You can only imagine how much sicker I am of them now, over ten years — and 30,000 vampires — later.

I used to like vampires. They’re scary, they’re sexy, they can be used to make interesting points.

But here’s the problem: every possible point you can possibly make with a vampire as metaphor has already been made: the power of sexuality (Dracula), homosexuality (Anne Rice), assimilation (True Blood), chaos (I Am Legend), teenage angst (Buffy), immortality (The Hunger), delinquency (Lost Boys), eavesdropping (Fright Night), teenage love (Twilight), even war and the Israeli/Palestinian situation (Underworld).

But the well is dry, folks! There is nothing more that is even remotely interesting that can possibly be said about vampires. Let’s drive a stake in it.

Look, I get it. People love vampires — so much so that they’ve become something of a “genre” all its own. Vampire-lovers don’t care if the metaphor has been exhausted. For some reason, the identify with the characters.

But here’s the problem: when something becomes this popular, it drowns out other, more original stories.

It happened with superheroes, who have literally taken over the multiplexes. As much as I used to love superhero movies, enough already. It’s gotten derivative.

Vampires are the new superheroes. These days, vampires are like the tribbles from Star Trek, multiplying so rapidly that they’re threatening to engulf the entire ship. Have you seen all the damn vampire books in bookstores lately?

And what we’ve seen so far is just the beginning. There are a zillion more vampire projects in the works — books and movies. For example, Dacre Stoker, a great-nephew of Bram, has a new Dracula novel coming in October — and the movie rights have already been sold.

Publishers and studios won’t stop producing these stories until people stop buying and going to them. Vampire projects have become a way to help the bottom line — a “cheat” that gives businesses a way to make money without having to do anything daring or original.

And this is precisely the point: only so many books and movies can be published and produced in a year. When a good portion of books in a genre are all one thing, it means there is less oxygen for other, fresher stories.

Now, of course, word has gone in publishing circles that the vampire fad might finally — finally! — be fading. What’s going to take it’s place?

“Werewolves are the next vampire,” I heard one editor say.

Kill me now. First, the werewolf has a metaphor is almost as tired as the vampire, and as a genre it’s almost as tired.

Here’s the greater point: any monster being used a metaphor is tired. It’s been done. And done. And done.

Move on, already! Give us something different, something new!

Anything except this endless flood of vampires.

For a different perspective on vampires, click here.

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