What Makes A Bad Fantasy Novel

Bad fantasy novels often feel like someone dumped a dictionary of tropes into a blender and hit puree without adding any flavor. The worst offenders have cardboard-cutout characters who exist just to move the plot forward—like the Chosen One with zero personality or the villain who monologues about darkness. These stories rely on tired clichés instead of fresh ideas, making everything predictable. It's like eating plain oatmeal when you were promised a feast.

World-building is another common pitfall. Some authors throw in random magical rules or creatures without consistency, breaking their own logic. A dragon that breathes fire in chapter one but ice in chapter ten with no explanation? That's lazy writing. Good fantasy makes you believe in its world, even when it's full of magic. Bad fantasy just makes you roll your eyes at the contradictions.

The pacing can also kill a fantasy novel. Some drag on with endless descriptions of trees or political intrigue that goes nowhere, while others rush through key moments like they're sprinting to the finish line. I recently read one where the 'epic final battle' lasted two pages—after 500 pages of buildup. It felt like a prank. A bad fantasy novel either forgets to entertain or tries too hard to be 'deep' without earning it.

A bad fantasy novel fails when it ignores emotional stakes. Magic systems and world-building mean nothing if I don't care about the characters. I’ve read books where kingdoms fall, but the writing is so detached it feels like watching ants get crushed. Worse are stories that mistake grimdark for depth—gore and misery alone don’t make a plot compelling. Another red flag is excessive infodumping. Opening with 20 pages of fake history is a surefire way to lose readers. Fantasy should immerse, not overwhelm. The best stories make me forget I’m reading rules about how elven politics work.