For me, one of the main attractions of fantasy writing has always been the simplicity. This is not to say that complex plots and well-developed characters are absent, quite the opposite. But the situations they find themselves in are always so wonderfully clear-cut.
"A shadow has appeared in the west!"
"Well, it is almost time for sunset."
"No, it is a harbringer of dark things and other bad stuff!"
"Oh. Really? You're sure?"
"Forsooth, it can only be so. It hides behind spiky mountains!"
"Spiky mountains?! Not on my watch. Gather the good-looking troops!"
I for one love situations where the enemy is clear and obvious and the good guys and gals can meet them in righteous battle. I think part of the attraction is that this almost never happens in the real world. You might suspect that the bank you have your money with is investing in dodgy arms trading, or have some inkling that those 5-pairs-for-a-pound socks aren't quite on the right side of the ethical line, but there is little opportunity to go out and raise arms to smite the evil.
It would be so much easier if, in the real world, the bad guys always wore black. And lived in towers behind spiky mountains.
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