Why Fantasy Matters: Looking Beyond the Magic
One of the questions I hear from time to time is why do I love fantasy. After all, dragons don’t exist. Angels don’t walk among us. Magic isn’t part of our everyday lives. I wish it were.
So why tell stories about impossible worlds?
Because fantasy has never really been about magic.
It’s about us.
One of my recent stories, The Final Concord, takes place in a world filled with ancient beings, forgotten covenants, and supernatural powers. On the surface, it’s a story about a fallen angel. But beneath the mythology is a question that’s surprisingly human.
What happens when a system created to help people slowly forgets the people it was built to protect?
That question isn’t really about fantasy at all. It’s about purpose. It’s about leadership. It’s about remembering why something mattered in the first place.
As a writer, fantasy gives me a unique opportunity to explore real-world ideas without pointing fingers or choosing sides. By creating fictional worlds, I can think about and ask difficult questions that encourage reflection instead of debate.
I’ve always admired stories that trust readers to think for themselves and don’t hand over an easy answer. Instead, the story invites the reader to wrestle with complicated ideas alongside the characters.
That’s the kind of story I hope to write amongst other things.
Whether I’m writing about legendary beings like the fomorii in Oathbreaker, djinn in The Last Flame, or fallen angels in The Final Concord, the mythology is only the setting.
The real story is always about people.
About hope.
About sacrifice.
About the choices we make when no option feels easy.
That’s why I believe fantasy continues to matter.
Not because it helps us escape reality, but because it gives us a different lens through which to see it. Sometimes it’s easier to recognize our own world when we’re looking at another one.
And if a story can leave us asking better questions after we’ve turned the final page…
I think it’s done exactly what the story was meant to do.
Have you ever read a fantasy novel that changed the way you looked at the real world? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
