Saturday, April 24, 2010

Urban Fantasy Mary Sues

In Urban Fantasy novels the main characters are typically complex enough, but the love interests... 

Good God!  I've never seen more perfect examples of masculinity.  Olympic athlete physiques.  Nobel Laureate intellects.  Great in bed.  Utterly selfless and devoted to the protagonist.  Any conflict in the relationship arises from a misunderstanding or some secret that's necessary because if not kept the world'll get destroyed or something, or from some failing of the heroine.

To be fair, female love interests in stories written by men are typically idealized too, but there's usually at least some true conflict in the relationship.

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