u/-Sawnderz-

When you're writing an epic fantasy saga in a world with an extensive history, it feels like the writer would be naturally inclined to say the climactic battle of good vs. evil that the series culminates with is the greatest battle ever that everything's been leading to. That the strongest dude of all time will have his mettle tested in this peak of a moment. That we "thought" we knew what spectacle was, until this final display blows us all away.

But then I keep thinking of the handful of fantasy stories I've enjoyed where it's implied the biggest and best of something was in history.

In ASOIAF, the greatest known swordsman died before the series started.

In Tolkien's mythos, the largest dragon and greatest warriors are all thousands of years dead.

In the Avatar series, some sources say Yangchen was the most powerful Avatar ever, and she lived several cycles back.

So yeah, I haven't really figured out what it is about this that appeals to me. I wonder if anyone else here connects with it? Maybe it's partly just because it's cool that the world's present doesn't get the Gold Medal in anything by default, because that's too expected?

Currently reading The Martian, and am enjoying it. But when it shifts from Mark's data logs, to the 3rd Person writing of the folks back at NASA, it seems to drop basically all narration. It's almost entirely dialogue, with very little inner world, which I'm not really into.

I was interested in picking up PHM after, but I'd like to know in advance if the prose is also like this. If yes, I'll give it a skip. Maybe watch the movie instead.

I once saw someone say "a bad story told well is better than a good story told poorly" but now it's got me thinking.
What does a "bad story told well" even look like? Have you ever read a book or watched a movie you'd describe in those words?

The first example I can think of, of "a good story told poorly" is The Last Jedi, which is full of sound ideas that're told in a way that loses a general audience. For example, we have the death of Snoke, which had many fans going "What was the point of that??"

I once saw Plague of Gripes say that Snoke's death was a sound, sensible choice, but TLJ needed to prime its audience to understand the effect, by having Luke or someone say "Snoke? That guy's a nobody!" Ergo, it was a good story, told in a way that didn't keep most viewers on the right page.

But I can't think of what the opposite looks like. What would you point to, as an example of "a bad story told well"? What does that concept look like, to you?

I keep hearing people describe them as having almost nothing but dialogue, minimal narration to explain actions, and all but zero inner-world writing.

Is this an exaggeration? Is this literally what popular booktok titles are like, such as Colleen Hoover and Xodiac Academy? Or is there some more nuance to this?

I've never read any because my tbr list is long enough already with highly recommended material.

I'm not interested in stories that're just plain "These two meet and bang a lot" in the veins of 50 Shades of Grey or anything.
I'd like something that has a slightly more out there chain of sexy events.

e.g, Recently heard of a book about a bunch of swimsuit models who get stuck on an island together, Castaway-style. Dunno where it goes from there, but it's an interesting square 1.

Most romances I've found in books follow similar vibes, so when I recently watched DanDaDan it felt like it went to some fun places I usually don't see. Like, both halves of the pair were loud idiots, in their own way. Neither was really the other's "fantasy".
I'd like a romance like that, that spares time to have some genuine fun as well.