‘I haven’t read anything like this before.’

I’ve had a number of reviewers of my recently published historical fantasy (or histasy) Conquist say this. Is it a good comment or a bad comment from an author point of view? Do they like it or not? I think the answer to that question is:

‘It depends.’

The reason for that answer is that there are two effects at play when we look at likes and dislikes. The first is the Familiarity Effect, which occurs where people prefer things purely because they are familiar with them. They like the sort of food they were brought up on, or the type of music that they first seriously listened to when they were teenagers or young adults. It’s the same with reading choices. When I try to describe Conquist to people, I’ve found that the best way to make a connection is to compare it to something else they would be familiar with rather than detailing the plot.

The polar opposite of the Familiarity Effect is the Novelty Effect where people prefer things that are new to them. Most people are also motivated to some degree to seek out the new rather than the same old stuff. Even if you like something, you eventually get bored with constant sameness. The two effects contradict each other, but most of us are influenced to various extents by both effects. Generally, people want something that feels familiar yet also has a fresh and new element.

I’m aware of the contradiction of the two effects. I know readers generally like a familiar feel, but they simultaneously want something that makes the story unique. When I’m asked what Conquist is like by people whose reading tastes I don’t know, I say something like ‘Conquist is a little bit Game of Thrones, a little bit Lord of the Rings, and a whole lot original’. I can have a much more nuanced discussion with someone who is into fantasy but, generally, this description satisfies people’s curiosity.

I was aware when I was writing Conquist that the right interplay between the Familiarity and Novel Effects creates the strongest connection with readers. I’m not surprised by the ‘I haven’t read anything like this before’ comment. Conquist is deliberately different to standard fantasy. There are not many historical portal epic fantasies with a touch of romance set at the time of the Spanish conquistador invasion of the Inca Empire in the 16th century. I’m not a fan of cookie-cutter fantasy, but I also try to keep in mind what it is that fantasy readers love about our genre, the sense of wonder and magic, the heightened emotions it can bring forth, the primal fear, the thrill and the joy. If you stray too far from the recipe, it’s not fantasy any more.

Even the title ‘Conquist’ is part of the interplay between the two effects. It’s not an English word. At times I’ve had people tell me I have a typo, and I often get emails referring to the novel as ‘Conquest’. I’m fairly sure that ‘Conquist’ isn’t even a Spanish word, and the word for ‘Conquest’ in Spanish is actually ‘Conquista’. The title was a gamble, but one that I was prepared to take because I thought it balanced both novelty and familiarity. There are countless books with ‘Conquest’ in the title, but only one with the title Conquist. ‘Conquist’ sounded like it meant ‘Conquest’ plus it echoed the word conquistadors (so fitted with the plot line), and maybe even suggested conquest with a twist (which fitted with both the unpredictability of the plot and the theme of the novel of self-conquest). It was a unique name. It was memorable, easy to pronounce, and the URL would be available. I’m fairly sure I got it right.

The plot involves Spanish conquistadors battling beings in a fantasy world. That’s not a plotline you see every day. However, the conquistadors are motivated by greed for gold, a common fantasy trope. Fantasy novels often have two races where one is other-worldly and ethereal but powerful, and the other earth-bound, coarse and stubborn. Fantasy readers would have a sense of familiarity with the duende and nakaqs because they’ve read other books with elves and dwarves. So, again there’s a novelty/familiarity balance. I hope the cover gives a sense of the balance as well. There’s a lot going on, but it is a recognisable fantasy cover, and the nakaq at the top is reminiscent of a fantasy dwarf character.

If you pretty much only want to read the same sort of fantasy over and over again, or at least only slight variations of it, that’s obviously fine. We all have different tastes. No one has the right to tell another person what they should like. In that case, it’s likely the comment ‘I haven’t read anything like this before’ will mean Conquist isn’t your cup of fantasy tea. I guess, all I can ask is you try it. You may be surprised. Some of you may even find that ‘I haven’t read anything like this before’ actually means you’re delighted.

All the best from the cloud!

Dirk Strasser

Find out more about Conquist.

Aurealis Price Rise Announcement

Dear subscribers and casual readers,

We would just like to let you know that due to increasing costs we will be forced to raise the price of Aurealis from 1 February 2025 onwards. Since Aurealis went global in 2015, the price has been set at a very low USD$19.99 for a one-year subscription and a mere USD$2.99 for each individual issue. For the four years from 2011, when moved from print to digital, it was the same price in Australian dollars.

We have resisted increasing our prices for as long as possible even though long-term readers will have noted the substantial increases in the size of each issue over time. In order to retain the quality of the material we publish and maintain the increased amount of published material in each issue, we simply have to increase our prices. We want to give our loyal readers plenty of notice about the coming price rise and assure you that you will not see any increase until next year (1 February 2025). That means 2024 subscriptions remain at the old price. And if your subscription renews or you subscribe before 1 February 2025, you will also continue to get your 2025 subscription at the low current price.

We will keep bringing you quality fiction, interesting non-fiction, comprehensive reviews and stunning art for a very long time. This price increase of USD$5.00 for a one-year ten-issue subscription and USD$1.00 for each individual issue will help us to do just that.

The Editors

Aurealis magazine