Good characters, a believable setting, and an author who knows how to use their words are what matter most to me. It's hard for me to buy into any type of fantasy otherwise.
It's hard to say it's one thing and one thing only, but if forced to choose it would have to be magic, the way the story reflects the numinous, the mythic, the liminal, those elements of existence that harder to grasp in realistic fiction. Not magic systems mind you, which are often an excuse to avoid doing exactly what fantasy is best at.
I think for me, it would be a combination of worldbuilding and goals. It doesn't matter (to me) if the goal is to retrieve the Great Egg or the Crown Jewels, if the goal has a big enough payoff, and equally big risks, I'll keep reading. And if the story is set in a world I want to live in? All the better.
Two of the most recent examples are Mercedes Lackey's "Valdemar" trilogy that takes us along on the initial exodus/flight from the Emperor, and J.C Rycroft's "The Blood Born Dragon" trilogy.
Good characters, a believable setting, and an author who knows how to use their words are what matter most to me. It's hard for me to buy into any type of fantasy otherwise.
It's hard to say it's one thing and one thing only, but if forced to choose it would have to be magic, the way the story reflects the numinous, the mythic, the liminal, those elements of existence that harder to grasp in realistic fiction. Not magic systems mind you, which are often an excuse to avoid doing exactly what fantasy is best at.
I think for me, it would be a combination of worldbuilding and goals. It doesn't matter (to me) if the goal is to retrieve the Great Egg or the Crown Jewels, if the goal has a big enough payoff, and equally big risks, I'll keep reading. And if the story is set in a world I want to live in? All the better.
Two of the most recent examples are Mercedes Lackey's "Valdemar" trilogy that takes us along on the initial exodus/flight from the Emperor, and J.C Rycroft's "The Blood Born Dragon" trilogy.