> 1. The pervading feeling that technology has stagnated at a level equivalent to the Dark Ages in England for the last few centuries.

I mostly agree with this point (and what you said
when you elaborated on it), but it doesn't bother
me too much, probably because I am (fortunately)
interested in medieval European culture *anyway*,
and was long before being introduced to modern
fantasy. I've read a few short stories that were
fantasy stories set in other cultures, but I don't
think I've seen too many books like that. Raymond Feist
writes a lot of fantasy novels set in
Japanese-like cultures (I believe) but I haven't
read them.

> 2. Most authors use the same stock character types.

True, but I think I addressed this sufficiently
before. Characters can still become real, fleshed
out characters even if their character *types* are
the same old rehashed ones. Actually I think the
*most* interesting characters would be retread
character types reinterpreted in a new, innovative
way.

Now as for fantasy *races*, I'm with you, and I'm
pretty sure Dave is with you even more strongly.
The stereotypical elves and dwarves are boring.
I have elves in my novel, but not the stereotypical
kind. There are no dwarves, and there are several
entirely new races. The future stories I have
churning about in my head don't use many traditional
races, either. They're either all humans or all something else.

> 4. There seem to be few authors that can tell that story in one book. Too many trilogies, cycles, and series.

Ugh, yes. In the fantasy genre, it is basically
required that you be afflicted with either the
Sequelitis or Longstoryitis diseases.