I don't know why the characters in fantasy fiction seem to live in a parallel universe where no one's heard of Stephanie Meyer or JK Rowling nor read LOTR or Narnia... Let alone all the new writers in fantasy.

I think it's partly because the scene where She Suddenly Realises She's a Troll/Were-bat/sorcerer etc is so much fun to write. And partly because it would get a little boring if you had characters saying "Oh, you're just a dwarf, you probably have earth magic and I bet you've got a battle axe only you can wield."

Most of the fun of fantasy would drain out of it. But I still think we should acknowledge this parallel universe somehow.