Yeah i know, 2 completely polar opposite works of literature, but both deal with subjects that i like and since I’ve graduated from college I decided to give myself a gift, but since my money is a bit short right now i need to choose only one of them.
I can’t decide with one to take, on one hand i like/ know the works of Tolkien, haven’t read Lord of the Rings yet (just watched the movies) but The Hobbit was one of the only books that I’ve read where I absorbed 100% of it without the need to reread it again (i got ADHD so reading and remembering stuff can be difficult sometimes).
But since the Silmarillion deals with the creation myths and many characters who are related to important characters later on i’m a bit afraid of either getting confused or to hyperfocus on this and loose track of things (it has happened before and is a real issue)
And on the other hand we got Blood Meridian whose a western horror story (2 things that i like) that deals with human psychology, is an individual story without any extended lore and is a good introduction to the works of Cormac McCarthy, and I keep hearing that he’s writing is great and I’m curious to see this, but I’m unfamiliar with the project and it’s a bit outside my comfort zone, so don’t know if it’s worth (i know that there’s an audiobook version on Youtube but English is not my main language and i want to fully comprehend it)
So which one do you think is more worthy ?
by jaobodam
8 Comments
Blood meridian by a country mile
I recently read blood meridian and it has stayed with me like few books ever have. It’s great but, bleak, horrific and almost subconsciously terrifying, make sure you’re in the right head space for it!
Blood Meridian is very dark, but I’m not sure if I’d call it a horror. It’s more like dark, narrative philosophy. A lot of Cormac’s works are. I’d highly recommend it, but if you’re looking for horror specifically, I’d look elsewhere.
If you’re really feeling a fantasy read, I’d recommend checking out r/fantasy. They have a lot of great recommendations there.
I can’t speak to the other book, as I haven’t read it.
Just read the gunslinger by Stephen king. It’s a western fantasy.
blood meridian is one of my favorites and cormack McCarthy is a top notch writer, so I always recommend him. be advised that some people find BM to be a difficult read, so if you’re looking for something easy to read, that’s not it IMO
Blood Meridian is a masterpiece. That being said, it’s apples and oranges, so go with whatever you’re more in the mood for.
I would say BM, but that’s because Mccarthy is one of my favourite three writers. Can’t be objective on this, sorry.
wouldnt recommend the Silmarillion if you havent read LOTR, i found the hobbit extremely easy to read too but LOTR was much harder and the Silmarillion was that x10
i havent read Blood meridian but i doubt its as hard a read as the silmarillion, you could consider picking up LOTR