Generally I really like fantasy settings and love magic and mythical things. But I disliked most of the fantasy books I tried, at first I was just thinking I simply took the wrong one but now I thing that my taste, preference of better said my standard that I set me myself is way to high.
First I hate romantasy i think it is cheap literature but I get that it is a mood thing and women really like it. So a lot of books already get eliminated. Then I tried to find non romantasy books but most were kinda meh. For example I just recently finished The Red rising (more sci-fi then fantasy) and online the people talk so highly of it, it got so many books and all are rated good. When I read the first one I was bored and really annoyed about the weak dialogues and characters all felt fake and unnatural, they are supposed to be genetic geniuses and peak humans and act like medieval peasants. I could not understand how anyone got immersed in the story so many plots inside felt incredible cheap. This feeling and this ranting is something I had with a lot of books and I feel like a hater which sucks, I wish I could enjoy these books. I don't know what to do how to find either super specific books for my taste or stop nit picking all the stuff that annoys me to the point where I can't continue a series.
Here are some things I liked I didn't read that much yet.
Dune is my favorite series of all time.
The song of ice and fire.
The Kingkiller chronicles
Harry Potter (maybe bias and a vibe thing because I grew up with it)
Right now I read assassin's apprentice from Robin Hobb I heard she is the best when writing characters and so far I enjoy the dialogues and the characters are believable. But I am very early on and generally assassin's are not really my favorite thing but would be okay if I get immersed enough.
I hope I didn't offend anyone with my rent and I want to avoid listing books I didn't like but do any of you know a feeling like this. Or how I could move on find maybe niche books that fit me better?
by xxyxxyyyx
12 Comments
I mean, for one, fantasy isn’t for everyone, so I don’t know why you’re trying to force it on yourself, but I didn’t see Discworld listed.
I’m not a big fantasy fan myself, but I adore Discworld. It doesn’t have any the elements you’re complaining about, and it’s whimsical, farcical, entertaining, and clever.
Maybe that’s more up your alley?
It also benefits of having multiple subseries, so you can either dip a toe with a one-off or try one of the subseries, and not liking one subseries doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t like another.
Maybe it’d be more helpful if you listed some books that you do like instead?
It’s also ok if fantasy just isn’t for you.
A) You don’t have to force yourself to read a genre you don’t like, there are no rules
B) What do you like in the books you enjoy? Is iy the setting, the characters? That may help narrow down suggestions
I agree with the others. If you want to try a classic in the genre that’s an easier read than many, try The Hobbit. It will give you the wizard / dwarfs / elves part of fantasy. It’s a children’s / YA book technically, but it was published in the 1930s. I’m finishing it again now and I’m far from YA. Oh, and it doesn’t know the word “romance.”
{{ Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin}}
I felt the same way about red rising. It’s a rare book that I don’t finish but that was one of them.
Is it possible you have some degree of aphantasia? It is a divergence in the way some people think that impacts one’s ability to perceive something in the mind’s eye. I know someone with it and they do not enjoy fiction at all because they cannot picture what they read in their imagination. And frankly reading would be very uninteresting in that case, so their taste is completely understandable. They really loved graphic novels though!
I’m a lit fic guy trying to spread my wings into fantasy, and have been raving about The Priory of the Orange Tree to everyone I know! I’m about halfway through the 800+ pages, which seemed daunting at first, but I’ve been having a blast!
Fantasy is a difficult one – my other half adores high fantasy, lots of battles, plots within plots, the grimdark genre.
I myself prefer magic, magical realism, speculative fiction and science fiction. Sometimes you get a nice blend across these genres.
I dislike fantasy without humour, too.
Someone already mentioned Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, which are incredible and have so many to choose from that can really be read in any order, you’ll find something you like. For me, anything with the witches or the Watch are my go to.
I would also suggest Naomi Novik’s The Scholomance Trilogy – dark academia, absolutely hilarious, a little romance subplot but very well done. They’re supposed to be YA but I loved them.
Continuing dark academia, the Ninth House series by Leigh Bardugo. These are pretty dark but brilliantly written.
Other smaller scale fantasy – God’s Behaving Badly – super quick read, stand alone novel about the Greek gods in modern day London.
Other recent favourite is the Bone Shard series by Andrea Stewart.
My absolute go to re-read on an annual basis is the Liveship Trilogy by Robin Hobb. They are MASSIVE and there are like, 14 different storylines but it is much more magical than your classic high fantasy court and battle type – it’s about magical talking ships, pirates, dragons and all of the female characters kick ass.
I’m wondering if you’d be more interested in grittier fantasy, i’d take a look at black company – glen cook, or the blacktounge thief – Christopher Buehlman.
Try Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Terry Brooks – word and void first, then shannara series.
With Harry Potter, those are some of my favorites. I also liked the Percy Jackson books.
Red Rising and a lot of romantasy are YA, so maybe you’re better off sticking to books aimed at adults? It kinda sounds like a lot of what bothers you could be as much down to the intended audience as any kind of genre thing. (That said, there’s a lot of YA i love and was excited to read Red Rising as it had a lot of hype, but i just couldn’t get into it from the start.)
Have you tried any of these?
Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson (big, sweeping series with a fair bit of complexity)
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams (i think this was the next series i read after ASoIaF – it’s quite different–more classic fantasy including more magic, less political machinations–but i loved it just as much)
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buelhman (witty and FUN)
Maybe give Urban Fantasy a try if you liked Harry Potter.
Differently Morphus and Existentially Challenged by Yahtzee Croshaw. Governmental agency involved in the regulation of magic and extra dimensional beings.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Wizard works as PI in modern alt Chicago.