No clue, I was happy when it was fantasy/adventure, and even when romance was a small subgenre of fantasy I found it alright, but now all you hear about is romance/fantasy with romance as the main genre.
Orionsbeltandhat on
I get what the author is saying but bookstores will always push what sells best, and romance is the best selling genre for a reason. It can also help build long term fantasy readers who might give traditional fantasy a chance. But also, like, Shadow of the Gods is right there next to Wind and Truth, two best selling fantasy novels…
HotPoppinPopcorn on
There are plenty. Even Goodreads separates Fantasy and Romantasy.
twoflowertourist on
There’s loads. Just get off social media
HeyJustWantedToSay on
They’re everywhere man.
Ryukotaicho on
It went skipping off, hand in hand, with the magical fantasy.
FloridaFlamingoGirl on
Saying that fantasy romance has taken over fantasy is like saying “there’s no rock music made anymore, just pop.” The non-romance fantasy is still very much there, just do your research on the different authors out there, and check your local library which will often have more variety and a little less focus on trendy reads than a bookstore
Taste_the__Rainbow on
There are more than ever. What a bizarre, clickbaity title.
Football_Black_Belt on
I’ve found, as is the case with music, in every genre of fiction there are recent works hailed brilliant that for whatever reason I haven’t entertained or frankly dismissed outright, and when I actually give the books the attention and focus they deserve, I find the works being released today are fabulous novels! In other words, see what fantasy novels released in the 21st century are critically acclaimed, cross of the ones you’ve read and then tackle the rest!
Liefst- on
People will enter a pizza restaurant and then be annoyed when they can’t order ramen noodles
StarEIs on
The problem is, epic fantasies usually take awhile to write (with Sanderson screwing up that curve of course)… so it feels like the romantasy is taking over when you just look at new releases.
But there are sooooooo many amazing high fantasy stories with little to no romance.
Stop going to the “As seen on TikTok” section of Barnes and Noble and you’ll find a ton of non-romance fantasy.
Most-Okay-Novelist on
It’s literally still there. I was just in the fantasy section of b&n two weeks ago and there was a whole section of romantasy and a whole section of non-romance fantasy right beside each other. You just have to not look at the romance novels and you’ll see them.
I really hate this idea that people have that romantasy is killing reading or fantasy or whatever. I read mostly fantasy – both romance and not – and there are trashy, boring fantasy novels just like there are trashy, boring romantasy novels. That’s just the nature of literature. With any genre, there’s going to be some below average book that are so bad you can’t finish them, mostly average books that don’t knock your socks off but aren’t bad, and some books that are so good that they completely change the way you see the world and literature both.
Edit: this whole thing feels like people just shitting on something women like.
Zoombini22 on
Non-romantic fantasy is not significantly more or less popular than it ever has been. Yes, romantasy has exploded, which might make other fantasy seem unpopular by comparison, but really it’s just a different, smaller, but consistent audience.
I do think efforts to distinguish are helpful because some readers only want romantasy and some readers only want traditional fantasy. There are crossovers but when a book falls squarely into one camp or the other, it’s helpful for everyone to be able to tell easily.
fussyfella on
There is a similar thing (and it has existed for a while) in historical fiction. You look up historical fiction as a genre and it is overwhelmed with romance.
The same as for fantasy, yes there is other stuff, but you is there a lot of the romance be churned out it can make the non romance hard to discover.
Partly it is a metadata problem but hoping for that to be solved is a pipedream. No-one gets metadata right, even if by co-incidence you all agree on definitions.
IAmThePonch on
Brandon Sanderson just released the final book in the first arc of a major fantasy series back at the end of 2024, it’s not tough to find them
SiriuslyLupin on
I implore you to give the stormlight archives a try
Baskervilles_Hound on
A click baity title and an article that blows smoke up your arse so you sign up to bookriots’ newsletter. That also tells you to read the genre, which it’s complaining about. 🫠
19 Comments
No clue, I was happy when it was fantasy/adventure, and even when romance was a small subgenre of fantasy I found it alright, but now all you hear about is romance/fantasy with romance as the main genre.
I get what the author is saying but bookstores will always push what sells best, and romance is the best selling genre for a reason. It can also help build long term fantasy readers who might give traditional fantasy a chance. But also, like, Shadow of the Gods is right there next to Wind and Truth, two best selling fantasy novels…
There are plenty. Even Goodreads separates Fantasy and Romantasy.
There’s loads. Just get off social media
They’re everywhere man.
It went skipping off, hand in hand, with the magical fantasy.
Saying that fantasy romance has taken over fantasy is like saying “there’s no rock music made anymore, just pop.” The non-romance fantasy is still very much there, just do your research on the different authors out there, and check your local library which will often have more variety and a little less focus on trendy reads than a bookstore
There are more than ever. What a bizarre, clickbaity title.
I’ve found, as is the case with music, in every genre of fiction there are recent works hailed brilliant that for whatever reason I haven’t entertained or frankly dismissed outright, and when I actually give the books the attention and focus they deserve, I find the works being released today are fabulous novels! In other words, see what fantasy novels released in the 21st century are critically acclaimed, cross of the ones you’ve read and then tackle the rest!
People will enter a pizza restaurant and then be annoyed when they can’t order ramen noodles
The problem is, epic fantasies usually take awhile to write (with Sanderson screwing up that curve of course)… so it feels like the romantasy is taking over when you just look at new releases.
But there are sooooooo many amazing high fantasy stories with little to no romance.
Have a look at http://epicdarkfantasy.org. It’s a Romance-free Fantasy recommendation site.
Stop going to the “As seen on TikTok” section of Barnes and Noble and you’ll find a ton of non-romance fantasy.
It’s literally still there. I was just in the fantasy section of b&n two weeks ago and there was a whole section of romantasy and a whole section of non-romance fantasy right beside each other. You just have to not look at the romance novels and you’ll see them.
I really hate this idea that people have that romantasy is killing reading or fantasy or whatever. I read mostly fantasy – both romance and not – and there are trashy, boring fantasy novels just like there are trashy, boring romantasy novels. That’s just the nature of literature. With any genre, there’s going to be some below average book that are so bad you can’t finish them, mostly average books that don’t knock your socks off but aren’t bad, and some books that are so good that they completely change the way you see the world and literature both.
Edit: this whole thing feels like people just shitting on something women like.
Non-romantic fantasy is not significantly more or less popular than it ever has been. Yes, romantasy has exploded, which might make other fantasy seem unpopular by comparison, but really it’s just a different, smaller, but consistent audience.
I do think efforts to distinguish are helpful because some readers only want romantasy and some readers only want traditional fantasy. There are crossovers but when a book falls squarely into one camp or the other, it’s helpful for everyone to be able to tell easily.
There is a similar thing (and it has existed for a while) in historical fiction. You look up historical fiction as a genre and it is overwhelmed with romance.
The same as for fantasy, yes there is other stuff, but you is there a lot of the romance be churned out it can make the non romance hard to discover.
Partly it is a metadata problem but hoping for that to be solved is a pipedream. No-one gets metadata right, even if by co-incidence you all agree on definitions.
Brandon Sanderson just released the final book in the first arc of a major fantasy series back at the end of 2024, it’s not tough to find them
I implore you to give the stormlight archives a try
A click baity title and an article that blows smoke up your arse so you sign up to bookriots’ newsletter. That also tells you to read the genre, which it’s complaining about. 🫠