My love for fantasy started with Eragon, as a kid I thought it was wonderfully grim. As an adult, I'm a big fan of ASOIAF and Joe Abercrombie's First Law and Shattered Sea series (though not Age of Madness because that just hit too close to home). I also love the Warhammer universe a lot. As for non-fantasy, I like the Expanse by James S. A Corey, and The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, for example
I enjoy prose that is evocative, but not too flowery or purple, or even worse, redundant. The opposite of something like Wheel of Time, where I felt like the words were overstaying their welcome. My favourite is when the prose says things without saying them (either by structure or subtext), books that have respect for the reader's intelligence. I like characters that are flawed and believable, unlike something like LOTR. I want characters who I dont fully understand, who are a bit arbitrary or self-sabotaging, but are still clever and rational agents. My patience for deus ex estupido is very thin. Setting-wise, I'm not a huge fan of urban fantasy, I prefer something more pseudo-historical
I prefer trilogies or series, and I like complexity. Something I can hyperfixate over and really chew on. Something that will keep me occupied for several weeks overanalysing it. And preferably something with a good audiobook version
Unsurprisingly, I have a strong preference for grimdark stories, but this is different from edgelord books. I appreciate books with some self-awareness and a sense of humour about their story. And I want the characters to get some wins too instead of just loss upon loss, Lemony Snicket already did that better than anyone else can
Thanks for any suggestions!
by AntiSaudiAktion