Growing tired of Epic Fantasy...

[Wulfa_Jones]

Bored of epic fantasy….

My last few attempts at starting a new epic fantasy series have fallen to the wayside quite quickly. Maybe I’m just losing my patience in my mid-20 crisis, no longer willing to perceiver through the troughs to reach the peaks or maybe all those computer games and films have finally destroyed my attention span!

I managed to enjoy Gardens of the Moon, but Deadhouse Gates never really captured me. So then I tried Bakker, and couldn’t even make it more than a quarter of the way into the books. I’m even having trouble getting into one of my favourite authors new book – James Barclays ‘Cry of the Newborn’.

The last couple of books I really enjoyed reading have been the, not
Amazingly written, Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.

So I'm thinking about going back to plup fantasy for a bit, see if I can find my roots or whatever. Start reading books by authors I should have read like Jack Vance, Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. I’ve also still got a few John Carter of Mars books to read as well.

Anyone else having the same problem?

[Brys]

I didn't have problems with Erikson, Bakker or Martin in epic fantasy, but in a more general sense I'm starting to move away from epic fantasy. There's not a lot being written at the moment in epic fantasy that's particularly good (I can think of 5 series that I'll read until they finish, only 3 of them really able to compete with the classics within the fantasy genre as a whole).

Fritz Leiber and Jack Vance are certainly good choices though (and I assume Robert Howard is as well, but I haven't read anything by him yet) and maybe after taking a break you'll come back to the better epic fantasy that you mentioned and may enjoy a change from non-epic fantasy. That's what its like for me - I don't try and read an entire epic fantasy series at once, I read one, maybe two books of it, then read a lot of other types of fantasy/science fiction, then go back for a break from New Weird or pulp fantasy.

I'm surprised you preferred Gardens of the Moon to Deadhouse Gates though -most people think Deadhouse Gates is a huge improvement on GotM, myself included. Maybe give it a try at another time, the same with Bakker.

[Randy M.]

I find I can only read so much of any one thing before I need to move on, unless the works are exceptional. For instance, I rarely read more than a couple of a writer's books back to back.

If you've been reading nothing but epic fantasy, you might just need to shake up your reading. Get into some non-fiction, or jump to some humorous fiction, or read a mystery, or ...

Randy M.

[Rob B]

I think I'm tired of Fantasy/Sci-Fi
12 Books You Can Read INSTEAD Of The WOT
WFUV fantasy/Non-traditional fantasy/fantasy that makes you think
Alternative Fantasy
Forgotten Classic Fantasy
Gothic, "black" fantasy

Does anybody check the recommendation thread any more?

[Brys]

Rob, actually I don't think this is a recommendation thread (believe it or not). This is more of a general discussion about epic fantasy (and its decline).

But to answer your question - no, people don't check the recommendation thread, at least looking at the proliferation of threads asking for recommendations.

[Severn]

Rob - just a quick comment on my own perceptions of human psychology. I honestly think one of the reasons (excluding the simple factor of human laziness and/or the fact that the existence of the search facility hasn't quite 'clicked' yet - took me a couple of months to figure that one out) the recommendation threads don't get checked as often as desired is the 'new-thread' factor. (I agree with Brys on this thread though - that it's more discussion-based).

Simply, how much more 'fun' is it to make your own new thread? There's a desire to participate and start something 'new' I think. As weird as this may sound, I honestly think that there is a perception that searching out something 'old' defeats the purpose of coming here in a way. Or rather, having to search out something 'old' rather than searching for 'fun' defeats the purpose. Creating new, immediate threads about a burning topic in one's breast - now that's the whole point right?

Hence - the recommendation thread could be considered a passe place to be - 'it's already been done - so what - let's do it again!'

Just my thoughts...

As for epic fantasy. Well - I'm loving it at the moment. Mainly because I'm discovering a lot. I've come out of a four year university stint during which I was horribly poor. Couple that with the fact that I was forced to read lots of books I didn't really want to read. I'm a book sponge now. Epic fantasy included. I do remember a period before university though where I just stopped reading for awhile. I was drained from it. Perhaps this is but a phase, Wulfa, because I don't think the quality of Martin, Erikson and Bakker can be disputed (along with others). Mid-20's crises can produce all sorts of weird brain-notions: I remember mine heh. Wait till the turning-30 crisis!

There is an almost over-whelming spread of epic/high fantasy titles though; they're popping up like mushrooms. It's finding the goodies that is difficult, made less so by coming to a place like this. It sounds like you know who the good authors are, and have found your own solution - hopefully tis but a phase...

K

[Self]

Originally Posted by Wulfa_Jones

Bored of epic fantasy….



I managed to enjoy Gardens of the Moon, but Deadhouse Gates never really captured me. So then I tried Bakker, and couldn’t even make it more than a quarter of the way into the books.

Anyone else having the same problem?

I LOVED Gardens of the Moon, and yep, thought that Deadhouse Gates was a clear 2nd. The plotline with the historian bored me to tears. I found myself looking ahead to see how many pages I had to endure before moving on to something I found interesting. What I've decided to do with Erikson is wait until they're all out and give him a go in one fell swoop. Gardens was good enough to convince me it's worth persevering with.

I'm onto Bakker now - about 160 or so into it. So far so good. But it's early days.

My opinion on epic fantasy is that a work is not judged merely on complexity. I am not the sort of person who analyses the work and says, "Mmmm while there were some plot lines that were mind numbingly boring, we must overlook this and applaud the scope and depth of this work that the author has created..."

For me, it's either INTERESTING or it's not. I know most books have plot lines of lesser interest in comparison to others, and this can be tolerated well enough, but it better be more than compensated by the good stuff.

Just my opinion.

[Rob B]

I know, I do have a quick trigger finger with these treads, and I understand the new member joy of starting a new thread.

I also remember seeing a similarly themed thread or two like this in the past.

...on to the actual topic...

Fantasy is such a diverse genre, much more than the Epic Fantasy. Problem is not many people look beyond this once facet of the larger genre.

Writers of old, like Leiber, like Howard often go unappreciated, or worse, even unkown. They aren't alive know, though their influence can be seen on many, many authors. Honestly, check out the Forgotten Classic Fantasy thread, there are a number of the good, old non-Epic Fantasy writers discussed there.

A number of todays writers, like Jeff VanderMeer, Jeffrey Ford, Caitlin Sweet, Patricia McKillip, Sean Stewart, Lisa Tuttle, Christopher Golden, Steven Brust, who write different flavors of Fantasy.

I like to read from these different flavors as much as possible so I don't grow weary of Epic Fantasy, which I enjoy very much.

[Miriamele]

Although I truly love the fantasy genre, if I read too many fantasy books in a row I start to get bored, and all the books start to feel the same. I find that when I feel this way if I read a few interesting non-fantasy books--classic fiction like Jane Austen or books on ancient history, whatever I feel like at the moment--then I get in the mood for fantasy again.

Try reading something different from epic fantasy and maybe you'll remember all the things you like about it. It works for me anyway.

[Evil Agent]

Wulfa_Jones: I managed to enjoy Gardens of the Moon, but Deadhouse Gates never really captured me.

Very interesting. You are definitely the rare minority here, since (as Brys said) 99% of people say they liked DG way more than GoTM.

Maybe you should take a break, and try a new genre? I know I got a little burnt out with Fantasy a few years back... took a break (albeit a very short one).. then I discovered Martin, Hobb, Williams, Erikson, and more, and now I don't know if I'll ever be able to stop reading Fantasy! I feel slightly guilty about it, but hey, we all need our guilty pleasures. Fantasy is mine.

[Soon Lee]

If I had to eat the same meal every night, I'd eventually get sick of it. Don't limit yourself to only one type of story. I don't; I read Fantasy AND Science Fiction. Seriously, I also read outside the genres, but not often.

IMO, it's natural to get tired of something after a while. All you may need is a change or a break. The books will still be there when you're ready for them.

ADDITIONAL NOTE:
Just had a quick look at the Alternative Fantasy thread which has some fine recommendations of stuff that is not 'epic fantasy' & well illustrates the diversity of Fantasy. There were recommendations in there I'd forgotten I'd posted. Still stand by them though.

[redgriffin]

E some times ya need a good simple story to get ya out of the rut. An epic fantasy dose get old after a while

[johnkarr]

Originally Posted by Wulfa_Jones

Bored of epic fantasy….

So I'm thinking about going back to plup fantasy for a bit, see if I can find my roots or whatever. Start reading books by authors I should have read like Jack Vance, Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber. I’ve also still got a few John Carter of Mars books to read as well.

If you like your epic fantasy fast, merciless, and with liberal doses of skull-splitting, then you've got to get your hands on Robert E. Howard's Conan and Kull stories.

REH is nothing less than the god of epic fantasy.

Follow that up with the Kane stories of Karl Edward Wagner, the demigod of epic fantasy. He dedicates a bit more to mood and atmosphere than out-and-out action, but is almost always intriguing.

If you're still bored after that, you may need to check for a pulse.

[Yobmod]

If you like your epic fantasy fast, merciless, and with liberal doses of skull-splitting, then you've got to get your hands on Robert E. Howard's Conan and Kull stories.

REH is nothing less than the god of epic fantasy.

Follow that up with the Kane stories of Karl Edward Wagner, the demigod of epic fantasy. He dedicates a bit more to mood and atmosphere than out-and-out action, but is almost always intriguing.

I'd call these the definition of Sword and Sorcery. The Conan stories are certainly not epic in scope or length.

Something to read instead of epic fantasy in my opinion.

[johnkarr]

Originally Posted by Yobmod

I'd call these the definition of Sword and Sorcery. The Conan stories are certainly not epic in scope or length.

True enough, though the elements are there. Maybe that's why I don't get bored with them.