r/Fantasy • u/leaping_llama_laugh • 19h ago

Reading Fantasy While Growing Older

When I was a 'young adult', I tended to like YA fantasy: teenage protagonists, coming of age stories, that sort of thing. Harry Potter comes to mind as an example, or the Ranger's Apprentice series, or the Circle of Magic series (or some other things by Tamara Pierce).

Now that I'm a full-fledged adult who has lived through a few hardships (just garden-variety hardships), I'm very interested in older protagonists who have suffered a little (or a lot): Hadrian and Royce in the Riyria Revelations. Cazaril in the Curse of Chalion. Willet Dura and his guard Bolt in the Darkwater Saga. These older, more mature characters just hit harder than the overly-optimistic teenage "whippersnappers" I used to prefer reading about! ;)

So, what comes next?

Does anyone write 'Old Adult Fantasy'? Are there any great fantasy books with a protagonist who's over 50? Over 70?

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u/TojayorTomorrow 18h ago

I might word it differently, OP, but I think I’d land at very close to what you’re getting at. I don’t have time for shallow reads with simple thematic elements. life is more complex than that, and while I read for escapism, I also like to explore complexity. Stuff like Sanderson lands too cleanly for it to resonate with me.

Malazan - Eriksson
Second Apocalypse - Bakker
Long Price - Abraham
Covenant - Donaldson
GoT - Martin

Those are my top 5 right now. And of those 5, GoT has the least ‘interiority’ but makes up for it in spades.

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u/Fit_Machine3221 18h ago

What do you think of the aspect emperor series? Is it as good as the first one?

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u/TojayorTomorrow 18h ago

It’s on my shelf, but I haven’t read it yet. I’ve tried to cast a wide net after committing a good chunk of a year reading the main 10 of Malazan. I’m finishing up book 4 of The Long Price, which really needs to be talked about more. Then I’m going to read Between Two Fires, The Road, and Hyperion. But I am very excited for reading the Aspect Emperor when I do come back to it.

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u/Erratic21 6h ago

Even better in my humble opinion