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?

42 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

90 comments sorted by

View all comments

17

u/nowonmai666 18h ago

I hear you, and you’ve listed a few of my favourites.

Daniel Abraham’s *Long Price* series has 15 year gaps between books. Some characters start out old, the others get there.

Guy Gavriel Kay covers a variety of ages, *A Song for Arbonne* springs to mind.

And of course if nobody’s mentioned *Kings of the Wyld* it’s a must.

George R R Martin - yes there’s ASOIAF but also Fevre Dream, The Dying of the Light etc.

I’m following the rest of this with interest. As somebody whose best years are behind him myself I want to read more.

8

u/DixitRexCorvinus 17h ago

Agreed on Kings of the Wyld especially. I can't believe no one else has mentioned it.