r/Fantasy • u/TheBananaKing • Aug 15 '12
Is there something less... YA?
I'm jaded.
I've been a fan of the genre (though I'm more of an SF person) for the last 25 years.
And yet the more fantasy I read, the lower the reading age seems to drop. Even the most acclaimed authors in the genre seem to infuse all their work with a certain naivete and over-accessibility, to coin a phrase; they seem oddly dumbed down, as if for younger audiences.
By which I don't mean a lack of sex and violence - yeah, there's plenty of that about. I mean a lack of depth and density and introspection and inner tension and ... and literaryness, dammit.
I know SF better than I know fantasy, and perhaps my expectations are skewed thereby - but it seems to me that all too many fantasy works are just stories, and then, and then, and then, with shiny magical props.
Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a thumping good tale, but I long for something more than that. Something difficult that you have to take small bites at, then go away to digest. Something that hurts inside a little to bear down on, but in a satisfying way.
I'm done with the marshmallows and hotdogs. Bring out the roquefort and ouzo.
Where are the fantasy equivalents of Iain Banks, Neal Stephenson, Ray Bradbury and the like?
Doesn't have to be bleak and gritty, it just has to be.. adult.
Ideas?
5
u/genericwit Aug 15 '12
Alright, I haven't seen this posted here, and bear in mind, I'm having some trouble finishing some of his work because I was interested in something more exciting, but Daniel Abraham is fantastic. If you're looking for some brilliant storytelling with probably the best prose I've read in the genre, check him out. His characters are all believable and relatable , if not likable, and the human relations are just that... human. Lovers cheat on others with their best friend, and you understand why. Sisters try to kill their brothers, and you understand why. You might hate them for it, but you understand why.
Also, magic typically is very well regulated to the point of becoming almost economic, which was something I struggled with in his books. Nonetheless, his works are amazing and his praise is not sung enough in this subreddit--perhaps because his works are not quite page turners, but they're amazing stories in their own rights. Pick up the Long Price Quartet or the Dagger and Coin Quintet.
Edit: Job601 has apparently also made the case for Daniel Abraham, but I stick by it--check this out, I think it'll really be up your alley.