I was tagged by Celeste over at A Literary Escape (a blog you should be reading) to do this, and it was a lot of fun to do. But I honestly don’t think that I’ve thought this hard about Fantasy books in ages—maybe ever. I had a couple of die-hard Fantasy reading friends in College that probably made me think about it pretty hard frequently (and taught me more about it than I’d have learned on my own—I still hear their voices in my head as I think about various books).
What is your fantasy origin story? (How you came to read your first fantasy novel.)
My first? I couldn’t tell you, there were a handful of stand-alones that I remember reading at my public library (don’t ask me the titles). The first one I have a distinct memory of—I remember the bookstore and context, too—was:
There was a whole display of the entire Chronicles of Narnia, but I hadn’t yet come across a series that you had an intended order before. I remembered watching (and getting bored by) a cartoon version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe in some group setting. But I liked the idea—and an adventure at sea sounded fun. It’s probably the one from that series I’ve read the most—the story of Eustace and the Dragon will be among my favorites until my memory goes, Reepicheep is probably a standard that I unconsciously rate characters against. Still, I’ve often said that this series/books from it turned me into a C.S. Lewis fan—it was Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain that turned me into a Fantasy fan.
If you could be the hero/heroine in a fantasy novel, who would be the author and what’s one trope you’d insist be in the story?
Um…er…well. That’s a good question. Um. There’s an appeal to Sean Gibson or K.R.R. Lockhaven, for sure, that’d be fun. I think life in a Patricia Brigg’s (non-Mercyverse) Fantasy world would be difficult. I don’t know if I could handle living in a Seanan McGuire or Patrick Rothfuss novel, that’d break me (living in a Sarah Chorn novel would do me in even quicker). Joe Abercrombie would destroy me in a different way. If Jim Butcher wrote it, I’d at least sound more clever than I am. Maybe life in Pell would be okay—as long as I wasn’t a gnome or an elf—so, I guess Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne.
Trope in the story? Hmmm…is food that isn’t a stew and hardtack a trope? Comic relief characters surviving is a nice trope (and you know I’d be a better fit for that than the hero, no matter what the question said). I guess dragons would be good—dragons in a non-antagonistic relationship with the humanoid populace would be better. I’d also go for talking dogs.
What is a fantasy you’ve read this year, that you want more people to read?
Most of the fantasy I’ve read this year has been good enough to qualify, but let’s go with:
This just came out last week, so few people have read it. I was supposed to post about it today, but didn’t quite finish it in time (this was originally scheduled for later in the week, it’s not like I did this instead)—it’s sweet, it’s fun, and a good adventure. Friends, Readers, Internet Denizens, lend it your eyes!
I also want to mention The Part About the Dragon was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson—it definitely could use more readers (what book couldn’t?).
What is your favorite fantasy subgenre? What subgenre have you not read much from?
Hands down, my favorite is Urban Fantasy, although I honestly think of it as its own genre, and am probably not going to respond to any of these prompts with UF answers. Subgenre I haven’t read much of? Er…I really get lost when people talk subgenres of Fantasy (although, Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub‘s series on them this year is helping me) Romantic Fantasy, maybe? I think I’ve read a couple of things that qualify there. I don’t think I’ve read any LitRPG. I guess that qualifies as “not read much from.”
Who is one of your auto-buy fantasy authors?
Just one? Kevin Hearne. As far as I know, the only thing of his that I don’t own at least one copy of is his SF novella/short story (don’t remember the format at the moment)—and that’s just because I only think of it when I’m short on funds, or know I wouldn’t read it immediately so I talk myself out of it. I’m still going back and forth about what I think of the last third of The Iron Druid Chronicles, but really dig everything else (and on at least every third day, that applies to the IDC).
How do you typically find fantasy recommendations? (Goodreads, Youtube, Podcasts, Instagram.)
There are a couple of friends who are pretty good sources (hi, Nicole and Micah!). But I think I get most from Book Blogs—Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub, Paul’s Picks, Before We Go Blog have probably landed more on my TBR than the others. The Write Reads Book Tours and Escapist Book Tours are pretty good sources—they are likely more effective in actually getting me to read something rather than just adding it to my TBR. Under a Pile of Books has put a couple of things on my radar/or moved them higher on the TBR.
What is an upcoming fantasy release you’re excited for?
This is really the only one I can think of that’s coming out in the near future. If we were talking about Crime Fiction, I could rattle off a dozen books I’m waiting on. But Fantasy I really only think of when it’s out.
What is one misconception about fantasy you would like to lay to rest?
It’s all D&D/Tolkein-esque stuff about groups of people wandering around in pseudo-Medieval European countries, speaking in faux British Accents, Sword and Sorcery kind of things. I think that misconception is dwindling, but that’s the dominant perception (including, I think, among a lot of Fantasy readers!) from what I can tell.
If someone had never read a fantasy before and asked you to recommend the first 3 books that come to mind as places to start, what would those recommendations be?
Oooooof. That is hard, and would vary a little from person to person, depending on their preferences/personality. I’d do better with recommendations for people who have some familiarity with it, maybe from a few years ago and are looking to get back into it. But for newbies? Hmmmm…
There are enough “classic” Fantasy themes and features to cue someone in—and it’d match up well with expectations. But it’s got this nice, contemporary feel to it that should make an intro to the genre easier than some others.
Also, it’s just ridiculously fun. I can’t see anyone reading this book and not wanting to find similar books. I want to go re-read it now.
This is a contemporary fantasy (some call it UF, but I don’t buy that) set in Appalachia. I’ve read this at least three times (and listened to the audiobook once)—so far. It’s a great way to see that not all Fantasy takes place in pseudo-Medieval European settings. There’s a hard-to-define magic at the root of this book, but it’s expressed in the music of the residents of Cloud County, a people known as the Tufa. I found this series at just the right time and have been nearly-obsessed with it since the beginning. I’ve recommended it often—and will continue to do so.
It’s just such an easy point-of-entry—there aren’t a dozen different races of sentient beings, there’s so much heart, not a lot of violence, and (mostly) timeless humor. It’s a fast, breezy read—unlike so many in a genre that’s stereotyped as being full of 500+ page tomes full of six-page descriptions of every last meal.
Who is the most recent fantasy reading content creator you came across that you’d like to shoutout?
I guess that’d be Peat Long’s Blog (“Perhaps the most erratic blog in Fantasyland”). There are a number of blogs that I check in on almost daily that are devoted to Fantasy (many more than are devoted to Mysteries/Crime, which is odd if you look at what I read), and most of those put out very thoughtful and thought-provoking content (which is why I keep coming back, I guess). Peat’s the most recent blogger on that list—posts about individual books are good, but the ones about the genre in general have been helpful to me.
As usual, I’m not tagging anyone in this—but I’d like to see what you all have to come up with.
Grab a book, any book.
