Books

Anything can get old or boring if you do it enough. There’s nothing wrong with that, and those books you enjoyed are still good. You’re just ready for something new, and there’s always plenty more to explore.

You did miss some of my favorite fantasy, comedic satire. I suggest checking out Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. It should be a good change of pace while still being fantasy. Otherwise move on to other genres and come back later. Sometimes you just need to switch it up for a little but to make it interesting again.

I think some of the old stuff was good because it had a spark. It wasn't that it had elves, it was that it was something genuinely unique that the author was driven to create regardless of anything else.

A lot of current-day fantasy is just elves. There's no spark. Even Harry Potter to me is, basically, just some pretty competently written fiction with magic in it. It's not the real deal.

I don't really know you, but to me it's possible that you want the real deal. If that's true you might want to check out:

• "The Cyberiad" by Stanislaw Lem
• "The Last Defender of Camelot" by Roger Zelazny
• "Skeleton Crew" by Stephen King
• "Lord of Light" also by Roger Zelazny
• "The Last Unicorn" by Peter Beagle

They may or may not have fantasy elements, although most of them aren't set in the real world. But they have the real deal.

I’m finding the opposite. Books that I loved when younger are even better as I re-read them now. Ursula le Guin, Terry Pratchett (their YA and their adult books) have so much more nuance and subtlety than I was aware of when I just read them for the adventure and story. There are some profound bits of wisdom and wry observation tucked in those books.

It's only natural to fall out love with things over time. I too burned out on high fantasy, however, I did really enjoy Joe Abercrombie's low fantasy setting in the first law series.

I'm the same. I like reading about different worlds, but magic systems are so boring. I'm currently writing a book like what you describe - set on another planet but there's no magic, and everyone is human. We should really start a new genre, because post-apocolyptic scifi doesn't quite convey what I'm trying to do. But to call it fantasy would be way off. Problem is, most people assume other world = fantasy.

I love History and Fantasy both, and definitely go through phases on which is piquing my interest. You could try some historically based fantasy perhaps? Im only on book 2, but the Shadow Campaign series is heavily based on Napoleon. Or check out the Poppy War series heavily inspired by the Sino-Japanese War?

If you liked IT, have you read through King's Dark Tower series? One of my favorites and what got me into King originally. The universe of DT is what's behind his other works, which makes it all the more interesting.

Try the Thomas Covenant Chronicles. They taper off in quality over the series but the first three, particularly the first, are incredible. Quick premise: man diagnosed with leprosy, hates the world, hates himself. Transported to fantasy land. Does very bad thing within minutes of being there. Has consequences that scar generations and shape the world. A true anti hero.

I'm not a fantasy fan really, but these are an exception.

Have you tried The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe?

It is a compelling blend of science fiction and fantasy, following the journey of Severian, an exiled torturer, through a richly imagined and decaying future Earth. The series is renowned for its intricate world-building, philosophical depth, and lyrical prose.

In contrast to LOTR, The Book of the New Sun presents a morally complex and enigmatic world, where the boundaries between right and wrong are often blurred.

Compared to “Game of Thrones,” “The Book of the New Sun” offers a more introspective and surreal narrative, where reality itself is questioned.