thelittlebookowl

Hi guys, I hope you are all well. Today I wanted to share some tips on getting into adult fantasy. Maybe you read mainly YA but want to branch out or maybe you just want to try out some adult fantasy, hopefully I can help you out. I am by no means an expert on this but I do read a lot of adult fantasy and I wanted to share some tips. There are so many fantastic adult fantasy books out there and it’s always nice to share the love. 

• Don’t start with the big, dense books/series, such as a Song of Ice and Fire series, Wheel of Time series and the Malazan series, unless you really want to read them first. 

• Start off with standalones, so you won’t get intimidated by the length of a series. Examples of great standalones include Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson and Fudoki by Kij Johnson.

• Stick with what is familiar. For example, if you love historical fiction, try historical fantasy. There are elements that may crossover from other genres you’ve read, so find adult fantasy that include elements you already like. 

• Start off with more modern adult fantasy. Books that are considered classics in this genre may be a bit dated and so you may have some issues getting used to the writing style. A good example of this is LOTR by J. R. R. Tolkien – while it is a fantastic trilogy, the language is dated and so it may not be the best place to start for some. 

• If you are struggling with a book, then maybe try the audio-book to see if that helps. Or check out the TV or film adaptation, if it has one.

• Some authors write both YA and adult fantasy, so you can check out the YA books first and then adult ones. 

• Check out reviews of any books you’re interested in and check out recommendations videos to do some research.

Obviously there is no set way to do this, so it will be a case of finding what works for you. Hopefully these will help some of you to feel more confident in checking out adult fantasy. It can be quite an intimidating genre, especially if you are new to it. 

Pippa