8 Fantasy Book Trends that NEED to STOP
Vložit
- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- Let's discuss 8 book trends that need to stop! I'll be sharing some of the worst trends in fantasy. Here you'll find some personal pet peeves and some current hot topics that I would love to discuss with you!
The inspiration for this video comes from @ebnovels 🥹.
🪶 Thank you so much to my Patreons, for being the best and their continuous support! If you want to join the Wheel of Time readalong check it out here: / funfantasybooks
* February book club pick: Empire of Silence
Timestamps:
00:00 Trend 1
02:02 Trend 2
03:13 Trend 3
04:02 Tend 4
05:43 Trend 5
09:01 Trend 6
09:55 Trend 7
11:40 Trend 8
13:14 Secret extra - Zábava
I'm so grateful that Mark Lawrence gives an essential plot and character recap at the beginning of each sequel he writes. More authors definitely need to give recaps.
Definitely!! I understand that it isn’t something easy, but I feel TV shows are way ahead of us here haha
Django Wexler did this in his most recent trilogy, and I appreciated it so much.
I think teens save the world in books because they aren't as jaded and set in their ways within their world. But yeah, as an adult, I would love to see older characters having the adventures and saving the world. They have more knowledge and expierience. But I get it, I was way more willing to do stupid stuff and take more risks as a teen.
Yes! Absolutely! I was also more adventurous when I was younger! But ahhh I guess I just still want to feel that I can go and save the world!
Honestly, BECAUSE they’re jaded, adults saving the world makes for a more fun time 😂
I very much agree with trend 5! Ive always wondered why the sales of special editions weren't just open to anyone. There could be a limited number of copies, sure, but I'm not sure why we need to subscribe anywhere for that. I feel like just like any library, there should be a library for special editions that anyone can buy haha! I mean maybe there are obvious reasons why it comes mostly with subscription boxes so i don't know details
Capitalism is the answer. They use the "fear of missing out" to "force" you to subscribe and sell you a bunch of stuff you wouldn't normally buy.
--> Want the special edition of that book ? Then subscribe to the service, so we can sell you books and editions you wouldn't buy otherwise and have you spend more money on our products that you should.
I don't mind the subscription box ones, because they cater to a specific customer base and are small businesses. I don't understand special editions from major booksellers (Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, etc) who are limited OR have a special chapter that's unique to that bookseller. There was that one book that had MANY "missing chapter" or "special ending" types of things that were different from one book retailer to another.
Haha it drives me nuts!
I’m reading Mrs. Perivale & The Blue Fire Crystal right now. It was written in response to the trend of teenagers save the world. Our heroine is in her 70s and travels to a magical land with her loyal butler & a bunch of her cats. It’s really quite adorable. Just a relaxing, cozy read.
💯 agree on the special editions being too similar! Besides the fact that if every book has multiple special editions, the "special" factor is a little lost, there's also how similar they all are! In most cases it's just the sprayed edges and the same cover with the colors swapped (looking at you, Fairyloot box). I'd really love to see more illustrations, even if it means normal plain edges. I know some companies do them, but they are prohibitively expensive for me (Folio Society for example) and I'd like some of the cheapest ones to get onto it too!
Teenaged characters saving the world I don't particularly mind, probably because I tend to prefer the kind of epic fantasies that have historical settings, and at any time except in the last few generations it was considered normal for teenagers to be considered fully adult and given responsibilities that would have made modern teenaged me panic. I also see it as the main criticism for YA books, but never for adult series like ASOIAF, in which 15-year-old Daenerys conquers and rules over a city and 15-year-old Jon Snow becomes Commander of the Night Watch, which feels a bit hypocritical coming from detractors of YA.
Awesome comment!! 🥰 ahh when you see the special editions from different subscriptions boxes for the same book, chances are they are going to be similar! I agree I would love to have extra illustrations (I always cherish them as I am terrible at visualizing)!
I understand what you mean for teenagers! In my case I guess it is that I am getting tired of that vibe (probably as I grow old?) and don’t want to feel I am too old to save the world lol
Something I find irritating in some Fantasy books are the heroes of the story being too stupid to walk and chew gum at the same time. An example would be Seraphina in Jennifer Armentrout's Fire and Ash.
The Book That Wouldn't Burn: I didn't mind the *breakneck speed/last 10 pages ending*, but "that one thing" was unnecessary.
The character that does something that makes no sense.
Huge mistakes in the story: Red Rising. After all that, Darrow becomes "Darrow".
Priory: Niclays and Nayimathun on the ship.
Seen/Scene from a mile away: A character or item , that goes missing, is immensely important in the last 10 pages.
Great content. I hope you're feeling better.
I agree there should be recaps. I don’t personally need it because with a short TBR, I’m always happy to re-read. But it’d be useful for so many people.
I definitely need them!!
If I hear that something has a love triangle in, then I won't bother reading it anymore - so overdone and 99% of the time it's obvious who will 'win'. Its a trope that has been popping up everywhere and I am so tired of it.
Hahaha I kind of like them when done right! (Guns of the Dawn) but if you see what happens from a mile away..
I haven't read any of the books you mentioned where the first person narrator has a secret plan that they keep from the reader, and I have to agree that it sounds incredibly frustrating! The whole point of a first person narrator is that you are experiencing everything along with the main character, so to have this same character reveal to the reader, AKA themselves, that they had a secret contingency plan all along sounds like a contrived plot device that betrays the very foundational concept of the book you are reading. If you want the main character to keep secrets from the reader, then you tell the story from a different point of view. My immediate thought was the Sherlock Holmes novels, where Sherlock has knowledge, plans, ideas, and connections that the reader isn't often aware of until the mystery is solved, which is exactly the reason why these books are written from Dr Watson's point of view. Dr Watson can act as an audience surrogate in the story, asking questions and being shocked or confused right when we the reader are as well. If Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote those books from Sherlock's point of view, those stories would be unreadable, because the detective would have to either tell the audience everything right away (which would be boring) or actively keep secrets from us (which is fundamentally unsatisfying). Thanks for the thought provoking video!
It's called an unreliable narrator, and it serves a literary purpose. I really don't mind that because it's not a trend. It's been around for a long time. I'm not fond of the unreliable narrator, but I also wouldn't call it a trend. Haha
@@mintyxx1 Wow, you're highly confident for someone who is so thoroughly wrong! An unreliable narrator is indeed a style of narration that exists, but the purpose of it is to create uncertainty around the POTENTIAL that the narrator is lying or themselves misperceiving the events they claim to record. From early on in the book a reader will see that narrators truthfulness is in question. What this video brings up, and what I was responding to, was the new phenomenon of narrators that either lie or purposefully hide relevant information from the reader without the readers knowledge, so that the author can hold out for a surprise twist reveal at the most convenient moment in the story without any satisfying buildup. This, as I hope you can see, makes for a very frustrating reading experience and is thus a literary device that we encourage writers to stop using. Hope that this clears up your confusion, Haha!
Thank you so so much for your comment!
A few of the wheel of time books end abruptly - like in a matter of a chapter or two lol. I felt like "what was the point of reading over 500 pages just to have the ending rushed?!" Ugh
Hahaha oh no! I am still in book 2 of WoT
As long as the evidence is there before the reveal, I LOVE when things are hidden in a first POV story 😂 When you’re in one, you assume you know everything from his/her out of everyone because you’re in his/her head. So to be surprised by them has a cooler shock factor than that from other characters.
Hahah I am so happy this works for you!!
I usually read the last couple of chapters of a book before I read the sequel if there is a large time span. That doesn’t bother me as much as the cover art changes. The rage is real.
I'm tired of books about books, libraries and writers too! Enough already. I agree with you about the teenage characters. I actually am starting to avoid YA fantasy now because of that. Side note: Also tired of recently divorced, challenged women with kids. Maybe I need to get into my classics 😂
Hahahah classics never fail
I cringe at the 20 years old with all the wisdom and knowledge they could not have possibly gained in their livespan.
But mostly, they are teenagers that act and think like full grown adults and that's completely annoying. I don't want realistic fantasy but I do need realistic characters and when you are 17, you are mostly clueless about the world (though it doesn't feel that way).
Love triangles are the worst. I have no clue why authors use them but I tend not to read books with such tropes. It's unbearable...
Exactly!!! I totally understand the fact that the author wants us to relate with the main characters, but ahhh I was definitely not as wise then (nor now) and I love stories where adult characters save the day!
Hahaha. Yeah I thought the love triangle between “friendly blonde” and “brooding raven” left already. Then I read Legendborn and was like “oh no, are you serious?”
Hahahaha agreed! Same as These Hollow Vows!!
No tan relacionado. Pero me he dando cuenta que desde que empece a leer mas fantasia ya no leo tantos libros escritos originalmente en español, solo ingles o traducidos. Por un lado, ahora conosco mas sobre el genro pero por otro le he perdido la pista a la literatura en español. No se que pensar 😅
Me pasa igual 😅
Me ha pasado lo mismo!!
Many authors no matter the genre have trouble ending the story. I think they get to the climax and have a hard time slowing everything down once they are wrapping up.
Haha it is so frustrating 🥲
WHAT IS THAT COVER FOR SIX OF CROWS??? I've never seen that before and wow, my eyes are bleeding now 🤡 When those new Throne of Glass covers came out I was also glad that I'd had my editions for years at that point 😂
Hahaha only reading this now whoops! But 🤡 haha
Not having a map is often a deal-breaker for me. Just finished The Darkness Before Them by Matthew Ward. Without a map much of his terrific world-building is all but lost. Without a map to pore over, the towns and regions are just so many odd-sounding words.
Maps in fantasy books should be mandatory!!
Somewhat related to trend 5. I'd like to see more reprints of regular hardcovers by publishers instead of them getting replaced with paperbacks. I'm one of the few that find hardcovers more comfortable to read.
Hardcovers are beautiful!
Ok super agree with point 2 - when a 1st person perspective just hides information the emotions that come up just feel artificial - as much as I love Red Rising, you’re right the first half of the series was full of this - it got to the point where I half predicted the ending of morning star just because I assumed Darrow had some epic plan that was hidden from us
I was still in shock with Morning Star! But definitely a part of me knew something extra needed to happen! It definitely feels like cheating!
@@FunFantasyBooks I do feel like he got a looot better in the second half of the series though - the multiple POV helped a ton
Lies of Locke Lamora is well structured. It’s absolutely not a bad idea and it’s pretty much similar to criminal novels in a way. So no, do not stop it. It’s BAD when it’s not well written. But this one it is. So do not compare it to some way lower level books like Throne of Glass where the protagonist basically didn’t tell the plan but it wasn’t well executed. It’s not a smart book.
You are right about these young hero type characters in a sense. But in other not. Think it over what Vin does in Mistborn. Is she really the leader? No. She does kill tho. They use her abilities. It’s a different thing. And she behaves like a young character. She can’t make serious strategic decisions as a general. See the difference? That’s a team effort and Elend does it who is raised to be a leader.
The last cuentista ticked the first trend for me. it felt like driving in a car with a beginner - fast/break/fast/break
Oh nooooo!
George RR Martin already knows the ending to the story, it’s getting there that takes up all the time especially with all the story threads that needed to be woven together bor tied off.
💯
I kind of get the teenager saving the world thing. As an adult there is rarely enough time to save yourself let alone the world.
Hahaha this is so sad but true lol.
No me molesta los cambios de portada si es que la serie ya está completa PERO detesto cuando las cambian a mitad de serie, como hicieron con An Ember in the Ashes y The Bone Season, perdí la cuenta de los cambios que tuvieron!!!
Jajajajaj los cambios de An Ember in the Ashes me pusieron súper nerviosa!!!
I agree. There are too many special editions!😂😂😂
Right!!!
When will you review MANIPULATED LIVES: Unmasking Social Media's Shadow by harmander Singh???
Hiya! Thanks for watching! I have my TBR for the next months pretty packed, but you never know!
Well said Yes, yes & yes to all you spoke about in your video especially the part about teenagers saving the world- nothing about teenagers but where did this come from? It’s even being done in TV, Netflix etc. shows I’m sorry maybe a unique story here & there but really come on also another one I think needs to go is continuous cursing every other word is a foul word I get tired of that & one more heavy smut it forbidden or taboo really can’t we have a great slow burn or normal romance scene without it being so trashy 😮 so yes I wish these trends would leave
Hahaha totally understand!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Stephen Kings Dark Tower series put me off with the time between addition
I also would prefer if MCs would stop being teens, I want to read about adult problems anb perspectives. I also no longer have the patience for the YA angst.
Hahaha I don’t have patience for the miscommunication trope, which usually is more frequent in YA I feel!
I need to never hear "He/She let go the breath they didn't know they were holding" line ever again.
Oh, and male authors writing about the female cycle. Dude. Just....don't.
Hahaha absolute cringe! I would love we never again read the “and then his eyes turned back 😏” like seriously, how big the pupils of other people are / how good is the sight of other people! I would never be able to detect that!
And for audible books what grates on me and takes me out of the moment is when you have a British narrator speaking with a British accent but the recording is sprinkled with glaring Americanisms which are discordant to that voice. It doesn't bother me if the narrator is American as the speech pattern is natural and doesn't jar. Hearing a Briton say, for example " one hundred eight" rather than "one hundred and eight" jolts me out of the story because no Briton would naturally speak like that, so it becomes obvious they're just reading out what they've been paid to read, as opposed to just telling me a story.
Thy Grimm Oak Press and The Signed Page
I don‘t like the cringe spicy scenes and when they are so poorly written that I just can laugh out loud.. 🫣
Hahahah absolutely