Im trying to get back into reading but cant. The last good book I read was “The Appeal” by John Grisham, probably only because each character was very human and yet still interesting to follow.
Lately I’ve been thinking about the fantasy genre and will deny it if you confront me irl but those tavern tiktoks are kind of cool
However, in the past every fantasy book I’ve picked up is about a fairy princess elk who is the daughter of a dragon and must go on a quest as the chosen one of the prophecy to live up to her dead parents will.
I’m not sure if that conveyed the genre I’m trying to avoid well enough but in essence, I hate when a characters whole personality is their fantasy traits (or denying their parantage in an edgy “im not like u mom” trope)
i want an engaging character who feels things outside of the obligatory “reacting to their surroundings.”
ahhhh im not explaining things well enough, but if a character feels like theyre simply moving in a direction because the plot demands it, i get annoyed and bored
maybe something about a peasant who doesnt have any special traits but loves drama and forces their way into the middle of every battle scene.
Any interesting character with thoughts that go beyond simply pushing a plot, if anyone knows of such 😭🙏🏽
by charismaticallysad
5 Comments
You might want to give Game of Thrones a shot. My ADHD brain couldn’t keep up with all the character names so I gave up on it. However it’s got a lot of twists and turns and a lot of deaths. Definitely keeps you on your toes.
Hmmm I think I might instead what you’re going for?
It’s YA and doesn’t have the best line editing, but “In Other Lands” by Sara Reese Brennon has an angry pacifist MC with a strong personality
Check out “Witch King” by Martha Wells, maybe. The protagonist has an individual spirit and his own answer
“Goblin Emperor” by Katherine Addison has a distinct main character in Maia, a quiet, thoughtful, patient, observant, and kinda sad young man thrust into a sudden position of leadership and danger
The Heartstriker Series by Rachel Aaron, starting with “Nice Dragons Finish Last”, has a big cast that fell distinct and a main character who spends a lot of time coming in to his own and forming his own distinct values
I think Stephen King’s fantasies (The Institute, Fairy Tale, 11/22/63) may be what you are looking for. They have a really slow burn at the beginning so you are already invested in the main characters before any of the fantasy business starts.
Also – a common misconception is when someone says FANTASY everyone just thinks big epic fantasies like LOTR and GOT. There are many great sub-genres of fantasy. Famous fantasies include Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and big time suggestmeabook favorite The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
Mercedes Lackey, who’s both a fantasy and romance writer, does tend to use a lot of those tropes; she even wrote a whole romance series called The Five Hundred Kingdoms making fun of “The Tradition,” which forces stepmothers to be evil, rescued damsels to fall in love with their rescuers, etc. And While a lot of her Valdemar series would probably turn you off, there’s one side book, _By The Sword_, that might appeal to you. The FMC gains a magic sword at the beginning, but she doesn’t have any grand destiny; she becomes a mercenary.
If you can find them, Greg Bear wrote a two book series: _The Infinity Concerto_ and _The Serpent Mage_, which was also published as one book, _Songs of Earth and Power_. It’s a wild ride, and features a MMC who starts out pretty naive and has to grow up pretty quickly. The perspective of Art as magic is powerful.
The Vlad Taltos series by Steven Brust features a human crime boss/assassin living in an Empire mostly inhabited by elves (well, kinda; you find out more details as you go on). It’s very long (18 novels and stil going, I think) but the books themselves aren’t very long.
{{Discworld by Terry Pratchett}}
Tons of characters, mostly written as fantasy satire, but all well written. Tons of character development throughout.