Genre Deep Dive: High Fantasy – i read these behemoths so you don’t have to

let me correct that tag line to: “i read these behemoths so you can trust my recommendations and begin reading my favoutites”

because i’m sweet & caring like that 🙂

so, this blog idea has been bouncing around in my brain for a long time and im so!! excited!! to finally be putting it together and presenting it to you

(and also it took a FREAKING long time to compose all this mess and i feel like i forgot how to speak, so forgive me from now)

for some backstory, i started reading in a serious way back in 2015 when i was a teenager (yes, long long time ago) and unsurprisingly, i consumed 99.99% young adult fiction. i loved YA contemporaries, i loved YA fantasy, i loved YA mystery, i loved it all.

and i still do.

but lately, i’ve been branching out and trying to read outside of my comfort zone and guys let me tell you, the experience has been enlightening.

so i decided it would be fun to catalogue my thoughts and experiences with what started as a successful little experiment (that has now transformed into new reading habits) in this little series that i have unoriginally named “Genre Deep Dive”

basically, i will be mentioning 10 books per post relating to a genre outside of the borders of Youth Fiction that will briefly explore my thoughts, ratings, and a quick guide of where to start for a beginner.

i hope this is a series that both you and i will enjoy so that i can continue to shower you, my friends, with recommendations of my favourite books, bc that’s really what i do best

the goal is to have your tbr looking like this by the time you leave my blog c:

 

BUT ENOUGH RAMBLING, lets get on with our first genre deep dive:

the dreaded, intimidating, ~ High Fantasy ~

*children scream, sirens blare, pterodactyl screeching can be heard in the distance*

 

the first 10 books that i have read in this genre:

2 things to mention:

1) i’m counting era 1 and era 2 of mistborn separately (era 1 is the first three books in the series, and era 2 is the next three books) bc they are very different in terms of plot & characters and i dont think it’s fair to group them together for my purpose of reviewing

2) i have read all currently published books in ‘mistborn’ and the ‘lies of locke lamora’ series even though only the first books of the series have been pictured above.

 

so, let’s begin

IF YOU ARE A: low to moderate YA fantasy reader, i would highly suggest you start with Brandon Sanderson.

His books are incredibly accessible in writing style and follow a lot of the same format and development as most YA fantasies but just on an EPIC, GRAND SCALE

his books generally include incredible world building, beautifully detailed magic systems, a whole slew of interesting characters, and lots of action

i’m going to be extremely biased here and say start with Mistborn (that’s where i started and i absolutely adored – and sobbed my eyes out) or Warbreaker (since it currently a standalone atm, and it is a very fast, entertaining read)

(also the fan content for sanderson books is amazing, you will ALWAYS have fan edits to laugh over, fanart to admire, and friends to scream into the void with, including me ofc)

 

 

 

moving on

IF YOU ARE A: big YA fantasy reader and you want to expand your fantasy scope, let’s say you’ve tried and tested Brando Sando and you want to continue along the high fantasy path, then, i would suggest you try the Lies of Locke Lamora or Kings of Wlyd

both books are heist/adventure driven, incredibly hilarious and include copious  amounts of character development & action

the reason that i would recommend them for a more well-versed fantasy reader is because, these books are dense and take some time to fall into. i know what it’s like to hold a mammoth of a book and feel incredibly intimidated when you keep reading and reading and reading and you’ve only barely made a dent in progress.

so i would HIGHLY recommend them for when you’re comfortable with the high fantasy format because there is a learning curve

 

 

 

 

IF YOU ARE A: low to moderate YA fantasy reader, i would suggest staying away from dense, slow-paced books like Red Sister and the Fifth Season

i don’t mean to discourage you from reading these books, they are definitely well loved and praised in the book community but i think they would pose more challenges than other, more accessible books in this genre.

so, once you’re a seasoned high fantasy reader who is comfortable with big, plot centered books that take their time to develop character and the world, definitely check these out.

 

 

 

and there you have it, my first installation of my newest series (one that i am VERY excited about). i hope you enjoyed and i’ve piqued your interest in this genre (if you haven’t tried it yet) or gave you some recommendations (if you’re already a fan of the genre)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS JUMBLED, DISASTER OF A POST and please feel free to leave any feedback or comments or areas you think i could improve (or be more coherent in) for the next segment of this series

this is me as of FINALLY finishing this post

 

and i want to know, have you tried reading outside of your comfort genre? what new genre did you try and how did that go?

that’s it for now,

 

 

 

((Background vector created by vectorpocket – www.freepik.com

Texture vector created by Layerace – www.freepik.com))