Epic Fantasy Is Dying And It Is Making Me Sad

Let's discuss the state of epic fantasy and how it is seemingly dying...

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0:00 - Intro
1:13 - Golden Age
1:56 - The State of Epic Fantasy
9:29 - I don't understand this
10:37 - My Theory
10:56 - Backlog can impact
12:00 - My worry
Why Publishers Are Abandoning It
The Future of Epic Fantasy

[libraryofaviking]

I'm genuinely enjoying the diverse range of discussions here and deeply value everyone's perspectives. I'd like to take a moment to address a few points for clarity.

Firstly, I want to assure you all that my concern isn't rooted in any displeasure towards the popularity of romantasy – albeit it is not a genre I read. In fact, being married to someone who enjoys romantasy, I wholeheartedly support its presence in the fantasy community. My concern lies in publishing houses seemingly abandoning epic fantasy in order to priorities romantasy. I strongly believe that both genres need to flourish side by side! The video was created to highlight that currently epic fantasy does not seem to be flourishing in traditional publishing.

While I maintain that a lot of readers are often drawn to epic fantasy and romantasy for different reasons, I want to stress that there's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying both. In hindsight, I realise my comments may have unintentionally generalised, and for that, I apologise.

Lastly, I'm genuinely happy to see the growing number of new readers falling in love with reading due to the rise of romantasy. Seeing people fall in love with reading, regardless of the genre, brings me immense joy. The video was not created to discourage anyone that loves romantasy, but rather to highlight that epic fantasy seems to be declining and it worries me.

Making video essays is hard because there is always an immense risk of offending some viewers – and there always seems like there is more I should have said! I hope you can show me understanding and grace as I tried my best to tackle this challenging topic!

God bless!

[chasunity]

Sanderson was once asked if Vin and Elend were sleeping together. He responded with something along the lines of "yes, but my readers don't really care to see that so I let it play out in the background." I can't speak for everyone else, but I read fantasy for the fantastical, not for a daytime tv soap opera.

[JoaoSilvaWrites]

I have no issue with Romantasy and other subgenres existing. Clearly, people want to read them. My issue is that there seemingly isn't room for epic fantasy anymore, with fewer and fewer debuts getting published.

[FrancT-]

Epic fantasy on the silver screen isn't dying because interest is declining, but because the adaptations are just bad. They fail to capture their fans and stay with audiences. I mean, after LOTR and GOT we haven't seen any very successful adaptations.

[PetrikLeo]

Thanks for the shoutout! It's really fortunate we have self-publishing. I just read Return to Edan by Philip Chase. Even reading that made me realize further that traditional publishing is not publishing books like this anymore.

[TheArtfulBrittani]

Sadly, I don't think Epic Fantasy is "mainstream" enought anymore. Publishing is so focused on special editions, hype, FOMO, and social media push. I also am wondering about the "attention span" aspect of a longer book and book series. 300 or less pages seems to be the average for normal readers, also I'd like to see a study on the amount of current readers. As avid readers I think we sometimes forget alot of people don't make time to read, don't have much time to read, or don't read at all.

[Aigra]

I think we need to acknowledge that Fantasy can feel intimidating to those who are not used to it. Especially high Fantasy that comes with world building and magic systems and other things that aren't even part of the vocabulary of readers of other genres. BUT this is where Romantasy and cozy Fantasy and also urban Fantasy can help to bridge the gap. Who says the Romantasy reader of today isn't the epic Fantasy reader of tomorrow? I have recommended proper Fantasy to several disappointed Fourth Wing readers already ...

[OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels]

The backlog taking precedence over the new releases is a factor to the discussion I didn't even consider before. I do read a lot of new releases but it's mainly because I have indeed already made it past that backlog and have the time to do so.

Unfortunately, I don't think the epic fantasy crowd is even a fraction of the romantasy crowd, who're basically YA readers from 10/15 years ago looking for adult versions of the books they grew up on. So I suspect fantasy as a genre has made a shift we won't see a change back from for the forseeable future. Why spend $10 to make $13 when you can spend that same $10 and make $40, right. Self publishing and boutique presses are going to have to pick up the slack.

[MariaMightReadThat]

I really appreciate the pinned comment clarifications and your willingness to engage in discussion. I’m a reader of both epic fantasy and romantasy and did feel from the tone of the video that one was being dismissed as less valid than the other, so thank you for addressing that. However, I still want to say that it’s possible to discuss if publishing is pivoting from epic fantasy to romantasy without disparaging romantasy books or readers. I don’t recall seeing this tone of reaction when grimdark was on the rise after ASOIAF. Regardless of opinion on Fourth Wing’s quality, it would be nice to see a more respectful approach to the subgenre and people who find value in it (especially since it’s largely a female-represented space and fantasy largely hasn’t been until recently). Just some thoughts on what could be a better approach to this discussion in future.

[jaceful]

The world is a competitive place. All it does is open the doors for more competition. Everyone is obsessed with the idea that these huge corporations are immortal, which is just not true. If you run your business closed-minded, it only adds fuel to the fire for someone else swooping in and taking over your missed opportunity.

[virginiajb]

I think it also has to do with the younger new readers. People are getting more and more impatient, they are not willing to invest so much time in reading a long book. They want to finish everything quickly.

However, I think good epic fantasy will never die. Readers like me that love long good books will continue reading epic fantasy.

[SoundFuryBookReviews]

I think you nailed the cost point on the head. With the rise in true competition from self-publishing, Romantasy as a trend, the ease (it seems) of Romantasy authors using TikTok to sell books vs other sub-genres of fantasy(meaning, the publishing houses can save money on marketing by leaning on that aspect of an author), and the cost of producing a book, epic fantasy just isn't worth it at a moment to invest in.
Tied to this, I think epic fantasy is just off-trend right now and might well come back in 5-10 years. All sub-genres come and go in popularity, but one of the reasons for this one at the moment is perhaps because there is a notion/stereotype/assumption about epic fantasy that it is part of an old white boys' club (look at the examples you provided - Robin Hobb was the only woman author) so a lot of readers looking for diversity in their books might see the current epic fantasy books out there and think, "oh, that's just going to be some stuffy, long-winded thing with a bunch of dudes waving their swords around". To be clear, I, myself, do not have that perception, but I have talked to other readers, some just entering fantasy readership, who do. Most of them gravitate towards Romantasy not because they necessarily want the romance, but because they know they'll get the character stories they are looking for.
(Personally, I have no interest in Fourth Wing (mainly because I don't like YA, and I heard it's kind of trash LOL).

[Scimitar]

Great video that echoes all my thoughts.

Most of the big five publishers lists of future books are dreadfully limited. Hopefully all the smaller companies will step into the gap.

[JAlexGiguere]

Really great video. Quite some time ago I decided to go the route of self publishing. There’s a few reasons, but one of them is I don’t want to depend on the ebbs and flows of what the market is looking for and what the publishing industry is looking for epic fantasy authors to cater to. It’s great that self publishing is so viable now so that authors can build up their readers how they want and write the subject material they are passionate about. Looking forward to more of these videos from you, thank you for the thorough look at the stage of epic fantasy.

[themaratonac]

I am ok with this, I will finally catch up with my fantasy TBR.

[diogomarinho]

What if traditional publishing is dying so they can handle a longer series. Cause most people is not talking about a loss of interest on the readers end rather they are talking about a loss of interest on the publishers end, industry etc. ?

[DRAGONGIIIRL]

I find that this newer generation don't like epic fantasy because thry hate reading in general. They are only attracted to "spicyness" or romance but care little aboiut literature or the art of books. This is dangerous for us writers.

[erikaeriksson]

I have always loved Fantasy (think Tolkien, Hobb, Martin, Abercrombie, Pratchett) and never liked Romance books. I want to know what sort of book I'm buying and not be surprised by smut, often acompanied by dull writing and characters without depth. I find it difficult to find new authors to read. The "hyped" books are often not for me and since I have to order everything, living in a rural area, I often don't realise this until I already bought the book. My local library don't stock books in English so that's not an option. Any Epic Fantasy recommendations for me, please? 😅

[Alexander-tuiv]

There have been several multi book epic fantasy publishing deals made this year, some of them 6 figures.

What they all have in common is that they contain non-European settings which has been a trend in fantasy for a few years now.

[chrissybooksandberries]

I’ve heard that some publishers choose authors who already have a following via fan fiction as a guarantee that they will be able to sell books. I think it’s got more to do with making money. By making fantasy(and all their subgenres) more consumable since some of those subgenres are easier to read. It is sad to see a decline in those epics though but if I’m being real I also know that I stay away from some episodes fantasies because I know I don’t have time for them.