Based on anecdotal evidence, complaints about the genre being “pure escapism”, “childish” and “uninteresting” are common. There are also reviews which accuse fantasy literature of being “formulaic”, “out of touch” and even “outdated”.

The correspondence was part of an exchange between Tolkien and the British Council about funding for his research collaboration with his former Oxford student, Simonne d’Ardenne.

From mental health struggles to characters with different racial and LGBTQ+ backgrounds, the series shines a light on people—and heroes—of diverse identities.

What point is Lord of the Rings making in 2022? That people are racist and wage wars? The original trilogy, from two decades ago, was making that same point.

Their voices were muffled; everything the women said became ventriloquism. Mukhoty lets us hear those voices.

Sanderson has written five “accidental” books between 2020 and 2022, four of which will be published as full-fledged novels in 2023. 

A week or two ago, I came across an article by Hassan Munhamanna on Daily Star Books in which he talked about his struggles with reading books in their entirety.