For the past 5 years I have been piecing together material for the many books I have written. All of which deal with fantasy and a touch of science fiction, but those were earlier works. Now I am strictly working on fantasy. I am currently writing my third and (In my opinion) best of the lot, out of a total of four. My question is whether or not people still read fantasy or is it more of a dying thing nowadays. I keep a close eye of bestsellers to get an idea of what sells. Any questions are more than welcome about subject matter or input. I'm leaving this rather general, as I'm not all certain what people are going to say.

I still read fantasy. However, I am not a reliable marker. I am appriaching 20, and am therefore considered an 'old fart' by the industry, that mostly deal with teens.

<font color=orange>I don't know about everyone else, but I still read them. Though I do take a break every now and then. BTW, have you been published?</font>

yes i read fantasy books and so do my friends, but thats just us.

<font color=orange>DAMN!!! I must be a "crusty old fart" at 39 then!</font>

I read fantasy all the time... and so does my father [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Just finished David and Leigh Eddings' "The Redemption of Althalus" and I'm reading yet another WoT book at the mo.. fantasy, if well written, is something you never grow out of...

Definately. I read fantasy, my sister reads fantasy, my father reads fantasy... The rest of the family rarely opens a book at allso it's not surprising that when they do it's not fantasy ;)
I don't think fantasy's dying, and there's plenty of oppertunity to be original even with all the books that have already come out. As long as it's written in an interestnig or captivating enough manner, of course there are plenty of people who'd like to read it [img]smile.gif[/img]

Sample? ;)

I'm 33, and I still read fantasy.

One interesting point: Most of the folks who started reading fantasy during the "golden era" of fantasy (late 70s to mid 80s) are hitting their 30s. Now we can afford to buy books, instead of hitting the library.

I spend a TON on books now, and a good bit is fantasy. If you can get published, you should do well.

As an aspiring writer myself, (only published poems and short stories, but I am working on something. It's reached the novella size, and will easily be a novel size) I'm interested in hearing your views. Have you taken any courses or workshops? Do you read the industry rags?

if you are willing to post a sample, you can get a good bit of critique here. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/readingbook.gif[/img]

[ 06-05-2002, 12:41 AM: Message edited by: RudeDawg ]

I'm 40 and I still read fantasy, my room-mate is 31 and he still reads fantasy, my son is 21 and he reads fantasy too.
I think you have a waiting audience!
[img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

The problem is that when most people think of 'fantasy' books they tend to think of knights, wizards, elves and goblins. I think the trick would be to fantasize about something new. There seems to just be Tolkien clone after Tolkien clone out there these days to the extent when it stops being fantasy and really just descends into 'sword and sorcery'.
Frank Herbert and JRRT )to only name a couple) seem to have been real pioneers in their trade and people seem to have merely latched on to the wake of their success. Not that I could do better. But if 'fantasy' is thinning out as a popular genre it's most likely due to a lack of origniality.

However, the Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy (and the Dune cable miniseries) has definately sparked a renewed interest in the field. So now might be a time to capitalize on hobbit-fever [img]smile.gif[/img]