ObscuraJournal 1/3/26

I'm trying to read Lord of the Rings. I read The Hobbit ages ago, and I'm not interested in reading it again. I've never read LotR, but I'm giving it a go, again, and maybe this time I'll keep up with it.

I have several other books I want to read, but there's some contemporary fantasy books I'm trying to add into the mix. These books will be hit or miss, that much I know already. I'm looking for something more in line with Barker's Weaveworld, or Imajica, and less American Gods, which I couldn't get into and probably wouldn't ever read now considering the circumstances of the author.

The problem I have with a lot of what I call "classic" fantasy is the massive cast of people whose names I'll never remember who I don't give a shit about anyway. I don't know what it is about large cast fantasy books. Like, King's The Stand has a couple dozen characters and I never felt it was overwhelming. Same large cast, but it's a fantasy novel ... my mind breaks into pieces. Maybe it's a me thing, I don't know, and maybe LotR is a way to get into it ... we'll see.

I know a lot of those "classic" fantasy books aren't dangerous enough for me, which is one of the reasons I don't like Gaiman's prose. I told that to someone once and they used a scene from American Gods to show I was wrong, and when I explained that Barker had done similar violent scenes to much greater effect, they finally saw what I was talking about.

I need my fiction to have a dark edge, some danger ... bite.

I've always liked it darker.

And I remember the LotR films were fairly dark, especially for "classic" fantasy, so maybe the books will be that way. I know A Game of Thrones is definitely dark, and I LOVED the tv series, but I've not had much luck with the books. Again, probably a me thing. Might give it a go again if LotR doesn't fit the bill.

I'll be back Monday with a progress report.

peace&love