For a long time, I've been thinking about why I love some kinds of fantasy, even though it's not that good by my usual standards, while at the same time I can't get into other kinds of pretty OK fantasy that everyone else likes. Like, why do I love the Witcher short stories and TV show, but find Wheel of Time just OK as a show and impenetrable as a novel series? (And why are the Witcher novels so meh?)
Why did I inhale every Andre Norton novel that came my way but could barely get through The Lord of the Rings? Why is Luke Skywalker so boring and Conan the Barbarian so awesome? Also, why does Columbo feel like it belongs in this list even though it's not fantasy?
These weren't burning questions, exactly, just things burbling away at the back of my mind as I tried to figure out what I wanted to read or watch next. I mean, yes, I could tell these things are largely sword and sorcery, or low fantasy, but why was that so enjoyable? What makes these stories tick?
And that's how I came up with my theory of
Sword and sorcery and the mid-career hero
https://rinsemiddlebliss.com/posts/2023-10-27-sword-and-sorcery/
