Written by Jason Koop.

Last week, we took a crack at the question: Where can I find fantasy? And now that that’s done, I’d like to answer the questions: What is good fantasy? And where do I find it?

Perhaps it would help if we first defined what is “good” fantasy, exactly? Does it have to endorse good character and morals? Does the narrative’s plot have to be tight and engrossing? What about the characters? What is the most important thing?

Well, in my opinion, the answer is simply: “you.”

Yes, you. The reader. Yes, the parameters and preferences will change as you do, but that’s part of the beauty of it. There’s nothing wrong with something being utterly fantastic for a season, while another thing remains in your mind across multiple years.

So perhaps the question should be: What do I like in stories? What gets me to invest the time and energy into reading them (or having them read to me if you’re into the audiobook scene)? Well, let’s break this down into some more specific questions.

Is there a particular setting that you like? Medieval? Age of Sail? Space?

What type of characters do you like? Heroic heroes? Brooding anti-heroes? Ordinary, everyday people?

Do you prefer sprawling epics, or something shorter and maybe more laid-back?

Are there certain creatures you prefer? Animals? Aliens? Or do you prefer the more mundane humans?

This may help you define what you are more likely to enjoy, and hence narrow your search. But what if this is still not enough (or perhaps too much)?

Here are some ideas that may prove useful in finding your next favourite fantasy.

Check out book review sites like Goodreads. While their opinions likely won’t match up perfectly with yours, you might get some good ideas from fellow readers’ recommendations.

Check to see if other media (movies, TV shows, etc.) came from books. For example, you like the “How to Train Your Dragon” movies? Well, they were originally a book series.

Ditto for adaptations from other mediums INTO books. Like the Legend of Zelda video games? There’s official manga! These are almost never a 1-1 adaptation because there are things that work in one form that don’t translate to others. They can help you see stories from a different perspective.

Check out a familiar author’s bibliography. Odds are they wrote more than just what you are currently reading or have already read.

Check out publishers’ websites. If they sold one fantasy book, odds are there are a lot more.

Ask your friends for recommendations. And, if possible, ask them why they are recommending what they do. It may prove useful so you can track what kind of books they are likely to recommend you in the future, should you ask again.

There are a plethora of ways to find a fantasy story that you’ll like. The thing to remember is that there is no shame in saying “I don’t like this” and moving on until you find something that you do enjoy. Don’t underestimate the joy to be found in discovering a new favourite story.

Written by Jason Koop.

Here at Book-Bat, you’ve probably noticed that we focus a lot on fantasy in books. In fact, you can find evidence of this in our name and our podcast, which is mostly about Christian fantasy books.

I’ve noticed that in our podcast, we’ve done a lot to espouse the positive traits of fantasy, and dispensed facts about some of its more historical writers. But one thing that we haven’t devoted much (if any) time to is answering the question:

#1 Where can I find fantasy?

#2 What is “good” fantasy? And how do I find it?!?

Ah yes, all very good questions. And the answer is… There is no one size-fits-all answer. But rest assured, my dear reader, that I – Jason Koop the first – shall take upon the endeavor to provide you with some points to getting started.

On this blog post, I’ll take a crack at that first question: Where can I find fantasy?

The first places to start are – while quite obvious – surprisingly effective if you give them a chance.

The library. Whether your local public, church or school’s, these provide the excellent opportunity to “test out” many different types of stories and authors with no monetary cost (unless you get hit with those late fees, which feel worse when accompanied by the librarian’s look of disapproval). Let’s go through those three briefly.

Your school’s library has the obvious perks of the books being aimed at your age group (assuming you’re still in school, of course). Having it unavailable during the summer can be a downer, depending on how you plan to spend those hotter months.

The church library comes with the obvious perk that it is more likely to have something that has overtly (or maybe more subtle) Christian themes and tones. Selection may be limited, though, and last I checked, most church’s aren’t into the whole inter-library loan shtick. So you really are at the mercy of your church’s librarian (shout-out to Karlissa for going above and beyond to greatly improve this in my church). Availability might be limited to days and times of service, so spontaneity in just browsing is greatly reduced.

And finally, your public library is a great – and often underappreciated – resource. Not only will it likely have the greatest selection immediately available, but many do participate in inter-library loans, so you can still get your hands on a book that they don’t have. The biggest downside is often the size of selection. Quite the opposite of not having enough, often there’s too much, to the point where it can be overwhelming just to pick something.

But say you’re not really into the whole “borrowing” thing. Especially the aspect of being expected to return it within a limited window. What about those of us who like to have books to own and do with as we please? To take our time with – and possibly place the book in positions of risk – and to take on all those creases, nicks and such that they accumulate with age.

Well, let’s turn the proverbial page to… bookstores!

Another more obvious one, but one we tend to easily overlook in today’s age of ordering via the internet. I mean, why bother going to an actual bookstore when we can just find whatever we want online and order it in through some outlet like Amazon? Ah, my friend, while the internet is indeed a wondrous and powerful thing, there are some things that it simply cannot replicate. Such as actually seeing books in a physical space. Seeing something that strikes your fancy. Or maybe being taken in by an amazing book binding (it does happen). Whether Christian, mainstream or even thrift, I find physical bookstores can breed a sense of discovery sadly lacking in the online-verse.

Okay, now that we’ve knocked out some of the obvious ones, let’s quickly fire through some other options:

Free book stands – I’ve made it a habit to peruse them whenever I come across one.

Garage/yard sales – The lottery pick of all; you never know when you might get lucky.

Your friends’ shelves – Weigh the risks before raiding, a damaged book can do even more to the relationship!

I’m sure there are other options, and I’ll leave it for you to mention them in the comments below! Next week, I’ll tackle the question: What is good fantasy?