Summary
Somelengthy fantasy book series that are worth readingwhich are also categorized as young adult would be completely different if they were written today.YA novels, like any example of pop culture, are influenced by the cultural and political landscapeof the time in which they are written. In the realm of fantasy and sci-fi, it is usually possible to discern what topics were of concern and what tropes were most popular at the time while reading. It also provides an interesting conversation to imagine how the book would differ if it were written 10, 20, or 50 years later.
The overall structure of the series might be different, as there are many moreamazing fantasy book duologies to readtoday than a decade ago.Certain bestselling series completely changed how particular tropes and character dynamics are handled in similar books;books that blend fantasy and romancemight have done so differently if written now. Likewise, the proliferation of different political debates has the potential to completely change what a book looks like, and could never be left out of the story if it were written in today’s political climate.
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2018
Shadow and Bone
2015
2016
25 Amazing Standalone Fantasy Books To Read
Authors including Neil Gaiman, V. E. Schwab, Marissa Meyer, and R. F. Kuang have written riveting standalone novels that all fantasy fans should read.
10Shadow And Bone
By Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bonesticks to Alina’s perspective throughout its three books,something that Leigh Bardugo did away with in the trilogy’s spinoffs. Both theSix of CrowsandKing of Scarsduologies follow multiple characters, broadening the scope of the story. Following the massive success of series such asHarry Potter(which published its last book in 2007) andThe Hunger Games, there was a marketable appeal in focusing on one character, with either a first-person or third-person limited POV.
However, the rise of series such asThrone of Glassand theShadowhunters Chronicleshappening around the same time proved that it could be logistically helpful to show other things happening away from the protagonist. Additionally, following only one character’s perspective can be a pitfall if the audience decides it likes some of the supporting characters more than the protagonist. On the other hand,morally gray villains like the Darkling have also proliferated in YA;today, his character might not be such a cornerstone of the story when his arc relies on too many overused tropes.
9Percy Jackson & The Olympians
By Rick Riordan
A lot of the jokes and pop culture references of the originalPercy Jackson & the Olympiansbooks series demonstrate the influences of the cultural zeitgeist during the 1990s and 2000s. Some references to Taylor Swift andHamiltonappear in the later Riordanverse books, but in the case of the first series, the modern contextualizations are slightly older.IfPercy Jacksonwere written today, the Greek gods would probably all be obsessed withSuccession,while the demigods would have a much harder time accepting the ban on cellphones at Camp Half-Blood.
The comparison between the demigods' real lives and the cinematic superhero boom is right there,but pre-MCU, all Percy and the others had to reference at the time was the comics and the superhero movies of the early 2000s. The Wheedon-inspired quippy humor is also everywhere in pop culture now, differing slightly from Percy’s ever-sarcastic attitude. Based on themovie and TV show genres that have blown upin the last decade, there would probably also be some more"Eat the Rich"and anti-hero themes in the story.
8Divergent
By Veronica Roth
Divergentheavily depends on the most popular tropes of the early to mid-2010s, most of which were established byThe Hunger Games. Namely,the story revolves around a young woman rebelling against a rigid societal structure,when the purpose or greater meaning of that society isn’t really important. Other series from the decade’s YA dystopia craze feature threats that make some kind of real-world commentary;Divergent’s setting is the weakest among them.
Today,Divergentwould need to have a more original character-driven story or a different setting. Additionally, theDivergentseries would probably only comprise two books if it came out today.Allegiantfeels detached from the rest of the story,when the problem of the Erudite faction taking over dystopian Chicago is solved within two books. However, now that plenty of other successful two-book series have been published, a series likeDivergentwould not feel like it needs to have a third book.
7The Giver
By Lois Lowry
The"magic system"ofThe Giveris vague at best,something that editors may have demanded the author rectify today in a market saturated with hard magic systems. Lois Lowry’s award-winning dystopian novel was published in 1993; he released three more novels set in the same world over the next 20 years.The most confusing part ofThe Giveris how or why people are unable to see color,and why Jonas is suddenly able to see it.
Hopefully, The Giver’s surreal themes of what it means to be human would still come through even if the technicalities of the world were clearer.
The Givertells a very compelling story about how humanity has numbed itself to emotions and any form of expression; Jonas' reaction to seeing Fiona’s red hair for the first time is visceral.The movie adaptation ofThe Giveris a case in point,as it institutes the plot detail that residents of this society are required to take injections every day which dulls colors. Hopefully,The Giver’s surreal themes of what it means to be human would still come through even if the technicalities of the world were clearer.
6The Inheritance Cycle
By Christopher Paolini
It has been repeatedly pointed out thatEragonand its sequels borrow heavily from other epic fantasy series. Most of the fantasy genre borrows fromThe Lord of the Rings, althoughEragon’s depiction of elvish society is still especially similar. Meanwhile, the"true language"magic system is taken straight from theEarthsea Cycle.At 15 years old, Christopher Paolini was not the most advanced writer when he started writingEragon,and fell back onto his favorite fantasy series.
Written today, by an author with more experience,The Inheritance Cyclewould probably make more of an effort not to copy other fantasy series so much.Other fantasy sagas focusing on elves and fae have shown different ways to tweak Tolkien’s original vision of the elves so that the depiction suggests classic literary influence while still coming across as a unique society. The magic system would be completely different — notably, few other series have tried to reuse this type of magic since Paolini.
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5The Mortal Instruments
Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare published the first book in what would become the expansiveShadowhuntersuniverse amid theTwilightheyday, with multiple novels already out and the movie coming soon. Therefore,it is not surprising that a love triangle made its way intoThe Mortal Instrumentsor its first spinoff series,The Infernal Devices. Love triangles have since become less popular, and Clare has turned to other narrative devices to facilitate romantic drama in her later books.
Today,The Mortal Instrumentswould also not include the storyline where love interests Clary and Jace believe they are siblings for two books, setting them up for the most uncomfortable star-crossed romance ever. This plot point just hasn’t aged well, regardless of the bigger cultural landscape. However,the incest inGame of Thronesmay also have affectedThe Mortal Instruments;despite their alleged love for each other, Jaime and Cersei’s relationship is depicted as problematic, while even the Targaryen practices are suggested to be antiquated to the rest of Westeros.
4The Twilight Saga
By Stephenie Meyer
Again,Twilightwould probably not be so reliant on a love triangle if it came out today. Stephenie Meyer was likely inspired byThe Vampire Diariesand theSookie Stackhousenovels, both vampire-centric stories with major love triangles which predate her books. However,TwilightandThe Hunger Gameshave now exhausted the love triangle trope,while Sarah J. Maas' writing has repeatedly contradicted it. The heroines in Maas' novels usually make a point of ending a relationship before getting involved with another love interest, so they are never technically in a love triangle.
Generally,love triangles are not seen as much in this kind of literature today,or they are at least not at the forefront of the story. That being said,Bella and Edward still have a toxic relationship, as is depicted inTwilight. This may or may not persist if the novels were more recent, as some contemporary literature has worked to unravel these relationship tropes, while others uphold them.
3Six Of Crows
Six of Crows’cast might be older if the books came out today.Bardugo’s first book in theGrishaverseseries afterShadow and Boneintroduces a new cast, all still in their teens,the general age range for this kind of fantasy novel. However, Maas’A Court of Thorns and Roseswas released the same year, which helped give rise to the"new adult"genre. New adult fantasy bears a lot of the hallmarks of YA fantasy in terms of world-building and plot structure, but can get away with some more mature content and typically a cast in their early 20s.
Bardugo might have chosen to age up the Crows if the book had come out after new adult had been established.
Bardugo might have chosen to age up the Crows if the book had come out after new adult had been established. Whilethe characters being forced into the dangerous underworld of Ketterdam as children is a key part of the dark and gritty setting,the story still could have given them a few more years to perfect their skills before taking on an impossible heist. Today’s readers might find it more believable than underage heroes accomplishing all that the Crows do.
2The Hunger Games
By Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Gamesalso probably would have ditched its love triangle after the trope had been worn out in favor of spending even more time on the series' political elements. The political allusions and commentary would be completely different and, likely, much more specific in today’s climate.SuzanneCollins might have also included a time skip that would affect Katniss' arcand the progression of Panem’s rebellion. As it is thematically important that children are chosen for the Hunger Games, and Katniss' age at the time she wins the Games could remain unchanged.
However, if this were followed by a time skip,Katniss would be an adult during the revolution, and there would have been several more years of uprisings in the districts.The Hunger Gamesas it is claims that the entire revolution happens in almost a year, from the timeKatniss and Peetawin the Games. Letting Katniss grow up and giving the rebellion more time to take shape would result in a broader, more sophisticated story — one Collins might have considered telling if she had been influenced by more recent literature.
8 Books That Perfectly Blend Fantasy & Sci-Fi
The sci-fi and fantasy genres frequently go hand in hand, but only a few books blend them so well that the line between story types is blurred.
1Throne Of Glass
By Sarah J. Maas
Maas wrote most of theThrone of Glassbooksstrictly within the confines of the YA genre before she got started onA Court of Thorns and Rosesand created a new genre. Since then,Maas has demonstrated her preference for new adult and adult writingwith Feyre and co.’s continued adventures as well as theCrescent Citynovels. If she had been an established author and new adult had been a marketable genre when she was writingThrone of Glass, Maas probably would have written it as new adult.
Which means the intimate scenes between the couples would have been much spicier. Comparatively speaking,Throne of Glassspends much less time on its sex scenes than Maas' other novels.Additionally, the characters are limited in how much they can curse due to the genre constraints. Even this individual author contributed to a major change in the pop-cultural landscape which would have made one of her own YA book series as well as several others very different if they had been published later.
