D&D General No One Reads Conan Now -- So What Are They Reading?

[Alzrius]

We've had threads about what people (the people here, at least) are reading for several years now:

Thread 'What are you reading in 2023?'

Jan 3, 2023

I didn't see a new thread for the new year, so my apologies if I missed it.

I finished reading The Discourses of Epictetus. It's fascinating to read the ideas and advice of centuries past.

Now I'm starting the new year with Hope Mirrlees' Lud-in-the-Mist, something I've been meaning to read for a while now.

• Ralif Redhammer
• Replies: 833
• Forum: *Geek Talk & Media

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Thread 'What are you reading in 2024?'

Jan 1, 2024

Not sure yet, to be honest. It was a very weird Christmas and possibly the first in my life that resulted in no books (it's ok; my gf was very busy with work and then sick, and is now hellbent on rectifying the matter). I've got to make a list of books I want.

• Nellisir
• Replies: 1,355
• Forum: *Geek Talk & Media

• 

Thread 'What are you reading in 2025?'

Jan 1, 2025

I've been on a bit of a manga / manhwa kick lately. I've gone through all the existing English-translated volumes of The Eminence in Shadow, Solo Leveling, and the first 5 of Dandadan (with the rest of the way).

For novels, I'm kinda on a old-school / classic kick. Just finished 3001: The Final Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke which was pretty unremarkable. Just started Aftermath, book 7 of the original Thieves' World series. On deck is Sliding Scales, book 9 in the Adventures of Pip and Flinx series by Alan Dean Foster.

For RPG books, I'm currently...

• Elodan
• Replies: 600
• Forum: *Geek Talk & Media

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[GothmogIV]

There were at least two new Conan novels published in the last few years, and there are several Conan comic books each month. Monolith Games has Conan board games, and--I believe--are creating another iteration of a TTRPG. I read Conan stories a few times a year. Crom laughs at your premise!

Joking aside, I just ran a DCC Sword&Sorcery campaign in Hyboria. It was a blast!

 

[Neonchameleon]

Look, Conan hasn't been relevant for over a decade at this pont and while certain trapping of Sword-n-sorcery still exists the genre as a whole is far from any influence these days.

So what are the genres and media that do have an influence these days?

Doesn't have to be actual literature ofc but basically what are the cultural touchpoints for what fantasy looks and 'feels' like for modern players in your experience? Bonus if it's from players who started with 5e.

Lord of the Ring is cheating.

Is it Sanderson's works? The romantasy 'Court of X and Y' style? Warcraft? How much anime(-adjacents)ness do you think the average DnD player considers now? Is Genshin impact the way younger player/DMs think of how fantasy 'should' be like even subconsciously? Or is it all a bit incestuous with Frieren, Dungeon Meshi and Critical Role being the touchstone of how things should be like?

As others have been talking about books I'll go into other media and try to stick within the past ten years.

Video games are huge. Elden Ring has sold over 25 million copies. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild over 30 million copies. Witcher 3 over 50 million. Skyrim over 60 million, and is the only one more than a decade old on this list. And people spend longer in a video game than in any one book and get far more of a multi-media experience with things for all the senses. And then there's the big MMOs; Warcraft 3, Final Fantasy XIV, and Old School Runescape. And then there are the big free to play games like League of Legends (plus Arcane of course) and Genshin Impact.

In the film space we've got Disney dominating (and just because Descendants wasn't theatrically released doesn't mean we should exclude it; it was huge) but also things like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and we're getting a new Shrek and I hear Wicked is doing pretty well at the box office.

Breaking my ten year rule as we go into TV we've got Avatar: The Last Airbender as a giant in the space (in the Netflix Most Watched Fantasy TV shows for 2024 we've got the ATLA remake season 1 in first, the three original ATLA seasons in positions 3-5, and the Korra spinoff in 8, 11, 14, and 18). One Piece, The Witcher, and Fate: the Winx Saga making up the rest of the top 10. Amazon appear to be on the book-spinoffs with Rings of Power, Wheel of Time, Fallout (OK, so that's video game - and does it count as fantasy?)

 

[Aldarc]

Do you have evidence to back this up? I'm not doubting you on it, but it's a pretty strong opinion posted without any data.

There are other links and studies about this phenomenon, but here is one link that I found on short notice. It's still declining across the board, but women do read more than men by about 20 percentage points.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

I'm friends with Rebecca Yaros' agent. If the house she bought is any indication, people are reading the Fourth Wing books.

 

[Aldarc]

I'm friends with Rebecca Yaros' agent. If the house she bought is any indication, people are reading the Fourth Wing books.

Romantic Fantasy is a much larger share of the fantasy market than I think a lot of people realize. Some of these female fantasy authors are selling their books in numbers in 5-10 years what it took other long stay male fantasy authors multiple decades to achieve: link.

 

[Umbran]

Do you have evidence to back this up? I'm not doubting you on it, but it's a pretty strong opinion posted without any data.

Will a reference from the National Endowment for the Arts be suitable?


"At 45.2 percent, the 2012 share of adults who read novels or short stories was much lower than the share who had read any books in general. By 2017, 41.8 percent of adults had read novels or short stories in the previous year, and by 2022, the share was 37.6 percent."

So, fiction reading rates are dropping, in general, from 45.2% down to 37.6% over the decade 2012-2022.

"In 2017, the share of women reading novels or short stories was down to 50.0 percent, and, in 2022, to 46.9 percent. Men readers saw their fiction-reading rate slip from 35.1 percent in 2012 to 33.0 percent in 2017 and then to 27.7 percent in 2022. The net result is that the difference in fiction-reading rates for men and women remains at just over 19 percentage points, as observed ten years earlier. "

Men do read fiction at notably lower rates than women. Men are not dropping faster than women, though - the difference has been about 19% for the past decade.

The Men-Women Split in Reading is Real—and Persists Amid Historical Rate Declines

What does the data tell us about reading rates by gender?

www.arts.gov

 

[Senior_WotC_Janitor]

Tolkien is kind of just vicariously relevant at this point - obviously his work had a huge and lasting impact on fantasy as a whole, but it’s no longer the direct reference for anyone under 30. George RR Martin is pretty influential due to Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. Brandon Sanderson is pretty big too. Harry Potter has lost a lot of cultural chache, but it’s definitely still relevant. Percy Jackson is kinda niche but has some relevance. Frieren and Dungeon Meshi on the Estern side for sure, and Goblin Slayer to a slightly lesser extent. Critical Role is, naturally, one of the most significant influences. World of Warcraft is a shadow of its former cultural relevance but still desperately clinging to what influence it can. The Witcher series is decently relevant. Elden Ring is absolutely huge.

You and several others in this thread for the most part read like you are simply listing media that have personally influenced your thinking about fantasy.

 

[CreamCloud0]

i feel like Zelda and the Final Fantasy franchises have to be big influences?

 

[grimmgoose]

Being the age that I am, I can only anecdotally speak on this - and only by using what one of my players, who is running a fantasy world for his nephew and their friends (who are in high school), says.

Basically: their main touchpoint is the Lord of the Rings (I realize that is cheating). They're too young for Game of Thrones, they don't know who Sanderson is. Outside of novels, the Witcher, Skyrim, Final Fantasy, and World of Warcraft.

(that being said, un-anecdotally, as a millennial, I never watched nor cared to watch/read any of the Conan stuff )