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

[Umbran]

But a lot of the slip in male readership we are talking about is recent, from like 2013 to today

When I look for data, I find that men have been reading less than women at least back to the early 2000s.

From Gallup polls, average books read per year:
(wow, that failed. I'll do it by hand...)

	2002-2016
Total	15.2
Men	10.8
Women	19.3
College Graduate	21.1
Non-graduate	12.6
Age 55+	16.7
Age 35-54	14.2
Age 18-34	13.8

Women reading more than men. College grads reading more than non-grads. Older folk read more than younger folk do.

 

[nyvinter]

Newer books by women authors that might fit in with the thread name:

• Joanna Maciejewska's Pacts Arcane and Otherwise series.
• Martha Wells' Witch King
• Melissa Caruso's The Tethered Mage
• Anna Smith Spark's The Court of Broken Knives
• Jen Williams' The Copper Promise
• T. Kingfisher’s The Clocktaur War

And since we had Black Company mentioned earlier too some "newer" military fantasy:

• Matt Wallace's Savage Legion
• Graydon Saunders' The March North
• Django Wexler's The Thousand Names
• Mary Gentle's Ash

 

[The Firebird]

Yes, but "delivering on the Fremen's goals", apart from the terraforming of Arrakis to turn it into a livable place, is here very much a case of "be careful what you wish for". A life of war (galaxy-spanning genocide) as the god emperor's devoted servants isn't the one I'd want for my kids.

Is the life of stagnation and death in the absence of the Golden Path more desirable? To bring it back to Conan, the difficulty, the struggle, is life-affirming.

 

[Imaro]

I'm not sure much the comic the above image is taken from is really for kids. Teenagers at best.

Conan was In regular Avengers as well. Or is that not for kids as well?

 

[Bedrockgames]

Conan was In regular Avengers as well. Or is that not for kids as well?

The avengers movie was rated PG-13. Conan has long been for teenagers I would say. Plenty of adults like Conan but most who do that I know got into Conan in their teenage years

 

[Imaro]

The avengers movie was rated PG-13. Conan has long been for teenagers I would say. Plenty of adults like Conan but most who do that I know got into Conan in their teenage years

Was he a superhero also?

 

[Bedrockgames]

Was he a superhero also?

I don’t think he was a superhero. He has been repackaged as one by some brands but the original Conan I would say is not part of that genre

 

[Imaro]

I don’t think he was a superhero. He has been repackaged as one by some brands but the original Conan I would say is not part of that genre

That was kind of my point... he's more famous and relevant as a marvel character/sometimes superhero at this point than for any of the original REH stories... the characters being redefined for modern audiences.

 

[Umbran]

Paks is straight up a paladin...

Even better. Paks starts as a fighter, and transitions into being a paladin. Her dealing with the differences are part of what make the books so good.

 

[Bedrockgames]

That was kind of my point... he's more famous and relevant as a marvel character/sometimes superhero at this point than for any of the original REH stories... the characters being redefined for modern audiences.

Yeah, i don' think this is true. I think most people understand there are a variety of incarnations of Conan. Even in the comics, he isn't a super. Most Conan comics are still Conan, and not his hanging around with the Avengers. The thing that tends to happen to Conan is he gets dumbed down a bit to be more crude, because people like the idea of a barbarian. Also the most famous incarnation of Conan is probably the movie Conan the Barbarian. That image created by Milius and Schwarzenegger has had a pretty lasting impact on how the character is perceived.