Sick of Y.A. Books (need fantasy/sci-fi/paranormal suggestions)

[Fionen]

I'm in my 30's now and sick of reading Young Adult books but don't know where to start.

 

I'm looking for books that:

 

have a main character that is at least 25 years old

are in the fantasy, sci-fi, or paranormal genre

are NOT from the Romance genre and don't contain a bunch of descriptive sex

don't have a lot of swearing (some swearing is okay)

don't contain incestuous relationships (remind anybody of a certain popular series?)

Edited July 18, 2014 by Fionen

[Fionen]

If I take out the swearing requirement will it mean that people have suggestions? I only put the swearing thing in because I hated reading Catcher in the Rye with the swearing every other sentence. It was so irritating.

[Michelle]

Have you read any other fantasy, sci-fi or paranormal, or has it only been YA?

[Chrissy]

It's a tricky one to answer in many ways, without knowing what you have read and enjoyed already. If you can say which YA books you have liked, then that can lead onto non YA specific books that might fit the bill.

[Fionen]

I have mostly read YA.

 

Favorite YA:

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Old Kingdom/Abhorsen Chronicles by Garth Nix

and Harry Potter

 

Favorite non-YA:

Wool by Hugh Howey

The Host by Stephenie Meyers (I hated Twilight though, too much like a romance novel.)

Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins (I LOVE her fantasy books but with each new book she pushes harder towards Paganism and against Christianity... I don't enjoy reading about how much the author despises me...   )

Edit: Forgot to include The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams because I didn't know if it goes in YA or non-YA.

 

Right now I tend to be drawn to books that have some kind of twist on the typical genres. Like with Wool it was the dystopian subject but the new thing was that they were in a self-sustaining silo underground. I hadn't seen that take on it before. Giants of the Frost was really interesting because of the Norse mythology. Gregor the Overlander is a nice go to because of all the giant talking bugs/animals. For when I'm bored of reading about humans I guess. lol

Edited July 19, 2014 by Fionen

[spaceh]

Tolkien was heavily inspired by Norse mythology. If you haven't already read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I highly recommend it. There's no sex or swearing and everyone's favourite hairy-footed protagonist is 50 years old at the start of the adventure. Also, Tolkien was Catholic but he doesn't mention religion at all in the trilogy. (If he does I missed it.)

 

Although it's not in novel form, you could also get your fix of Norse myths by going straight to the original source: the Eddas. You can read an old translation for free here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14726/14726-h/14726-h.htm

 

If you want to read something light and humourous like Hitchhiker's Guide, try Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens or any of the Discworld books by Pratchett. (Although maybe everything in that giant series counts as YA. I am not sure.)

[Fionen]

Thanks for the suggestions, Spaceh. I should probably give Terry Pratchett a try since everyone seems to love him so much. I'm sure some of his books have grown-up main characters. As for The Lord of the Rings, I dunno if I'd be able to get through them. I have had several people tell me that they can be tedious.

 

Btw, I just want to make it clear to everyone that I don't mind if there is religion in a book. However, I do mind when an author is obviously against my religion and makes it a point to keep bringing it up throughout the book. Stating ones beliefs is different than bashing someone else's beliefs.

[Athena]

Most of the Discworld series isn't YA. There are a few novels in it that are, but most are adult (here on Wikipedia you can see which ones are YA and which ones aren't). I've read I think about half of Terry Pratchett's books and I have loved all those I've read so far. I do find that I have to be in a certain mood to read one, but they're very funny and well written. I'd recommend starting with one of the earlier Discworld novels. There are sort of sour sets of storylines going on in the series. There's books about the wizards (particularly Rincewind), about the Watch, about Death (the character), about the witches and I believe some standalones or books that mix in multiple of those characters. Personally I fell in love with the Discworld series after reading the first two books, Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. These form a duology, they're the only two books that are directly connected (it's really just one story if you ask me, with these two). Other people though didn't like them as much and would perhaps recommend something like Mort which is the first book in the Death-storyline. You can read any of them individually, you just get more out of the books if you read them in order (per one storyline).

 

I have quite a few fantasy and science-fiction favourites but some of their protagonists are either around 25, or below, or I'm unsure of their age (which means I can't remember it..). You're welcome to have a look at the Your Most Recommended Books List thread though .

[Michelle]

Personally I find YA a very varied genre, so a lot of my reads still fall that way. However, I've just glanced at my shelves, and noticed The Machine by James Smythe. That was an unusual read, and has a nod to Frankenstein within. 

[Fionen]

Athena, I found your list of favorite books. It was very helpful.

 

Michelle, The Machine sounds interesting and I loved Frankenstein.

 

Thanks everyone.

[Chrissy]

I would recommend Japser Fforde. His Nursery Crimes and his Thursday Next series are great. They are not to everyone's taste, but if you like them you will LOVE them.

 

To give you an idea of their style, this is an excerpt from Wiki on his writing,

 

Fforde's books are noted for their profusion of literary allusions and wordplay, tightly scripted plots, and playfulness with the conventions of traditional genres. His works usually contain elements of metafiction, parody, and fantasy.

 

The Thursday Next series is especially good, with Thursday herself a terrifically written and thoroughly substantial central character. They are clever and witty books.

 

I would second the Terry Pratchett Discworld, books too, here's a handy wiki guide.

[Chrissy]

I forgot to second Neil Gaiman!  Neverwhere is a wonderful book that explores the fantastic underbelly of London. Clever ideas and memorable characters.

 

Another compelling book by Mr Gaiman is American Gods, a road trip (of sorts) across the United States, combining ancient and modern mythology with fantasy and an exploration of how belief in Gods is maintained.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Chrissy

[ian]

Tolkien was heavily inspired by Norse mythology. If you haven't already read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I highly recommend it. There's no sex or swearing and everyone's favourite hairy-footed protagonist is 50 years old at the start of the adventure. Also, Tolkien was Catholic but he doesn't mention religion at all in the trilogy. (If he does I missed it.)

 

It's funny you should say that. I must have read LOTR 4 or 5 times as a teenager, and, like you, never spotted anything remotely religious in it. Then aged 30 I became a Catholic, read it again, and realised that the whole book is a enormous allegory of the new testament. I should say that at that point I was still unaware that Tolkien was a Catholic.

[BSchultz19]

It's funny you should say that. I must have read LOTR 4 or 5 times as a teenager, and, like you, never spotted anything remotely religious in it. Then aged 30 I became a Catholic, read it again, and realised that the whole book is a enormous allegory of the new testament. I should say that at that point I was still unaware that Tolkien was a Catholic.

 

I haven't read LOTR, but I knew it was an allegory. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were really good friends and both devout Christians. Narnia and LOTR are both huge allegories about the bible/Christ/the new testament. Although they were friends, Lewis and Tolkien had very different ideas about creating fantasy worlds. Tolkien was very detailed, making maps and making sure no mistakes were made. Lewis just wrote and if there were contradictions in books later in the series, he didn't care. 

 

Fun facts for the day    

[Athena]

I never knew these things.. I have both the Chronicles of Narnia and the LOTR trilogy on my TBR. I don't know tons about the Bible etc. though, well, I just hope I enjoy the books.

[Fionen]

Thanks for the suggestions, Chrissy. Jasper Fforde sounds like a good read.

 

I have read two books by Neil Gaimain: The Graveyard Book, I loved, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane was just okay. I really like how subtle he is with his writing. Like sometimes if there is a being with magical abilities in his book, he doesn't do the typical paragraph about what the being is labeled (ie. vampire, werewolf, faerie) and everything it is capable of doing. He lets you figure it out for yourself. I will give one of the other two books suggested a try. I know I am asking for books written for grown-ups but oddly enough, I think I prefer his YA stuff. lol

[Chrissy]

I almost suggested The Graveyard Book, then remembered we were avoiding YA.   

 

I have really enjoyed most of the YA fiction that I have read in recent years, and so find it tricky NOT to recommend them, but I guess with Neil Gaiman and Jasper Fforde they 'straddle' Children's, YA and adult fiction.

 

Good luck finding some books you enjoy.