Can Action/Adventure or Fantasy Books Be “Literary?”

It’s no secret that the literary world is full of snobs. Tons of pale, untravelled young people are happy to skim-read tedious, unintelligible nonsense and act like they discovered the secrets of the universe. But a much larger number regularly throw money at inane, vapid fluff like Eat, Pray, Love or Twilight. 

So what if you want to fall somewhere in the middle? You don't want to wade through tough reading just to feel superior, but you want to think and feel more than the lowest common denominator. What can you do if you’re a just reasonably intelligent person looking to transport yourself to a fantastical, active world without disengaging your brain?

To listen to this post instead:

What Makes a Book Literary?

Author Oliver Markus Malloy famously said, “Reading books doesn't make you smarter. Reading smart books makes you smarter. Reading dumb books makes you dumber.” This may be a bit simplistic, but it touches on a larger truth: there are distinct differences between “smart” and “dumb” books.

“Literary” is a subjective term. Some people think it's just a synonym for “intelligent” or "academic" and that the only such books are the ones that English professors like to force-feed to hung-over college freshmen. Others define the genre based on traditional works that previously fit the bill. 

The most commonly cited examples include::

• Moby-Dick

• The Great Gatsby

• The Catcher in the Rye

• To Kill a Mockingbird

• Of Mice and Men

What do all of these titles have in common? According to a lengthy Reddit thread on the subject, literary novels are:

• Mostly character focused

• Driven by relationship-based plots

• Stylistic

• Full of flawed personalities

• Mostly realistic or surreal

If you’re like most people, this probably disqualifies many of the books you’ve most enjoyed recently. Major best-sellers like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or A Song of Fire and Ice don’t count because they’re too fantastical or unstylised, or because they have villain-based plots.

As a reasoning person, you might disagree that some of your favorite books aren’t literary. You likely left one or more of them feeling thoughtful, creative, introspective, or awed. Even the best classic literature often fails to evoke such visceral emotional impacts.

You might, therefore, consider any book that achieves both an intellectual and emotional impact to be literary by default. So we'll amend our criteria.

Any genre can be literary, or, at least, “smart.”

Why Does it Matter?

You might not care much about the labels people apply to books, and you’d be right not to. Everyone’s reading goals differ. Most people simply want to enjoy what they’ve read, learn something, or otherwise sense that they haven’t been ripped off. 

But a large portion of the reading population finds it hard to get into reading at all. Many put down books shortly after beginning them. According to one widely published survey, a horrifying one-quarter of Americans haven't read even a single book in the last year. 

This is why it’s so important that authors start writing good books that people can catch onto quickly. And it's also why people need to stop believing that upmarket fiction is the only writing worth spending time on. 

Let's imagine that, like most people, you hesitate to read unapproachable fiction. You're browsing Amazon, and you see a link to a highly-rated novel. You start to read a few lines of preview text. Then, a flashy ad pops up on a side window, reminding you that there’s a new Chef’s Table on Netflix, but this time, it’s all about pizza.

Perhaps you're more likely to click that Amazon link if you expect it to yield a sword-and-sorcery novel full of fantastical beasts or exotic settings, instead of a tedious diatribe about a man who hates his job and is weary of married life. 

Or maybe you would connect with a flashy historical fiction cover, as you've always been fascinated by certain times or settings, but you can't stand the dryness of slow-paced, faithfully detailed writing. 

A single exposure is often all that lies between a mind-altering reading experience and a regular day.

Why Action/Adventure and Fantasy?

Action/adventure and Fantasy novels have a special place in my heart. Like many readers, I grew up on books like Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, and Harry Potter. Over time, I developed a fondness for more traditional voices like those of The Long Ships and Dracula, which strongly informed my personality and writing style. I truly believe these genres are unique, as they allow for pacing, flexibility, and creativity that more muted ones can't match. 

Also, I’m just not the person to tell you about intelligent romance, upmarket fiction, thriller, or mystery novels. But I can tell you about the smartest action, adventure, and fantasy I've read. 

Titles To Try

1. The Long Ships

   A classic story about the early Viking incursions and the processes that led the Vikings to accept Christendom. This book is so good that it’s almost hard to believe it’s a one-off translation from pre-second world war Europe. Typically, humor ages poorly—especially humor in written form. Here, however, it seems to have only matured. The heretical, black tone seems to mock both its characters and readers. It certainly isn’t feminist, but just like The Merchant of Venice, it’s hard to say exactly what author Frans G. Bengtsson was thinking at the time of writing.

2. The Last Kingdom

   Bernard Cornwell is a historical fiction giant, but this is the only series of his that I’ll list here, as it’s the only one that ventures deep enough into ideas of brotherhood, loyalty, or purpose to leave the reader with much to think about. The series is highly readable and entertaining. It possesses a bit too much masturbatory male bravado, but it enlivens a period of history normally shrouded in the blandness of shitty historical record-keeping.

3. Gates of Fire

   Gates of Fire is long with a slow start, but it’s another that brings real color to a historical event. In this case, the battle of Thermopylae. The author seems particularly interested in the nature of warlike people. How did the Spartans create such an extreme military culture? What would you do if you happened to be more of a sensitive lad born in Sparta? How do men convince one another to participate in clearly suicidal battlefield maneuvers? Read to find out, but avoid the terrible audiobook narration.

4. The Children of Hurin

   In some ways, The Children of Hurin feels tighter than The Lord of the Rings. It’s a tougher read, but the narrative feels heavier and more analytical. You might never have heard of it, but it’s worth your time—just don’t come into it expecting a lighthearted fantasy excursion.

5. The First Law Trilogy

   The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie has attained mythical status for fantasy fans, as its atypical POV characters and fascinating dialogue give readers plenty to mull over. I would hesitate to recommend this to some readers, though, who had issues with the “Game of Thrones” books and shows. Abercrombie seems to have the same disregard for his own protagonists, though this disregard manifests itself quite differently.

Titles To Avoid

1. Bernard Cornwell’s Assorted Historical Novels

   There’s no denying that Bernard Cornwell is a skilled pop writer, but his writing can be a little simple. Most of the time, plots boil down to little more than this: a really cool, badass guy with big muscles kills a lot of people, and this is cool. Women throw their panties at him because he is so cool and badass. He often prevents them from being sexually assaulted, and they reward him with sex. If you’re forgiving and a man, and you can get past these tropes, the books can be fine, but if you’re looking for depth, look elsewhere.

2. Most Videogame Titles

   Just like licensed games, licensed books don’t have a great track record of excellence. Hired authors generally have little or no emotional connection to the characters or worlds they’re writing about, and most simply see such projects as a quick paycheck. I say most, however, because there are some great ones. I was blown away, for example by The Elder Scrolls: The Infernal City and its sequel/second half. It was incredibly creative and well-paced, and its characters had at least a few dimensions.

   So how can you sort out the garbage from the rest? I wish I could say that I found The Elder Scrolls because of its fantastic amazon reviews or because so many people told me about it in person. But if I did, I’d be lying. Amazon ratings are preposterously inflated, and there are so many books these days that scarcely anyone reads the same obscure ones anymore. Choosing videogame titles is gambling with your time—stay away unless you’ve heard a bulletproof recommendation.

3. Most of What You See in Barnes and Nobles

   Sometimes, the masses get it right (see Harry Potter). Most of the time, they don’t (see Fifty Shades of Grey.) This is because the book world is largely controlled by publishers and literary agents. Gatekeepers, if you will. Literary agents, normally the first eyes to view new manuscripts, base their gatekeeping on what they think they can sell, not what they think is great writing. They tend to choose authors that fit current trends and meet arbitrary criteria like word counts or genre preferences. So if happen not to like one or two new titles at your local B&N branch, you probably won’t like the other ones either—they all reflect a wider trend.

   The publishing process should be all about talent, but this simply isn’t the case. The authors publishing companies end up pushing tend to be decent or middle-of-the-road, rather than incredible. Fringe, indie, and self-published books, however, are better today than they’ve ever been, so you’re best off using your wonderful external brain, the internet, to find titles you’ll love.

   AND, If you’re into hardcore history, dark fantasy, or environmental fantasy, I humbly urge you to check out the book projects here at Metalblog.