Epic battles, medieval castles, fire-breathing dragons and their human mother, living ships and sorcery. These may not feature in your average work day, but they can definitely liven up your existence through the books you read. With Game of Thrones characters populating living rooms and thoughts, readers are starting to thirst for more fantasy in their literature.
According to readers, booksellers and publishers, there is more demand for fantasy fiction among regular readers, as well as those who are just taking baby steps towards cultivating the habit. With author Amish Tripathi’s Shiva trilogy converting non-readers and becoming a standard companion to commuters, the urge to consume more fantasy fiction has increased.
According to P. Satishkumar, owner of Easwari Lending Library, which has 11 branches in the city, 150 copies of the Tripathi series from his library are currently in circulation. “With the Game of Thrones show, readers have started reading the novels by George R.R. Martin as well. Younger readers are constantly checking out the Percy Jacksonandthe Olympians series. We hardly see youngsters taking out Nancy Drews, Hardy Boys, Enid Blytons novels or even Babysitters’ Club series, which were so popular before,” he says.
Prithvi Raj, an avid Lord of the Rings fan, is happy to see fantasy becoming mainstream. “Fantasy fiction was always popular abroad, but now with so many TV series, more people in India are exploring the genre,” he adds.
While authors take inspiration from mythology and history, in India, authors are reimagining Indian mythologies, notes Gautam Padmanabhan, CEO, Westland, the publishing company which is bringing out Tripathi’s upcoming fantasy book Scion ofIkshvaku .
Used bookstores see more fantasy books selling too. According to C. Sunderamoorthy of Siva Book House, Anna Salai, Lord of the Rings is a constant seller and now people are buying science fiction as well. “Science fiction classics like Asimov are starting to sell again,” he says.
For those who prefer watching to reading, waiting to find out why a beloved character is killed off can be trying. Pick up the book; a dose of good literature can help bring wizardry alive on any mundane day.
The genre is experiencing yet another wave of popularity with readers returning to the classics and discovering new authors
