I got a lot of stick the other day when I made a post on how the 90s ruined fantasy.
What I meant is that, before the late 80s and 90s, fantasy books weren't always these 200,000-300,000-word snoozefests.
They were shorter and more consumable.
I gave examples like Conan the Barbarian, Foundation by Isaac Asimov, and even The Hobbit by our old friend Tolkien, which are all verified truths.
Go Google it.
But social media wouldn't be social media without a bunch of snapping and snarling so-called experts telling you how wrong you are.
One such comment went something like this:
"WeLl aCtUaLly ThAt'S uNtRuE. LoRd Of ThE rInGs wAs AcTuAlLy OnE bOoK bUt JuSt cUt iNtO tHrEe BoOkS."
(Alright, perhaps not with the interchanging caps — c'mon, I like to have fun. 😎)
But this comment kind of proves my point:
Nobody wanted to hold those chonky books back then, either!
Sure, there were outliers back in 'tha day, but typically after the 80s and 90s, once publishers decided that thicker spines signalled "better value," it sadly set the standard for the genre ever since.
Sigh.
Luckily, your Overlord & Saviour said to hell with these "norms" and went back to the genre's roots.
Am I saying big books are awful parasites, bleeding the life out of everyone?
Of course… NOT.
Like a number of readers who reached out in support of that post, I firmly believe there's a place for books of ALL sizes. If you love extensive world-building and multiple point-of-view characters with arcs that span thousands of pages…
Then knock yourself out, compadre.
However, if, like me, you're burned out by bigger books and crave something shorter and digestible that can be read over a couple of weekends…
Then you'll like The Divided Region.
As ever, the link is here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle
Have a great weekend. Stay classy out there, Legionnaire.
DJJW