“You don’t need Luke Skywalker…”

I need to put Star Wars on hold for me for a while and would love to dip into another story.

I love the Joseph Campbell stuff about Star Wars, the mysticism, the hot take on politics and religion, a protagonist who is not a badass, redemption, etc.

Next to Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings has been my secondary fantasy world. I haven’t really ventured much into the fantasy genre, with LOTR being somewhat of a fluke due to the cultural exposure that preceded me picking up the books on a whim in 2007.

I like that both of these series have things to say that aren’t preachy and invite the reader to invest meaning into what’s happening. Never got into Narnia partly for that reason. I have not touched Game of Thrones beyond watching the first episode of the show. It seems rather bleak and depressing to me. I’m not a political science guy, and exploring “what would these kingdoms end up doing pragmatically” isn’t as interesting to me as philosophical or spiritual questions fantasy allows to flourish.

I don’t have a ton of free time, but I can read at least a little each day and if the story is gripping then it won’t matter.