Fantasy fiction never goes out of style. Regardless of what literary period we are in, this genre always gains more traction. It’s among the top book categories that always make it to the bestselling lists with worlds and characters that create strong marks on the readers. The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, Spiritdancer by Luthie M West, and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo are some of the best books under this genre.
With the growing popularity of this genre, there are surely numerous aspects that encourage and hook people to read its stories. That said, we have listed below the best things that fantasy fiction books offer to their readers and perhaps convince you to read some of its tales too.
Escape from reality
Living an ordinary life in an ordinary world is scary and daunting at the same time. Things and abilities seem to be limited. Thus, people tend to hesitate before making a few steps forward. However, fantasy fiction books bring each reader to a world where possibilities are endless. They create a safe haven that’s completely different from reality.
Reading books under fantasy lets you go on different adventures, possess amazing skills, meet the supernatural, do magic, and experience the extraordinary. You may be sitting on your bed reading a book, but once you open it to flip the page, you are transported into another world where surreal and impossible things can happen.
New perspectives
It has been established that fantasy is the opposite of reality. But, with those imagination-rich stories, one can open their eyes to the good, bad, and ugly of the real world. Therefore, fantasy is crucial to people’s minds. The stories trigger the psychological procedure wherein a reader, especially a child, masters closing the gaps between reality, facts, and experience, which later on turn into an essential coping mechanism as they grow older. With the freedom to explore and imagine granted by fantasy books, readers gain more realizations about the real world, which develop into better perspectives and understanding. In other words, the readers become more broad-minded and aware.
Enhanced creativity
Imagination refers to a person’s skill to picture out things that aren’t perceived by the senses. Thus, it is the ability of the mind to form things, events, people, and other things that do not exist in the past, present, and basically the real world. Thus, the imaginative elements of fantasy books act as the significant agents that boost people’s creativity. As the reader makes different pictures of scenes and events in the story, his creative juices will also motivate him to observe, create, and examine different things.
Fun and learning
Reading is always fun, but fantasy fiction makes it more entertaining. Every leisure time spent reading fantasy books tends to become an exploration, adventure, and risk-taking in a world that’s quite strange yet beautiful. Books of the said genre allow you to be different people, possessing extraordinary abilities, all at once. Thus, the stories give you the chance to have fun experiencing different fates while still learning things that are also applicable in the real world. In every fantasy story, you get to experience and learn the importance of various human values, even in complex situations. And, that’s all the more reason to continue reading those kinds of stories.
Developed empathy
Empathy basically means the skill to comprehend and share the emotions and sentiments of other people. It’s often associated with the phrase “putting oneself in someone else’s shoes.” From that, you can already understand what this particular ability is. Through fantasy fiction stories, readers feel different intense emotions. From those feelings, empathy will start to emerge.
Thus, from the emotional connection of readers to the tales, empathy is being developed. Understanding the events and feelings of the characters becomes the key for the readers to unlock their empathic selves. With the ability to sense, understand, and share the emotions of others, readers can start to open their eyes and become more aware of the feelings and situations of the people around them. And will lead to a more harmonious society.
Oliver’s Twist 