5 Fantasy Books About Aging Perfect For Older Women — From Readers On Reddit

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Fantasy isn't all princesses and dragons. On the surface, it may seem pretty far removed from everyday life, but at its best, its universal themes are what keeps readers coming back. (Hint: "The Lord of the Rings" isn't just about hobbits.) However, many older readers simply don't see themselves or their concerns represented by the fantasy romance books dominating the New York Times best-sellers list, which primarily deals in the drama of the young and the scaly.

It's enough to drive fantasy fans like Reddit user u/CausticOtter to the internet for help. "So one thing I (and probably most people) have a difficult time dealing with is the reality that I, my parents, and my loved ones are mortal and will age," they wrote, noting that they enjoyed the treatment of the theme in Fonda Lee's fantasy series, "The Green Bone Saga," but had difficulty finding additional mythological material. "My searches led me to the 'Death' subseries of 'Discworld' by Terry Pratchett, which I felt handled the theme in a far less intimate way," they explained. They asked Reddit for "recommendations for fantasy books that deal with aging, mortality, and/or intergenerational relationships," and Reddit supplied them.

"'The Long Price Quartet' by Daniel Abraham follows a cast of characters from when they are young to when they are elderly, so inevitabl[y] it deals with growing old and all things relevant to aging," Reddit user OneEskNineteen_ responded, and several others chimed in to agree. As you can probably gather, based on the title, "The Long Price Quartet" is a series of four books, which together chronicle the conflict between the realm of the Khaiem and the Galt empire. It spans the first series of books written by Daniel Abraham, author of "The Expanse" and the graphic novel adaptation of "A Song of Ice and Fire," so you couldn't ask for better fantasy cred.

In "A Shadow in Summer," Abraham introduces us to Saraykeht, a city-state in the Khaiem, whose prosperity depends on the control of a spirit bound to its resident poet-sorcerer, which is threatened by the Galts. The second book, "A Betrayal in Winter," takes us to Machi, where Otah Machi must root out a double agent working for the Galts to seize power in the city. By "An Autumn War," Otah is older, and conflict from every corner of the realm reaches a breaking point. 15 years later, in his late 60s, Otah must pick up the pieces of the war in "The Price of Spring."

Most fantasy epics end relatively promptly once the good guys have accomplished their task, but "The Bone Maker" doesn't even begin until long after its heroes have triumphed. 25 years later, to be exact. "'The Bone Maker' by Sarah Beth Durst is a story about retired heroes coming back together, and it's very much about aging, among other things," Reddit user autarch wrote. They don't usually focus on women as heroes, either, but the leadership of Kreya in the defeat of the titular skeleto-mancer makes this a fiction book about aging perfect for older women.

More than two decades after the war in which she and her comrades vanquished evil, Kreya has become singlemindedly obsessed with the quest to resurrect the husband she lost in the conflict. To do so, she'll need to reach back out to the fellow fighters who scattered to the wind in its wake, and face all the thorny issues that entails. In the process, the veterans discover that their battle is far from over, and they can't let the clock stop them from taking down evil once more.

Like "The Long Price Quartet," Le Guin's "The Earthsea Cycles" follows its characters from youth into old age, culminating in "Tehanu," which was meant to be the final installment of the series. "This is a strong theme in 'The Earthsea Cycle,'" Reddit user MaxaM91 wrote. "I second Tehanu from the 'Earthsea' series, and the series in general," concurred Reddit user oboist73. Le Guin is an even bigger name in fantasy than Abraham, and "Tehanu" was published when she was 60 years old, so no one could argue she didn't know what she was talking about.

In "Tehanu," Ged, the once-commanding mage, has fled to his homeland in his advanced age as he comes to terms with the loss of his powers in the previous volume, "The Farthest Shore." At the same time, Tenar, the young high priestess who escaped the Tombs of Atuan with Ged in the book of the same name, has become a farmer's widow, struggling to cope with her loss as well as her past. The plot largely concerns an abused child with a mysterious connection to dragons, but it's more about what happens when the mighty have fallen.

They might be "a little off the wall," Reddit user ShezTheWan warns about Lois McMaster Bujold's books, but they "deal with death in a very interesting way," they wrote. They especially recommended "The Curse of Chalion" and "Paladin of Souls," the first two volumes of Bujold's "World of the Five Gods" series. "It's a world and characters that are faced with it and accept it in their lives, and a rich story evolves from their dealing with its reality ... Several characters have had struggle[s] in life, to the point of being entirely used up, and how they deal with it is very well-written."

"The Curse of Chalion" introduces us to this world through the eyes of Cazaril, a former courtier returning to the palace he was banished from long ago (are you sensing a running theme here?) to take up his new post as a tutor to the young royal Iselle. The monarch is ill, however, and Cazaril gets caught up in all manner of political intrigue that eventually leads him to confront his mortality in a most surprising way in his efforts to protect Iselle. Spoiler: It involves magic.

By far the most recommended — and highest rated — fantasy book series about aging was Robin Hobb's "The Realm of the Elderlings," which consists of five subseries. Those concerning the character FitzChivalry Farseer were especially praised. "Every trilogy (there are three of them) is in a different period of his life," one Reddit user wrote. "Intergenerational relationships, mortality, aging, it's all there." Another Reddit user added that "the final trilogy in particular describes how different characters choose to deal with aging and mortality, given the existence of magic in the universe."

That trilogy, "Fitz and the Fool," begins with "Fool's Assassin," which opens with ol' Fitz living the domestic life under an assumed identity. It's a big change for the supernaturally powered assassin, but not an unwelcome one. Of course, the past never stays buried for long, and after a mysterious envoy delivers a cryptic message, he knows he's going to have to take up magical arms once more. Fortunately, this old dog doesn't need to learn any new tricks.

We searched the comments of the linked Reddit thread for the most recommended fantasy books about aging. We paid special attention to repeat recommendations, and we looked for older protagonists coping with the common struggles of advanced age. Many of the books were parts of a series, so we narrowed them down to individual books whenever possible. We sorted the resulting list in order of highest average Goodreads review, from lowest to highest, and selected the top five. If the recommendation was a series, we used the score of its first volume.