Epic Reader Part 1

Epic Reader Part 1

By Jacob Malewitz

When you pick it up, it seems a bit heavier than the typical novel. The weight of the pages may entice you. But why, you may be asking, must a book be 1,000 pages, and then have a series of books of 1,000 more pages? Because epics are what make the world go round. They are the true form of storytelling. In some ways the Bible is an epic that never ends, and is never forgotten. In more ways, the epic Gilgamesh is an epic that began all epics. There is more. An epic reader sees legends like J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, Isaac Asimov, Colleen McCullough, heck, even Stephen King, as the people who see more to a story than twenty pages written in haste—this isn’t a race to the finish, it’s a race back through the ages. An epic reader must keep reading. It makes you who you are. This short piece tells you why.

I missed a few names. I love writing about epics, as the likes of Tolkien and King effected me much. But I didn’t even like the original “Lord of the Rings,” nor did I find much of interest in “The Dark Tower.” However, epics change as you change, meaning what you didn’t like one year ago may turn you on. I loved the “Lord of the Rings” films. I loved almost every other, non-epic Stephen King novel; it’s a somewhat odd hobby.