About things that can make one uncomfortable - of course, there are books and protagonists where they simply kill everyone in their path. I don't find that kind of thing particularly disturing. It's dull, you know what's going to happen. I'm more moved if the story (or character) sounds plausible and realistic. This makes it harder for me to distance myself from the fiction. There's a barbarian woman in one of Song of Ice and Fire books who wears a neclace of human ears. She cuts ears of her opponents and sets them free to show she's not afraid of them !
Yes, I value realism in Science Fiction and Fantasy. No matter how stupid or whimsical the setting, I think it benefits if characters behave in believable ways and resemble humans more than cardboard cutouts.
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Another book which should be recommended (you probably know it, but I might convince some forum lurker):
A Game of Thrones (Song of Ice and Fire) - George R. R. Martin
A dark and gritty book. Fantastic elements don't even come into play until later. It reads much like an alternative medieval history fiction. Death, disease, war, injustice are common. Characters are often so human it hurts, I was able to find a common trait with most of them. Sometimes they act petty when it's against common sense (and clearly harmful for them) but pride is at stake. Very unusually, George R.R. Martin doesn't hesitate to kill a would-be protagonist ! So there's always tension, because characters CAN die, and not just ones whose names have been revealed 5 pages ago. This is important to me because in a lot of fiction I can't feel suspense as I know the character will succeed and nothing really bad will happen.
I really liked the earlier books. I haven't read the last (released) one yet. The two late books I've found a bit boring, they felt stretched out.
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About Conan - it's still worth reading, if only to see how a simple character and a predictable yet epic story can be told in a way that's not boring and doesn't come off as pompous or pretentious. In a way, it's anti-Warcraft. As for comics - you may like Frank Frazetta's illustrations (some used as covers for Kane books):
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...athdealerV.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...c=ffcolr30.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...sonofvenus.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...arkkingdom.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...c=ffcolr30.jpg
(Unique in that Frank Frazetta usually depicts women as stupid,
helpless, nude damsels)
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...ampdemonII.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...ndianbrave.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...Golden_Sea.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...Fire_Demon.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...frazetta06.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...8_Sorcerer.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...e_of_Death.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...608_Combat.jpg
http://user.xmission.com/~wad/ff/vie...?loc=witch.jpg
http://frankfrazetta.org/
These illustrations have a very strong Conan vibe about them !