Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
    Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2 But Why Tho 10

    Spider-Man Is Coming To Magic And It’s Just Like The Comics

    08/29/2025
    Star Wars Visions Volume 3 Black

    ‘Black’ Sets The Tone For A Bold New Mixtape In ‘Star Wars Visions: Volume 3’

    08/28/2025
    Olivia Colman in The Roses

    ‘The Roses’ Is A Reimagining, Not A Remake, And That’s Why It Works So Well

    08/27/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Features » Why I’ve Basically Only Read Tie-In Literature and Myth-Based Stories in 2020

Why I’ve Basically Only Read Tie-In Literature and Myth-Based Stories in 2020

Jason FlattBy Jason Flatt12/21/20204 Mins ReadUpdated:12/24/2023
Why I've Basically Only Read Tie-In Literature and Myth-Based Stories This Year
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Why I've Basically Only Read Tie-In Literature and Myth-Based Stories This Year

It’s been a long, long year. I had grand ambitions for my reading goals for 2020, which got off to a strong start reading or listening to a little more than a book a week through March. But like so many 2020 goals, my commitment to enlightening non-fiction and fascinating new sci-fi and fantasy were squandered by days on end stuck at home and working what felt like endless hours every day. But, despite all of the dread of the year, one type of fiction has consistently made its way past my eyes and ears: tie-in literature.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Many pieces of tie-in literature gets cast aside as lesser-quality fiction, superfluous to the stories they tie to, or simply never even cross the radars of fans. You can be the biggest lover of a movie or video game franchise and have no idea there are tie-in novels or comics if you don’t go out of your way to find them. I survived 2020 on the power of tie-in literature alone, and I implore you: try some for yourself in 2021.

There are three franchises whose tie-ins I spent the most time with this year: Star Wars, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Assassin’s Creed. Despite being known primarily for their movies, television shows, and video games respectively, the franchises have robust offerings of books, comics, and audio dramas to give fans of those universes both more context for the worlds they love and more hours to spend living in them.

I actively read or listen to nearly every Star Wars adult novel, young adult novel, and young reader book as soon as I’m able to. The Rise of Kyoshi series from Avatar is excellent, its second edition having released this past summer. And the young adult Assassin’s Creed: Last Descendants series is the best pick among the many novelizations and original stories tied to the game franchise’s many installments. These franchises also sport several worthwhile comic book series spanning the many eras internal to each franchise.

The reason I’m so attached to tie-in literature this year, and why it has been one of the only types of book I’ve been able to read for months, is because it exists within a world I already know intimately. There is so much uncertainty and anxiety about the real-world right now. Things so far beyond my control that any time I have tried stepping into an unknown world in a new novel, a lot of that anxiety follows me in and makes reading more difficult. The usual joy of suspense and uncertainty has been clouded by the endless suspense and uncertainty of real life. In a tie-in novel, though, I already know the world’s rules and parameters. The plot is unknown, so the twists and turns and the discovery of new characters are still fresh. Whether it’s induced by true dramatic irony or my own sense of familiarity with the overarching story’s moral orientation, there is a deep comfort that I can lean on in tie-in literature.

This sense of familiarity has extended to stories based on mythology as well. I have been listening to all of the Percy Jackson books, read an excellent new adaptation of Orpheus and Eurydice, and took in the entirety of the Lumberjanes comic. Like the tie-in literature above, stories based on mythology have felt easy to slide into because I already know the basic beats. Each of these stories subverts the classic tales in beautiful and unique ways, but that only serves to make the experience richer while still passing through my no-stressful-new-stories filter.

For anybody like myself who has experienced endless dread and a serious difficulty enjoying new stories (don’t even get me started on my inability to finish a TV show this year), give tie-in literature a try. Pick a franchise you know and love and see if they have any books or comics you can get into. Next on my personal list is the tie-in/novelization of Final Fantasy XV, and then who knows what else. Just be kind to yourself this winter, and maybe try diving into something a little familiar.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon’ Episode 12 – “Night of the New Moon and the Black-haired Towa”
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Sweet Home’ Brings Monsters, Mayhem, and Damn Good Characters
Jason Flatt
  • X (Twitter)

Jason is the Sr. Editor at But Why Tho? and producer of the But Why Tho? Podcast. He's usually writing about foreign films, Jewish media, and summer camp.

Related Posts

Cosmic Spider-Man card details

[EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

09/02/2025
Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

09/01/2025
Peacemaker Season 2 Episode 2 But Why Tho 10

Spider-Man Is Coming To Magic And It’s Just Like The Comics

08/29/2025
Star Wars Visions Volume 3 Black

‘Black’ Sets The Tone For A Bold New Mixtape In ‘Star Wars Visions: Volume 3’

08/28/2025
Olivia Colman in The Roses

‘The Roses’ Is A Reimagining, Not A Remake, And That’s Why It Works So Well

08/27/2025
One Piece Season 2 Cast

Every Character We Expect To See In Netflix’s One Piece Season 2

08/26/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Cosmic Spider-Man card details Features

[EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

By Kate Sánchez09/02/2025Updated:09/02/2025

An exclusive look at a new 5-Color Spider entering Magic: The Gathering’s Spider-Man set, and Cosmic Spider-Man is going to be a tough one to take on.

Hololive EN at Radio City Music Hall Events

Hololive EN At Radio City Music Hall Was A Pure Expression Of Fandom

By Adrian Ruiz08/31/2025Updated:09/03/2025

Hololive EN turned Radio City in New York City into the pure expression of fandom: chants, penlights, and community in perfect sync.

Karl Anthony Towns in NBA 2k26 But Why Tho
8.5
PS5

REVIEW: ‘NBA 2K26’ Brings Basketball To Life

By Kyle Foley09/03/2025

NBA 2K26 combines improved visuals with some important tweaks to keep the series feeling fresh in the latest yearly release.

Cronos: The New Dawn Nest
8.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Cronos: The New Dawn’ Does Post-Apocalyptic Psychological Horror Right

By Mick Abrahamson09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

While not particularly sacry, Cronos: The New Dawn is a lot of fun as a survival horror that puts you in the futuristic armor of the Traveler.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here