Revisiting an Old Favourite - What the...?

[InformedIgnorance]

I recently began rereading David Eddings' The Mallorean series; I have read the series before (I think twice) while I was much younger and decided to once again dive into the carefully crafted realm which I had enjoyed so very much. I remember vividly hanging on every word and cheering for the heroes as they quested (I wont mention any details to avoid spoiling for those who haven't read it) and recognising the characters from the previous series and how they had changed, become more nuanced; it was wonderful.

Yet this time as I picked up the series I could not help but notice something I had never recognised as a child - my 'heroes' were incredibly racist, belligerent bullies (and this was usually proportional to the amount of power they held), incredibly callous hypocrites, given to periods of self serving reflection...

Have you ever picked up an old favorite only to find it was not what you remembered?

(No religious texts, spiritual guides, self help books please - lets leave those to the relevant boards)

 

[Willamena]

Yet this time as I picked up the series I could not help but notice something I had never recognised as a child - my 'heroes' were incredibly racists, belligerent bullies (and this was usually proportional to the amount of power they held), incredibly callous hypocrites, given to periods of self serving reflection...

Have you ever picked up an old favorite only to find it was not what you remembered?

My heroes were totally gay. Not that that distracted from the second read-through, but it added a dimension of bizarre.