Adults had the notion that juveniles needed to suffer. Only when they had suffered enough to wipe out most of their naturally joyous spirits and innocence were they staid enough to be considered mature. An adult was essentially a broken-down child.
Piers AnthonyDouglas Adams' Hitchhiker series also shows the potential of lighter fantastic fiction. I read the first, and listened to a tape of a later one, and it's fun.
Piers AnthonyWhen I started writing this, I found that I simply couldn't take fantasy seriously, so it became humorous, and continued from there.
Piers Anthony