I just bought the series and I’m obviously gonna read them but before I do, if you could relate the book to anything what would it be

i’m almost done reading tog, i’ve read cc and acotar as well and i love the fae, magic, spice, strong fmc, overthrowing the patriarchy vibe. i love tog so much, i’m struggling to find series recommendations like it that will help me fill the void of finishing the series.

Hello,

I just finished The Witcher Series which I loved.(patiently waiting for the new book). Any recommendations on what I should read next? (Outside anything Tolkien please)

Something about Meddling Kids really hooked me, and I'm still thinking about it almost three years later. Does anyone have any recommendations on what sort of style this book is in? The author has written a couple more books, only one of which was available at my public library, and the odd, almost lyrical or poetic style definitely shows up, but the story itself was more forgettable. That's alright. Now I can't find anything like it, except snippets of older books like Emma, Lolita, or a good Odysessy or Beowulf translation. It feels... elusive, like I'm not able to search up the writing style without a keyword. It's a vague idea, and maybe nobody else in /r/Fantasy has read it, but I feel like I just need some solid recommendations.

Book 1 The Way of Kings - Kindle - Kobo - Nook

Book 2 Words of Radiance - Kindle - Kobo - Nook

Book 3 Oathbringer - Kindle - Kobo - Nook

Book 4 Rhythm of War - Kindle - Kobo - Nook

So I need to pick the hive mind here. I'm looking for like little people fantasy. Like pixies, the borrowers, the Landfill wars, and The household rpg. Using keys and needles for weapons, stories like that. I'm having a hard time finding such stories. Urban fantasy is preferred, but just fantasy would be okay too. When I say little, I mean like riding rats, or squirrels.. like tiny people or fairies or fae. I know it's kinda specific, but I'm hopeful there's more than just a couple young reader books.

While I await the final Red Rising and the next Stormlight books, I thought I would embark on another epic, though completed, series. (Martin and Jordan jaded me re unfinished stuff, though I obviously still make exceptions.) I've seen a number of posts saying that Wurtz's series is excellent and under-read, so I thought I'd ask you experts what the odds are of my liking it given my past literature experiences. I realize her writing leans toward formal but I've appreciated such before (e.g., Donaldson's Covenant books). Or is there a better candidate?

Song of Fire and Ice = B   I really enjoyed the books but points off for effectively leaving the tale unfinished.  Again, there were too many minor characters. 

Brooks/Shanarra = B-   Decent stories but too simplistic.  The exceptions were the middle books devoted to the voyage to the Old World (The Ilse Witch, etc.), which were stronger.  I haven't read any published in the last 5-6 years. 

Goodkind/Sword Of Truth = B   Started off quite well but later devolved into Intro to Ayn Rand over and over.  If I want that, I'll re-read The Fountainhead.

Erickson/Malazon = A-   Superb endings and some incredible characters, plus the Marines are awesome.  I did spend too much time being confused though.  

Cook/Black Company = A   Loved everything about them.  Great story, interesting characters, not too many or too few characters, easy to read.  

Sanderson/Stormlight = B+   Not quite finished with the most recent book (ROW). Thus far I enjoy them but am not enthralled.  The whole spren concept seems a bit overdone to me.  

King/Dark Tower = F.  I twice tried and failed to finish the first book - it bored me.  No such issues with The Stand or The Langoliers, which are As!

Donaldson/Thomas Covenant = A for the first trilogy (really impressive); B for the second trilogy; C+ for the most recent books (not very interesting story, slower pace, and even harder to read).

Non-fantasy stuff I'd give an A to = The Hunger Games and Red Rising series (both total rollercoasters re plot).  Brown doesn't beat you over the head with "this philosophy is best" the way Goodkind did.  As a teen, I enjoyed Tolkien and the Foundation series.  I didn't care for Dune (but like the movies!)

I always find them to be fun when I read a new one. My favorites have been dead gods (Wandering Inn), and Neptunes Conch (Heretical Fishing).

Hello fellow readers,

I am currently I'm the mood to read a story (or stories) where the characters have different abilities from one another. I'll list some examples:

Fourth Wing: I enjoyed the aspect where the riders had different abilities (some controlled air or lightning etc). But the focus on romance took me away from loving it.

Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard: These characters also had varying powers, which I found to be neat, but was overall a little too "YA" for me.

Looking for similar kinds of stories but for more adult fantasy and prefer to not be romantacy (not a deal breaker). Thanks in advance!

Welp here I am on a Fantasy subreddit on my own genuine accord… asking for recommendations because I’m a helpless soul in this new fantastic endeavor

In an effort to love my wife well, I agreed to briefly join her in her hobby of reading. We have very different hobbies, and I wanted to make the effort to do something I know that she really enjoys because, ya know, sacrifice and blah blah blah. This is where I fucked up.

No not for trying to be a good spouse but for diving into a pool that’s apparently a damn ocean. She was starting a new series, so the diving board was naturally there. The next day I found myself in the mind of Violet Sorrengail at Basgiath in the Empyrean series. It wasn’t long before I was fucked (not as much as the characters apparently… no one told me a damn thing about all this).

I do a lot of driving for work so while my wife read the book I listened to the audible version. I say I was fucked because I cruised through that 21 hour listen. I for real couldn’t focus on my job because I was just trying to get back in my car and have this new drug hit my eardrums.

Of course I’ve now listened to Iron Flame and am fucking giddy (who the hell am I??) for Onyx Storm. In my patience and on the recommendation of my wife and her best friend, I just finished listening to the Grisha trilogy. Yes.. it was obviously a phenomenal series and why I’m here now because it seems Rebecca Yaros isn’t the only person who scratches the itch for the drug I didn’t know I was addicted to.

Now to why I’m here. I would love to hear some recommendations on what fantasy series to read next. This is the perfect moment to shamelessly plug your favorite series to someone with almost complete ignorance. You don’t have to worry about what I may like or hate because I don’t know shit. If you gave me a synopsis of Fourth Wing, I would have said no way in hell is that for me. And yet I’m here. Amongst you all. For what only seems like the better to be honest.

The only criteria I really care about are: Is it a great story? and Is the narrator great? (Audio book guy remember)

The series with the most recommendations will be my next listen. Why I’ve decided to give you all a small portion of power in my life is asinine to me. But drugs are gonna be drugs I guess.

So I was asked to buy some fantasy books for my sisters as christmas presents but I dont know what types of books they want to read.

Both sisters liked Harry Potter, but those books are so unique that any similar styles of books they have tried they have not liked, such as the percy Jackson books. They are also now both older, one is 18 and the other is mid twenties, both read the Potter books when they were younger.

To the older one I suggested mistborn and she bought the trilogy and started to read the first book and says she likes it, but finds it "hard to read" for some reason and in 3 months she has gotten only 200 pages into it.

I asked why it is hard to read to her and she said its because it is fantasy and requires more thought to read, which isnt really my idea of a hard to read book. But she also has ADHD so that could play a part with it and english is not a main language for us but even so she is fluent in english so I dont know why she found it hard to read. She does read other types of books that are non fantasy and romantic books but since this isnt the type of books I read I dont know anything about that genre and she didnt ask me to buy books from that genre, just said some fantasy book "that is good" but its really hard to know what she will find good.

I bought piranesi earlier and both of them read it and both said it was really strange, but both still said they liked it. It was not amazing to them but they both liked it enough that they finished it. It was still "confusing" to them a bit. I dont know because I have not read it myself.

To the younger one I bought "a house on the cerulian sea "a year ago and she said she liked it. I also bought the earthsea trilogy and both of them tried it and neither of them liked it at all.

This book interested me because it falls under Steampunk (although there is more Biopunk here), and I like this direction of science fiction. In the end, I liked it.

Let's start with the world of this book. The book takes place in the fictional world of Bas-Lag, or rather in the city of New Crobuzon. There are many areas with different creatures, from ordinary vodyanoi to cactus people.

If looking at the book you think: "Why is it so huge?" Then here's the answer: The author likes to talk about his world. I'm serious, China can spend a page describing the life of some area and who lives there, who has what religion. And that makes the world alive.

The author also has a very rich imagination. Khepri, for example, are creatures with a human body and an insect instead of a head. Or redone? This is a real Cronenberg body horror.

Now about the plot.

Scientist Isaac receives an unusual client, namely a Garuda without wings, because he committed some terrible crime, which is why they were cut off to him, and he asks to return them back. And this request will soon turn into a huge disaster for the entire New Crobuzon. Khepri, Lin, Isaac's girlfriend, also sculpts a sculpture for a violent mobster in secret from him.

The plot here feels both small and enough. Like, the whole story with moths begins in the second half, and the first describes the relationship between Isaac and Lin, about their friend Derkhan, about Isaac's work with the concept of flight and Lin's work as a sculptor.

In short, the plot is quite decent. There were a lot of tense scenes, especially in the second half.

Characters are boring, except for one. Isaac is uninteresting, as is Derkhan. These are just people who got into, to put it mildly, an unpleasant situation. Lin is a straight character from the category: "Lost potential". She has an interesting backstory, she looks interesting too, but she has the most boring storyline here. Yagharek is also interesting only for his appearance and crime. I'll praise for the crime the author chose. There's no way to justify it. I consider a huge psychotic spider to be an interesting character here. Because this is a huge psychotic spider.

The author's writing style is very good. The book is written atmospherically, you are directly immersed in this fabulous, but dirty and dishonest world. The text itself is easy to read.

As a result, there is quite a decent plot here. It's not boring, but there's nothing super-outstanding about it. Characters turned out to be boring, except a spider. The writing style is very good here. But I think this book is not about the plot and characters, but about the world, because most of the book is just about New Crobuzon. About who lives in it, how creatures of different species get along with each other, what powers they have, what certain parts of the street look like, the history of this world. And you still want to know more about him.

My girl is crossing the rainbow bridge later today and I just need noise to lessen the empty house.

I've been enjoying the Apprentice to the Villian series - yes you can call it romantasy but the absurdity out weighs that, and the power imbalance isn't horrific. Like yes, he's her boss, he's the Villian, but she pulls some rabbits out of hats that save the day pretty frequently too. I had to stop the Powerless series bc it got f*king gross with the power imbalance. When the FMC is "rewarded" with a bite of apple for "behaving".... Disgusting.

Anyways, something fun, light hearted, on Libby would be appreciated. I'll be audiobooking it.

Disclaimer: I do believe, support, and value our world's science and technology, this post has nothing to do with any particular political perspective.

Do you guys know of and can recommend any fantasy books or works in which magic works in a decidedly non-scientific way and aesthetic? By that I mean that magic is utterly non-quantifiable, and it breaks or reveals to be false a lot of our world's scientific principles.

Of course, if one takes the definition of science in its broadest sense as simply the accumulation of knowledge and study, this becomes almost impossible, but I'm not interested in that anyways; I'm looking for magic that retains an old sense of wonder by defying our world's scientific conventions, and can't be explained by them.

Two good examples I know of this are one comic book I started reading long ago called Mythic - in which all myths are true and none of the scientific bs regular people believe to be true is actually real, for example, the sun isn't a star, and the sky god and the earth goddess must actually have sex for it to rise every day - and Invisible Sun RPG - a game of surreal fantasy in which the players wake up from Shadow (think magical Matrix/false world of contemporary technology and tribulations) and have to reacclimate themselves to the real world of magic and mystery, the Actuality, in which wizards study magic, conceptual spirits are part of day-to-day life, and atoms don't actually exist, rather the world is made of color (Shadow definitions of light don't apply).

Sam Vimes has everything a man could possibly want. He’s the commander of the city watch, a duke, married to a loving wife, who is in labor with their first child, and he achieved all of this while slowly climbing up the ranks over half a dozen books.

Despite his meteoric rise (why do we say this, by the way? Surely meteors fall?), Vimes can’t help feeling uncomfortable with all the gilt and frippery that surrounds him now that he’s actually important. He feels like more of a politician than an honest copper; he misses walking his beat, wearing cheap boots with thin soles, back in the good old days.

In the background to Vimes’s internal struggle, beloved Morkporkians commemorate the 25th of May, a day of remembrance for a select, private few. On this day, they gather around the Small Gods cemetery, with lilac flowers on their clothes, to commemorate an event long since passed, with their private rituals and songs, and reminisce about fallen comrades, particularly one John Keel.

When a chance to do police work comes again—the opportunity to arrest the psychotic serial killer Carcer—Vimes grabs it with both hands, and rushes to make the arrest personally. Carcer is holed up on the roof of the Unseen University, and Vimes makes his way there, where they tussle amidst a narrative-conscious magical storm, and both are sent to the past.

Vimes takes a while to reorient himself in the grimy past, but soon enough he’s back as an officer of the watch—under the assumed name of “John Keel”—but this is where his troubles are only beginning. As a member of the Watch, he must enforce the law and protect the peace, even as a revolution brews under the insane Lord Winder and his secret police. Vimes will have to carefully navigate his watchmen through these troubled waters, protecting a public that distrusts them and teeters on the edge of open rebellion, while appearing to cooperate with the oppressive regime he is beholden to. As all this is happening, he must find a way back to his own time and deal with a serial killer on the loose in a dark era that rewards such men.

What struck me when I started re-reading this book, is how wistful it is. It is the story of births and deaths, new sons and old comrades, and walking in your old shoes again. And it’s dark. Possibly the darkest Discworld book. When Vimes joins the old watch, it is a corrupt body, taking hand in the horrors of the regime and its secret police.

The premise I think is fascinating. What would you do if you got to mentor your young self for a few days? What would you teach them? Could you hold your head high and be the role model they desperately need, amidst all the bleakness and the grime? And then you get all the fanservice from seeing the younger selves of a good number of classic Discworld characters, including (but not limited to) Colon, Nobby, Dibbler, and the main man himself, Vetinari.

Most fantasy books take you to a secondary world to explore things you could not explore on earth, like magic, monsters, and epic heroes. Pratchett takes you to a secondary world because he wants to explore things like the post office, news reporting, and in this book, oppression and revolution.

I’m sure you’ve seen revolution against an authoritarian ruler portrayed in fantasy before, but probably not like this. Terry Pratchett takes a real interest in what revolution actually means, to the common people, the police, the army, the idealistic revolutionaries, the political schemers. He examines the deep rot that slowly squeezes the population, the corruption of law enforcement, the web of fear and distrust sowed by oppressive regimes, the gradual breakdown in public order, the powerful backers pulling the strings, and eventually the conflagration it’s all been leading up to.

And through all of this he asks: what can a decent person do? How can you maintain your basic humanity when violence erupts all around you, and you’re on the wrong side?

My one issue with the novel comes from the exploration of the conflict between Vimes maintaining his decency, and working under the thumb of an oppressive regime. Vimes isn’t really forced to obey two masters, he simply elects to constantly antagonize the secret police he’s supposed to be collaborating with, first under the guise of malicious compliance and demands for paperwork, and later just flagrantly. Being a decent man does not come with a cost to him. Looking at the obvious influences for the secret police, like the Stasi, Gestapo, and the KGB, I just find the oblique blowback Vimes receives very difficult to accept, this particularly stands out with how incredibly honest Pratchett is normally in his writing. It feels like he’s taking the easy way out here.

Conclusion: 8.5/10, obviously a must to anyone who's read some of the Discworld's watch books, otherwise, probably work yourself up to it. It’s still one of my favorite Discworld novels on my third re-read, just below Small Gods and Hogfather.

My other reviews:

The Will of the Many: 2.5/5

Red Rising: 3.5/5

Major spoilers obviously.

The whole series reminds me of The Boys TV series in a lot of ways, which I don't mean as a compliment. Dark humor, over the top brutal violence, fun characters, and ultimately leaves you feeling gross inside. By the fourteenth time somebody gets stabbed in the eye or in the throat with a knife it begins to lose its impact.

1. Nobody likes each other in these books, at all. It genuinely seems like everyone hates each other in these books regardless of what side they are on. ASoIAF is every bit as brutal as First Law, but there's real love and connection between friends and family, that undercurrent of humanity is what makes all the twists work so well. First law is just relentlessly unhappy, which isn't "grim dark" it's just unrealistic. Even in 40k characters like each other.

In book two, there's the "fellowship" quest and there are a few moments of friendship, but the whole thing ends with a dull thud and everyone goes their separate ways. In book 3 Logan finally gets back to the north and everyone fucking hates him.

Best served cold, forget about it. Literally everyone despises everyone else except maybe Cosca and Monza.

2. The core point of the series gets tiresome. War is hell, everyone sucks, and nothing matters. Got it. And then Best Served Cold is war is hell and revenge is bad. Okay. I'm assuming The Heroes and Red Country offer more of the same.

3. It's downright misery porn. Shivers ENTIRE story arc in the first trilogy was being redeemable and making different choices than Logan. In Best Served Cold, it's literally mind break porn for Shivers. Like now he's just wish.com Logan with a missing eye. Like, it's believable, but it's just relentlessly miserable.

Day is introduced as a plucky comic relief poisoner? Now she's dead and urinating. Gross.

This random woman died in a fight? Here's a vivid description of her leg getting cut off to be eaten. Gross.

4. It often feels like the characters almost have an awareness they're in a book, like they're kinda winking at the camera or making a quip directly to the audience. It's not quite plot armor, but it's not that different.

I don't know. These books are not bad, by any stretch of the imagination. I've read four of them now, they are very well written and entertaining. But they just leave me with this gross feeling like, I get it, war is hell. What else do you have to say about life?

Blurb

Within the carcass of Detroit’s prosperity, something dark has arisen.

James, Harvey, and Alice have all lost their jobs- victims of the 2008 financial crisis. Listless and scared for the future, they explore an abandoned shopping mall along with their friend Latisha, in the hopes of going viral on YouTube. Their adventure takes a turn when a mysterious fog takes them to another world, where pain, fear, and loss manifest, and their dreams blur with reality.

How can one escape a place that doesn’t want them to leave? James and his friends might just be rats in a maze.

Where Dreams Are Lost is the second entry in the Eight Nightmares Collection, a collection of horror stories about the dreamlike, the surreal, and encounters with the fantastical. Where Dreams Are Lost is rated R for gore, homophobia, suicide, death, homelessness, poverty and implied drug use. Reader discretion is advised.

Review

I happened to come across the Eight Nightmares Collection by Stuart Tudor when the author very kindly offered to host a buddy read of the first three volumes on the SFF Insiders Discord for the “spooky season”. He also made sure that all three of them were $0.99 for the whole of October as well! How could I possibly say no to that?! Described as “a collection of horror stories about the dreamlike, the surreal, and encounters with the fantastical”, I was immediately intrigued, and particularly so with the ‘second nightmare’ – Where Dreams Are Lost. I’m really thankful for the author’s generosity, and glad that I was able to join in!

What’s it about?

James has lost his job courtesy of the infamous economic and financial crisis of 2008. And similar to many people across the globe, his close friends Harvey and Alice are in the same boat. Out of boredom and with nothing else to do (lest the intrusive and depressing thoughts take over), the trio, along with their “still-has-a-job” friend Latisha, decide to seek an adventure in snowy Detroit. What’s wrong with a little bit of thrill and fun in times like these, right? Well, except that the place that they’ve planned to give a visit is the Grand House mall…

Vast and labyrinthine, the mall has been left abandoned and is nothing but an old and decrepit building. The quartet not only want to explore what’s inside of the premises, hoping it’s not just squatters and something much more interesting, but also plan on making a video out of it for YouTube.

But the mall is not at all what it seems from the outside. And what the group doesn’t know are the dangers and pure horrors that await them inside… a mysterious, transporting fog… monsters and creatures from their deepest fears lurking around every corner… fear following their every step, ready to pounce… and that’s not even the worst part. One thing is for certain – this is not a dream, for everything feels so very real. This is not even a nightmare… for it is something much worse…

The good

·         The writing was really good. The author made sure that the “nightmare” is well and truly experienced not only by the characters, but also by the reader.

·         The characters were relatable, and their actions/decisions were understandable in the given circumstances.

·         The plot was pretty good too. A huge, abandoned mall that’s hiding horrific secrets in the form of your deepest fears and nightmares… What’s not to like about that? And it was very well executed altogether.

·         The setting of the mall, and the whole eerie/creepy vibes and ambience to it was also very well depicted.

·         I also really loved the numerous monsters/creatures that were on display. The author has cited Silent Hill as an inspiration for the same!

The “not so” good

·         Nothing really to say here other than the fact that I would’ve liked to explore the mall a bit more!

Final thoughts

Where Dreams Are Lost: The Second Nightmare was a short, quick read that was engaging from the word go. The second volume of the Eight Nightmares Collection explores various emotions and themes, with fear taking center stage among others. The plot was great, the characters were relatable, the setting was very well depicted, and the overall writing was really good. The monsters showcased (inspired from Silent Hill) were certainly a strong highlight. I really enjoyed my time with it, and to say that I wanted at least a bit more would be an understatement. I would certainly recommend that you check out the collection!

This review was originally posted on SFF Insiders.

The other day I realized that all the books I like best feature some kind of tribal or small scale social organisation- like the courts in the Raksura books, the Outskirter nomads of the Steerswoman series, or the animal-souled tribes in Echoes of the Fall. I want stories about people unconstrained by massive systems - no modern civilization, no corporations, no empires, no monarchies. Or at least not completely focused on the people living within those systems.

Other books I've read that have similar elements are Riyria's Legends of the First Empire series, where they might be trying to build an empire but they still start off as a small village, or a sci-fi story called Remnant Population, where a single old woman is left behind on a colony planet and makes first contact with the nomadic creatures that live there.

https://preview.redd.it/bhhpo4z3ah2e1.jpg?width=1321&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5d72256c8a4507965fb59de2c245197bef596214

In November, we'll be reading The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong (), out on Nov 5 2024. [Goodreads link]

Genre: Cozy/cozy-adjacent fantasy

Bingo Squares: First Published in 2024 (HM); Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins; Author of Color (HM); Judge A Book By Its Cover (I know I'm biased, but it's so beautiful!); Dreams.

Print Length: 336 pages

SCHEDULE

November 04 - Q&A

November 21/22 - Midway discussion

November 29 - Final Discussion

Questions Below

After watching tons of Sanderson videos, interviews, classes, podcasts, I feel I see the author too much now when I read his work. Instead of getting invested in the world and characters, it's like I'm listening to someone tell me about their cool ideas. I'm thinking about the way in which this author would think up these things.

After watching some Joe Abercrombie interviews, I have a similar problem, to a lesser extent, now that I'm reading age of madness. I read a line of dialogue and hear Joe's actual voice, and I think "yeah he would think up something like that," based on how his personality comes across.

It seems to be more of a problem with writers who have stronger, more distinct personalities. I just see that personality while I'm reading, and it takes me out of the book. The most immersed I've been in stories has been when I know nothing about the author, and the book is all there is.

as the title suggests, a fantasy book with queer mc, set in the one thousand and one nights universe or something similar.

although novels are more appreciated, ao3 fics will do too!

Hey all, it's me again. This is a belated roundup of the books I read last October for the bingo, all of which I picked to celebrate Halloween, plus my first-ever ARC review which just so happened to fit one of the squares. You may have seen it posted just a few days ago haha.

Here is my rating system - though many books can fall in between tiers:

• 5 - Life-changing, transformative, lasting influence on how I see the world and literature
• 4 - A great read that both is highly enjoyable and has literary merit, but not perfect
• 3 - A decent read, with noticeable flaws or lack of depth but has strengths and was worth finishing
• 2 - A bad read, but I still finished it
• 1 - A horrible read, DNF

Read my other Bingo reviews: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

16) Walking Practice by Dolki Min (pub. 2023) - finished October 7

• Read the translation from Korean to English by Victoria Caudle
• Read for: Eldritch Creatures (HM)
• Also applies to: Dreams (HM), Author of Colour (HM), Survival (HM), honestly arguably Character with a Disability (somewhat allegorically as the character is an alien)
• 3.75/5 stars. This is a fascinating novella that explores the horror of embodiment, being perceived, and alienation in a contemporary society that lacks care and empathy for those who are considered “other.” The story follows the perspective of an alien marooned on earth who sleeps with and then eats humans to survive, and I loved their conversational, witty, and emotionally volatile first-person narration - expressing delight, lust, hatred, longing, and reflective introspection within one page. The translator’s note mentioned specifically trying to capture the extreme physicality of the original Korean prose and she definitely succeeded! However the ending is extremely abrupt and seems disconnected from the rest of the book. I honestly wished the novella was longer.

17) Wounded Little Gods by Eliza Victoria (pub. 2016) - finished October 10

• Read for: Set in a Small Town (HM)
• Also applies to: Dreams (HM), Author of Colour (HM), Multi-POV
• 3.25/5 stars. This book had a great premise and concept - a really cool and creative blend of speculative fiction, small-town thriller, and mythology-inspired fantasy - but ended up feeling lackluster. The most interesting parts of the plot take place through flashbacks or character confessions about the past; I kind of wished more happened in the present. I also found the prose, dialogue, and pacing uneven. Overall the book was honestly reminiscent of an above-average creepypasta or r/nosleep story, where the big payoff is the reveal of a secret, and then not much happens after that.

18) Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (pub. 2022) - finished October 14

• Read for: Under the Surface (HM)
• Also applies to: Dreams (HM), >!Eldritch Creatures (HM)!<
• 4/5 stars. This is a truly expertly-written novel that uses a multilayered narrative and multi-dimensional storytelling to create a deep (heh… sorry) and rewarding reading experience. The prose is stunning - both poetic and brutal - and often operates on several levels, with excellent use of subtlety, deflection, and stream-of-consciousness to convey complex connections of meaning. Similar to This is How You Lose The Time War, which I also read for this year’s bingo, the high-quality prose can feel a little overbearing at times. I will also say that I found some parts in the middle frustrating and repetitive, but I got the sense that was intentional by the time I finished the book.

19) The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (pub. 1959) - finished October 20

• Read for: Alliterative Title (HM)
• Also applies to: possibly Survival (HM)
• 4/5 stars. This novel is one one of the classics of the horror genre, and for good reason. Eleanor’s disorganized, volatile, and definitely unreliable POV is both powerful and sympathetic - as the introduction by Laura Miller in the Penguin Classics edition says, when the House invades her mind, we readers are invaded along with her. Like Our Wives Under the Sea, this is a complex novel that I would say needs close reading to fully appreciate, with beautiful symmetry and cohesion. However, I also found the overall emotional effect to be more tragic than horrific or suspenseful, and I did weep through the last few chapters.

20) The Sanhedrin Chronicles by J.S. Gold (pub 2024) - finished November 11 via ARC

• Read for: Published in 2024 (HM)
• Also applies to: Published in 2024 (HM), Multiple POVs (2 main POVs and some others scattered in), First In A Series (projected)
• 3.75/5 stars. Action-packed and engrossing, this novel is a solid, if typical, urban fantasy adventure with a powerful emotional core and strong exploration of the theme of reclaiming one’s identity and heritage (specifically Jewish heritage in the book). As a debut novel, it is definitely not perfect—it can feel cheesy and on-the-nose at times—but is genuinely an exciting, fun reading experience. You can read my full ARC review posted on this subreddit here.

2024 marks the most books I have read in a year possibly ever in my adult life and that is pretty much entirely due to doing the bingo. To think I'm not even done yet! 5 more books to go.

If you have read any of these feel free to comment your thoughts!

I've known for a while that the second books in trilogies tend to be my favorites: they get to build off the framework established in the first book, without the pressure of wrapping everything up like the final book has.

However, I just realized I haven't read any trilogy or series where the finale was my favorite book. To be clear, I mean this for a finished, continuous series that follows one (set of) character(s) for a full story arc. I've read series that have good, fulfilling finales for sure. But if I were to chose one favorite book -- the one I enjoyed the most, or that I'd most likely reread -- absolute none would be a finale. And that's from the 750+ series I have on my read shelf. The realization has kind of thrown me in a tailspin wondering what I am even doing reading and finishing series.

Have you had a similar experience? Or the total opposite? Any standout series where you loved the finale more than any other book in the series?

Basically the title, Fantasy stories with really cool premises, but don’t engage with the premise that much or that well. Doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad book

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like books having a clean premium look . A perfect example is Folio society A song of ice and fire editions . There are very clean and beautiful. I read majority of my books digitally hence I collect very few and some of my most favourite books in my shelf . Now coming to cosmere , I genuinely love the gollancz delux hardcover edition cover more than the dragonsteel . I saw some picture of the dragonsteel collections . They though beautiful, kind of lack the minimal premium feeling and feels more bulky ( just the cover ) . Feeling a bit weird because probably because it's a unpopular choice . So I wanted to discuss . I would be glad to hear your opinions . Thank you

It seems like 2 out of 3 fantasy books these days are primarily about romance and take more genre cues from the romance genre than classic fantasy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy when romance is well incorporated into a story, and there's nothing wrong with it being the primary focus either.

But I'm so sick of clicking on a book title, getting halfway through the blurb, and seeing some iteration of, "when an unexpected spark blossoms between them..." *face palm* I immediately click back to searching. And that is two thirds of what I do when searching for new books now! Seeing that phrase and clicking BACK.

Again, no criticism for people who like romantasy. But it makes me wonder what publishers are thinking. I've been reading fantasy for over 2 decades and neither I nor my fantasy-loving friends asked for this, haha. I haven't seen much indication that this is what most fantasy readers are primarily looking for.

Is this just my personal preference talking, or are other long-time fantasy readers tired of how much romance dominates plot lines these days?

Edit: I know romance sells like mad. Let me rephrase. Do publishers lump all fantasy readers together and think we all want to read that? Like how libraries shelve sci-fi and fantasy together, and can get a bit uppity at “genre” readers, essentially insisting there’s no nuance between the genres. Or do they just not care if some of their regular fantasy slots are taken up by romantasy instead, since it does pay better? Essentially, are they fine to sacrifice a smaller niche for a larger one for the sake of profit or do they actually think they’re still giving the smaller niche what they want? 🤷🏼‍♀️

By Lauretta Hignett. Holy crap, this book is awesome! The title made it sound so mundane, like all the romance-obsessed, kinda urban fantasy stuff out there…but that is wrong, like all wrong. I’m ranking this right up there with Harry Dresden and Ilona Andrews’s best books. It’s funny, action packed, has creative monsters, and an awesome heroine who is both naive and beautifully insane. Definitely one of the most fun urban fantasies I have encountered since my last Jim Butcher novel. Most urban fantasy these days is just lacking something, but this one has got it! Seriously, give it a shot…in spite of the title. I suspect you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as myself.

A young woman with a hell of a backstory who still manages to be naive in her own, eyes wide-open but endearing way, leaves a small magical town for Philadelphia to work with Other-CPS to help vulnerable children who aren’t necessarily human. She quickly becomes involved in hi jinx with the town’s magical and non-human heavyweights, all while juggling friendships with her own cast of bizarre and, sometimes, ancient beings and friends. Fun. Fun. Fun!.