Madness*, so if you liked those characters---especially the military plotlines that feature soldiers with questionable orders delivered by leaders selected by nepotism---this novel should be immediately added to your radar.
Beyond the character building, the world-building is expertly done. Nuanced, fleshed out, real. It features bigotry and Odom doesn't flinch as she shows the impacts it has in ugly examples that are rather human.
I most commonly describe this book as a quieter Godblind with some dashes of Malazan's scheming/hidden motivations. While this book is violent, it's more of a whispered threat than a rageful scream.
The more critical reviews of this book tend to mention a slow pacing, which isn't unfair. It does have a slower start and ends with things slowing down, and while the middle is frantic and pulse pounding, this is not a book that feels the need to excite on each page, and instead relies on great character work and an interesting world---a positive, for me.
**Along the Razor's Edge** by Rob J Hayes
*Along the Razor's Edge* is a bit of a framed narrative that's this interesting combination of a fucked up *Mistborn* and the part in *Riddick: Chronicles* featuring the prison planet.
The MC is telling her tale of how she as a young, rageful mage fought on the losing side of a war. After the surrender, her ability to access powers is removed and she is turned into a prison slave
alongside her best friend and fellow mage.
Grim setting with a character just brimming with rage, a cool magic system, a touch of demonic horror, and some complicated-but-sweet relationships, this is a great entry points from one of the premier names in indie fantasy.
Most of the gripes in critical reviews are about the protagonist and her decisions, which I disagree with but do see where they're coming from. My only pet peeve with this tale is I found the framed narrative wasn't used to its fullest extent, but that's more of a nitpick than a genuine complaint.
**Ironbound** by Andrew Gilver
*Ironbound* is a progression fantasy that feels like a mix of *Blood Song* and *The Will of the Many*. We have the Roman-esque societies, a bit of an academy setting, and a magic system that is reminiscent of the feelings *Hierarchy* invokes, as well as the militaristic learning of *Raven's Shadow* and the prose and action to hold up against the fantastic Anthony Ryan.
The story centers around Castor and his attempts to earn a "Cor Heart" through studies and training. These hearts give access to powers that allow control over whatever the heart is attuned to, for example you can transform the shape of iron or call upon winter storms if your heart is attuned to metal or to snow.
Really enjoyed this one, and once again, if you liked *The Will of the Many*, this one is a winner.
**Cold West** by Clayton Snyder
Possibly the darkest book on here, *Cold West* is partly a re-telling of Clint Eastwood's *Unforgiven* with the addition of demoninc magic and fantasy elements.
Snyder writes with a tragic and extensively confident pen. Wil, the MC, is such a fascinating character who exemplifies a man dealing with grief by doing anything and everything but confronting it.
Fast paced and on the shorter side, this book packs a hell of a punch in its limited run time. There's killer line after killer line, badassery by the gallon, and excellent introspection. I found this one impossible to put down, and am excited to re-read sometime in the future.
The more critical reviews don't challenge that Snyder accomplished his vision, only that they didn't align with it. If a grim fantasy western that teeters between a novella and a novel sounds up your alley, you're going to love it.
**If you're still reading...**
I hope you found something cool to add to your TBR! I like to customize recommendations on an individual level, so if you weren't able to find something to add from this list but would like an indie recommendation, give me a few of your favorite books and I'll see what I can do.
As another note, the indie sale
Beyond the character building, the world-building is expertly done. Nuanced, fleshed out, real. It features bigotry and Odom doesn't flinch as she shows the impacts it has in ugly examples that are rather human.
I most commonly describe this book as a quieter Godblind with some dashes of Malazan's scheming/hidden motivations. While this book is violent, it's more of a whispered threat than a rageful scream.
The more critical reviews of this book tend to mention a slow pacing, which isn't unfair. It does have a slower start and ends with things slowing down, and while the middle is frantic and pulse pounding, this is not a book that feels the need to excite on each page, and instead relies on great character work and an interesting world---a positive, for me.
**Along the Razor's Edge** by Rob J Hayes
*Along the Razor's Edge* is a bit of a framed narrative that's this interesting combination of a fucked up *Mistborn* and the part in *Riddick: Chronicles* featuring the prison planet.
The MC is telling her tale of how she as a young, rageful mage fought on the losing side of a war. After the surrender, her ability to access powers is removed and she is turned into a prison slave
alongside her best friend and fellow mage.
Grim setting with a character just brimming with rage, a cool magic system, a touch of demonic horror, and some complicated-but-sweet relationships, this is a great entry points from one of the premier names in indie fantasy.
Most of the gripes in critical reviews are about the protagonist and her decisions, which I disagree with but do see where they're coming from. My only pet peeve with this tale is I found the framed narrative wasn't used to its fullest extent, but that's more of a nitpick than a genuine complaint.
**Ironbound** by Andrew Gilver
*Ironbound* is a progression fantasy that feels like a mix of *Blood Song* and *The Will of the Many*. We have the Roman-esque societies, a bit of an academy setting, and a magic system that is reminiscent of the feelings *Hierarchy* invokes, as well as the militaristic learning of *Raven's Shadow* and the prose and action to hold up against the fantastic Anthony Ryan.
The story centers around Castor and his attempts to earn a "Cor Heart" through studies and training. These hearts give access to powers that allow control over whatever the heart is attuned to, for example you can transform the shape of iron or call upon winter storms if your heart is attuned to metal or to snow.
Really enjoyed this one, and once again, if you liked *The Will of the Many*, this one is a winner.
**Cold West** by Clayton Snyder
Possibly the darkest book on here, *Cold West* is partly a re-telling of Clint Eastwood's *Unforgiven* with the addition of demoninc magic and fantasy elements.
Snyder writes with a tragic and extensively confident pen. Wil, the MC, is such a fascinating character who exemplifies a man dealing with grief by doing anything and everything but confronting it.
Fast paced and on the shorter side, this book packs a hell of a punch in its limited run time. There's killer line after killer line, badassery by the gallon, and excellent introspection. I found this one impossible to put down, and am excited to re-read sometime in the future.
The more critical reviews don't challenge that Snyder accomplished his vision, only that they didn't align with it. If a grim fantasy western that teeters between a novella and a novel sounds up your alley, you're going to love it.
**If you're still reading...**
I hope you found something cool to add to your TBR! I like to customize recommendations on an individual level, so if you weren't able to find something to add from this list but would like an indie recommendation, give me a few of your favorite books and I'll see what I can do.
As another note, the indie sale
*Narratess* is coming up sometime in April. It's a fantastic sale featuring indie books and I seem to pick up 10+ from there each year. Keep an eye out for it!
Happy reading!
https://redd.it/1rz8gs6
@r_fantasy
Happy reading!
https://redd.it/1rz8gs6
@r_fantasy
Reddit
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
New Library Of America volumes: Earthsea and Peter Straub
I just saw in the LOA newsletter that Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea books will be reissued in two hardcover volumes by the Library of America in September. The initial trilogy will be published as LOA volume #400 with the following three books (Tehanu, Tales From Earthsea and The Other Wind) issued separately as volume #401. Both volumes will also be available as a boxed set and will apparently include some related stories and essays by Le Guin.
I already have the illustrated one-volume edition of Earthsea but find it somewhat unwieldy to read. I would definitely be getting the LOA edition if I didn’t have that.
Library of America is also publishing an edition of three Peter Straub novels including Julia, If You Could See Me Now, and Ghost Story (which is a classic). I think this is LOA’s first collection of Straub novels and it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets another one. Library of America has been publishing some really nice genre collections in the last few years so I’m looking forward to what they have in the pipeline.
https://redd.it/1rzbdux
@r_fantasy
I just saw in the LOA newsletter that Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea books will be reissued in two hardcover volumes by the Library of America in September. The initial trilogy will be published as LOA volume #400 with the following three books (Tehanu, Tales From Earthsea and The Other Wind) issued separately as volume #401. Both volumes will also be available as a boxed set and will apparently include some related stories and essays by Le Guin.
I already have the illustrated one-volume edition of Earthsea but find it somewhat unwieldy to read. I would definitely be getting the LOA edition if I didn’t have that.
Library of America is also publishing an edition of three Peter Straub novels including Julia, If You Could See Me Now, and Ghost Story (which is a classic). I think this is LOA’s first collection of Straub novels and it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets another one. Library of America has been publishing some really nice genre collections in the last few years so I’m looking forward to what they have in the pipeline.
https://redd.it/1rzbdux
@r_fantasy
Library of America
Forthcoming: Fall 2026 - Library of America
Our country’s literature has never been one-size-fits-all, and Library of America’s upcoming roster of releases explores great writing at every magnitude, from an epic fantasy saga to a compendium of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it micro-fiction. Whether these works…
What are some sci fi or fantasy titles where one can dedicate their life studying and writing thesis about them?
Other than the renowned Lord of the rings, what other titles fit the above criteria?
https://redd.it/1rzhz8z
@r_fantasy
Other than the renowned Lord of the rings, what other titles fit the above criteria?
https://redd.it/1rzhz8z
@r_fantasy
Reddit
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
Was V.E Schwab's "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" intentionally ahistorical? (No Spoilers)
Hello!
I just DNF'd Bury Our Bones after getting about 80% of the way through. While I mostly enjoyed the first half of the book, I found the second half fairly tedious and gave up at the 80% mark.
But what irked me throughout was the constant completely incorrect historical details.
1. A character going to a dressmaker in 1823 and talking about the "new fashion" being column/grecian dresses, despite that having been the fashion at least a decade earlier and the 1820s seeing a resurgence of larger skirts.
2. Same character talking about the "bustles" of the 18th century despite the bustle not becoming a part of fashion until the 1870s. There were bumrolls and padding but that's like saying "the cars of the 19th century" and talking about carriages.
3. Referring to women being "tight-laced" into corsets in the early 19th century when they were not wearing corsets at the time and definitely not tight lacing the stays they had.
4. A character in London wanting to play euchre in the 1820s when it was only really starting to become popular in the US at that time. Nevermind that she wants to play Euchre and Whist (four player games) with only two people!
5. A character "constantly reading novels" not even 5 years after the publication of the first novel. What is she reading??
6. A different character talking saying "all the men in books are described as smelling like smoke and leather" when talking about novels in the early 19th century. That is incredibly modern!!
7. Describing Seville, a landlocked city in Spain, as having a bay.
I'm sure there are more, these are just the ones that I remember off the top of my head. I saw elsewhere that someone said that the different narrators are very unreliable, so maybe this is intentional, and the characters are misremembering? Because there are other fairly jarring moments that came across to me as ahistorical, but when I looked it up they were technically correct, if somewhat implausible, for instance the characters drinking "Prosecho" in the early 1600s. I thought most sparkling wines weren't invented until the early 18th, late 17th century, but when I looked it up I saw this was not only correct, but the "english spelling" as it shows in wikipedia.
ANYWAY maybe I'm pedantic but between this and the americanisms of this allegedly scottish main character I had to DNF it.
https://redd.it/1rzlxx5
@r_fantasy
Hello!
I just DNF'd Bury Our Bones after getting about 80% of the way through. While I mostly enjoyed the first half of the book, I found the second half fairly tedious and gave up at the 80% mark.
But what irked me throughout was the constant completely incorrect historical details.
1. A character going to a dressmaker in 1823 and talking about the "new fashion" being column/grecian dresses, despite that having been the fashion at least a decade earlier and the 1820s seeing a resurgence of larger skirts.
2. Same character talking about the "bustles" of the 18th century despite the bustle not becoming a part of fashion until the 1870s. There were bumrolls and padding but that's like saying "the cars of the 19th century" and talking about carriages.
3. Referring to women being "tight-laced" into corsets in the early 19th century when they were not wearing corsets at the time and definitely not tight lacing the stays they had.
4. A character in London wanting to play euchre in the 1820s when it was only really starting to become popular in the US at that time. Nevermind that she wants to play Euchre and Whist (four player games) with only two people!
5. A character "constantly reading novels" not even 5 years after the publication of the first novel. What is she reading??
6. A different character talking saying "all the men in books are described as smelling like smoke and leather" when talking about novels in the early 19th century. That is incredibly modern!!
7. Describing Seville, a landlocked city in Spain, as having a bay.
I'm sure there are more, these are just the ones that I remember off the top of my head. I saw elsewhere that someone said that the different narrators are very unreliable, so maybe this is intentional, and the characters are misremembering? Because there are other fairly jarring moments that came across to me as ahistorical, but when I looked it up they were technically correct, if somewhat implausible, for instance the characters drinking "Prosecho" in the early 1600s. I thought most sparkling wines weren't invented until the early 18th, late 17th century, but when I looked it up I saw this was not only correct, but the "english spelling" as it shows in wikipedia.
ANYWAY maybe I'm pedantic but between this and the americanisms of this allegedly scottish main character I had to DNF it.
https://redd.it/1rzlxx5
@r_fantasy
Reddit
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
Your favorite (NON-DUNE) "God-emperors" in SFF?
I just finished the Succession duology, and I found its relatively hard SF take on the god-emperor concept quite interesting. It made me realize that I find that a compelling concept in general, since it can be explored along so many different dimensions in different types of speculative fiction. Other than granddaddy Dune (and crazed uncle Warhammer), what are your favorite takes on this character/concept? Doesn't have to be super literal; basically any vastly powerful but tangible political agent in the world, who is also worshipped. May or may not have magical or otherwise superhuman powers, but does cultivate the mystique so as to consolidate both religious and political power.
https://redd.it/1rzmdp2
@r_fantasy
I just finished the Succession duology, and I found its relatively hard SF take on the god-emperor concept quite interesting. It made me realize that I find that a compelling concept in general, since it can be explored along so many different dimensions in different types of speculative fiction. Other than granddaddy Dune (and crazed uncle Warhammer), what are your favorite takes on this character/concept? Doesn't have to be super literal; basically any vastly powerful but tangible political agent in the world, who is also worshipped. May or may not have magical or otherwise superhuman powers, but does cultivate the mystique so as to consolidate both religious and political power.
https://redd.it/1rzmdp2
@r_fantasy
Reddit
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
Book for a beginner reader
hi guys, as the title suggests. I can read, just never have and lose attention pretty easy. without sounding like a complete dumby, I've never been great at reading.
I'm looking for a fantasy book, lots of war and battles if possible that you would recommend that's short, not overwhelming and easy to read.
treat me like I'm 14, I'm over double that btw.
Ive goty first child coming soon, so I want to switch from a TV guy to a reading guy!
https://redd.it/1rznx1j
@r_fantasy
hi guys, as the title suggests. I can read, just never have and lose attention pretty easy. without sounding like a complete dumby, I've never been great at reading.
I'm looking for a fantasy book, lots of war and battles if possible that you would recommend that's short, not overwhelming and easy to read.
treat me like I'm 14, I'm over double that btw.
Ive goty first child coming soon, so I want to switch from a TV guy to a reading guy!
https://redd.it/1rznx1j
@r_fantasy
Reddit
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
What's your favorite magic systems that isnt from novel or novel adaptation?
So as the title says what's your favorite magic systems that isnt from a novel or adapted media.
So basically
video games,
comics/manga,
animation/anime
television
Film
https://redd.it/1rzoiyj
@r_fantasy
So as the title says what's your favorite magic systems that isnt from a novel or adapted media.
So basically
video games,
comics/manga,
animation/anime
television
Film
https://redd.it/1rzoiyj
@r_fantasy
Reddit
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - March 21, 2026
https://preview.redd.it/l2cosnpoixbg1.png?width=3508&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb9f4a2807499edc796351cc28ec39b3aea4d7c2
**Welcome to the daily recommendation requests and simple questions thread, now 1025.83% more adorable than ever before!**
Stickied/highlight slots are limited, so please remember to ~~like and subscribe~~ upvote this thread for visibility on the subreddit <3
——
This thread is to be used for recommendation requests or simple questions that are small/general enough that they won’t spark a full thread of discussion.
Check out [r/Fantasy](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/)'s [2025 Book Bingo Card here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1joxlrr/official_rfantasy_2025_book_bingo_challenge/)!
As usual, first have a look at the sidebar in case what you're after is there. The [r/Fantasy wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/wiki/recommendations) contains links to many community resources, including "best of" lists, flowcharts, the LGTBQ+ database, and more. If you need some help figuring out what you want, think about including some of the information below:
* Books you’ve liked or disliked
* Traits like prose, characters, or settings you most enjoy
* Series vs. standalone preference
* Tone preference (lighthearted, grimdark, etc)
* Complexity/depth level
Be sure to check out responses to other users' requests in the thread, as you may find plenty of ideas there as well. Happy reading, and may your TBR grow ever higher!
——
[^(tiny image link to make the preview show up correctly)](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ITpGPzWOOd7MHhCY2d6Zv_6MWsntfT3s/view?usp=sharing)
art credit: special thanks to our artist, [Himmis commissions](https://himmis.carrd.co/), who we commissioned to create this gorgeous piece of art for us with practically no direction other than "cozy, magical, bookish, and maybe a gryphon???" We absolutely love it, and we hope you do too.
https://redd.it/1rzqwgv
@r_fantasy
https://preview.redd.it/l2cosnpoixbg1.png?width=3508&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb9f4a2807499edc796351cc28ec39b3aea4d7c2
**Welcome to the daily recommendation requests and simple questions thread, now 1025.83% more adorable than ever before!**
Stickied/highlight slots are limited, so please remember to ~~like and subscribe~~ upvote this thread for visibility on the subreddit <3
——
This thread is to be used for recommendation requests or simple questions that are small/general enough that they won’t spark a full thread of discussion.
Check out [r/Fantasy](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/)'s [2025 Book Bingo Card here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1joxlrr/official_rfantasy_2025_book_bingo_challenge/)!
As usual, first have a look at the sidebar in case what you're after is there. The [r/Fantasy wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/wiki/recommendations) contains links to many community resources, including "best of" lists, flowcharts, the LGTBQ+ database, and more. If you need some help figuring out what you want, think about including some of the information below:
* Books you’ve liked or disliked
* Traits like prose, characters, or settings you most enjoy
* Series vs. standalone preference
* Tone preference (lighthearted, grimdark, etc)
* Complexity/depth level
Be sure to check out responses to other users' requests in the thread, as you may find plenty of ideas there as well. Happy reading, and may your TBR grow ever higher!
——
[^(tiny image link to make the preview show up correctly)](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ITpGPzWOOd7MHhCY2d6Zv_6MWsntfT3s/view?usp=sharing)
art credit: special thanks to our artist, [Himmis commissions](https://himmis.carrd.co/), who we commissioned to create this gorgeous piece of art for us with practically no direction other than "cozy, magical, bookish, and maybe a gryphon???" We absolutely love it, and we hope you do too.
https://redd.it/1rzqwgv
@r_fantasy
Hard Mode Bingo and Reviews
https://preview.redd.it/7hj7rreqdeqg1.png?width=1651&format=png&auto=webp&s=28233e94b1284a4b913009708a8376fb9a12e46f
Another year of bingo complete! I had a lot of fun with this board-- it inspired me to find a few new favorite reads. First, the statistics:
Best books: The Sign of the Dragon, The Bone Harp, A Drop of Corruption, What We Fed to the Manticore
Most disappointing books: Barbary Station, Greenteeth, The Isle in the Silver Sea, Chalice
Most challenging squares:
Biopunk: I had already read A Drop of Corruption bingo started but just couldn't find anything else so I ended up using my re-read for this one.
Pirates: There was almost no overlap between the books I wanted to read for this square and the books available at my local library. I ended up getting really '''lucky''' and finding Barbary Station at my local Half Price Books, only to end up not enjoying the book whatsoever
New-to-me authors: 17/23
Books I only picked up to satisfy a bingo square: 7/23 (the best of this category were The Sign of the Dragon and The Bone Harp)
And the part you've been waiting for-- the reviews! They were supposed to me 'mini' reviews but I do think I'm going to borrow the New York Time's new-ish crossword puzzle classification and call them midi reviews, because some of them ended up being way longer than I anticipated! If the number in my review and the number on my bingo board don't match it's because I changed my mind last-minute in my review.
Reddit Mini-Reviews
Knights and Paladins: Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang, 4
I liked what this book achieved even in such a limited page count. I thought the emotional arc of the main character was strong and found the world building to be compelling. It’s not a long book so, of course, it’s not as developed as it could be, but I did enjoy the book overall.
Hidden Gem: The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee, 5
This book was an absolute treasure and immediately found its way onto my favorites list. The book is written entirely in poems, and that makes it incredible: it focuses solely on the important moments of emotion and change. King Xau is a compelling focal character because, despite his crown, he is a genuinely good and compassionate person; I especially loved seeing such strong depictions of friendship and loyalty across the book. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Published in the 80s: Dawn by Octavia Butler, 4
I enjoyed this book overall but have slightly mixed feelings on some aspects. I don’t know that I ever would have picked it up if it weren’t for bingo, but I am very glad I did. As someone who really likes books which explore gender and family structure, I found this book a really fascinating early delve into these topics. The book has really interesting viewpoints on what it means to be human –in relationships, in positions of power, and as a species—that I found especially fascinating. That being said, I’m iffy on the way consent was handled, and I don’t think I can make a judgement call on those situations without reading more of the series. There’s a point being made about power and boundaries, but I feel like reading more will help me understand how the book is addressing these issues. That being said, I’m glad I read this book!
High Fashion: Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater, 4.5
I’m not a huge reader of fantasy romance, but I find that Olivia Atwater’s books are a nice warm hug when I need one. The story as a whole is really sweet. I thought it handled the theme of classism well for the scope of the book. It’s a charming, quick, and cute read if that’s what you’re looking for!
Down with the System: Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang, 4.5
I’ve seen both the gushing reviews of this book and its many criticisms, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it though I can agree with some of the points critics make. Though some people claim that the big reveal is obvious, it caught me off guard and I found it to be extremely effective. As a way to
https://preview.redd.it/7hj7rreqdeqg1.png?width=1651&format=png&auto=webp&s=28233e94b1284a4b913009708a8376fb9a12e46f
Another year of bingo complete! I had a lot of fun with this board-- it inspired me to find a few new favorite reads. First, the statistics:
Best books: The Sign of the Dragon, The Bone Harp, A Drop of Corruption, What We Fed to the Manticore
Most disappointing books: Barbary Station, Greenteeth, The Isle in the Silver Sea, Chalice
Most challenging squares:
Biopunk: I had already read A Drop of Corruption bingo started but just couldn't find anything else so I ended up using my re-read for this one.
Pirates: There was almost no overlap between the books I wanted to read for this square and the books available at my local library. I ended up getting really '''lucky''' and finding Barbary Station at my local Half Price Books, only to end up not enjoying the book whatsoever
New-to-me authors: 17/23
Books I only picked up to satisfy a bingo square: 7/23 (the best of this category were The Sign of the Dragon and The Bone Harp)
And the part you've been waiting for-- the reviews! They were supposed to me 'mini' reviews but I do think I'm going to borrow the New York Time's new-ish crossword puzzle classification and call them midi reviews, because some of them ended up being way longer than I anticipated! If the number in my review and the number on my bingo board don't match it's because I changed my mind last-minute in my review.
Reddit Mini-Reviews
Knights and Paladins: Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang, 4
I liked what this book achieved even in such a limited page count. I thought the emotional arc of the main character was strong and found the world building to be compelling. It’s not a long book so, of course, it’s not as developed as it could be, but I did enjoy the book overall.
Hidden Gem: The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee, 5
This book was an absolute treasure and immediately found its way onto my favorites list. The book is written entirely in poems, and that makes it incredible: it focuses solely on the important moments of emotion and change. King Xau is a compelling focal character because, despite his crown, he is a genuinely good and compassionate person; I especially loved seeing such strong depictions of friendship and loyalty across the book. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Published in the 80s: Dawn by Octavia Butler, 4
I enjoyed this book overall but have slightly mixed feelings on some aspects. I don’t know that I ever would have picked it up if it weren’t for bingo, but I am very glad I did. As someone who really likes books which explore gender and family structure, I found this book a really fascinating early delve into these topics. The book has really interesting viewpoints on what it means to be human –in relationships, in positions of power, and as a species—that I found especially fascinating. That being said, I’m iffy on the way consent was handled, and I don’t think I can make a judgement call on those situations without reading more of the series. There’s a point being made about power and boundaries, but I feel like reading more will help me understand how the book is addressing these issues. That being said, I’m glad I read this book!
High Fashion: Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater, 4.5
I’m not a huge reader of fantasy romance, but I find that Olivia Atwater’s books are a nice warm hug when I need one. The story as a whole is really sweet. I thought it handled the theme of classism well for the scope of the book. It’s a charming, quick, and cute read if that’s what you’re looking for!
Down with the System: Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang, 4.5
I’ve seen both the gushing reviews of this book and its many criticisms, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it though I can agree with some of the points critics make. Though some people claim that the big reveal is obvious, it caught me off guard and I found it to be extremely effective. As a way to
talk about themes of exploitation under capitalism, I found the metaphor it introduced to be extremely effective. Sciona is an easy protagonist to hate; in particular, the way she views the big reveal through the tinted lens of her own ego is really interesting. I found her arc across the book to be quite compelling, especially where I disagreed with her choices. I really enjoyed Thomil as a character as well; and how he navigated his conflicts with Sciona and was forced to decide between security and his own convictions. Also, this book has one of the best opening chapters of all time.
Impossible Places: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, 4.5
I buddy-read this and had a ton of discussions with friends, and, even then, I’m not sure I could summarize adequately what this book is about. It’s a ton of vibes and metaphor and fascinating imagery all wrapped up in one package. I loved it, though I wouldn’t recommend this book to every single reader. I found the structure of the book fascinating; it was a huge factor behind my enjoyment. I do think I might get even more from the book on a second read, but I do think that it’ll be a while before I’m up for one. The book is gorgeous, but it’s not a quick read nor an easy one! I recommend to any reader who wants to be swept away in a story and a metaphor all at once, and is okay accepting that they won’t understand everything.
A Book in Parts: A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde, 3.5
A sweeping epic fantasy in a setting based on pre-colonial Africa—this book is filled to the brim with amazing ideas, fascinating characters, and fabulous worldbuilding. I loved this but also struggled a lot with the scope of the book. There are five perspective characters, each with really distinct plotlines, and a huge amount of social, political, magical, and societal worldbuilding. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I read more epic fantasy series; as is, I found it really difficult to keep up with the book. There was a huge cast of characters associated with each perspective, plus many clans and factions and tons of complex loyalties and relationships. I found it somewhat challenging to keep up with the nuances of the story. To be honest, it’s been a while since I read this as an ARC, and re-reading my own review I’m realizing how much of the plot I don’t remember. I’m sure more seasoned readers of books of this scale will have an easier time with the series than I did!
Gods and Pantheons: Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross, 4.5
I was lucky enough to grab this as an ARC last summer—and I was so hooked by the story that I couldn’t put it down and it consumed a moderate chunk of my vacation. I loved the lyrical prose and felt it worked really well to tell a story so entranced in mythology. I thought the first-person narration style was used really well to give insight into Matilda’s perspectives, which was a great way of making the reader understand and relate to a goddess. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Vincent and Matilda develop across the book.
Last in a Series: Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne, 4.5
As a series, I rate this pretty highly. I found the Tomes and Tea series to be a pleasure to read overall. It’s not got all that much depth, and its clear the author figured out what she was doing somewhere between the first and second books, leaving the first’s worldbuilding somewhat lacking. That being said, I enjoyed the way the series explores characters and relationships. The main characters feel human and complex in a way that really worked for me; and I appreciated that they had messy and imperfect responses to challenges and conflict. That being said, I’d have a hard time picking a favorite from the series. I think all are good at telling a broader story, but I can’t say that I enjoyed any one book in particular compared to the others—and that’s not to say that each was a perfect 5-star read, either. I liked them all, and I enjoyed this final book in the series about as much as the others.
Book Club: Chalice by Robin
Impossible Places: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, 4.5
I buddy-read this and had a ton of discussions with friends, and, even then, I’m not sure I could summarize adequately what this book is about. It’s a ton of vibes and metaphor and fascinating imagery all wrapped up in one package. I loved it, though I wouldn’t recommend this book to every single reader. I found the structure of the book fascinating; it was a huge factor behind my enjoyment. I do think I might get even more from the book on a second read, but I do think that it’ll be a while before I’m up for one. The book is gorgeous, but it’s not a quick read nor an easy one! I recommend to any reader who wants to be swept away in a story and a metaphor all at once, and is okay accepting that they won’t understand everything.
A Book in Parts: A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde, 3.5
A sweeping epic fantasy in a setting based on pre-colonial Africa—this book is filled to the brim with amazing ideas, fascinating characters, and fabulous worldbuilding. I loved this but also struggled a lot with the scope of the book. There are five perspective characters, each with really distinct plotlines, and a huge amount of social, political, magical, and societal worldbuilding. I think I would have enjoyed this more if I read more epic fantasy series; as is, I found it really difficult to keep up with the book. There was a huge cast of characters associated with each perspective, plus many clans and factions and tons of complex loyalties and relationships. I found it somewhat challenging to keep up with the nuances of the story. To be honest, it’s been a while since I read this as an ARC, and re-reading my own review I’m realizing how much of the plot I don’t remember. I’m sure more seasoned readers of books of this scale will have an easier time with the series than I did!
Gods and Pantheons: Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross, 4.5
I was lucky enough to grab this as an ARC last summer—and I was so hooked by the story that I couldn’t put it down and it consumed a moderate chunk of my vacation. I loved the lyrical prose and felt it worked really well to tell a story so entranced in mythology. I thought the first-person narration style was used really well to give insight into Matilda’s perspectives, which was a great way of making the reader understand and relate to a goddess. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Vincent and Matilda develop across the book.
Last in a Series: Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne, 4.5
As a series, I rate this pretty highly. I found the Tomes and Tea series to be a pleasure to read overall. It’s not got all that much depth, and its clear the author figured out what she was doing somewhere between the first and second books, leaving the first’s worldbuilding somewhat lacking. That being said, I enjoyed the way the series explores characters and relationships. The main characters feel human and complex in a way that really worked for me; and I appreciated that they had messy and imperfect responses to challenges and conflict. That being said, I’d have a hard time picking a favorite from the series. I think all are good at telling a broader story, but I can’t say that I enjoyed any one book in particular compared to the others—and that’s not to say that each was a perfect 5-star read, either. I liked them all, and I enjoyed this final book in the series about as much as the others.
Book Club: Chalice by Robin
McKinley, 3
I honestly can’t say that I remember much about this book other than that it was a charming read. According to my notes, I really liked the way it played with the ideas of identity and purpose but I struggled to connect with the characters as the story is very expositional with minimal focus on conversation or relationships.
Parent Protagonist: The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis, 4.5
I adored this book so, so much. It had a great mix of fun worldbuilding, humor, tension, and mystery to really make it a compelling read. It was also way more emotionally moving that I expected it to be—watching Vivian try so hard for her daughter despite facing so many challenges was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I really enjoyed it.
Epistolary: A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall, 4
Despite at least a few critiques that are, to be entirely honest, pretty obvious problems (why does everyone in this book told entirely in letters write in more-or-less the same style/voice?) I honestly loved this book. A mystery revealed slowly over the course of letters featuring scientific viewpoints of an oceanic world—this book is right up my alley. I also loved the second book of the duology (note, it also had a few problems, but, like, refreshingly different problems, which was a fun change of pace).
Published in 2025: Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill, 2.5
Premise-wise, I should have loved this book. The execution, however, didn’t work well for me. What was pitched as a T. Kingfisher-style tale about finding friendship after being othered by society turned out to be a fetch quest with characters I found deeply grating. I ended up really disliking both Jenny and Temperence as people, and the third main character, Brackus, wasn’t enough to save the story. I didn’t feel that the book had anything interesting to say about its themes, nor did I find the book particularly cozy despite it ostensibly being a cozy fantasy story.
Author of Color: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, 3.5
I have mixed feelings about this one, mostly revolving around the modern framing device. Good Stab’s narrative at the heart of the story was such a strong driving force of the narrative, and the characterization of Arthur was so interesting. Based on historical parts of the book alone—Good Stab’s confessions and Aruthur’s journals—this book would have been an easy 4.5 stars. However, I really did not enjoy Etsy’s story as a framing device, and thus really didn’t enjoy the ending of the book.
Self-Published: Manzakar by R. Laham, 3
A story of colonization, assimilation, and oppression with a lot of really interesting nuance held back mostly by a rushed first half and a choppy, often-repetitive writing style. I thought the overall story was very well-executed even if the way the backstory was established wasn’t very strong. The book surprised me with the strength of character relationships, including romantic relationships, that it builds across the story. I do remember wishing that, for a book with a strong focus on archery, the author could describe shooting a bow in more than one way.
Biopunk: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett, 5
This one was a reread—I was lucky enough to get an eARC through NetGalley before the release date. I love this series. Both of the books currently released are on my favorites book list. I think, for me, it’s the perfect mix of intriguing mysteries, compelling characters, humorous writing style, and important overarching themes. It’s the first series I recommend to friends. I could say so much more, but in this sub I know you’ve all heard about it enough.
Elves and Dwarves: The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard, 5
This book was an absolute treasure. I truly appreciate everyone who suggested it for this square, because it’s hard to imagine a book more focused on what it would mean to be as long-lived as an elf. The prose is beyond gorgeous and is used perfectly to support the story being told. The book
I honestly can’t say that I remember much about this book other than that it was a charming read. According to my notes, I really liked the way it played with the ideas of identity and purpose but I struggled to connect with the characters as the story is very expositional with minimal focus on conversation or relationships.
Parent Protagonist: The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis, 4.5
I adored this book so, so much. It had a great mix of fun worldbuilding, humor, tension, and mystery to really make it a compelling read. It was also way more emotionally moving that I expected it to be—watching Vivian try so hard for her daughter despite facing so many challenges was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I really enjoyed it.
Epistolary: A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall, 4
Despite at least a few critiques that are, to be entirely honest, pretty obvious problems (why does everyone in this book told entirely in letters write in more-or-less the same style/voice?) I honestly loved this book. A mystery revealed slowly over the course of letters featuring scientific viewpoints of an oceanic world—this book is right up my alley. I also loved the second book of the duology (note, it also had a few problems, but, like, refreshingly different problems, which was a fun change of pace).
Published in 2025: Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill, 2.5
Premise-wise, I should have loved this book. The execution, however, didn’t work well for me. What was pitched as a T. Kingfisher-style tale about finding friendship after being othered by society turned out to be a fetch quest with characters I found deeply grating. I ended up really disliking both Jenny and Temperence as people, and the third main character, Brackus, wasn’t enough to save the story. I didn’t feel that the book had anything interesting to say about its themes, nor did I find the book particularly cozy despite it ostensibly being a cozy fantasy story.
Author of Color: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, 3.5
I have mixed feelings about this one, mostly revolving around the modern framing device. Good Stab’s narrative at the heart of the story was such a strong driving force of the narrative, and the characterization of Arthur was so interesting. Based on historical parts of the book alone—Good Stab’s confessions and Aruthur’s journals—this book would have been an easy 4.5 stars. However, I really did not enjoy Etsy’s story as a framing device, and thus really didn’t enjoy the ending of the book.
Self-Published: Manzakar by R. Laham, 3
A story of colonization, assimilation, and oppression with a lot of really interesting nuance held back mostly by a rushed first half and a choppy, often-repetitive writing style. I thought the overall story was very well-executed even if the way the backstory was established wasn’t very strong. The book surprised me with the strength of character relationships, including romantic relationships, that it builds across the story. I do remember wishing that, for a book with a strong focus on archery, the author could describe shooting a bow in more than one way.
Biopunk: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett, 5
This one was a reread—I was lucky enough to get an eARC through NetGalley before the release date. I love this series. Both of the books currently released are on my favorites book list. I think, for me, it’s the perfect mix of intriguing mysteries, compelling characters, humorous writing style, and important overarching themes. It’s the first series I recommend to friends. I could say so much more, but in this sub I know you’ve all heard about it enough.
Elves and Dwarves: The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard, 5
This book was an absolute treasure. I truly appreciate everyone who suggested it for this square, because it’s hard to imagine a book more focused on what it would mean to be as long-lived as an elf. The prose is beyond gorgeous and is used perfectly to support the story being told. The book
is slow and lyrical, driven by a weighty emotional journey. I truly cannot recommend this book enough.
LGBTQIA+ Protagonist: To Ride a Rising Storm by Moniquill Blackgoose, 4.5
An extremely nuanced and powerful story about indigenous voices, colonialism, oppression, violence, and totalitarianism—all while being a YA story about dragon rider school. I don’t want to say a ton because this is the second in the series and I don’t want to spoil the first book, but this is the kind of young adult fantasy I think is extremely important because it so artfully addresses complicated, important themes. I think the story of an indigenous teenager who is so strong in her beliefs is a very powerful story for adults as well. Moreover, as a teacher myself, the ending of this book? I don’t want to say much because, you know, spoilers, but I’m getting emotional just writing this review. I highly recommend this series.
Short Stories: What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, 5
As an animal lover who turned that love into a career in biology, this short story collection centering animals as the perspective characters was an instant favorite. My favorite story was Someone Must Watch Over the Dead, featuring the reflections of a vulture eating from the remains of an endangered antelope herd.
Stranger in a Strange Land: The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri, 2.5
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the Bingo, and possibly of the last year of reading as well. I adored Tasha Suri’s The Burning Kingdoms trilogy; in particular, I love her writing style in that series and how complex characters are depicted. However, this one really fell flat for me. I really think that the worldbuilding was a big part of the problem: the legend-driven world and magic system took so much time to explain to even comprehend the book, so much so there was no time left to develop the characters or make the moment-to-moment plot particularly compelling. Moreover, a central theme of this book was fighting against fate for freedom you might never achieve, but the characters were so flat and felt like they had so little influence on the plot. The book ended up dragging, and I ultimately didn’t care for it at all. I did get this as an ARC from the publisher.
Recycle a Bingo Square – Entitled Animals: The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean, 4
I think Entitled Animals might be my favorite bingo square theme, in part because I always love an excuse to read books centering mythical creatures. The Pheonix Keeper was a great read: a young zookeeper trying to revitalize the breeding program for an endangered phoenix species while also overcoming her crippling anxiety? Sign me up! The book is fun, zany, heartwarming, and overall, a great cozy romantic fantasy.
Cozy SFF: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna, 4.5
I think this book had the exact theme I needed at a time I needed it most. This story of a witch who lost her powers in a great act of magic and the found family she’s created has such powerful themes about mental health and self-acceptance. I would also say that, for the book being a romance, I actually think the romance is both the least interesting and least important aspect of this book.
Generic Title: Song of Silver, Flame like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao, 2.5
Unfortunately, this is the kind of YA story that prioritizes creating drama over telling a coherent story. I normally have a pretty high tolerance for edginess, especially in YA books, but this book was something else. Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure some of the stuff the kids are reading nowadays is worse (heck, I know I read worse when I was younger), but wow did I get bored of this one! I just stop finding it interesting when every question of what will happen next can be answered by thinking of which option will make the book as dramatic as possible. It felt like this book sidelined some actually interesting struggles, such as being a young woman struggling with access to unknown and highly forbidden power under colonialist
LGBTQIA+ Protagonist: To Ride a Rising Storm by Moniquill Blackgoose, 4.5
An extremely nuanced and powerful story about indigenous voices, colonialism, oppression, violence, and totalitarianism—all while being a YA story about dragon rider school. I don’t want to say a ton because this is the second in the series and I don’t want to spoil the first book, but this is the kind of young adult fantasy I think is extremely important because it so artfully addresses complicated, important themes. I think the story of an indigenous teenager who is so strong in her beliefs is a very powerful story for adults as well. Moreover, as a teacher myself, the ending of this book? I don’t want to say much because, you know, spoilers, but I’m getting emotional just writing this review. I highly recommend this series.
Short Stories: What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, 5
As an animal lover who turned that love into a career in biology, this short story collection centering animals as the perspective characters was an instant favorite. My favorite story was Someone Must Watch Over the Dead, featuring the reflections of a vulture eating from the remains of an endangered antelope herd.
Stranger in a Strange Land: The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri, 2.5
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of the Bingo, and possibly of the last year of reading as well. I adored Tasha Suri’s The Burning Kingdoms trilogy; in particular, I love her writing style in that series and how complex characters are depicted. However, this one really fell flat for me. I really think that the worldbuilding was a big part of the problem: the legend-driven world and magic system took so much time to explain to even comprehend the book, so much so there was no time left to develop the characters or make the moment-to-moment plot particularly compelling. Moreover, a central theme of this book was fighting against fate for freedom you might never achieve, but the characters were so flat and felt like they had so little influence on the plot. The book ended up dragging, and I ultimately didn’t care for it at all. I did get this as an ARC from the publisher.
Recycle a Bingo Square – Entitled Animals: The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean, 4
I think Entitled Animals might be my favorite bingo square theme, in part because I always love an excuse to read books centering mythical creatures. The Pheonix Keeper was a great read: a young zookeeper trying to revitalize the breeding program for an endangered phoenix species while also overcoming her crippling anxiety? Sign me up! The book is fun, zany, heartwarming, and overall, a great cozy romantic fantasy.
Cozy SFF: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna, 4.5
I think this book had the exact theme I needed at a time I needed it most. This story of a witch who lost her powers in a great act of magic and the found family she’s created has such powerful themes about mental health and self-acceptance. I would also say that, for the book being a romance, I actually think the romance is both the least interesting and least important aspect of this book.
Generic Title: Song of Silver, Flame like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao, 2.5
Unfortunately, this is the kind of YA story that prioritizes creating drama over telling a coherent story. I normally have a pretty high tolerance for edginess, especially in YA books, but this book was something else. Like, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure some of the stuff the kids are reading nowadays is worse (heck, I know I read worse when I was younger), but wow did I get bored of this one! I just stop finding it interesting when every question of what will happen next can be answered by thinking of which option will make the book as dramatic as possible. It felt like this book sidelined some actually interesting struggles, such as being a young woman struggling with access to unknown and highly forbidden power under colonialist
oppression, to focus on making some dude as emo as possible. That being said, knowing me, I will read the second book in the duology just to see where it all goes.
Not a Book: Spirit of the North 2 by Infuse Studio
Oh, how I longed to love this game! There’s so much to love: you play as a spirit fox in a world inspired by Nordic folklore. With your raven companion, you journey across the expansive Scandinavian wilderness to discover what happened to the other spirit animals and to protect your homeland from the conquering bear. The game focuses on environmental storytelling and exploration of the natural landscape. All in all, I should have loved this game—I have a deep-seated obsession with foxes and corvids (for context, this game lets you customize your fox, and I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to make it look as much like my fox tattoo as possible), I love of Nodic/Scandinavian landscapes and folklore (I recently returned to the states after residing in Finland for a year), and my favorite game of all time lets you play as a canid (Okami, if anyone was wondering).
Despite everything that should have been in this game’s favor, including the fact that I really enjoyed the first game…this just didn’t work for me. The game cycle is very repetitive: go to a new area that’s associated with a animal spirit/deity and was once inhabited by an associated human tribe, find 2-3 key items that unlock the next door in puzzle dungeons, get a new power, use new power to fight the corrupted boss of that land and restore them. As such, the three main ‘parts’ of the game are 1) environmental exploration to find puzzle dungeons, 2) puzzle dungeons, and 3) boss fights. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any of these to be particularly fun.
First, the environmental exploration: I don’t mind open world games as long as there’s always stuff to do and see, navigation is either easy or interesting, and the game world is worth looking at. Unfortunately, this world doesn’t really achieve any of these goals. The game sells itself as having beautiful landscapes but just doesn’t have the graphics or power to support it. The world is far too big and mostly sparse, making exploration rather boring. The only thing to do is look for puzzle areas, look for random lore scrolls each containing 1-2 sentences of a story and located in near-identical abandoned human settlements, find currency you don’t really need, and occasionally glitch through the ground and die. Once or twice, there was a fun discovery, but unfortunately the world just isn’t pretty enough to justify the focus on environmental exploration. I think if the map was a third of the size it would have worked better.
Second, the puzzles: never before have I actually managed to softlock myself as much as I did in this game. The puzzles are fine, but rarely did one really make me think, and the dungeons themselves were rarely interesting enough to motivate the exploration. Mainly, my issue with the puzzles is that the visual language of the game was unclear, meaning I got stuck not because I didn’t know what to do but because I couldn’t find the gosh darned thing I was looking for. For example (though admittedly not really a puzzle), I got stuck very early because the environment made it look like I needed to solve a puzzle to open a way through, but I couldn’t find the puzzle to solve. Actually, I needed to find a random and unintuitive side path that entirely blended into the environment, but it was too early in the game to have learned that it was even possible to go over there. Another time, the game didn’t show me what overall puzzle I was trying to solve (bring relics to a gate to open it), so I found one randomly, carried it around for a while with no idea what to do, found the other relic, dropped the first one in favor of the second, then realized what I needed to do and had to repeat the first puzzle dungeon.
Third, the boss fights. The good: all the spirit animals (the fox and raven included) are gorgeous models, and the bosses especially had beautiful animation rigs
Not a Book: Spirit of the North 2 by Infuse Studio
Oh, how I longed to love this game! There’s so much to love: you play as a spirit fox in a world inspired by Nordic folklore. With your raven companion, you journey across the expansive Scandinavian wilderness to discover what happened to the other spirit animals and to protect your homeland from the conquering bear. The game focuses on environmental storytelling and exploration of the natural landscape. All in all, I should have loved this game—I have a deep-seated obsession with foxes and corvids (for context, this game lets you customize your fox, and I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to make it look as much like my fox tattoo as possible), I love of Nodic/Scandinavian landscapes and folklore (I recently returned to the states after residing in Finland for a year), and my favorite game of all time lets you play as a canid (Okami, if anyone was wondering).
Despite everything that should have been in this game’s favor, including the fact that I really enjoyed the first game…this just didn’t work for me. The game cycle is very repetitive: go to a new area that’s associated with a animal spirit/deity and was once inhabited by an associated human tribe, find 2-3 key items that unlock the next door in puzzle dungeons, get a new power, use new power to fight the corrupted boss of that land and restore them. As such, the three main ‘parts’ of the game are 1) environmental exploration to find puzzle dungeons, 2) puzzle dungeons, and 3) boss fights. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any of these to be particularly fun.
First, the environmental exploration: I don’t mind open world games as long as there’s always stuff to do and see, navigation is either easy or interesting, and the game world is worth looking at. Unfortunately, this world doesn’t really achieve any of these goals. The game sells itself as having beautiful landscapes but just doesn’t have the graphics or power to support it. The world is far too big and mostly sparse, making exploration rather boring. The only thing to do is look for puzzle areas, look for random lore scrolls each containing 1-2 sentences of a story and located in near-identical abandoned human settlements, find currency you don’t really need, and occasionally glitch through the ground and die. Once or twice, there was a fun discovery, but unfortunately the world just isn’t pretty enough to justify the focus on environmental exploration. I think if the map was a third of the size it would have worked better.
Second, the puzzles: never before have I actually managed to softlock myself as much as I did in this game. The puzzles are fine, but rarely did one really make me think, and the dungeons themselves were rarely interesting enough to motivate the exploration. Mainly, my issue with the puzzles is that the visual language of the game was unclear, meaning I got stuck not because I didn’t know what to do but because I couldn’t find the gosh darned thing I was looking for. For example (though admittedly not really a puzzle), I got stuck very early because the environment made it look like I needed to solve a puzzle to open a way through, but I couldn’t find the puzzle to solve. Actually, I needed to find a random and unintuitive side path that entirely blended into the environment, but it was too early in the game to have learned that it was even possible to go over there. Another time, the game didn’t show me what overall puzzle I was trying to solve (bring relics to a gate to open it), so I found one randomly, carried it around for a while with no idea what to do, found the other relic, dropped the first one in favor of the second, then realized what I needed to do and had to repeat the first puzzle dungeon.
Third, the boss fights. The good: all the spirit animals (the fox and raven included) are gorgeous models, and the bosses especially had beautiful animation rigs
(I wish I could say the same about the fox or raven given we see them the whole game; both are stiff and have weird quirks, like the fox always standing awkwardly with one paw raised of the raven having awful posing whenever its not flying). The downside is once again the visual language of the game—hit boxes are weird and ill-defined, meaning I often got hit when I truly didn’t think that I should. Especially on the wolf boss, I’d get hit by something that didn’t feel like it actually hit me, the fox would take its dear sweet time getting out of ragdoll form and get back to its feet, and by the time my abilities slowly recharged after that the wolf would just hit me again. The raven had really interesting mechanics, and the stag to some degree; however, the ram was an incredibly frustrating combination of slow, uncomplicated, and long. Combined with mushy hitboxes, it meant that it took for-hecking-ever to beat because I kept losing less because it was difficult and more because it was so drawn out, dull, slow, and yet every mistake was costly. The wolf was the same—more challenging, but most of the challenge was whether or not I had the patience to get through the extremely slow easy parts to actually get another try at the hard parts.
All in all, I didn’t enjoy this game much—I didn’t even end up finishing it when I got busy with other things, and that never happens. The funny thing is that literally everything this game did –environmental storytelling, a gameplay loop of environmental exploration of forgotten civilization followed by puzzle dungeons and spirit animal bosses, and a bird companion—was accomplished by one of the few other games I played last year, The Pathless. There, you’re a human rather than a fox, your bird is an eagle rather than a raven, and the inspiration for the landscape and spirit animals is Mongolian rather than Nordic, but other than that they are the. same. game. I am not even kidding; they are the exact same game. Only that one is prettier, less empty, has more interesting puzzles, has far fewer glitches, and even randomly had Laura Bailey and Troy Baker voice acting despite the game having a fantasy language and only like one conversation. I don’t think The Pathless was perfect either, but it was a far, far better experience than Spirit of the North 2.
Pirates: Barbary Station by R.E. Stearns, 1.5
I had so much trouble finding a non-sea faring pirate for this square’s hard mode. As someone who enjoys queer SFF, I was determined to find a sapphic space pirates book. It took me forever to narrow down to a few options, and even longer to find a copy of any of them—my library system is normally great, but their sapphic space pirates selection was, apparently, lacking. I was (un)lucky enough to snag a used copy of Barbary Station at a Half Price Books outlet and, let me tell you, I wish I hadn’t. I’ve read plenty of books that were more bad but not all that many that were less good. This book was so mindboggling boring. Of the two perspective characters, one is marginally interesting and spends time interacting with the world (low bar, I know) and the other spends almost the entire time interfacing with a techo-hallucinatory interface with the space station’s AI while being on an awful lot of drugs? For a book about a bunch of space pirates trapped on a dead space station by an evil security AI, there was rarely anything resembling tension or stakes in the book.
https://redd.it/1rzr6a7
@r_fantasy
All in all, I didn’t enjoy this game much—I didn’t even end up finishing it when I got busy with other things, and that never happens. The funny thing is that literally everything this game did –environmental storytelling, a gameplay loop of environmental exploration of forgotten civilization followed by puzzle dungeons and spirit animal bosses, and a bird companion—was accomplished by one of the few other games I played last year, The Pathless. There, you’re a human rather than a fox, your bird is an eagle rather than a raven, and the inspiration for the landscape and spirit animals is Mongolian rather than Nordic, but other than that they are the. same. game. I am not even kidding; they are the exact same game. Only that one is prettier, less empty, has more interesting puzzles, has far fewer glitches, and even randomly had Laura Bailey and Troy Baker voice acting despite the game having a fantasy language and only like one conversation. I don’t think The Pathless was perfect either, but it was a far, far better experience than Spirit of the North 2.
Pirates: Barbary Station by R.E. Stearns, 1.5
I had so much trouble finding a non-sea faring pirate for this square’s hard mode. As someone who enjoys queer SFF, I was determined to find a sapphic space pirates book. It took me forever to narrow down to a few options, and even longer to find a copy of any of them—my library system is normally great, but their sapphic space pirates selection was, apparently, lacking. I was (un)lucky enough to snag a used copy of Barbary Station at a Half Price Books outlet and, let me tell you, I wish I hadn’t. I’ve read plenty of books that were more bad but not all that many that were less good. This book was so mindboggling boring. Of the two perspective characters, one is marginally interesting and spends time interacting with the world (low bar, I know) and the other spends almost the entire time interfacing with a techo-hallucinatory interface with the space station’s AI while being on an awful lot of drugs? For a book about a bunch of space pirates trapped on a dead space station by an evil security AI, there was rarely anything resembling tension or stakes in the book.
https://redd.it/1rzr6a7
@r_fantasy
Reddit
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
Book Bingo 2025 - Weird lit, horror, and medieval settings (please give me more recommendations!)
As usual, I was mostly mood-reading from about April to November, which resulted in me having a wealth of options for Impossible Places and A Book in Parts, but nothing for Pirates, Elves & Dwarves, and (surprisingly) Generic Title. After some focused reading and the obligatory Bingo shuffle, I now have a full card to share.
While writing my reviews, I realized my card features some mini-themes: weird lit, horror, and medieval settings (sometimes all in combination). If you have any recommendations based on these themes, or based on a specific book I’ve read, please let me know!
https://preview.redd.it/26mjyaamcfqg1.jpg?width=1113&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dac2474c57a680dc6ee5e3d6a20bdbe8e2d2375d
Knights/Paladins: The West Passage by Jared Pechaček
First out in the weird lit/medieval mini-theme. I highly recommend reading instead of listening to this, so you don’t miss out on the illustrations. I think the author describes the book as being inspired by strange drawings in medieval texts, and that’s an accurate description of how weird and imaginative it is. I’m eagerly looking out for anything else that Pechaček publishes.
Hidden Gem: The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky
The story is revealed through different characters talking to Manet, the protagonist, but her answers are invisible. I’m impressed at how Polansky pulled this off, and enjoyed how everything came together in the end. Despite being pretty short, the story feels contained.
Published in the 80s: Rövarna i Skuleskogen (The Forest of Hours) by Kerstin Ekman
The book follows the troll Skord as he interacts with humans over about 500 years, from the medieval ages to just before the industrial revolution. It’s filled with stories of humanity and belonging, and I’ve thought about it a lot since I finished it. Kerstin Ekman is a famous author here in Sweden, but I’d never heard of this specific book until u/schlagsahne17 highlighted it in one of the Tuesday Review posts (thank you!).
High Fashion: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
Carl and Donut continue their journey through the dungeon, but now they also have to start thinking about how to keep their followers entertained. I went into the first DCC book with very low expectations (I substituted the litRPG Bingo square a few years ago) but was pleasantly surprised. Carl and Donut are still a great duo, but the story felt kind of all over the place, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as DCC#1. I am planning on continuing their journey though.
Down with the System: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
An epic space story with complicated political schemes, but also a lot of heart. Gigantic starships are powered by AIs, and they can also split their consciousness into multiple human bodies. These bodies might not always be in agreement with each other, and I loved how the story explored this dilemma. I will definitely be continuing the series.
Impossible Places: Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey
Next out among the medieval setting books! Once Was Willem is a perfect mix of horror, fable, and found family, with a compelling cast of main characters. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but from then on it really charmed me.
A Book in Parts: The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes
I know it’s only March, but I think this will be one of my favorite reads of 2026. It’s the perfect mix of weird, gross, and whimsical, and I enjoyed the mix of high society political schemes and underground movements.
Gods & Pantheons: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
I enjoyed the beginning of Katabasis, when Alice and Peter are traveling through the first levels of Hell, and I liked the flashbacks to academia. My PhD journey definitely felt like traveling through Dante’s Inferno at times. Unfortunately, the rest of the book felt pretty empty and slow and would’ve benefited from some harsh editing.
Last in a Series: The Magnus Archives: Season 5 by Jonathan Sims
I
As usual, I was mostly mood-reading from about April to November, which resulted in me having a wealth of options for Impossible Places and A Book in Parts, but nothing for Pirates, Elves & Dwarves, and (surprisingly) Generic Title. After some focused reading and the obligatory Bingo shuffle, I now have a full card to share.
While writing my reviews, I realized my card features some mini-themes: weird lit, horror, and medieval settings (sometimes all in combination). If you have any recommendations based on these themes, or based on a specific book I’ve read, please let me know!
https://preview.redd.it/26mjyaamcfqg1.jpg?width=1113&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dac2474c57a680dc6ee5e3d6a20bdbe8e2d2375d
Knights/Paladins: The West Passage by Jared Pechaček
First out in the weird lit/medieval mini-theme. I highly recommend reading instead of listening to this, so you don’t miss out on the illustrations. I think the author describes the book as being inspired by strange drawings in medieval texts, and that’s an accurate description of how weird and imaginative it is. I’m eagerly looking out for anything else that Pechaček publishes.
Hidden Gem: The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky
The story is revealed through different characters talking to Manet, the protagonist, but her answers are invisible. I’m impressed at how Polansky pulled this off, and enjoyed how everything came together in the end. Despite being pretty short, the story feels contained.
Published in the 80s: Rövarna i Skuleskogen (The Forest of Hours) by Kerstin Ekman
The book follows the troll Skord as he interacts with humans over about 500 years, from the medieval ages to just before the industrial revolution. It’s filled with stories of humanity and belonging, and I’ve thought about it a lot since I finished it. Kerstin Ekman is a famous author here in Sweden, but I’d never heard of this specific book until u/schlagsahne17 highlighted it in one of the Tuesday Review posts (thank you!).
High Fashion: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
Carl and Donut continue their journey through the dungeon, but now they also have to start thinking about how to keep their followers entertained. I went into the first DCC book with very low expectations (I substituted the litRPG Bingo square a few years ago) but was pleasantly surprised. Carl and Donut are still a great duo, but the story felt kind of all over the place, so I didn’t enjoy it as much as DCC#1. I am planning on continuing their journey though.
Down with the System: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
An epic space story with complicated political schemes, but also a lot of heart. Gigantic starships are powered by AIs, and they can also split their consciousness into multiple human bodies. These bodies might not always be in agreement with each other, and I loved how the story explored this dilemma. I will definitely be continuing the series.
Impossible Places: Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey
Next out among the medieval setting books! Once Was Willem is a perfect mix of horror, fable, and found family, with a compelling cast of main characters. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, but from then on it really charmed me.
A Book in Parts: The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes
I know it’s only March, but I think this will be one of my favorite reads of 2026. It’s the perfect mix of weird, gross, and whimsical, and I enjoyed the mix of high society political schemes and underground movements.
Gods & Pantheons: Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
I enjoyed the beginning of Katabasis, when Alice and Peter are traveling through the first levels of Hell, and I liked the flashbacks to academia. My PhD journey definitely felt like traveling through Dante’s Inferno at times. Unfortunately, the rest of the book felt pretty empty and slow and would’ve benefited from some harsh editing.
Last in a Series: The Magnus Archives: Season 5 by Jonathan Sims
I
started The Magnus Archives after hearing about it from u/improperlyparanoid (join our [Readalong](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1nqa0qs/themagnusarchivesreadalongannouncementand/)!) and was sucked right in. It’s an epistolary podcast following the employees of The Magnus Institute. Each episode is centered around a statement given by someone who has experienced a supernatural event, but as the series progresses you start to realize that some statements might be connected, and you get to know the staff better. I couldn’t listen to anything else until I’d finished all of it, and any horror media I consume from now on will be colored by TMA.
Book Club: The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
This was so good, but so sad. I liked all three POVs, but my favorite was Damira, the scientist whose consciousness has been uploaded into a mammoth. A rightful winner of the 2025 Hugo Award for best novella.
Parents: Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
Another novel with a medieval setting. Lapvona is centered around a small village and its inhabitants. It’s a story about family, power, and religion, told through an unsettling cast of characters.
Epistolary: Wylding Hall by Elisabeth Hand
The story of the folk band and their fateful summer at Wylding Hall, an old country estate that may be haunted, is told through a set of interviews. The audio version was great, and the mystery of the vanished lead singer was actually pretty spooky.
Published in 2025: North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther by Ethan Rutherford
This is a sea voyage story done right. Endless, identical days of sailing through open water are mixed with brutal descriptions of the whaling industry, and the harsh life of the crew is juxtaposed with scenes from the rich family who owns the ship. The magical elements tie everything together, and all in all this makes for a strong debut novel.
Author of Color: Luminous: A Novel by Silvia Park
Another strong debut novel, set in a future where North and South Korea have unified, and where robots are integrated into society. The book features some really compelling characters and fascinating discussions about humanity and personhood, but sometimes the plot gets lost in too many storylines and POVs.
Self Published: Vårt liv är inte vårt (Our Life is Not Our Own) by Orest Lastow
I picked this up because it’s written by a professor at Lund University, my alma mater and where I live. The story is also set at the University, and while I haven’t studied physics, the academic atmosphere is very familiar. It’s also fun when you recognize all the pubs and street names. The story itself was okay: the technical aspects were interesting, but the characters were pretty flat and the dialogue stilted. I also think it’s a “it’s not you, it’s me thing” – these types of “techno-thrillers” (like Waking Giants by Sylvain Neuvel and Dark Matter by Blake Crouch) aren’t really my cup of tea. It’s been translated into English though, so hopefully one of you here will try it and like it!
Biopunk: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennet
This hardly needs introduction – I suspect that the majority of everyone handing in a Bingo card will have read either this book or The Tainted Cup for the Biopunk square. A Drop of Corruption is not as good as the first book, but I still had a great time with Ana and Din and the fascinating world that Bennet has built. Eagerly looking forward to A Trade of Blood later this year.
Elves/Dwarves: The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
I really recommend the audio book: songs are an important part of the story, and the narrator performs them well. Amal and her sister also play the harp and flute in the background, which helps set the scene of this fairytale. I really liked the prose, but the story itself felt a little rushed and without depth.
LGBTQIA Protagonist: Färjan by Mats Strandberg
A horror story set on a cruise ship between Sweden and Finland. These cruises are infamous for a lot of alcohol and partying, but
Book Club: The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler
This was so good, but so sad. I liked all three POVs, but my favorite was Damira, the scientist whose consciousness has been uploaded into a mammoth. A rightful winner of the 2025 Hugo Award for best novella.
Parents: Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
Another novel with a medieval setting. Lapvona is centered around a small village and its inhabitants. It’s a story about family, power, and religion, told through an unsettling cast of characters.
Epistolary: Wylding Hall by Elisabeth Hand
The story of the folk band and their fateful summer at Wylding Hall, an old country estate that may be haunted, is told through a set of interviews. The audio version was great, and the mystery of the vanished lead singer was actually pretty spooky.
Published in 2025: North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther by Ethan Rutherford
This is a sea voyage story done right. Endless, identical days of sailing through open water are mixed with brutal descriptions of the whaling industry, and the harsh life of the crew is juxtaposed with scenes from the rich family who owns the ship. The magical elements tie everything together, and all in all this makes for a strong debut novel.
Author of Color: Luminous: A Novel by Silvia Park
Another strong debut novel, set in a future where North and South Korea have unified, and where robots are integrated into society. The book features some really compelling characters and fascinating discussions about humanity and personhood, but sometimes the plot gets lost in too many storylines and POVs.
Self Published: Vårt liv är inte vårt (Our Life is Not Our Own) by Orest Lastow
I picked this up because it’s written by a professor at Lund University, my alma mater and where I live. The story is also set at the University, and while I haven’t studied physics, the academic atmosphere is very familiar. It’s also fun when you recognize all the pubs and street names. The story itself was okay: the technical aspects were interesting, but the characters were pretty flat and the dialogue stilted. I also think it’s a “it’s not you, it’s me thing” – these types of “techno-thrillers” (like Waking Giants by Sylvain Neuvel and Dark Matter by Blake Crouch) aren’t really my cup of tea. It’s been translated into English though, so hopefully one of you here will try it and like it!
Biopunk: A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennet
This hardly needs introduction – I suspect that the majority of everyone handing in a Bingo card will have read either this book or The Tainted Cup for the Biopunk square. A Drop of Corruption is not as good as the first book, but I still had a great time with Ana and Din and the fascinating world that Bennet has built. Eagerly looking forward to A Trade of Blood later this year.
Elves/Dwarves: The River has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
I really recommend the audio book: songs are an important part of the story, and the narrator performs them well. Amal and her sister also play the harp and flute in the background, which helps set the scene of this fairytale. I really liked the prose, but the story itself felt a little rushed and without depth.
LGBTQIA Protagonist: Färjan by Mats Strandberg
A horror story set on a cruise ship between Sweden and Finland. These cruises are infamous for a lot of alcohol and partying, but
Reddit
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
families with small kids are also often among the passengers. This weird mix makes a perfect setting for a gory horror story where no one can escape. Mats Strandberg is great at character portraits, and I can tell he had fun writing this book. It’s also been made into a mini-series! (only Swedish subtitles though)
Short Stories: Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez
A compelling collection of short stories centered around women. Some stories are stranger than others, but the overarching atmosphere is haunting and brutal. I will definitely be reading more by Enriquez.
Stranger in a Strange Land: Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I can see why this novel does not work for everyone, but to me, the dark humor and homages to/parodies of classical authors and books never got old. UnCharles was a fun character to follow, and while the book in general is pretty bleak, I like that it ended somewhat hopefully.
Recycle a Bingo Square – Horror (2023): The Haar by David Sodergren
I think this is the book that surprised me the most, in a good way. It’s a (very) gory horror story, it’s a romance novel (maybe even counts for monsterfucking?), and it’s an elderly Scottish lady getting revenge and standing up for herself. Yes, the villains are cartoonishly evil, but that makes it all the more satisfying when they meet their (very bloody) end. (this review sums it up so well (mild spoilers though))
Cozy SFF: Lirael by Garth Nix
This might not be cozy for everyone, but I love the atmosphere and the characters of the Old Kingdom series. Lirael’s journey of self-discovery and exploration of the magic library was fun, and Sam's story really grew on me. (also, who doesn't love Moggett)
Generic Title: Våran hud, vårat blod, våra ben by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Surprisingly, this square was one of the hardest to fill, so I was happy when I found this short story collection by John Ajvide Lindqvist (JAL). He is a very skilled horror writer, and I enjoyed reading stories that felt different in style from what I’ve read of him previously. As with Mats Strandberg’s Färjan, I could tell that JAL had had fun when writing these. I also enjoyed the intro, where he talks about his writing habits.
Not a Book: Flow (movie) by Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza, and Ron Dyens
A hopeful and bittersweet movie about a group of animals who suddenly find themselves in a flood. It’s entirely without (human) dialogue, but it still manages to convey a lot of emotions. I recommend this to everyone.
Pirates: Terrestrial History by Joe Mungo Reed
A story told through four generations, from a current/near-future Scotland to a future colony on Mars. The climate dystopia parts were hard to read because of how real they felt, but despite all the bleakness, the story also contains hopeful elements. It reminded me of Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel: both books evoke this feeling of nostalgia for something you’ve never experienced, and both books also handle time travel in a way that I like.
https://redd.it/1rzvr7i
@r_fantasy
Short Stories: Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez
A compelling collection of short stories centered around women. Some stories are stranger than others, but the overarching atmosphere is haunting and brutal. I will definitely be reading more by Enriquez.
Stranger in a Strange Land: Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
I can see why this novel does not work for everyone, but to me, the dark humor and homages to/parodies of classical authors and books never got old. UnCharles was a fun character to follow, and while the book in general is pretty bleak, I like that it ended somewhat hopefully.
Recycle a Bingo Square – Horror (2023): The Haar by David Sodergren
I think this is the book that surprised me the most, in a good way. It’s a (very) gory horror story, it’s a romance novel (maybe even counts for monsterfucking?), and it’s an elderly Scottish lady getting revenge and standing up for herself. Yes, the villains are cartoonishly evil, but that makes it all the more satisfying when they meet their (very bloody) end. (this review sums it up so well (mild spoilers though))
Cozy SFF: Lirael by Garth Nix
This might not be cozy for everyone, but I love the atmosphere and the characters of the Old Kingdom series. Lirael’s journey of self-discovery and exploration of the magic library was fun, and Sam's story really grew on me. (also, who doesn't love Moggett)
Generic Title: Våran hud, vårat blod, våra ben by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Surprisingly, this square was one of the hardest to fill, so I was happy when I found this short story collection by John Ajvide Lindqvist (JAL). He is a very skilled horror writer, and I enjoyed reading stories that felt different in style from what I’ve read of him previously. As with Mats Strandberg’s Färjan, I could tell that JAL had had fun when writing these. I also enjoyed the intro, where he talks about his writing habits.
Not a Book: Flow (movie) by Gints Zilbalodis, Matiss Kaza, and Ron Dyens
A hopeful and bittersweet movie about a group of animals who suddenly find themselves in a flood. It’s entirely without (human) dialogue, but it still manages to convey a lot of emotions. I recommend this to everyone.
Pirates: Terrestrial History by Joe Mungo Reed
A story told through four generations, from a current/near-future Scotland to a future colony on Mars. The climate dystopia parts were hard to read because of how real they felt, but despite all the bleakness, the story also contains hopeful elements. It reminded me of Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel: both books evoke this feeling of nostalgia for something you’ve never experienced, and both books also handle time travel in a way that I like.
https://redd.it/1rzvr7i
@r_fantasy
SVT Play
Färjan
På en vanlig finlandsfärja full med nöjeslystna passagerare finns även två vampyrer ombord. Under natten på havet blir kontakten med land plötsligt bruten. Nöjestrippen förvandlas till en fasansfull färd och det finns ingenstans att fly. Baserad på Mats Strandbergs…
I finally understand The Lord of the Rings
This is going to be a long post because my experience with this book deserves nothing less. My whole life I have danced around lord of the rings. I have a super vague memory of watching them as a very young child when my much older brother's girlfriend brought them over and we had a movie marathon over a weekend. I have almost no memory of that viewing experience at all. It has always seemed like something that just doesn't resonate with me because (I know how this sounds and I can't believe there was ever a version of myself that though this) I thought that hobbits were weird and game me the ick...... I KNOW I KNOW.
Anyways, despite that I have always been an avid fantasy reader, reading things like warriors as a youngster and The Ranger's Apprentice. Then I stopped reading until probably the middle of high school when I found Game of Thrones and it totally reignited my love for reading and fantasy in general. Since then I am now ending college and have read The First Law, Asoiaf, The Five warrior angels, Red rising, a hint of Malazan, and a hint of Suneater. So not like extremely well read and you can definitely sense the bubble I was in lol.
I had also bounced off of fantasy in the last two years ish and just found myself enjoying other stuff. (Salley Rooney, DFW, Thomas Pynchon). However, over spring break I got the sudden urge to get lost in a fantasy world. So I go to B&N and impulsively buy..... The Shadow of What was Lost by James Islington. Now this is not a diss on Mr. Islington as I really did enjoy the book and will for sure read the sequels in the future but after I read that book I realized it wasn't really the vivid sprawling fantasy world I wanted. (again not a diss at all, I'm not sure that was even his goal with that series as the shining aspect of that seemed to be the complex plot which I enjoyed immensely)
A couple days later, I found at half price books a creepy ass edition of fellowship of the ring that was torn to shreds for like four dollars and thought what the hell, I had read like 100 pages of it years ago and convinced myself that my biases were correct and I would hate it and that's exactly what happened. But I thought maybe this time would be different, I had grown a lot as a reader, and have been now an aspiring writer myself for a year or two. I am now on the final chapter of Fellowship and am just obsessed in every sense. It has been one of my most enjoyable reading experiences of my life. It is an absolute achievement in literature and I am so pleased that I found it at this exact point in my life.
I don't know if it's because coming hot off Licanius that felt a lot like a debut novel of a person that was inspired to try and give their idea life. Whereas Fellowship feels like a master of his craft challenging himself to use every ounce of his talent to create something important. It is just perfect. Every word is perfect. But that is not to say that it is challenging to read exactly, it just flows. I find that I can read fifty pages in the same time it would take me to read twenty of a less complex prose. Gimli and Legolas are almost bringing me to tears every time they are on page together. I feel like each character and culture is so distinct and all I want to do is learn more about the history of this place. and most importantly... I fucking love hobbits and would lay down my life for every single one of them. I can't WAIT for the next two books.
"What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea"
TLDR: I always believed the lie that LOTR was just basic boring fantasy that I had outgrown... it's perfect... perfect.. down to the last minute detail.
https://redd.it/1rzz0q3
@r_fantasy
This is going to be a long post because my experience with this book deserves nothing less. My whole life I have danced around lord of the rings. I have a super vague memory of watching them as a very young child when my much older brother's girlfriend brought them over and we had a movie marathon over a weekend. I have almost no memory of that viewing experience at all. It has always seemed like something that just doesn't resonate with me because (I know how this sounds and I can't believe there was ever a version of myself that though this) I thought that hobbits were weird and game me the ick...... I KNOW I KNOW.
Anyways, despite that I have always been an avid fantasy reader, reading things like warriors as a youngster and The Ranger's Apprentice. Then I stopped reading until probably the middle of high school when I found Game of Thrones and it totally reignited my love for reading and fantasy in general. Since then I am now ending college and have read The First Law, Asoiaf, The Five warrior angels, Red rising, a hint of Malazan, and a hint of Suneater. So not like extremely well read and you can definitely sense the bubble I was in lol.
I had also bounced off of fantasy in the last two years ish and just found myself enjoying other stuff. (Salley Rooney, DFW, Thomas Pynchon). However, over spring break I got the sudden urge to get lost in a fantasy world. So I go to B&N and impulsively buy..... The Shadow of What was Lost by James Islington. Now this is not a diss on Mr. Islington as I really did enjoy the book and will for sure read the sequels in the future but after I read that book I realized it wasn't really the vivid sprawling fantasy world I wanted. (again not a diss at all, I'm not sure that was even his goal with that series as the shining aspect of that seemed to be the complex plot which I enjoyed immensely)
A couple days later, I found at half price books a creepy ass edition of fellowship of the ring that was torn to shreds for like four dollars and thought what the hell, I had read like 100 pages of it years ago and convinced myself that my biases were correct and I would hate it and that's exactly what happened. But I thought maybe this time would be different, I had grown a lot as a reader, and have been now an aspiring writer myself for a year or two. I am now on the final chapter of Fellowship and am just obsessed in every sense. It has been one of my most enjoyable reading experiences of my life. It is an absolute achievement in literature and I am so pleased that I found it at this exact point in my life.
I don't know if it's because coming hot off Licanius that felt a lot like a debut novel of a person that was inspired to try and give their idea life. Whereas Fellowship feels like a master of his craft challenging himself to use every ounce of his talent to create something important. It is just perfect. Every word is perfect. But that is not to say that it is challenging to read exactly, it just flows. I find that I can read fifty pages in the same time it would take me to read twenty of a less complex prose. Gimli and Legolas are almost bringing me to tears every time they are on page together. I feel like each character and culture is so distinct and all I want to do is learn more about the history of this place. and most importantly... I fucking love hobbits and would lay down my life for every single one of them. I can't WAIT for the next two books.
"What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea"
TLDR: I always believed the lie that LOTR was just basic boring fantasy that I had outgrown... it's perfect... perfect.. down to the last minute detail.
https://redd.it/1rzz0q3
@r_fantasy
Reddit
From the Fantasy community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the Fantasy community
Why non-human races are not popular in fantasy anymore?
I've spotted an interesting tendency in recent years - we have less and less non-human races in fantasy. There were interesting times when everyone wanted to be like Tolkien (publishers especially), due to what we have our lovely standard 'DnD' setting with elves/dwarves/gnomes/orcs/halflings etc. There is a lot of fantasy using this set of races - some more blatantly, some with deviations, but it was logical and, to be honest, a good thing that it started to meet it's end.
So finally, we could get a new era of fantasy, where each author could express themselves and create totally new, unique, non-Tolkien inspired races... Wait, what? What do you mean there is no more races now?
Let's just too at this list of most popular epic fantasy https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/50.The\_Best\_Epic\_Fantasy\_fiction\_ . As you can see, in 90's-00's everything shifted and the most icon fantasy of time like ASOIAF, The Wheel of Time, The Realm of Elderlings, Mistborn, Gentlemen Bastard, The First Law etc, The Kingkiller Chronicle, The Sword of Truth (lol, how did it get there if everyone hates it?) doesn't have any non-human races OR their presence is very limited and not very significant.
To be objective i should mention Malazan and Bas-Lag series where we have a great racial representation, and Stormlight Archive where races are not so numerous, but nevertheless, humans are not the only one sentient beings there and they are not elves, so it counts. To be even more objective, i should mentioned that all fantasy genre is not defined by books mentioned above, there is a lot more, from less known to completely obscure, which also could have a lot of racial representation, but first - do you like it or not, each genre is mostly defined by the most popular books and it's what most people read, second - even in less known title this tendency also exists. Maybe not to that extent, but nevertheless.
Worldbuilding is the definitive feature of fantasy, because here you can get great stories, interesting characters, morals, philosophies etc., pretty much everything you can get in another genres... Plus dragons, as Brandon Sanderson said in one of his lectures. And having different races is a great way to extend the worldbuilding, by providing different cultures, mentalities and customs which can create conflicts and tensions, and there is nothing better for a good story than a good conflict. I get it, many people, especially experienced readers, are tired of elves. I understand it and partially have those feelings myself, but honestly, even oldest tropes made right can still look good - check Dragon Age: Origins. Not a book, but a good example of building interesting world from generic material.
In my humble opinion, shift from standard Tolkien-like set of races to something new was natural, but instead many authors abandoned non-human races completely. Which is such a waste. So i wonder why in your opinion that happened and why people are not so fond of this part of worldbuilding anymore?
Also, let's share you're examples of books with a good unique set of races. I already mentioned Malazan and Bas-Lag, so will add The Bird That Drinks Tears by Lee Youngdo. What are your examples?
https://redd.it/1s02etn
@r_fantasy
I've spotted an interesting tendency in recent years - we have less and less non-human races in fantasy. There were interesting times when everyone wanted to be like Tolkien (publishers especially), due to what we have our lovely standard 'DnD' setting with elves/dwarves/gnomes/orcs/halflings etc. There is a lot of fantasy using this set of races - some more blatantly, some with deviations, but it was logical and, to be honest, a good thing that it started to meet it's end.
So finally, we could get a new era of fantasy, where each author could express themselves and create totally new, unique, non-Tolkien inspired races... Wait, what? What do you mean there is no more races now?
Let's just too at this list of most popular epic fantasy https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/50.The\_Best\_Epic\_Fantasy\_fiction\_ . As you can see, in 90's-00's everything shifted and the most icon fantasy of time like ASOIAF, The Wheel of Time, The Realm of Elderlings, Mistborn, Gentlemen Bastard, The First Law etc, The Kingkiller Chronicle, The Sword of Truth (lol, how did it get there if everyone hates it?) doesn't have any non-human races OR their presence is very limited and not very significant.
To be objective i should mention Malazan and Bas-Lag series where we have a great racial representation, and Stormlight Archive where races are not so numerous, but nevertheless, humans are not the only one sentient beings there and they are not elves, so it counts. To be even more objective, i should mentioned that all fantasy genre is not defined by books mentioned above, there is a lot more, from less known to completely obscure, which also could have a lot of racial representation, but first - do you like it or not, each genre is mostly defined by the most popular books and it's what most people read, second - even in less known title this tendency also exists. Maybe not to that extent, but nevertheless.
Worldbuilding is the definitive feature of fantasy, because here you can get great stories, interesting characters, morals, philosophies etc., pretty much everything you can get in another genres... Plus dragons, as Brandon Sanderson said in one of his lectures. And having different races is a great way to extend the worldbuilding, by providing different cultures, mentalities and customs which can create conflicts and tensions, and there is nothing better for a good story than a good conflict. I get it, many people, especially experienced readers, are tired of elves. I understand it and partially have those feelings myself, but honestly, even oldest tropes made right can still look good - check Dragon Age: Origins. Not a book, but a good example of building interesting world from generic material.
In my humble opinion, shift from standard Tolkien-like set of races to something new was natural, but instead many authors abandoned non-human races completely. Which is such a waste. So i wonder why in your opinion that happened and why people are not so fond of this part of worldbuilding anymore?
Also, let's share you're examples of books with a good unique set of races. I already mentioned Malazan and Bas-Lag, so will add The Bird That Drinks Tears by Lee Youngdo. What are your examples?
https://redd.it/1s02etn
@r_fantasy
Goodreads
The Best Epic Fantasy (fiction) (4346 books)
4,346 books based on 26153 votes: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R...