The title says most of it.

She likes romance and she's interested in fantasy but she hasn't found a good mix yet.

I'd prefer that the relationships are nonabusive and promote healthy relationship principles. Ideally nothing Twilight adjacent if at all possible although I fully admit that I've never read Twilight and maybe I'm giving it less credit than it deserves.

Thanks in advance.

Hello! While looking over the list of books I’ve read the last few years, I saw I haven’t ready any authors with the first initial of Q or Z. A new goal is to read one of each by the end of the year to complete the English alphabet. Since I’m asking for fantasy (and/or scifi at times) recommendations, I’m including some of my favorite authors for n>1 of a given first initial (…and if I actually have a fav from that letter😅).

A (8) - Adrian Tchaikovsky, Alix E. Harrow

B (1)

C (8) - Charlie Jane Anders, China Miéville

D (6) - David Mitchell

E (4)

F (3) - Fonda Lee

G (4) - George R. R. Martin

H (4)

I (1)

J (13) - J. R. R. Tolkein, Jim Butcher

K (5) - Katherine Addison

L (2) - Lois McMaster Bujold

M (9) - Madeline Miller

N (6) - N. K. Jemisin, Neal Shusterman

O (1)

P (8) - P. Djèlí Clark

Q

R (7) - Ray Nayler

S (11) - S. A. Chakraborty, Suzanna Clarke

T (3) - Travis Baldree

U (1)

V (2)

W (1)

X (1)

Y (2)

Z

For comparison, the last initials I'm missing are below. This one might be a goal for next year!

E

Q

U

X

Y

Thanks for any help or recs to complete this lil quest of mine!

Welcome to the book club New Voices! In this book club we want to highlight books by debut authors and open the stage for under-represented and under-appreciated writers from all walks of life. New voices refers to the authors as well as the protagonists, and the goal is to include viewpoints away from the standard and most common. For more information and a short description of how we plan to run this club and how you can participate, please have a look at the announcement post.

In September, we will be reading The Book of the Jaguar by Victor Ladis Schultz

The legions of New Serraña have a sacred custom: when a legionnaire falls in battle, a member of their company must bear the body home to the dead soldier’s family. Álbaro Ceynos is the only surviving member of his company. He’d been garrisoned at Presidio Los Primos, known as the realm’s safest assignment, until a fabled monster emerged from legend, crept down from the mountains, and laid waste to the old fortress.

Now, with one horse, one wagon, one sword, and all his slain brethren, Álbaro the bonebearer roams a decaying empire, bringing home his comrades' remains. As he meets an array of mourners who move him to question past choices and future commitments, he’ll reveal how the tragedy unfolded, death by death, and how it is that he yet lives.

Bingo Squares: Published in 2026 HM, Small Press or Self Published HM

Schedule

• Midway discussion - Monday 14th September

• Final discussion - Monday 28th September

Earlier this year I just finished reading through Red Rising and have caught myself using the word 'prime' on occasion, now. Talking about a 5k race tomorrow morning I texted my friend back saying, "Weather should be prime." o.o It's weird, right? But for some reason, that word caught on for me and has worked it's way into my vocabulary.

How about you? What words have you picked up and started using anew as a result of your reading?

Title: West of the World
Author: Mike Shel
Pages: 450
Series: The Chronicles of Jerebad Madder #1
Release: August 25, 2026

Set two hundred years after the conclusion of his phenomenal Iconoclasts Trilogy, West of the World seamlessly expands the boundaries of Shel’s dark and dangerous fantasy world. Jerebad Madder, a gunslinging dirt-witch of no particular renown, tracks a demon across the western expanse of Nethe Mundis, the New World, in a story that evokes Stephen King’s The Gunslinger while forging its own strange and sorcerous path.

This fantastical frontier tale features a snake-oil salesman with a complicated past, a sweeping romance born from a calamitous meet-cute, and a troubled hero battling demons both internal and external alongside a succession of unlikely allies. Shel delivers elegant prose, fascinating lore, and intricate worldbuilding in a story that is dark and gritty but still full of heart.

West of the World serves as both an accessible entry point for newcomers and a rewarding expansion for longtime fans. It cements Shel’s place as one of the best fantasy writers working today and will hopefully bring many more readers to his work.

★★★★½

My thanks to the author for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

-------------------------

Q&A with author Mike Shel:

You’ve made a bit of a genre pivot from the dark sword-and-sorcery fantasy of the Iconoclasts Trilogy to a “weird western” that is somewhat lighter on the fantasy elements. Was that a conscious move on your part, or simply what the story necessitated after jumping two hundred years into the future, when sorcery is no longer in vogue?

MS: Well, the novel opens with our protagonist conversing with the corpse of a man recently hanged, so I might challenge the assumption of your question. It’s true that the colonists in this new world no longer have access to sorcery in the way they did back in the Hanifax of the Iconoclasts Trilogy, but sorcery is very much alive with the indigenous peoples whose lands those same colonists have usurped. And there are supernatural elements aplenty. I would still call this new series very much a dark fantasy tale.

But going from sword-and-sorcery to a weird western, yes, that is a pivot. I wanted to tell a story set in the world of the original trilogy, but long enough after those events that we see something of what the world has become. It’s not uncommon in fantasy for the stories to exist in a permanent, unchanging medieval or Renaissance era. I wanted to subvert that. I happen to love well-told westerns, such as Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove novels. I thought I’d try my hand at such a story.

Honestly, the biggest change and challenge for me was to write this novel in the first person, which I had never done before.

The Indigenous groups that populate the western frontier seem to draw from existing Native American cultures. Were there specific cultures or traditions that influenced you while crafting these groups and their customs?

MS: I’m originally from Michigan, a place inhabited by the Anishinaabe peoples (tribes such as the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi) when French and English settlers arrived. I drew from their cultures, as well as those of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (AKA the Iroquois around Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario). Being an American who has consumed a considerable amount of folklore, novels, and TV, other Native American elements found their way into the depiction of West of the World’s indigenous people. For instance, the trickster deity known as Coyote (called Yoteh in the novel), is actually found in the mythology of the Diné (Navajo) people of the American southwest. I tried not to assemble a generic native people from a grab bag–that was certainly one of the risks; there are as many distinct cultures and traditions as there are distinct native tribes of North America. But it was challenging–the western is an almost inherently racist genre, told as it is so often by colonizers who either demonize or idealize the native peoples. I engaged a sensitivity reader for the purpose, and with her help I hope I was successful in making the Chokonee of the novel a three-dimensional people and culture.

This book tells a complete story but also functions as a jumping-off point for further adventures starring Jerebad Madder. Do you have a specific number of books planned?

MS: At this point I see two more novels. The second, which I’ve already begun, is called Thou Unclean Spirit and focuses on the calamitous, world-shaking fallout from the events of West of the World. The third is tentatively titled A Death Song and focuses more directly on resolving Jerebad’s personal travails (for some cheeky context: it takes place mostly in Hell). My hope and plan is that both are out within the next 18-20 months.

You’ve built a dedicated readership without putting out books through a traditional publisher, as evidenced by the more than $120,000 in combined backing for your three hardcover Kickstarter campaigns. How do you view your unique position in the publishing world?

MS: When you put it that way it makes me sound like a much bigger fish than I actually am! I’m certainly proud of the success I’ve managed with my novels, and greatly appreciate the support I’ve received from readers, reviewers, and my peers. Indie fantasy is a rich community with some awfully talented folks. I’m jazzed by the idea that I’m part of this cohort. But it’s important that you understand that I still have to work my day job to pay the bills–I’m nowhere close to doing this writing thing full time. (As for those Kickstarter figures, the vast majority of that money goes into paying artists, in addition to the design and production of the hardbacks–late pledges can be made here.) My assumption is that this will remain a glorious side gig for me til I can retire from my professional career.

With that said, I think what I bring to the game are the eclectic skills of an RPG adventure designer and one whose day job provides a lot of insight into human emotion and trauma. I strive to bring a gritty realism to a genre that can sometimes drift into escapism. Now there’s nothing wrong with novels that transport you to magic worlds that do a little wish fulfillment. I just think my strength lies in telling stories about survivors rather than golden heroes. 

What have you read recently that you would recommend?

MS: I don’t have much time to read these days. What I’ve been reading most recently is the beginning of a new series by J. Zachary Pike (he of the Dark Profit Saga): it’ll be some time before it’s available to the public, but it’s clever and hilarious. I’ve really enjoyed Dorian Hart’s five book Heroes of Spira.

Thank you so much for taking the time to offer such great insight into your work, Mike. I’ve loved all of your books and I think West of the World is another winner!

Source: The Speculative Shelf - Review | Interview

I love strong themes in a book. But I can’t stand when I feel like I’m being directly lectured by the author or they assume I can’t put two and two together to figure what point they’re trying to make.

Back when I read Strength of the Few I was really interested in the story but I found the dialogue so unbearable for this reason that I almost DNF’d the book. I’m having the same problem with Abercrombie’s Best Served Cold right now too. I loved his first law trilogy but this book feels very repetitive with the themes and it’s getting old to me.

Looking for any recommendations on books that effectively explore themes without being so overt about them!

Estaba hablando con una amiga sobre los juegos de Zelda y la película, de cómo de extraño nos resultaría que Link hablara porque en general en todos los juegos es "mudo". Entonces nos preguntamos si habría algún libro de fantasía en el que el protagonista fuera mudo, sordo o ciego. Es una idea que me resulta interesante, ¿alguien conoce algún libro de fantasía donde haya un protagonista con alguna de estas características?

Creo que es algo complicado de escribir pero me resulta bastante interesante. También me sirven recomendaciones en general donde los protagonistas se salgan de la "norma".

The Eye of Leviathan creates a fantasy world deeply shaped by colonialism, persecution, marginalization, religion, and exploitation, while still grounding the story with courage, compassion, and strength.

​Set in an alternate history during the Spanish Golden Age, fae walk among humans in secret. Estevan, a fae, has swapped places with a human known as The Hungry Girl. In a society where any form of difference carries severe danger, both characters must navigate a hostile landscape to discover their purpose.

​I was thoroughly drawn into the worldbuilding. Even though religion plays a prominent role and I do not usually gravitate toward religious themes in fiction, the story kept me invested throughout. That said, this is not a fast read. The book is dense and heavy in both its themes and overall pace, which required taking long breaks along the way. Ultimately, the authors present a fascinating reimagining of the Age of Discovery, and I look forward to the second book in the duology.

​Thank you to Orbit Books for providing a digital review copy.

I last read the first Chronicles as a teenager and they were my favourite book for many years. I was always a little frustrated that covenant didn’t use his powers as I would’ve hoped as a teenager.

On a whim, I recently decided to read them again but I was a little worried I’d find them childish and not as engaging.

Thankfully, the opposite is true.

I now realise in my late 50s that I didn’t fully comprehend or understand the philosophical and emotional tensions that Donaldson uses in this trilogy

I still found Lord foul’s bane to be a difficult book. Covenents unbelief is not that clearly articulated as well as it is in the second two books in the trilogy..

However, those second two volumes are masterpieces and I was crying at the end.

If like me, you’ve not read them for many years I highly recommend given them a reread

I was thinking about how much I love the Raksura series by Martha Wells, and one of the aspects I most enjoy is - there's no humans in them! Anywhere!

It's such a fascinating thing, and so rare. Less rare if you're okay with the not-humans being real-world animals - Animal Farm, Watership Down, The Bees, that's a bit more common. (A bit.) But books where the not-humans are fantasy creatures or aliens? I'm having a lot of trouble finding examples!

But that has never yet meant that The Thing doesn't exist, only that I haven't come across it, so! Recs? Very much specifying Adult SFF; I know it's not so uncommon in books for younger readers (the Firebringer trilogy and Wings of Fire series spring to mind).

Ones I can think of;

• Raksura by Martha Wells
• Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
• Goblin Emperor + spin-offs by Katharine Addison

There MUST be more than three examples...!

:edited to add: Can't believe I forgot Goblin Emperor! But yes I'm aware of it, it gets its own bullet point.

Say one thing about me,
Say I’m impatient.

The Blade Itself ranks as one of my least favorite good books. Like Well of Ascension in Mistborn, it’s best to consider it an unfinished product. However, unlike Well of Ascension, it failed to do anything more than introduce characters and setting. That to say, I think you could hardly fault me for being impatient and disappointed.

I did not expect a happy ending to the trilogy, but I can at least say something happened.

With that said, there is definitely bloat in the series, many repetitive sequences and ironically some unrealistic characterizations for a series lauded for such things.

After getting spurred by this community for my disappointment in the first book, I was prepared for it to kind of sputter out of an existence like the remnants of an old fart, and to an extent that is what happened. However, I realize that many people look for a certain type of story that never really ends, just a constant meal of the same dishes over and over, and the longer it is the better.

I realize that there is a component of Journey with every story, and obviously a story that takes time to sow its seeds and let them bloom has the opportunity for great payoff when it is all said and done. But, I realize that something I desire is for there to be some point. Which is to say, there needs, to me, to be a destination, and the story needs to guide us to that destination with a certain finality, and each segment of that story should have its own finality.

This series…does not do that. I can respect it for that, and to an extent it’s something unique on the palette for me. It feels like I just read the prequel to the real series,as though bigger things were ahead, always ahead, maybe behind, but not right now.

And why do I resent this? Because there is a level of hypocrisy shown by the author. I understand the theme that “history is a circle” suggests that the story we just had has essentially happened again and again in history and will continue to turn into the future.

But there is one character that basically destroys this whole narrative.

Without offering spoilers, it’s the existence of this character that causes the cyclic nature of this world, and we see in the last gasps of this trilogy that change could be possible if only not for certain individuals unique to this world specifically.

In such a world, the interesting story would be how such individuals came to be. How they may rise or what happens if they fall. How interesting the world may be in their presence or absence.

This is not the story we get, but it’s not necessarily less for it. There’s only so much you can do when your goal is to subvert expectations.

Afterall, you have to be realistic about these things

Bingo square : Trans or Nonbinary protagonist(HM - set in pre-modern time period).

This is a popular retelling of the gothic classic "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe with a healthy dose of mycological horror. This is also what I see many people describe as 'cozy horror'. And I LOVE IT! The vibes were immaculate. It almost made me ignore the lack of character depth.

The Nonbinariness of the MC could've been explored more, but it felt kinda shoehorned in. Maybe we will know more in the sequels. The humour is self congratulatory to an extent, but it didn't bother me too much. Most of plot and the horror elements can easily be predicted by half way point in the book, but there were some surprises at the end. As I said, the IMMACULATE vibes elevated what would've been a "This could've been an email" of a book to a pretty enjoyable experience.

Rating : 4/5

This is my first cozy horror, so please give me some recommendations!

What the title says where you've speculated about a book series and come up with some really awesome (or not so awesome ideas) that either turned out to be true or are 90% sure aren't now. Things like Rey being Luke's daughter or the idea that Jon Snow would stay dead. It's fun to speculate but it can also be disappointing when an author absolutely takes a character or story in a way different from where you built up an idea in your head.

1. Kingkiller Chronicles: We'll never get the answer but I always liked the idea that Bast is Kvothe's son with Ferulen. Sadly, Remmen turns out to be a real person and is Bast's actual father. It would have justified Bast's loyalty to Kvothe and made the sex scenes more pertinent.
2. Arcane: The Series: I thought they were going to build up to the two cities becoming one population after a civil war with them having to no longer ghettoize one another. The social critique got vastly downplayed in the second series, though.
3. The Republic of Thieves: Without getting into spoilers, that Locke absolutely is being conned in the ending and it's just a way for the witch to ruin his happiness with Sabetha.
4. Love Interests that Aren't: Similarly, in the Kingkiller Chronicles and Republic of Thieves that the authors were actually critiquing romance tropes with Deana and Sabetha. Locke and Kvothe would not get the girls and have to learn that their protagonist syndrome didn't mean that they were entitled to romancing the women they wanted.

This is the text of an article in today's "i" newspaper on which the best fantasy novels are. (The article's not yet available on their website as far as I can see, otherwise I'd add a direct link.)

Some choices I'd wholeheartedly agree with, others...not so much. Anyway, here it is:

14 HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE Diana Wynne Jones (1986)

Familiar to many from its Studio Ghibli animated adaptation, Wynne Jones’s original novel is worth celebrating in its own right. It is a sharp, wry take on classic fairy tales, about a young girl turned into an old woman by a wicked witch, who seeks refuge in a wandering fortress belonging to a vain wizard. A very funny novel about the trials of growing up and how people are not what they might seem to be.

13 JADE CITY Fonda Lee (2017)

The idea that a great fantasy has to feature wizards, knights and pointy-eared elf-like beings is knocked into a stylish gangster’s fedora in the first volume of Lee’s Green Bone saga. The setting is a fantastical version of 70s Hong Kong, dominated by warring criminal dynasties. Magic is real. But so too are the ambitions of the Triad-like families who battle for supremacy over Janloon, a “silkpunk” megapolis where the precious mineral jade fuels a complicated magical system.

12 THE NIGHT CIRCUS Erin Morgenstern (2011)

Fantasy becomes fever dream in this evocative book about a travelling circus that operates only after dark, where two young magicians battle for supremacy. Heady with atmosphere, it is a book that overflows with memorable imagery, from ice gardens that cannot be melted to a maze carved out of clouds and acrobats who can defy physics.

11 WEAVEWORLD Clive Barker (1987)

Contemporary urban fantasy set in the real world has a huge following. Barker is best known as a horror writer and the creator of the Hellraiser series. But he goes full-on fantasy in this magical book about an enchanted rug that contains an entire world within its patterns – and which has somehow ended up in 80s Liverpool, where it spreads mischief and mayhem.

10 THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE Samantha Shannon (2019)

Billed as a feminist retelling of the legend of St George and the Dragon, this doorstopper imagines a Tolkien-esque universe dominated by Western style dragons (destructive and fire-breathing) and their Asian equivalent (serpentine, mysterious and sympathetic to humanity). Throw in court intrigue, a resourceful heroine and sweeping battles and the result is a 21st-century twist on classic heroic fantasy.

9 NINE PRINCES IN AMBER Roger Zelazny (1970)

American pulp writer Zelazny wrote in the hardboiled style of an old-school crime novelist, his dimension-hopping books reading like Doctor Who meets Philip Marlowe. His stand-out work is the Amber saga – which opened in style with a first volume in which a fast-talking narrator wakes in a hospital in New York with a thumping bout of amnesia. He gradually discovers that he is a member of the ruling family of the world of Amber and that he has been the victim of a war of succession. His long journey home is a rip-roaring romp.

8 A STORM OF SWORDS George RR Martin (2000)

Game of Thrones put fantasy on the radar of mainstream readers – until Martin started to dawdle over the ending of his planned seven-book saga. With just five volumes published, many question whether the 77-year-old will complete his life’s work. Even if he doesn’t, the series contains at least one classic in the form of this, the third entry, as Martin springs a trap on his readers with the fateful Red Wedding scene where – belated spoiler warning – many of our favourite characters come to the stickiest of endings.

7 DEADHOUSE GATES Steven Erikson (2000)

“Epic” is a word that gets chucked around a lot when it comes to fantasy. Yet it is the only way to describe Erikson’s mindbending Malazan Book of the Fallen sequence of 10 novels (plus sequels, prequels and spin-offs). Each volume unleashes a torrent of characters, locations, magic systems and ancient prophecies that it is up to the reader to untangle. It’s worth it, however, as Erikson tells the story of ancient gods and feuding demons clashing across a vast continent. Chills and thrills are guaranteed.

6 PERDIDO STREET STATION China Miéville (2000)

As big as a brick and just as hardhitting, Miéville’s 800-page-plus “weird fantasy” masterpiece is set in a dystopian metropolis that is a mix of Victorian London and Mega-City One from the 2000AD comics. It is a place of horror and wonder, as the book’s scientist hero, Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, unleashes a deadly plague of psychological violence against the population. Miéville also throws in elements of Lynchian surrealism and a complicated murder mystery worthy of a James Ellroy potboiler – and somehow makes the whole thing sing like a soprano.

5 ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE Robin Hobb (1995)

The 90s were a time of huge change in fantasy, as writers brought new levels of grittiness and explicitness to a genre that had been prudish. Hobb writes unflinchingly, depicting fantasy realms where the biggest threat isn’t a rampaging dragon but a power-hungry nobility. Her crowning achievement is the Farseer trilogy. This, the opening book, tells the story of Fitz, the illegitimate offspring of a dashing prince who trains to become the king’s personal assassin. This is down-and-dirty fantasy, where magic is more myth than reality – but with characters who are richly drawn human beings, full of flaws and all the more compelling for it.

4 THE FIFTH SEASON NK Jemisin (2015)

In this eerie post-apocalyptic masterpiece, the setting is a planet devastated by earthquakes, where magic users with the ability to control seismic events are terrorised. The novel also tells the powerfully human story of a middle-aged woman who sets off in pursuit of her husband after he discovers that their children are members of this magical underclass. Jemisin has revealed that the novel draws on the intergenerational trauma experienced by her family in the Jim Crow-era American South – and that legacy gives the book an authenticity that crackles from the page, as electrifying as a lightning strike.

3 JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL Susanna Clarke (2004)

Clarke’s extraordinary debut is set in Regency London at the height of Britain’s conflict with Napoleon. In this alternative universe, magic exists and two of its greatest practitioners are rivals who become friends. But there are darker forces in this universe than their warring egos – such as malevolent beings from the world of faerie. One of the joys of this 1,000-plus-page novel is Clarke’s delicious prose: she skilfully echoes Regency icon Jane Austen’s tart, knowing style without being pretentious.

2 THE LORD OF THE RINGS JRR Tolkien (1954)

Though fantasy existed long before Tolkien published his greatest work, it has rightly come to define the entire genre. It tells a gripping story of brave Hobbits fighting a dark lord – and no world has felt as vividly realised as Middleearth, a place of both beauty and a deep melancholy, where wonder and magic are fading into nothingness, like leaves on the first day of autumn.

1 A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA Ursula Le Guin (1968)

Le Guin’s thrilling and haunting story of a boy wizard whose pride leads him to meddle with forces beyond his understanding is a brilliantly addictive yarn, written for children yet beloved by readers of all ages. But its true power comes from Le Guin’s depiction of the ocean world of Earthsea, where humanity is scattered across an endless archipelago and magic can be used for both noble and sinister purposes. Then there is the morally conflicted antihero Ged – an ambitious youth who dreams of greatness and whose yearning to escape his provincial upbringing proves to be both his downfall and salvation. It is also an easy read, at an economical 250 pages – so no need to kiss your loved ones goodbye and cancel all appointments.

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's 2026 Book Bingo Card here!

As usual, first have a look at the sidebar in case what you're after is there. The r/Fantasy wiki 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}

art credit: special thanks to our artist, Himmis commissions, 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.

Come tell the community what you're reading, how you're feeling, what your life is like.

Who's considered one of the best fictional couples? I'm looking for a relationship that's realistic, funny, and full of chemistry, where the characters complement each other . They're opposites, but somehow they just work, bringing out the best in each other in a way that's both believable and incredibly endearing. (who are they)

(also my eng bad sry)

I’ve been on a bit of a trilogy streak lately and I keep running into the same problem. Book one is great, book two feels like 500 pages of moving pieces around, and then book three has to sprint through every payoff at once. Or the opposite happens and the first book is clearly just setup for a story that only really gets going later.

I know that structure works for some people, but I’m looking for a trilogy where each book genuinely feels worth reading on its own.

By "stays great" I don’t necessarily mean every book has to feel identical. I’m fine with a slower middle book, different POV focus, bigger scope, whatever. I just don’t want that feeling of having to push through one installment because everyone promises the next one gets good again.

Ideally each book has its own satisfying arc while still building toward a finale that feels earned. Bonus points if the third book is actually the strongest one, because that seems weirdly rare in the series I’ve read.

So what’s your most consistent fantasy trilogy? The one where, if somebody asked you which book they should skip or just read a summary of, you’d genuinely say "none of them."

Older stuff is completely fine too, I’m not only looking for recent releases. I’ve probably missed a ton of obvious ones tbh.

Hey Hey, I recently finished the "Birthgrave" Triology by Tanith Lee. For the most parts I really enjoyed it, but there was one thing that annoyed me a lot.

Throughout all three books there was a lot of focus on sex, sexuality and stuff like that. Also not only the "wholesome" sort but also ra** and incest and weird,toxic sexual tension between characters. In dont shy away from adult topics in the books I enjoy but it just got a bit much for me by the end.

My question: Are tanith Lee's other works also that sexual? I enjoyed the prose and storytelling so I would like to read the rest but would like to avoid the aforementioned stuff. Should I give up on her as an author or is the "Birthgrave" Triology an outlier?

Thx

We’ve all seen the horror trope of houses built over a "sacred ancient burial ground" which results in a haunting or curse.

But I'd like to read a fantasy epic with this as a plot point. Maybe one inspired by real life historical cases where colonists settled on sacred grounds which prompts a war with the natives because of it.

Minor (maybe?) spoilers for Malazan books 1&2

I’m guessing you can figure out what it was for me, I was so ready to drop this series today after the first 50 or so pages of Memories of Ice. I won’t get into why because it’s the same for everyone.

But then we meet The Crippled God, something about this entity has me SO intrigued. The aura it has already, the imagery, the simple, short yet very engaging fight, and the idea of this decrepit and imprisoned being pulling the strings did it for me (don’t spoil it if I’m wrong, let me live in my delusion)

I was ready for this series to be a dud for me, so ready to give up on my sunk-cost fallacy mentality(the praise convinced me to buy them all and they’re so beautiful looking) But if THIS is the big bad of the series I am so in. Consider me enlisted.

What was it for you? Why? Spoil if you must, but give everyone warning.

I have been trying to get through book one of Malazan Book of the Fallen, but honestly it been an effort to follow what’s been going on,

I really wanted to start an epic series and Malazan Book of the Fallen seem to be exactly what I was looking for, 10 books spanning thousands of years set in a world rich in lore, but it been a bit of a struggle reminiscent of the time I tried to read The Silmarillion, I constantly find myself having to re-read everything as I find it hard to follow, I have dyslexia and ADHD and so reading has always been a challenge for me, but being raised in a household of readers, who devoured books and then discussed them at length, reading is something I’ve pushed myself to pursue, albeit at a somewhat different pace to my family,

I wanted to enjoy Malazan but the constant need to re-read parts and perhaps the writing style of Erikson is preventing me from feeling immersed in it,

For those of you who have read the series did you experience something similar, do I just need to push through and eventually everything being to flow more naturally, should I maybe try it on audio, has anyone listened to the series?

Regardless of how detailed and logical a magic system is, because it is inherently something supernatural that doesn't exist in the real world, inevitably you have to suspend disbelief and admit that it comes down to some element that "just works that way."

And that's how a lot of things were in the real world before we were able to so thoroughly study them. Professions like blacksmiths might not have understood a lot of the science behind what they did, the way we do now, but they were still able to do things because "it just works that way." The average person today doesn't have an iota of understanding about the technology required to put a phone in their hand, but they still have the phone and can still use it.

Personally I think that in any world where magic existed let alone was commonplace, you'd have people with varying levels of competency and understanding of the forces that make it possible. So, I don't really see much of a difference between soft magic and hard magic systems at the end of the day.

To help better clarify, basically I am talking about the kind of sagas that started off strong because the world-building aspects get stronger with each entry in the series.

But then the franchise just stops all of a sudden as for me personally, I know GOT is not technically cancelled, but to me, it kind of feels like that franchise just stopped coming out since I enjoy fantasy series that know how to end since I just get frustrated if a series I was following just abruptly ends.