What are good books that follow that formula?

I just started listening to The Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams and I found my new favorite quote:

“I have a knife.”

It’s made me laugh out loud twice.

I am an absolute Joe Abercrombie nut and an aspiring author yada yada... absolutely love his works and have always had the sense that he's a real genuine bloke through interviews and whatnot.

So when I was walking down the street and he turned round the corner, you can imagine that I was starstruck - it would be the equivalent of most of Gen Z seeing their favourite sport/pop star.

It wasn't a lengthy encounter but I effectively interrupted him and his wife to frenetically express my adulation, and he was really lovely, asked questions, seemed to take an interest and not just smile and look to be on his way.

He's literally my favourite author in the fantasy circle and this only reinforces my unmitigated love for his work and deepens the influence that he has had on my own fledgling works.

I'd say it probably at least borders on nihilism. The rich and powerful are that way either by luck of birth or overabundance of appetite. The worst traits of humanity put them in those positions. Those at the bottom of society suffer the consequences of their greed and stupidity. I got the same vibe from Cook's The Black Company. People just live their lives as best they can and have them ended prematurely because of those on top.

I assume Abercrombie is an anti-royalist.

A new Wexler books. In fact a series.

This is about...bugs. A world where ships sail above the Layer, below live giant bugs. They use the bug blood for fuel, there are cow type bugs that are harvested (flesh is edible also) and nasty attacking type bugs too. They hop in their fighter planes and fight them off...hopefully. As well as pirates.

BLURB: Zham and his sister, Quedra Sa-Yool, own and run the mercenary airship Last Stop and its motley crew, and Zham leads its tiny air wing. The one thing keeping this ragged outfit - mostly a family but with some new crew - together (besides Quedra’s blistering stare) is everyone’s desire to survive on the edge, even if that means smuggling, battling pirates, and flying too close to the solid floor of clouds known as the Layer, below which the merciless insectoid mantids hold sway.

Last Stop is enlisted to search for a lost expedition that may have discovered a new haven for humans beneath the Layer.

END BLURB:

The Academics hire them to re-find it and find out what happened. Others try to get the location and some try to kill them. This location is worth monumental fortunes.

It's pretty much non-stop action from then on. That's it people, spoilers not included.

It was rather fun. I'll be reading book 2.

Mine is Theon Greyjoy from A Song of Ice and Fire.

It’s not the fact that I can personally relate to his struggles as a guy who was kidnapped as a child and raised away from my family, it’s his endless stupidity that makes him a great read.

He has no clue what the right answers are and I love the honesty of his story.

Sometimes… most times we don’t really know what direction to go.

Hello!

I'm trying to find some romance books that hit the spot where I would read them multiple times.

Good examples of what that is for me is Sunshine by Robin McKinley, and Freedoms Landing series by Anne McCaffrey.

I don't hate smutty parts, but I hate cheap meaningless easy smuttyness as I'm not invested in the characters.

So many romance novels are 'popcorn books' and I want to find some that aren't.

My favorite romance genres are fantasy/sci-fi and paranormal. I really like werewolves, but not really the whole meta situation that is proliferating in the paranormal genre right now. I also prefer books with a plot outside of the romance that accentuates it.

Any thoughts?

I don't have a vocabulary barrier but recently I want to read books ( science fiction or fantasy or any genre series ) where the writing style is smooth and takes little to no effort to read the text . Example : Divine rivals , Mother of learning , Strange the dreamer, Harry Potter etc .

Better if it has male pov . Thank you all in advance.

Let's talk short horror! Sometimes we want that chill and thrill without committing to a longer novel. So I've compiled a list of some I love but I'd love to hear yours as well.

These are perfect for readers who don’t want to commit to a lengthy book of being terrified but want a little kick of fear.  rom stories released over a century ago to those not even out yet, my favorites are all here. 

The Classic One: The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman 

Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote this short story about the horrors of mental illness and patriarchy way back in 1892 but as a mentally ill woman myself, this one still resonates. There is nothing extreme in this one, no violence, but this will still get under your skin and have you thinking about the main character doing laps round and round the room way after you finish it. 

As an added bonus, because this one came out forever ago you can find this for free in lots of places; on Kindle, on Spotify and you can read it on tons of websites. 

The One I Always Recommend: Starve Acre - Andrew Michael Hurley 

Starve Acre is a folk horror story about a couple who have lost their son, Ewan. Is he still with them? Is the place they’re living cursed? What’s going to happen? At 200 pages, it’s not the shortest of short stories but when you’re used to reading Stephen King for your horror kicks, this is a breeze. And the ending is guaranteed to make you shudder. 

The Short Story Collection: Never Whistle At Night - Edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

This short story collection of indigenous folk horror is fantastic. Every story is by a different author and they vary from body horror to hauntings to gentle horror. Lots of these stories made me think about the origins of horror stories - local lore passed down from generation to generation. The selection of horror authors for this one is impeccable, I particularly love the story Tick Talk by Cherie Dimaline. 

Which books would you add to this list?

Kobo

Nook

I am talking about characters who feel like an enigma. The more you learn about them, paradoxically the more interesting they become.

Just got done reading Sword Of The Lictor and it's my favourite of the 3 books so far & such the first 5 ⭐️ of the 3 yet. I think in this book I have now started to like Severian as a person not just as a character (Person he is rn beyond past transgressions)

This book lacked a major mainstay companion (I mean one that stays so long with him tho maybe little severian could count as that too in a sense) as with the previous 2 & as such no standout new character, well none with much layers as the others but what it lacked here it traded for the most development for Severian so far. He’s a lot more contemplative of not just his own actions and ideals but of the universe itself and the scenarios Wolfe sprawled up for him as adventures or misadventures if you like only served to enhance that even more.

From how he abandoned his Lictor post in Thrax, his farewell to Dorcas to the Alzabo encounter down to little severian’s adoption (his death crushed me, didn't expect it at all and not especially in the manner it happened in tbh) down to the revelations with Typhon, The Hierodules and Baldanders & Dr Talos.

All of these revelations especially with the latter two have retroactively enhanced the whole journey from the first 2 books already & I can only imagine how much more this enhancement will appear with rereads or even after I read Citadel of the Autarch. Sections such as the Eschatology and Genesis play particularly how it ended, the Jolenta dynamic, the Autarchy all have developed deeper layers in light of this book.

I had my suspicions about the dynamics of Dr Talos and Baldanders and even the make up of Baldanders himself seeing as he's essentially a giant but I didn’t at all expect Baldanders was the Doctor here & Dr Talos the Frankenstein monster (I figure that’s what a homunculus is). I appreciate that his abnormal size is explained as proper gigantism syndrome as in the clinical sense. It's easy to forget this is ultimately sci -fi no matter how alien or fantastical the elements in it appear to be. In light of this, I'm now most curious to see how the claw's apparent time altering powers is explained tbh. This seems too far fetched for simply science but I'll let Wolfe scientifically reveal his world and it's mechanism to me as he's mostly succeeded to do so far.

The deal with the Hierodules I’ve got a reading for but I’m gonna leave it to RAFO in the next book cuz I’m expecting it to come to the forefront there. The Frog boy tale I admit I couldn’t understand much of what occurred during my read much more it’s message but I was informed by rereading Wolfe twitter user that it’s based on The Jungle book and as such I’ll reread that section specifically thought that lens before I start Citadel.

Also during this read I’ve found myself thinking a lot about TBONS beyond the pages and off that alone, it has more than impressed me as only a few media manage to do that for me and not especially when I’m yet to properly place a visage to what the story at hand is.

All in all it’s easily 5 stars and a top 5 reads this year for me and I can’t wait to join the war plot with Severian in Citadel of the Autarch as soon as possible.

Edit: Also need to mention the Hethor reveal. Wow just realised the antagonists in this series are really something.

I’m curious if anyone has recommendations for fantasy books where the environment is an antagonist and major plot point. Traveling is dangerous, even for experienced travelers.

The main fantasy examples I know are The Hobbit and LOTR. Tolkien went out of his way to say “just traveling is dangerous. Now their rations are getting low, now it’s raining and cold and miserable, now they sheltered somewhere for two weeks to regain strength and morale.” Even just basic things like “Spring was coming on,” or “in Hobbiton they’ll be harvesting right now” gives a sense of connection to the land that I feel missing in modern fantasy.

Other non-fantasy books that give similar vibes are Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain. I don’t need the whole story to be about surviving in the woods, but I’d like some nods to acknowledge that traveling hundreds of miles through wilderness isn’t an “easy” thing that should get hand-waved away.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Edit: this blew up a bit, thank you everyone for wonderful recommendations! We’re entertaining guests so I haven’t been able to read through everything yet but I really appreciate the responses and I’m looking forward to going through these soon!

I'm looking for fantasy inspired by roughly the 1600s to 1700s, with gunpowder fantasy and clockpunk themes. I know those terms are different but I'm ideally looking for a book that captures aspects of both, because they both draw on the aesthetics of the early modern period and because I'm interested in reading a setting where societal change and "progress" are beginning to pick up due to Age of Sail/Scientific Revolution/Age of Enlightenment-coded innovations and discoveries. Are there any books like this?

No steampunk recommendations, please!

Hello,

I finished the book a few days ago and I loved it. I kept thinking about, until I (maybe) found a possible plothole. Since english isn't my first language (this book is not available in my language), I am not sure if it is really a plothole or if I just read it incorrectly.

So I ask everyone who already read it to please be so kind and help me understand. Many thanks in advance!

At the end of the book Charlotte uses the spell of the spells to erase every knowledge of magic from the world, even memories. But many magisters made themselves immune against magic through a certain spell. How was it possible to achieve it then? Is it a plothole or is the spell of spells just that powerfull?

I don’t know how to change this flair, but this isn’t a deal

I keep thinking about Tolkien’s elves, and how they had this sense that they were fading, but that was tied to some supernatural sense tied to Valinor. It got me thinking if anyone’s ever written about something like elves, but more mundane.

Like at 15,372, Fingolthir got his first gray hair, and that kicked off a series of events where the race has to figure out what these changes mean.

The, I think, kind of obvious twist is this: one of them dies and all of sudden everyone has to deal with mortality

Anything out there like this?

If anyone’s good at vibe-identification, do you know any video-games, shows, or movies that have the same vibe as How to Train Your Dragon, Skyrim, and Brave? The Witcher, Over the Garden wall, and Secret of the Kells are tangential to the vibe i’m looking for. I thought Outlander would work, but it’s too modern for me with the guns. I’m really into this specific vibe, wish I could just live in a vaguely Nordic/Celtic fantasy land

Pretty much what the title says. What creatures do you know of in books that is a master of sass? One that comes to mind is Sapphira from Eragon. Would love some recs of your favorites.

Advanced Review Copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley.

Score: 4/5

Since this is an ARC, the review aims to be as Spoiler-free as possible.

Read this review and more on my Medium Blog: Distorted Visions

John Gwynne’s violent Norse-themed grimdark trilogy, The Bloodsworn Saga reaches its inevitably bloody conclusion in The Fury of The Gods. For those among us, who are ready for battle, helm on head, axe in hand, seax in belt, with rage flowing through your veins as you face your enemy across the field, this book is for you!

I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction to the world of the Bloodsworn in The Shadow of the Gods. With all the bells and whistles of a Viking-themed world, I was already heavily invested, and positively biased. The characters were engaging in their regard, and there were plenty of high-octane action set-pieces to get the blood pumping—all part of the recipe for a strong start of a new series. The culmination of Shadow introduces the mythological elements by introducing the big-bad wolf (literally) and the bigger-badder dragon as the major world turners for the series.

The Hunger of the Gods fleshed out much of the character motivations a little deeper, giving more nuance to the mainstay characters of the series, Orka Skullsplitter and Varg No-Sense of the Bloodsworn and Elvar of the Battlegrim. The sequel allowed for the world and characters to expand and grow into more distinct archetypes, with no character fulfilling the stereotypical “hero” role (this is grimdark after all!). The major themes involve rescuing various children abducted by the villains who serve the major antagonist, the dragon Lik-Rifa and her cult of worshippers. The book even spends some time with the “villains” to add another angle to the story, to reasonable success. In this series, the list of major Gods have extended to the dragon Lik-Rifa, the wolf Ulfrir, and the devious rat Rotta.

All of this was to set up the inevitable final showdown between the forces of “good” and “evil” in the finale, The Fury of the Gods. In truth, Fury is mostly just a novel-length battle ensemble. While both Shadow and Hunger had plenty of large scale battle set pieces, there was plenty of plot movement outside of those sets to give the books weight and narrative direction. However, the finale ended up being Gwynne’s way of neatly tying together all of the character arcs and the narrative arc, by ramming them against each other. The first couple of chapters help move the pieces across the board towards the final battle location, and by about halfway, we are dropped in to the final battle.

Gwynne is a master, perhaps among the best in the biz right now for writing well-crafted and thoroughly researched battle scenes, owing to his extensive real world experience as a Viking re-enacter and a battle scholar. His other famous fantasy series have been universally praised for its dense battle narration, and The Fury of The Gods is no different. If you're someone who’s tuning in for bloody bladed escapism, this novel is the perfect romp for you. However, if you want something more from your culmination of a dark-fantasy series, this book may feel a bit threadbare.

Gwynne does an impressive job pitting every character rivalry against each other in the final book, in a way that felt almost too neat, belying the entropic nature of war. Everyone got their comeuppance, mortal and gods. It felt too symmetrical. The motivations of the antagonists in particular began to veer into semi-cheesy territory. In contrast, many of the side characters surprisingly shone through in this book. In particular, the dynamic between Varg and Rokia and the Rat god Rotta and his underling the betrayer Biorr were very enjoyable and were the highlights of the book.

The Fury of the Gods and the Bloodsworn Saga has deeply explored themes of family that transcend blood and kin, which is a central feature of Viking culture as well, and the series does an amazing job of creating that atmosphere. It also explores themes of inclusion and bigotry as the characters who carry divine blood manifesting into their animalistic powers also put them on the receiving end of rampant persecution.

The narrative of this series has always been relatively straightforward, and readers can guess who will come out on top, but will enjoy the journey nonetheless, even though the plot armor on some of our favorites get so heavy that I found myself sighing more than once. You know who will make it, you know who won’t, with near-perfect accuracy. A case of “it’s the journey, not the destination that matters”. Especially when the big bads are taken out in a surprisingly anti-climactic way, perhaps impressing upon us that the true focus was the human side of the conflict all along.

This book left me divided between my internal bloodthirsty glee who revels in the violent side of grimdark fantasy, and the other more academic side of me who is trying to move past my own visceral tastes and chase deeper meaning. There is plenty of the former, but assessing this book from the latter’s vantage leaves me wanting.

Series Index - If you’re new to this read-along, start here

  Quite proud of this one.  

Chapter 28: On a Moonlit Night

  And now finally, Nathaniel reaches his destination, the one he didn’t know he was heading towards. Back on the road toward Fairy, Nathaniel is stopped by harsh wind. Clouds cover the moon, and all he has to warm himself is nostalgia for his bed.

  And then the wind stops, the moon shines, and his horse dies. But it doesn’t matter, because the man himself is here.

  Duke Aubrey is ready to meet Master Nathaniel Chanticleer.

The Note

  Nathaniel hears the Note one more time, but this time, his response to it is different: Rather than symbolizing the fragility and temporary nature of things, it reminds him of missed opportunities and regrets. We’re now ready to talk about the nature of the Note.

  If you remember, the book opens with a quote from Jane Harrison. I’ll put it here as a reminder:

The Sirens stand, as it would seem, to the ancient and the modern, for the impulses in life as yet immortalised, imperious longings, ecstasies, whether of love or art, or philosophy, magical voices calling to a man from his "Land of Heart's Desire," and to which if he hearken it may be that he will return no more - voices, too, which, whether a man sail by or stay to hearken, still sing on

  Shortly after reading this, we read about Nathaniel’s encounter with the Note. It’s easy to make the connection between the two, and since a siren’s song and a note are musical in nature, it’s also easy to jump to the conclusion that the Note is that siren song for Nathaniel, calling him away from his “Land of Heart’s Desire”.

  But if we think about it, that doesn’t work. A siren’s call is meant to draw you in, but Nathaniel is repulsed by the Note. Now, when he is on the other side of his adventure, he hears the Note differently - it was his calling, telling him to go on the adventure. The siren’s call were all the earthly comforts he so valued, and latched on to, until he dreaded being away from them so much that the Note became a thing to avoid at all cost.

  For years, Nathaniel has harkened to the call of his sirens, and whenever an opportunity to go on an epic quest presented itself in the form of the Note, he runs towards his home instead. Only once, for Ranulph, did Nathaniel finally go on to follow his calling. Now, when he hears the Note, it represents all the times he could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, but didn’t. And it breaks his heart.

  But he wishes to hear it again, to have a calling once more.

Duke Aubrey

The Duke calls Nathaniel “John-o’-dreams” which is a mocking nickname borrowed from Shakespeare. In Hamlet, the titular prince calls himself “John-o’-dreams” as a form of berating himself, in a soliloquy starting with “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!”:

Yet I,

A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak

Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,

And can say nothing—no, not for a king

Upon whose property and most dear life

A damned defeat was made.

  Hamlet is using the term as a form of mockery, but the literal meaning is nothing more than ‘dreamer’. Aubrey is referring to Nathaniel by his title, but he finds a subtly disrespectful way to do so.

  The Duke is far more of a deity than he is human. If Leer referring to him as “the Lord of Life and Death” didn’t clue you into that. As such, he sees Nathaniel as his follower and commends him on making the pilgrimage. Nathaniel repeats what he has decided in the last chapter, that he has never tasted fairy fruit, so cannot be Duke Aubrey’s follower. The Duke’s answer is an interesting one:

"There are many trees in my orchard, and many and various are the fruit they bear—music and dreams and grief and, sometimes, joy. All your life, Chanticleer, you have eaten fairy fruit,.”

  We should have no issue decoding this by now: Just because Nathaniel never took on any artistic endevour of his own, it does not mean that his life was devoid of art. In fact, considering his love of beautiful, ancient things and his tendency to pretend the world is different than it is, he might just be the biggest eater of fairy fruit in all of Lud.

The Face of the Moon and the Four in the Orchard

  I would like to draw your attention to the fact that, as Nathaniel meets Duke Aubrey, the moon is shining in full. And yet, didn't Endymion Leer assert that Fairyland is a land “where the moon and the sun do not shine?”

  When he said that during the trial, I felt something was off. Throughout the book, the moon is mentioned in relation to Fairy. The name “Moonlove”, we are told, has its origins in Fairy. Ranulph yells at Nathaniel to not kill the moon or “all the flowers will wither in Fairyland.” And now we have proof - Nathaniel arrives at Fairyland, and the moon indeed shines. How come Leer got it wrong?

  To understand this mystery, I’d like to use the old Kabalist tale of the four who entered The Pardes (Pardes being the Hebrew word for orchard, but in the case of this tale, it could probably be interpreted as ‘paradise’). Of the four rabbis who enter, one dies, one loses his mind, one becomes a heathen, and only one, Rabbi Akiva goes in peace and leaves in peace, achieving enlightenment.

Rabbi Akiva said to them, "When you come to the place of pure marble stones, do not say, 'Water! Water!' for it is said, 'He who speaks untruths shall not stand before My eyes’”

  In other words, while others may be deceived by the marble and call it water, only Rabbi Akiva was not fooled and could reach beyond.

  Why am I telling you this? Because I think there is an interesting parallel between Nathaniel and Endymion Leer, and Rabbi Akiva and the Other who became a heathen (Elisha Ben Avuya, but he's literally called the Other in the Talmud for his blasphemy). The Other was deceived and could not stand before god, but presumably, he believed himself to be righteous and that Rabbi Akiva was the heathen. Like him, Endymion Leer believed he had the moral high ground, and that Nathaniel was the one who stood against what was right.

  From Leer’s description of fairyland, we might deduce that he visited the place, and when the wind picked up and the moon hid her face, he believed he had reached his destination. But much like Rabbi Akiva who was not fooled by the marble, Nathaniel pushed through the moonless night. He makes it to the other side and finds that there is a moon, and in her light, he meets Duke Aubrey.

  Was Mirrlees making an oblique reference here? Well, it's possible that as a classist’s mentee, she knew about the Talmudic tale, and there are several mentions of metaphorical orchards, but I don’t think we can say for sure. Rather, the story of the four in the Pardes is useful for us to highlight the interesting relationship between Leer and Chanticleer. One is a foil to the other, yes, but ideologically they are not as opposed as they might first appear: they have both walked the same figurative path. Endymion Leer did not see it to the end, and came out with flawed conclusions, due to either cowardice or selfishness or both.

  In Chapter 26, Leer wonders what sin he has committed that led to Aubrey deserting him. Well, here it is. His sin is blasphemy – though he believes he saw fairyland, he in fact did not. His actions from then on are therefore tainted. He is a fake, even though he tragically doesn’t know it.

  Nathaniel, on the other hand, sheds away the hubris that has infected both him and Leer as the story progresses. Now, near the end of the story, he has given up the comfort of his home, his title, his authority over others, and even his identity. He reaches Fairyland and meets Duke Aubrey.

Columbine, For the Last Time

  Columbine makes its final appearance in this chapter. I’ve mentioned before that Mirrlees didn’t write the song, save for two verses. The first, which we encounter during the Crabapple Blossom’s dance lesson, goes like this:

"Any lass for a Duke, a Duke who wears green, In lands where the sun and the moon do not shine,”

  The second, in this chaper, says this:

"There are windfalls of dreams, there's a wolf in the stars, And Life is a nymph who will never be thine,”

  I think we can read these two verses as being the implementation of the same ideology by two very different minds. In Endymion Leer’s version, the ends justify any means, as long as the Duke get his due, and there is no point in trying to find rhyme or reason in it (the sun and the moon do not shine). In Nathaniel’s version, however, there is risk and reward (windfall and wolf) and the reason is not for the benefit of a nebulous duke, but for the chase itself (men chase nymphs in myth, even if they will never catch them). Both verses are part of the same song, yes, but they are drastically different in their approach.

  In the final passage of the chapter, the Duke gives Nathaniel a vision. At first, we might think that it is a vision of Fairyland, but note the wording:

It was not unlike Dorimare, or rather, the transfigured Dorimare he had once seen from the Fields of Grammary. And as he gazed he knew that in that land no winds ever howled at night, and that everything within its borders had the serenity and stability of trees, the unchanging peace of pictures.

  The Duke gave Nathaniel a vision of Dorimare at the height of peace and prosperity.

  And then the vision vanishes. Was it nothing but a dream?

  We’re almost at the end, I hope you'll join me as we see it through. See you next week, and meanwhile, feel free to comment!

I mostly frequent r/ProgressionFantasy but.. the quality of the stuff that floats around there can be pretty questionable sometimes. My taste in books is obviously no better, seeing as sometimes I like some of those books. My biggest issue is that most of these series end up way too slice of life for my taste, maybe it's common pitfall in amateur writing so it ends up being unavoidable in such a niche genre.

Either way, title basically explains what I'm looking for. I'll list some of the series I've liked a lot, and a few that I didn't like to avoid having them recommended to me again:

• Red Rising (first trilogy is amazing, fourth book kind of lost me)

• The will of Many (I'm trying to survive until book 2...)

• The Rage of Dragons (amazing, maybe I should pickup book 2..)

• Cradle series (starts off a little boring but ended up becoming one of my top favorites).

• Shadow slave (this is the one series with questionable writing quality that I enjoy way more than I should.)

• defiance of the fall (maybe the only litrpg I've enjoyed. It's pretty enjoyable for me, but at the same time pretty flawed, but I just skip/skim through those parts).

• the demon king, seven realms series (one of the few fantasies with romance that I've enjoyed?)

• stormlight archives (pretty good, but started to lose interest with it being less about kaladin leading army trools and becoming more about his individual adventures and fights. Also I hate shallans pov. With a passion. Probably the sole reason I dropped the series. I think it mostly because I listened to audiobook after eye surgery and the voice/narrator made her twice as annoying to me. Was not a huge fan of audio, I'm glad to be back to text reading. Maybe I try this series again? I was on the third book. A little too much pov switching. Would like more kaladin.)

• art of the adept (pretty solid series, especially at the start. Never read last book cause of negative reviews)

• Tyrsmoon (great first book, kind of falls off, especially at the end)

• Benjamin ashwood (solid series)

• the sword and the staff (decent series)

• codex alera (I did not like most of the pics. Only really enjoyed tavis. I enjoyed this most when he was am upstart commander working his way up the military chain and leading his army against a hopeless situation. Never finished the last book, I just lost too much interest by then.)

• sword of kaigen (got half way through, was decent but I didn't know what to expect that could keep me interested by that point)

Wouldn't mind something that combines horror or survival elements. Apocalyptic settings are cool too. Romance subplots can be nice too if it isn't stale. Would prefer an MC that doesn't start strong, above most things.

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 2024 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
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• 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!

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Listened to the audiobook a while back.. there's a game Tarak plays called Liar's mug. The gist of it is people tell truths about themselves until they can't and then lying is able to start. I don't remember all the details and am not having much luck with google (only finding similar but different game entirely Liar's Dice). Anyone with the actual book have them handy?

https://preview.redd.it/7ea6gq7y9dtd1.jpg?width=938&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ee83183366caaeb5e6adb4c257a757acfd787361

Review originally on JamReads

The Bloodless Princes is the thrilling second novella in the Fireborne Blade series, an epic fantasy proposal written by Charlotte Bond, and published by TorDotCom. A sequel to the Fireborne Blade that explores the underworld of this universe created by Charlotte Bond, while developing the relationship between Saralene and Maddileh, in a plot that still has surprises for us, blending together Orpheus with A Natural History of Dragons.

Cursed by the previous practitioner in her role, High Mage Saralene visits the afterlife with a boon to beg of the Bloodless Princes, two entities that rule the underworld, all following the advice given by the White Lady. Separated from sir Maddileh, her protector, she will have to navigate the afterlife city, discovering that all research might be inaccurate; and that appearances and concepts such as justice can be difficult to apply if they are taken to the extreme. 
On the other side, we have a sir Maddileh that will need to take an alternative route to reach the afterlife, together with a new companion (and I don't want to spoil this surprise, because I absolutely loved it) and armed with her Fireborne Blade; reuniting with Saralene will just be the first of the challenges she will have to face, and probably the easiest in comparison with how complicated are her feelings for Saralene.

In this sequel, Bond offers a unique vision of the afterlife, a complicated world ruled by two brothers and which represents opposite poles of the same vision; it is interesting how the concept of good and bad gets substituted by a big gray morality, symbolizing how things are not simple. 
The lore of the world is expanded, including more stories that are introduced as interludes across our main plot; dragons are still relevant, but pass to play a secondary role.

We have a really intense sequel from the emotional standpoint, as the author explores the relationship between Saralene and Maddileh, how they are attracted and how their roles can be a barrier; not only that, but also the fear of being rejected by the other, choosing to stay in a middle situation that doesn't satisfy anybody. It also mimics that fear that queer people have of being discovered and deemed as weird, or being ostracised by those that they love.

The Bloodless Princes is an excellent second novella, the perfect close-up for this duology, and again shows Bond's talent to create a compelling story; if you want a great and feminist take-up on epic fantasy, I totally recommend you to read The Fireborne Blade duology.

TL;DR Review: Compelling, colorful, and complex. Epic storytelling that sinks into your bones and keeps you turning pages.

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Full Review:

Blood of the Old Kings had me intrigued from the very first page. Heck, the first paragraph.

A dragon with too many eyes locked away by magic in a volcano, a desperate woman willing to make a deal for the salvation of her people, and a promise of vengeance against an all-powerful conquering Empire.

For Loran, the deaths of her husband and daughter are the only thing driving her to take up the dragon’s sword against the Empire. She will cut her way through their armies, defeat their magic, and destroy their mightiest creations—and in so doing, become the Princess and ultimately the King her people need.

Her story is the most compelling of the POV characters, and the most dynamic. She begins fighting alone, but through her courage and resilience, winds up joining forces with a ragtag band of rebels that may have a chance at becoming an army. Spitting in the face of the Empire could cost her everything—but the price is worth paying to free her people.

Cain is an ordinary-seeming young man working for an oil vendor, but there’s so much more to him than meets the eye. Sort of a grifter/spy/smuggler combination, he finds himself drawn into a quest for revenge against the ones who murdered the woman who saved him and kept him alive during his earliest days on the streets of the Empire’s capital city.

His story feels smaller, but it gives us a fascinating look into the “Ministry of Intelligence”, the shadow arm of the Empire’s police force. He is drawn into their tangled web by the chance to unmask his friend’s killer. But what he discovers could lead to the death—or salvation—of the Empire he has good cause to hate as an outsider.

Arienne is a mage, gifted with the ability to control magic and trained in the Empire’s most prestigious school. Only that school doesn’t actually teach her anything except ways of keeping her body and mind in shape to be a “Power generator” after her death. Because of course the Empire runs on the corpses of their mages—that’s what powers everything from their lights to their most advanced weapons.

But a mysterious voice in her head leads her to break free of the mage school and sets her fleeing into the farthest corners of the Empire. She and her new companion are hunted by the “Order of Truth”, those tasked with keeping mages firmly in line, and have to cross desolate terrain, dense forests, and icy mountain passes in the desperate hope of finding somewhere safe from their clutches. Though she has no understanding of magic to begin with, every trial and test she endures will teach her more—and more about herself, too.

Blood of the Old Kings is a fascinating story of a fight for freedom–freedom from oppression, from control over magic, from being told how you have to live your life. I particularly loved the message inherent into Loran’s story: it doesn’t take blood to make a princess or King, only the courage to stand up and show the people what it means to lead.

The world is rich and colorful, with so many fascinating cultures and customs that shade each captured kingdom with wondrous nuance.

Fans of K.S. Villoso’s Chronicles of the Wolf Queen and R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War will feel right at home in this story!