Fantasy & Sci-Fi Books

I'm looking for middle‑grade fantasy reads for my daughter (she's interested in reading, as is getting int it.

My main challenge is that she likes books with a girl leads, and I don't know many.

Preferences: female protagonist, target age about 7–14, very light or no romance, minimal gore, and generally wholesome/adventurous tone. She liked Narnia (we've read the first two) and Harry Potter as bedtime stories and I'd like books she can read on her own. Any recommendations?

I came across this book very randomly and decided to give it a read. It seems right in the cyberpunk vein and I wonder why it isn't considered required reading for that genre? I don't want to give spoilers, but by chance anyone else has read it, what do you think? I enjoyed it immensely.

I would like to know about the most cynical sci-fi writers about political progress.

To quote, Larry Niven, "Niven's Law: No cause is so noble that it won't attract fuggheads."

Hey guys!

I need some new SciFi book suggestions. What's hot right now? Which book or series should I go for?

For context, I love SciFi, read all the classics (Asimov, Clark, Heinlein, Hitchikers, Hyperion, 3 body problem, etc), and then The Expanse, Andy Weir books, and John Scalzi.

I'm coming out of a year full of Brandon Sanderson and Cosmere adventures, and I'm planning eventually moving on to Wheel of Time, but in the mean time I crave a little scifi again.

I love a good adventure, be it soft or hard physics, prefer humour but also like a serious tone. Love friendships but I hate romance plots/YA stuff.

I have Dungeon Crawler Carl in the list right now, but I haven't been paying attention to what is new. I appreciate any suggestions! Thank you guys!

Also, available to discuss any of the above mentioned authors/books.

5/5 ⭐️

I thought I could do anything. And maybe I could have, but I tried to do everything, and that isn't the same.

I’m in absolute awe of this whole series but especially of this book. This is not your usual fantasy, it’s full of original ideas and very well thought out execution. It is as character driven as plot; one not compromised for the other. I want to write a proper review but I’m still shaking from that conclusion.

&gt;!for some reason, not the deaths. Not the Price. Not the breaking of relationships. But the destruction of that last library and Otah making up stories to read to his sick son because he didn’t have books anymore hit me the worst. It reminded me of the Library of Alexandria and I’m just sitting here in heartbreak over those books.!<

I really don’t know how to describe it in a way to give it justice but it’s one of the most underrated gem I’ve read and I would like more people to read it. Every single decision these characters make has a price to pay. Even the first chapter of the first book had consequences and pay offs here. This story doesn’t feel very fantasy, it doesn’t feel like happening in a far off place. These characters feel very very real, their motivations understandable, their fears valid.

Otah has grown so much from that first book but at his core he is true to himself. Maati’s story hurts me and at the same time I still understand why everything that has to happen, happens. Kiyan and Liat shine in this book (I really didn’t like Liat’s character in book 1), the children a reflection of their parents’ decisions. This book has one of the best antagonist (is he even an antagonist) I’ve read in a while. Balasar Gice does what he thinks is right and most of the time it IS right. He’s such a breath of fresh air. The one character I never thought I’d love as much as I did was Sinjas’. His and Balasar’s moments were some of my absolute favourite of this book.

"For her sake, sir, I'd betray the gods."

I would also like to appreciate just how beautifully and full Of details Daniel had chiseled this world. As someone living in a place with harsh winters, Machi was straight put of a fairytale. With it’s high towers rising above the clouds, it’s carnival filled streets, it’s maze of tunnels and underground city, the bathhouses, the river that freezes enough in winter that an entire army could pass through, it’s bird songs, mines and so much more. I felt like I was living there with all these characters and it was a lovely time.

After binging the first three books in 2 weeks, I think I’d now like to pause and give this book the breathing and contemplating space it deserves before starting the last one. But it really has been a great journey.

Bingo Squares:

vacation spot (definitely Machi), older protagonist, non human protagonist (the andats: stonemade-soft was definitely my favourite), muder mystery(book 2), political and court intrigue

Hey so i think i interpreted the ending of wind and truth wrong. When Kaladin becomes a herald and Syl inherits her fathers power. Storm clouds appearing in her eyes and a regal attire forming etc etc.

Am i wrong in reading this as their bond no longer exists? Im reading in a lot of places they are still bonded which is incredible thats what i want. I read it and was gutted because i thought through circumstance they had been divided by responsibility and were no longer each others/bonded to one another. What actually happened?

I didn’t know a ton about If Found Return to Hell coming into the first page, but I had assumed it would be a fairly standard horror story featuring a possession. Look at the cover! It’s actually a lot more like Penric's Demon, though a bit goofier: this book is a big marshmallow with a gooey center. It finds a better balance in tone than a lot of cozy fantasy does, however, which made me like it a lot more than one of the many Legends and Lattes clones. However, I was kind of hoping this would be a nice accompaniment to The Haunting of Hill House, which my partner forced me to watch (though I’m now largely a fan). The second book of this readathon to underdeliver horror yet provide great cozy vibes, which is odd considering this is only the fifth book I’ve read for the challenge.

Read If You Like: found family, late stage capitalism + magic, cozy fantasy that doesn’t overplay itself, developed platonic relationships

Avoid If You Dislike: second person narration, asshole parents, stories with relatively low stakes

Does it Bingo? Trans/Nonbinary Protagonist, Judge a Book by its Title, Small Press (HM), The afterlife, Book Club, Feast Your Eyes on This (eggs, dumplings), Author of Color

Comparable Media: House on the Cerulean Sea, Penric's Demon

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To the other reviews in this readathon, see my announcement post.

Elevator Pitch:
Wen works for One Wizard, a megacorporation to solve all of your wizarding needs! Unfortunately, they mostly answer phones, listen to complaints, and transfer customers to other departments. When a young man calls in with a massive sigil on his wall and no memories of what happens, Wen gets clearance to investigate. Soon, they end up playing host to a man possessed by a Prince of Hell, and Wen doesn’t know what to do about that.

What Worked for Me
My favorite Superhero movie of all time is The Incredibles, and the glue that holds that story together (in my opinion), is Bob’s time in an insurance company. It’s tedious, repetitive, and draining for the soul. Liu perfectly captured that feeling in If Found, Return to Hell, because Wen’s time in the call center is delightfully shitty. Sometimes I think authors can overplay realistic scenarios transposed into a fantasy context (don’t get me started on how Teacher Professional Development sessions are to be written in fantasy books), but Liu gets it just right. There’s a sprinkle of absurdity with how stupid some of the callers are, the cloud of quotas hanging over your head, and the knowledge that you’re not actually making any change in the world. Wen is but a hamster on the wheel of corporate greed and mediocrity. I should note that this portion of the book has some fairly glaring plot holes for those whom this will bug: there’s some governmental licensing worldbuilding at the start that conveniently vanishes later in the story, and Wen gets away with far too much with far fewer repercussions than I’d expect from a high-turnover job like a call center.

As with The Incredibles, this mundanity is essential for the rest of the novel to work. Wen’s hatred of their job fits nicely with the fear Shine has as he calls in to help. This is an opportunity for Wen to actually do something. However, as the story shifts away from the office and into the home, that layer of frost thaws into something sweet and silly. Wang Ran is a bumbling and jumpy demon, fascinated with everything human. A highlight was him complaining about how inaccurately video games depict hell, and his comfort in hissing like a snake at animals. Liu does a great job of capturing the feeling of watching a shared body. There’s vocal bickering, the grabbing of one’s own hand to stop the vacuum cleaner from being turned on, and a friendly shadow war for control over the body that is all in good fun. Even when Liu didn’t tell me which character was driving Shine’s body, I could usually tell from their dialogue, which is a sign of high quality character writing. The story quickly develops into a Found Family storyline that feels earned and genuine. The developing platonic relationship between Wen and the others was treated with as much care as other novels treat romantic bonds, which isn’t something we see much. I don’t think this book is going to make ‘best characterization’ lists, but it’s a good step above most writers in the genre, which is probably why I think this book succeeded where so many cozy books fail.

Finally, I’m a fan of 2nd person narration. It used to be that I enjoyed it when used for a clear and innovative purpose - such as the narrative looping in How to Survive this Fairytale or Jemisin’s exploration of trauma in Broken Earth. This book has convinced me that I like 2nd person more generally, and I no longer will expect any justification for its use moving forward. Wen has a clear personality; they aren’t just a blank slate. The ‘you’ helped settle me into the call-center bits of the tale nicely. Wen is also given a gender-neutral name, and Shine/Wang Ran use female/male language for Wen respectively. I’m choosing to read this as Wen being nonbinary, but I don’t think this is explicitly confirmed in the text. If you hate 2nd person, ignore this book, because it could have been written in first or third person without much shifting thematically. For those who don’t mind the main character being ‘you’, however, this is worth picking up. Heartwarming but not drowning in sappiness.

What Didn’t Work for Me
I am a bit of a stickler for endings. I’m not the type of reader that thinks a bad ending ruins a story - except for Shoestring Theory; that was a train wreck - but I generally think it's easier to create interesting challenges than to resolve them. If Found Return to Hell’s climax was mediocre. It pulled together a few Bureaucracy and Sigil Analysis plotlines, but Liu had foreshadowed this ‘reveals’ so heavily that the climactic legalese monologue actually ended up feeling like a recap rather than a reveal. The compromise Wen had to make didn’t have any teeth to it. Actually, it seems like the ‘bad’ part of Wen’s bargain ends up being more of a positive. I think this all loops back to the novella’s identity as a cozy novel before all else, so perhaps I’m applying metrics to the story that aren’t fair considering its subgenre.

Final note, and I will acknowledge this is 100% a ‘me’ problem. I’m kind of burned out on asshole dads (parents in general, but dads in particular). I’ve read a lot of them recently. They’re prominent in queer fiction, Romances, and adventure stories, all of which I read a lot of. So when two-thirds of our main cast had asshole parents - Sine’s mom is really delightful and was one of the highlights of the book - I’m starting to feel it as a shorthand to create a sense of sympathy for our protagonist. To a certain extent, this extends to Shine and Wen not having siblings, and are ‘alone’ in the world. Wang Ran has many, but we don’t hear about them at all, which is strange because it feels like it might be pertinent to why he’s running away from Hell. Actually, we get very little about why he wants to hang out in the real world vs where he was raised, and that feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Conclusion: A sweet and enjoyable found family story, one of my favorite cozy stories from recent years

Novella Bingo Card:
I plan on having a novella-themed bingo card this year. However, I generally wont' be picking my books with this in mind. Instead, I'd like to read what I want to read and slot things in as they fit. I'll have 8 months to fill in the gaps. Here's where I stand so far

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Estoy leyendo Viento y verdad y estoy en el capítulo en el que los Sangre espectral escapan de Shallan yéndose a Shadesmar usando la transportación ya que uno de ellos es un nominador de lo otro, Shallan menciona como los puede ver superponiendo su visión del reino físico al de Shadesmar ya que puede verlo por su moldeado de almas, SIN EMBARGO, en "El camino de los reyes" Shallan al descubrir la verdad sobre Jasnah y enfrentarla, después de decir su primer verdad, sobre el asesinato de su padre, osea ser una radiante de segundo ideal, para demostrarle a Jasnah que lo que dice es verdad, ENTRA EN SHADESMAR, lo cuál es mala idea porque después Jasnah va a salvarla, pero logran salir sin perpendicularidad? Que fue ese suceso?

I'm just dipping my toe back into reading. I was a big fantasy reader as a kid (Dragons of Pern, various Merlin stories, Tamora Pierce is what I remember as well as other YA) but haven't read much in adulthood.

I'm reading Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher and I'm enjoying the adult (30+ aged characters) and the romance, but I'd love something with a bit more plot in between romantic beats or even with more separation between the love interests. Like where the romance is the B plot.

I like books where the characters seem to have a full life outside of each other and we get to see that side, vs where we just get to see the bits that have to do with the main romance.

For this reason I'm thinking more fantasy​ books vs romantasy may be more what I'm looking for? But I'm open to suggestions! Not against smut or romance being a significant plot point. Prefer female main character, don't care about sexual orientation though.

Hi I’m looking for a sci-fi book to read on holiday I want something hopeful and quite grounded. I’d love something about first contact with aliens in a realistic and positive way or smth similar to project Hail Mary.
I am tempted to go into the more horror sides but don’t think it suits a holiday read. Anyone got any hopeful but realistic recommendations?
Thank you

Love the author's other books so I picked up this one. Really liking it but I had to stop about half way through because I recently lost my dog and it felt like the book was moving towards some tragic ending where rex dies. So umm.. without spoiling too much else, does Rex survive? Am I going to be traumatized if I keep reading?

Forgive me if this has been mentioned before, but I just noticed the following passage in Lackey's Eye Spy.

>"And what were you going to do to her?, Mags continued.

>"Grab her booby, give it a twist" said Dudley[...] "I grab boobies all the time, to show girls who's in charge of them[...] When you're rich, you can do anything, and they just let you." [p. 35 of my pbk.]

Does this not sound like a certain Access Hollywood audio tape? The speaker's name, Dudley Remp, is also somewhat redolent. He's the son of a slum landlord. The 2019 copyright date checks out.

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Hey everyone I need some help. I want to make a Kelsier Cosplay from his appearance in book 1, so far I have the mistcloak, a leather belt with vials for my metals and have even been able to find final empire coins. What I need help with is the rest, I have gotten myself a white suit shirt and a dark blue suit vest. And am planning on wearing beige trousers. Would that fit Kelsier or should I choose other clothes?

(I put spoiler here because I want to state DO NOT MENTION HIS IMPORTANCE IN BOOK 3 I HAVENT READ IT ALL YET 😭)

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Welcome to the daily recommendation requests and simple questions thread, now 1025.83% more adorable than ever before!

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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:

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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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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.