r/Fantasy

I’m looking for any stories that involve a protagonist becoming the antagonist and the antagonist becoming the protagonist. I’m looking more for Fantasy or SciFi. Preferably a series.

I’m not talking like a standalone story that has a climactic ending that causes one character to make a moral decision that changes your outlook of the characters. I’m talking like a story that follows the two characters possibly from an origins standpoint where we actually have defined roles of this character being the protagonist. One where we actually follow whole stories or books where this character is firmly supplanted as our Protagonist and then by the end of the series he has actually become the Antagonist of the global overarching saga. Like if you could imagine that the Star Wars movies were actually released with a chronological timeline. We would begin with Anakin as our hero and then obviously we know where that ends. But I don’t want it to be told non linearly. I want to see examples of the transformation done well over time throughout a series.

Any examples of this?

This should probably be general advice for any book, but the problem with hype is that it breeds more hype and overenthusiastic fans tend to exaggerate how good a book is and push it on everyone.

I see so many people either promoting the series as the best thing ever or loudly complaining it must be bad because THEY didn’t personally enjoy it. Along with posts from people who clearly believe than fantasy can only be good if it has fancy, elaborate prose and anyone who reads a book series like DCC must be an idiot who never reads.

There’s also the claim that only gamer dudes will enjoy it, or teen boys (seriously, don’t gift this series to kids, it’s a dark series meant for adults). You don't need to be a gamer, or even a guy to like this. But I’d say there’s a few other things you might need to enjoy to figure out if Dungeon Crawler Carl is for you:

• Liking absurdist, dark and often crude humor
• Having a fondness for cats
• Being okay with a game-style setting that includes lots of levelling up, quests, loot etc.
• Being okay with basic, venacular prose. The MC is just a regular guy with little education, and it’s 1st person narration, so how a guy like that would talk is how he narrates.
• Horror elements where the horror feeds into the comedy

The story in a nutshell: Earth culture is destroyed and billions die due to an alien invasion. The MC and his cat (well actually his ex-girlfriend’s cat) both survive due to a dumb coincidence. The survivors all get the chance to play the dungeon game, a level-based death game (think Squid Game but with meta humor and better challenges). The game is run by a psychotic, sadistic AI. The dungeon, being made by aliens who are basically evil colonizers, is filled with offensive stereotypes of humans and deliberately portray the worst and stupidest that human culture had to offer (that includes nerd culture). The whole game is broadcast across the galaxy for alien viewers to enjoy.

Carl is the protagonist, and as is normal in this type of book, he has the protagonist’s halo. Bad things still happen, and there’s lots and lots of death and suffering. The secondary protagonist is the cat, Princess Donut (and yes, the name is stupid – that alone made me hesitate to read the first book for a long time).

Reasons not to like DCC: If you don’t like the cat (give it maybe 12-15 chapters or so before you decide), you will have a hard time with this series. DCC is, above all, a petmance. As in the story of the (decidely platonic) love between a human and his animal (or as Princess Donut would say, between a cat and her person).

If you dislike Princess Donut, you will probably also end up hating the books as a whole.

If you read the first 10-15 chapters and find the humor really off-putting, then probably this series is not for you. I wouldn’t say DCC is the height of comedy, but the humor is central and without it there’s a lot less to enjoy.

If you dislike being in the head of a fairly average joe (Carl does have a backstory that’s interesting and comes into play at some point, but it’s not the main focus), then probably don’t bother with this series.

The prose does what it’s supposed to do, and where it shines isn’t in flowery prose (there is none), but in catching internet lingo and using it for great comedic effect (the AI’s lines are pretty fantastically written if you’re fine with meme-like humor).

The setting is fairly generic – at least I assume, since I haven’t read any other litrpg yet. It’s a mix of sci-fi tropes and classical fantasy tropes, the dungeon has a fantasy setting while the wider universe is basically space opera. We get anything from bug aliens to elves, orcs and fantasy quests, and a lot of the characters gain magical abilities, but the books aren’t interested in elaborate magic systems.

The fun is in the execution and how the author uses the tropes in imaginative ways, but don’t except some super unique worldbuilding. DCC feels in a lot of ways like a very messed up love letter to established fantasy and sci-fi tropes.

Themes: Some fans like to claim that DCC is in fact ’very deep’ because it deals with themes such as capitalism, class struggles, reality tv and social media. One of the main themes in the story is what one has to do to survive in an extreme life-or-death situation, and what the moral implications are of choosing your own life at the expense of others. DCC isn’t just mindless fun, it does actually try to discuss deeper themes, but I don’t think this makes the series particularly deep, though a lot of the themes did resonate with me.

The characters are IMO where the books really shine. There’s a huge cast of characters, and besides Carl and Donut we get a progressively larger number of side characters. A lot are very memorable, and if you asked me to pick my favorite, it would be like a Sophie’s Choice situation (but it’s Samantha, of course it’s Samantha. Prepotente is a close second though). I’ve seen some people complain that DCC is ’misogynist’, which is funny to me, since DCC IMO has some of the best female characters I’ve seen in a long while. I guess the secret is that Dinniman treats all his characters as people with their own needs and wants, even the villains and the minor characters. I went into these books just wanting a fun. I ended up crying more over this series and its characters than I have in a long time. Do yourself a favor, don’t read book 5 in public!

I’d say the snarky AI and Princess Donut being an absolute cat along with all the praise for the series drew me in and made me hang on through all the infodumps in the beginning. But it was The Hoarder scene that made me realize this series was doing something special. If you can, hang on until chapter 11 in book 1 and see how that affects you.

Audiobooks: I started DCC after lots of hesitation, and went for the audio books, because I had Audible and everyone kept saying the audiobooks is were where it’s at. I think reading the books can work just as well though (listening usually makes it harder for me to ignore bad prose than reading), but the audiobooks are a lot of fun. Especially since the author put some details in later books that are clearly meant to mess with the narrator Jeff Hays (they’re apparently good friends irl).

The books aren’t perfect. Book 3 was a slog to me, though I did like parts of it, and the latter books felt like they’d lost a bit of steam compared to the middle ones (I'd say book 5 is the peak so far, but I've enjoyed all the books). The prose captures the mood and voice of the characters well, but it’s not fancy, polished or even super intelligent prose. The plot is at times formulaic - think how each of the Harry Potter books are structured and you get the idea.

TL;DR: Should you try it out? Robin Hobb might endorse it, but that doesn’t make it a suitable series for her fans. If your friend is a super DCC fan and keeps nagging you to read it, tell him off unless he can provide a good argument why he thinks you’d enjoy it (I don’t push it on my friends since chances are they wouldn’t enjoy it). If you want elaborate magic systems or flowery prose or a setting that feels like something no one has ever done before, maybe skip this book, or at least drop it if you try book 1 and hate it. And just because it's the big hit online that doesn't mean it's for everyone. Don't believe the people shouting 'you just need to get through the first 500 pages/3 books and then it's great' (people should stop doing this in general, not just for DCC). You either like it or you don't.

If you want well-written characters with convincing dialogue, a plot with lots of good twists and turns, D&D-style fantasy with game settings and set in a wider space opera-style universe where corporations are the villains, AND a good mix of tragedy, absurdist comedy, and action scenes – then this might be for you.

I’m in the middle of royal assassin and no series has made me cry… no book has made me cry… until now! I’ve felt goosebumps and cried 3 times so far. I feel so attached to every character for different reasons. Hobb is changing my perception of reading fantasy and books in general. I’ve never been so sure I’m committing to an expansive series before.

hi all! hoping to read piranesi soon, and i’m going in knowing absolutely nothing as many people have said to. i am a huge mood reader, and the environment i read a book in tends to work for or against me! is piranesi a good read for anytime, or is it an atmospheric vibe that i’ll want once the weather gets chillier? i tend to read romance or lit fic in summer, thriller/horror/mystery in fall, and fantasy in winter! i don’t always stick to this but i usually fit in books when i think i’ll enjoy them most!

obviously i’m totally fine with some crossover and i’m not super rigid, but if it’s worth waiting another month to pick up piranesi i’d love to know! thanks!

Hello r/fantasy and welcome to this week's bingo focus thread! The purpose of these threads is for you all to share recommendations, discuss what books qualify, and seek recommendations that fit your interests or themes.

Today's topic:

Unusual Transportation: Story includes a surprising method of moving from place to place. By “unusual” we mean that it is out of the ordinary in real life AND uncommon to the book’s broader genre. This can include a highly unique take on a genre staple (spaceships with FTL wouldn’t normally count but the Infinite Improbability Drive from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would) or be a completely original mode of transit (autoducks in The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy). HARD MODE: Transportation is NOT combustion-powered or steam-powered. If the power source is not stated, use your best judgment. A story likely won’t specify that cars are combustion-powered and horses aren’t, but a reasonable person would assume those things to be true if they’re not stated. Likewise, in a steampunk setting, the chances are good that the transport is steam-powered.

What is bingo? A reading challenge this sub does every year! Find out more here.

Prior focus threads: 

• Published in the 70s
• Duologies
• First Contact
• Middle Grade
• Game Changer
• Murder Mystery
• Translated
• Trans/Nonbinary Protagonist
• The Afterlife
• Author of Color
• Five Short Stories (2024)
• Self-Pub/Small Press (2024)
• Note that hard mode for Self-Pub/Small Press has changed (a new focus thread is coming).

Also see: Big Rec Thread

Questions:

• What are your favorite books that count for this square?
• Already read something for this square? Tell us about it!
• What are your best recommendations for Hard Mode?

https://guide.lacon.org/id/5318d487-4299-4346-96e9-aa696f905df4

>Robin Hobb is the author of The Farseer Trilogy, and the volumes that follow to make up The Realm of the Elderlings. She will read from an unpublished (as of yet) Hobb ROTE story. If time permits, she will do a brief additional reading from an unpublished Megan Lindholm short story.

No "short" in front of "ROTE story". Don't know about you, but I'm excited as hell.

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

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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:

• 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!

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^(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.

Context: I was thinking the other day of a few series that were talked about a lot back in the 2010s, but are rarely mentioned anymore:

• The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler
• Ketty Jay by Chris Wooding
• Ash and Sand, by Richard Nell
• Iconoclasts, by Mike Shel
• Traitor Son, by Miles Cameron
• A Chorus of Dragons, by Jenn Lyons

What are some others that you wish were discussed more these days, or that you would love for new Fantasy readers to check out?

I found a recommendation for this book on a random blog -- it's by far my favorite fantasy that I've read this year! The world-building, magic/religion, characters, and plot all really surprised me in the best possible ways. If you've been finding that a lot of your fantasy reads are --even if they're good -- somewhat formulaic/predictable, I really recommend Asunder. The characters feel so embedded in the world, not just like symbols of our world, and each new location brings really creative dangers and possibilities. I don't want to spoil to much because I found figuring out what was going on really satisfying, but I felt like the somewhat snarky main character, realistic set of secrets everyone in the book is carrying, and really fascinating magic propulsive. I haven't really seen anyone else talking about it and wanted to recommend it to you all!! I loved the different layers of vengeful gods and curses.

Bingo Squares: One Word Title (hard mode), Unusual Transportation (hard mode), Murder Mystery (imo), first in a duology (the second hasn't been written yet so idk if it counts but it's coming!)

I was looking for another fantasy mystery to read after finishing Trade of blood and was delighted to come across this recently released book by RJ Barker. I had already read his age of assassins and tide child trilogies before and enjoyed them alot, so I went in with high expectations, and I am happily not disappointed!

The book is about a Mortedant - someone who can read the final thoughts of a dead person - who gets caught up in a conspiracy after a routine work outing, and is now implicated in a murder. He has 4 days to figure out the actual criminal, and as he inevstigates he uncovers a deeper and a diabolical conspiracy.

I really really loved the world building. All of the book is set in one crowded, gothic, kinda steam punk city with a sleeping god, weird magic, and weirder technologies. I kept twanting to read more and more of the book just for the world! The settings plays a big role in the story and the mystery, and because the setting worked so well the rest of the book worked really well as well. There's so many little things said matter-of-factly that made the world - not just the city - feel so alive and mysterious. So many mysteries were setup and there is so much more to explore in this world that it feels very exciting to wait for subsequent books.

The characters are pretty archetypical IMO. The main character is kinda snobbish and prejudiced but has a heart of gold. He has a noble but disgraced body guard, and a young assistant who is rogueish but also someone you want to protect. I found all of them to be well written. The main character - Mortedant Hask himself - is also the narrator, and I found his slightly formal, slightly haughty voice to fit this story very well. The found family aspect between the three of them worked for me. There were several delightful side characters as well, but I wasn't very fond of the antagonist. Felt like he didn't feel like as much as a presence as I wanted him to be.

The plot is good, it is not a very intricate mystery but it folds out in a very satisfying way. Best mysteries for me are those where you figure out what's happening just before the characters and that happened here, so yay. I'll say the pacing is slightly off in some places, especially in the beginning, where a lot of pages are spent on simply explaining the world. I didn't mind it at all because I enjoyed the world a lot, but it could have been done in a better way.

All in all, I was very happy with this book. Fantasy mysteries are the shit. Gimme like a dozen more of these. Looking forward to the next one!

I encountered a character in Maya: Seed Takes Root, whose low place in its social hierarchy and caste-system is reflected in his language itself.

Some context: the world is a science-fantasy filled with seven sapient species, loosely based on South Asian mythology. There are avian aristocratic Garudas, law enforcement simian Vaanars, minority races like the serpentine Naags, and a race of oppressed laborers called Kulies, bred solely to operate as tools.

The rare White Kulie in the novel, Baluta, is an anomaly because he is remarkably intelligent and resilient. The way he speaks, rendered in a unique syntax, simultaneously captures both his low place and his undeniable intelligence. In a scene with his highborn garuda master Tarkash, he's asked how he's so easily able to slip in and out of places without being seen. You'd expect a monologue about stealth or other feats of espionage. Instead he says: "Dust come, dust go. Who see dust?"

With such matter-of-factness, he explains how he simply exploits the invisibility his systemic objectification affords him. No "the", no "a", no past or future tense. Nothing joining thoughts together to convey the ontology of a sapient person. Elsewhere in the book he says "Baluta keeps its word." He refers to himself as an "it". And he doesn't use people's names either. He calls Tarkash "pretty-bird-master" and the condemned prisoner Yachay "good-sad-man". He refers to them by their traits and their functions, just like they do to him. But how he "names" people also works as deep character judgment, more insightful than any lengthy exposition.

Two other popular characters come to mind: Gollum and Dobby.

Gollum slips between "I" and "we" because there are two minds fighting inside him. His syntax externalises his fractured self-talk.

Dobby also refers to himself in the third person. "Dobby is a free elf" packs his entire life of house-elf servitude into one phrase. Dobby is a being who was never allowed personhood, never allowed identity. Why would he learn to say "I"? Obviously Dobby's syntax was probably not as intentionally devised as my analysis suggests, but it's still a popular example that illustrates this idea.

Here are a few other great Baluta lines from the book:

- "Good-sad-man big tool. Big dark tool." (remarking to Tarkash that the protagonist Yachay is a good recruit to a team he's building, precisely because he's mysterious and unpredictable)

- "Pretty-bird-master have pretty head-tool. No kill Kulie also." (commenting on Tarkash's wise decision to not kill Baluta during an altercation, even though nobody would bat an eye if he were to)

Baluta is a great example of encoding character and world-building into linguistics. Not sure how many people have read the book. I actually got the Kickstarter version before its worldwide retail launch. Just wanted to park my thoughts here.

Listened to the audiobook of The Incandescent during my vacation, and had a wonderful time with it. I finished it yesterday and have some thoughts bouncing around my head that I want to share.

The Incandescent follows the viewpoint of Dr. Waldon, a teacher at a fancy boarding school in modern Britain where she teaches magic, specifically demon summoning, while also being tasked with the responsibility of protecting the school and its inhabitants from said demons. What could possibly go wrong.

General Thoughts:

In terms of the overall picture, the book was a bit of a tension sandwich. We have a nice introduction to Dr. Waldon and her students, and there is a good, steady build up to the first Big Disaster that Dr. Waldon has to deal with. After that... it basically turns into Teacher Slice of Life for the middle part of the book. It only bothers to deal with the fallout of the first Big Disaster in passing, and likewise with building up to the climactic Big Disaster. I did enjoy all parts of the book, but they did not gel super well together, and the transition from one to the other was jarring and left me floundering for a bit. This structure unfortunately also led to some of the more interesting thematic and character elements not getting as much development as I would have liked.

Characters:

I liked Dr. Waldon as a main character. I don't know much of anything about teaching, so I can't really comment on the accuracy of how her experiences are portrayed, but I liked seeing how Dr. Waldon specifically leads her life. I enjoyed the viewpoint of a professional doing her job competently while the narrative picks at the frayed edges of her mentality.

I liked how Dr. Waldon constantly tells herself that her job is her life and that is all she needs to be happy while while it is obvious that is just not the case. The Slice of Life section of the book specifically does a good job showing that she is actually kinda isolated and lonely, and how she can't carry on like that forever. It led to her making some human feeling mistakes that later came back to bite her in the ass (cough cough Mark). She tries to change her circumstances a bit, and in some ways it works, and in other ways her blind spots and preconceptions land her in hot water.

For the most part I liked how well-realized Waldon was as a character. However, I did not understand why she did not talk to anyone about the Phoenix taking more and more control. It's not even that I have a problem with that specifically. I was just missing a more contextual, in-character reason for why she did what she did, whether that be her superiority complex or her need to insist on control due to her trauma.

Speaking of the trauma, it felt pretty clear to me that Waldon's choice to teach at the school where her teenage boyfriend got eaten by a giant demon she summoned as a Bad Idea and not actually good for her. There is a lot you can read into how that impacted her psychologically. For example, how the Phoenix is a response to Waldon's trauma, gaining ultimate control over the thing she failed to control as a teenager, and I think that is super neat. However, Charlie getting eaten really faded into the background during the middle section of the book, which I found pretty disappointing. I feel like there was supposed to be a whole thing of how Waldon needs to move past her trauma and the Phoenix and Charlie and the school altogether, and that is pretty much what happens at the end, but the link between this development of Waldon as a character and the actual events was was pretty thin. There was Old Faithful possessing Charlie's corpse in the beginning, and the site of Charlie's death being the location of the climax, but not enough in-between to really cement it all. It's a shame, because I really really liked this aspect of the book and I wish there was more of it. Ultimately, Charlie does not haunt the narrative enough and it is generally not relevant that Waldon is teaching and living at the school where she got her high school boyfriend killed.

As for the side characters, I thought they were also pretty nice. The students all felt distinct from each other and had a nice dynamic and a good relationship with Waldon. I especially liked how Nicky related to Dr. Waldon and serves as a parallel. However, this is another unfortunate instance of the middle part of the book focusing too much on the relatively cozy Teacher Slice of Life stuff. I wanted to see much more of how Nicky deals with the fallout of her disastrous summoning and have that serve as a direct comparison to Waldon. Unfortunately, that is not what happens. Instead we get a "she went to therapy" and a motivational speech from Waldon. Don't get me wrong, I like how it all ended up tying together, but again, I wanted there to be more.

I do wish we had gotten more closure with the whole Mark thing. I don't know what it would look like, but that part specifically left me feeling unfulfilled. I also think there was a missed opportunity to have Waldon mentally draw a connection between Mark and Charlie and have a whole thing with that.

Laura was there, I guess, which brings me to the next major topic:

The Romance:

The book is marketed as a sapphic romance, but honestly, that is only true on a technicality. Yeah, we end up with a F/F couple in the end, but Laura is completely absent for the most part and the relationship is not very developed. I was really hoping for more lesbian angst when Dr. Waldon made the oath to Laura after Old Faithful's incursion, but that was not delivered. In fact, the oath itself didn't end up doing much at all. Laura didn't even find out about Dr. Waldon's possession through their magical bond, the students went and told her.

From a character development standpoint, I actually found Waldon's "coworkers with benefits" relationship with Mark much more interesting. It did a very nice job highlighting that while Waldon might tell herself that her work is her life and she is happy with it all, she is kinda lonely and lacks human connection. She knows that Mark is an asshole and kinda shady, she readily admits it to herself, but also he is hot and charming and seems nice enough despite it all, so why the hell not? What could possibly go wrong.

Worldbuilding:

The worldbuilding is unfortunately one of the weaker parts of the novel. Yeah, there is magic and demons and all, but that doesn't seem to have had much of an impact on how history or technology developed. There are cursory nods to general precautions that are made in everyday life against demons, and the fact that the military industrial complex is looking into using demons as weapons, but overall the world looks much like ours. In practice, the presence of magic and demons changes the setting from modern British boarding school to modern British boarding school with a sprinkle of magical whimsy.

Themes and Stuff:

Mostly some miscellaneous thoughts here:

• I really like Waldon's motivational speech to Nicky about not punishing yourself for life for your mistakes and instead learning to avoid them in the future and help other people. Not only is that exactly what Waldon did with the Old Faithful incursion, but it is also what Nicky and the other students do when Waldon got possessed. It is thanks to their knowledge and resourcefulness that they figured out what is going on and were able to get help. Heck, it even draws back to the risk assessment the book opens with. Stuff will go wrong, people will make mistakes, but we can also rely on each other to learn and improve and get each other out of trouble. Excellent through line, I appreciated it a lot.
• I already mentioned this above, but I am ultimately unsure why exactly Waldon ended up getting possessed by the Phoenix. This is exactly the king of thing that happens due to a specific fatal character flaw that has been building up throughout the narrative, but I cannot figure out exactly what it is. Idk, maybe my media literacy is just failing me with this one.
• I liked the school setting as an analogy for growth and change. The students grow up into new people by virtue of being teenagers on the cusp of adulthood, and likewise Waldon grows and changes as a person. Ultimately, all of them move on to a new and brighter future, even if Waldon specifically was stuck in the past for a bit. Better late than never, and all that.

Audiobook note: Zara Ramm did a nice job with the narration of the audiobook. Can recommend.

TL;DR: While The Incandescent by Emily Tesh did not quite have enough meat on its bones to properly did into, it was a fun and engaging story with some interesting things to say.

I'm looking for a queer dark fantasy preferably MM or with a Trans masc main character. With a very possessive love interest, the whole like I own you, you are mine type vibes. Also an arranged marriage would be a plus.

I went into Kings of the Wyld on the back of reading a lot of Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie, so in the back of my head I had the expectation of a big, sprawling fantasy adventure with complex characters, thick layers of lore and world building to delve into.

What I got from this book was... Not quite that. Kings of the Wyld wears its inspiration on its sleeve, and it didn't take me too long to get what it was doing. Mercenary groups are referred to as bands with frontmen, they take on gigs and sometimes fall prey to greedy bookers? They're rock stars!

Whether this was just something the author decided to use as a fun theme, or he's a huge fan of rock music and the drama that comes with it is not known to me, but I appreciated it nonetheless. It gave me a chuckle when the band members reacted with such confusion and disdain at the new generation of bands who flaunted themselves caked up in makeup and crazy hair. I was actually surprised by the restraint in not outwardly using more music references in the nomenclature of this world, apart from a character literally being called Sabbatha.

It's light on plot, being a fairly simple rescue story with an antagonist taking the form of an ancient, cursed renegade who has sworn revenge and all the usual trimmings and it casually throws a whole menagerie of fantasy creatures at you left right and center without much weight to it. The band fights centaurs, a harpy, wyverns, a dragon, trolls, etc and it doesn't take long to realize it's just a pretty standard fantasy setting with all the usual faces showing up.

What really made the story shine for me was the characters, humour and moment to moment action. Saga as a band was a really fun cadre of characters who get to shine as badasses just as much as they get into some really unfortunate and embarrassing situations. I won't say too much but my personal favorites were Moog and Matty.

It was very, very funny at times with some very low brow humor that made my simple mind chuckle. The way Matty rejoins the band made me laugh and Moog's antics were a constant source of amusement for me.

The story wrapped up a bit too neatly for my tastes, and certain character resolutions weren't very satisfying. It moved forward at quite a fast pace and certain parts were over a bit too quickly for my tastes, I wouldn't have complained if it were just a bit longer to have more scenes of the band just hanging out to give us some more character development. Why were Moog and Matty so close? Why can't I read more of Clay's horrible childhood? I want to know more of the horrible stuff Ganelon did! I don't think the book suffered too much from not expanding on these aspects that much though, it's just what I was hoping more of.

If you've read this book, what did you think of it? It was quite an easy read, kept me entertained on my holiday.

IMO, it is the greatest ongoing fantasy series. That is basically my post in a nutshell so you could probably save yourself some time in reading.

Today I started on the final (or is it?) volume "Pretenders to The Throne of God" and already from the 1st paragraphs of 1st chapter called "The Great Sorcerer", I am seeing why this series is like no other.

I have read many fantasy books in the last decade. Some I loved, some hated, some reread multiple times and some never finished. I am not going to drop any other names here. BUT man oh man ... but Adrian Tchaikovsky's fantasy opus still stands out to me unlike any other. In terms of levels of visceral enjoyment and intellectual fulfilment, for me at least, its starting to get into the same league as some of Terry Pratchett's and, dare I say, Gene Wolfe's works. Adrian Tchaikovsky just has a special way with words and sentences that not only evokes powerful imagery, that stays with reader for many pages after. He also tends to paint complete pictures of his characters and settings in only a few sentences where other lesser writers take whole chapters. I also love his little italicized introductions to each chapter.

For instance in "Pretenders to The Throne of God", without spoiling anything, one of my favorite quotes in the first chapter is:

- "The wizard turned the knife into a thought and the man into an exploded anatomical diagram. That was how they knew they'd failed" .

Powerful imagery and just makes you as a reader stop in your tracks and appreciate the writing, despite its seemingly sparse presentation. And it's not just the words that Tchaikovsky uses, it's also his imagination and world-building that bursts out of each page. No other fantasy world of the past decade has drawn me in as much as Adrian's world of Pallaseen Sway. Some fantasy series get bogged down in the political complexity and court intrigue, ect but forget about the essence of all fantasy fiction - that in the end of the day, readers just want to be transported to another world and escape their daily troubles for a few minutes it takes to read the chapter. To be fully immersed. And oh boy, do you get immersed in Tyrant Philosophers. Escapist fiction at its best. Thank you Mr.Tchaikovsky and hope this series never ends!

I love me some real-world nature and have always love reading about unique, interesting nature in fantasy.

I think my favorite part about reading fantasy is getting to explore and learn about the given world’s landscapes, ecosystems, environments, and just overall setting. I love when the author commits to detailing the surrounding environment just as much as they do for the plot or the characters.

With that said, what are some books/series that have some of the coolest landscapes or environments that you can think of?

Some examples that stick out for me are:

- LotR (feels like every location mentioned has a deep history and lore connected to it)

- The Shattered Plains in the Stormlight Archive (just a great example of committing to an environment and making it feel like a fully lived-in place)

- Anything RJ Barker has written! (One of the more immersive writers you’ll ever read).

I’m looking for a Sci-Fi book series that does what GRR Martin’s ASOIAF does excellently. My criteria are:

1. Character development and internal depth
2. Political intrigue and factions
3. Good prose
4. World building

Does something like this exist? I’ve looked at past posts on the matter but I wanted to make a more specific one with the above mentioned criteria. Cheers !

For me it has to be The Empire series with Mara of the Acoma by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts

Female protagonist. Lots of action and political intrigue. Some fairly spicy romance. It's almost Game of Thrones-ish but in a different setting.

If Wheel of Time could get adapted, it's a bit surprising Mara hasn't been brought life yet.

Or even been optioned AFAIK

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!

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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:

• 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!

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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.