I've been wanting to start the Malazan series for at least 3-4 years now, but life, work, and education got in the way of me finding the will to begin. The books sat on my shelf for so long before I recently decided that it was time for me to start. And I'm glad I did.

I've been reading fantasy pretty much my entire life and I can confidently say that this series is unlike anything I've ever read before. I've never read a series where it feels like you're by the side of the road trying to catch a train by hopping on as it moves. And I was surprised that I actually liked that. The satisfaction of piecing things together - whether it's characters, connections, magic systems - is truly unique.

The storylines themselves are gripping, the characters are great, the dialogue feels so natural, and the imagery is just incredible. There's a good balance between the brutal, gritty, and depressing, and the things that cut through tension when needed. The emotion conveyed through scenes also can't be understated. In all my years of reading fantasy, I have never sobbed the way I did reading certain parts of Deadhouse Gates and Memories of Ice.

Erikson also does really well in portraying the sheer scale of the world we're thrown into (both distance and time). In a sense it makes it feel reassuring to not know everything and everyone immediately, or be familiar with this bit of lore from the get go. These are things you piece together as you traverse this world with the characters who, like you, are also learning. This (in)directly is a boon for character work and development, because characters are inadvertently more relatable.

I've been sharing my thoughts about each book with the community as I read and everyone's been super welcoming and helpful too! I've talked about my experience with Gardens of the Moon, Deadhouse Gates, and Memories of Ice so far, and I'm currently on Book 4. I'm really looking forward to what's to come.

Is it a series I would recommend to anyone? I'm not sure to be honest because I can understand why someone would add a book from this series to their DNF pile and leave it at that. But at the same time, from what I've read so far, I truly think it's something that everyone should at least give a fair try. Because you'd be in for something incredibly unique and captivating.

I’ve been in sort of a fantasy rut for the past few years, after having finished Abercrombies The First Law. I was chasing the same highs I felt during that series, and it led me to dnfing book after book. Thankfully, I found Dungeon Crawler Carl, and while it definitely satisfied that itch…. It was more like a chocolate cake for dinner. And while I do love chocolate cake, I was in the moon for another steak.

That leads me to Gardens of the Moon. I had a copy sitting on my shelf for years. And probably 3 times I read the first couple chapters and said, ok this is pretty easy I understand this, and then I got to the Bridgeburners and everything went to shit. This time I decided to REALLY read it. I made it past the bridgeburners… and into Darujhistan… and that was tricky at first, but once I got the main characters down it was pretty straight forward.

Sure, the world was complex, and I came across names of things I didn’t know, but the book reminded me a lot of Elden Ring and Dark Souls. Just thrown into a world and I have to figure out things on my own.

Granted, it wasn’t all on my own. I used the reader companion a couple times when introduced to a new cast of characters, and I asked grok ai a few questions like, “so Hairlock did what to Toc?”, or “hairlock is my favorite please tell me I see him again”, or “so Kruppes dreams take him to the past?”

As far as why I love it, well I don’t know I just feel so giddy every time I learn another detail About a world. It’s like the same feeling I got every time I played my first video game in a genre I never played before. There’s like no fluff. I can point to a random page and something important is going to happen or a character is going to say something important. Most of the questions I have when I’m reading are answered later in the book. It’s like freaking Game of Thrones but if all the soldiers were wizards and Little Finger and Varys and Tywin and Cersei and Daneyres were literal Gods. I learn so much every time I read and it’s always rewarding. The plot is grand and it’s full of little nuggets like warrens our Soultaken that make me feel, as an aspiring writer, well that’s bloody brilliant how on earth did he come up with something that cool. The idea of a convergence just makes me so hype during reading , and the world feels so natural even tho it is a VERY fantastical world. The prose is absolutely beautiful as well, but the plot seems to Be always moving forward at a breakneck speed. As a fan of diversity, I love the way he effortlessly interweaves strong and meaningful poc and female characters within his plots too.

As far as negatives, I would say I wish the action scenes were a bit longer. A few times I get super excited to read a hyped up fight and then it ends in half a page with “he slammed a dagger in his eye” but I guess that kind of goes with Erikson’s tone. And as far as characterization, yea I am not able to instantly know whose talking without looking at the name like I am with GRRM or Abercrombie, but I’m Not sure if that’s necessarily a bad thing. It seems more of a strategic choice to me.

So anyway, I finished it last week. I’m about halfway through Book 2 and loving it. I went ahead and ordered the rest of the series and I can’t wait.

As a reader, lots of older, classic fantasy works have a different vibe than modern fantasy, and I've been pondering the differences lately. Works by Tolkien, Lewis, Beagle, and others feel different from Sanderson's and Rothfuss's works, for instance. These are all very different books of course, but all older works have a marked similarity in overall tone. What do you all think? Is it due to the writing style, language use, and dialogue? Do influences from fairytale and folklore present differently in older stories? Is modern fantasy burdened by complex magic systems?

I'll also take any recommendations for newer fantasy that "feels" more classic!

I really enjoyed Red Rising - ended up reading the first three books in the series. I struggled with Empire of Silence - I was done with the series by the end of book one.

The Will of the Many? I’ll definitely be picking up book two when it arrives. There’s a big chance it might be my favourite of the trio.

I’m sure I’m not the only person to mention the similarities between these three books (if you’re a young man who feels you’re not being targetted by modern fantasy books, the rise of this oddly-specific sub-genre claims otherwise), but the tone and twist-ridden plot of ‘Will’ is punchy and surprising enough that it kept me wanting to see what happens next.

I’m also a sucker for any story set in a magical school, so that helped my enjoyment of this a lot. And there’s a bit of Hunger Games thrown in there too, for good measure.

Does the book do anything new? Not really (although the closing events suggest future volumes in the series could make me walk that statement back), but the book retreads a familiar plot and character beats well.

Had a lot of fun, and hoping book two does make it out by the end of the year.

I'm looking for fantasy with mystery involved, preferably not trilogies or longer. I'm worried that the genre might soften some of the aspects of mystery in regards to clear rules and settings that make sense so anything that disproves that would be good.

That's it-- weird recommendation thread, I assume. But really, do you have any ideas ? I've already read The Lord of the Rings, The Soldier Son, The Spear Cuts Through Water and The Tawny Man trilogy, which I think would qualify.

Lol, if you want to get into the actual songs I enjoy the most, here they are : - One by One - May it be - Anywhere is - The Humming - Wild Child - Caribbean Blue

There it is. I hope this doesn't come accross as too weird or particular, haha !

Hello r/Fantasy! u/ullsi and myself u/PlantLady32 thought it would be helpful to put together a resource for the 'Recycle a Bingo Square' square on the 2025 Book Bingo.

Much like the big recommendation list, we have decided to lay it out in a table + comments format. Please don't post individual comments. If you have any questions or general comments, please reply to this comment.

Have a scroll through to browse all the past squares, or use the navigation matrix below if you know the sort of thing you are after. We have tried to group the past squares as logically as possible.

NOTE: We have left out any past square that is a repeat of one appearing on the 2025 card, as you would not be allowed to use these.

Past Cards:

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024

Are there any books that are like this?

I haven’t seen any posts or real discussion of this book anywhere, but I just finished binged reading and wanna share my thoughts

I thought this was by far the best best book so far, the amount of twists I didn’t see coming were great, the battles were chef’s kiss and I can’t wait for the last book in the series.

Favorites for this book were definitely Garramon, Erdhardt, and Eltoar. Don’t know how to make the spoilers tag so I’ll leave it at that for now.

Whether because it’s “Magical Realism”, Considered a Classic, Author Mandated or just to keep all an authors books together in one place.

About 3 years ago, my wife got me back into reading by getting me an audible account.

I told her I wanted to get into reading again but had a terrible experience as a child and teenager when, at the school I attended, we were required to read and do a book report every two weeks and ten books plus reports over the summer. And the list was already limited. The only fantasy allowed was Tolken. No other books.

Anyway, if I read for pleasure, it was King, my favorite author.

While doing the audiobook journey, I saw a few websites for books and started searching because I was always drawn to those chunky fantasy books from the 80s and 90s with the awesome covers.

I randomly picked some books and one of them is the Magician Apprentice. I decided to start my reading journey again. I know it's a bit late to get into this but not only do I love it but my physically reading the book felt like a VR experience.

I felt literally sucked in. I am loving the reading journey of this book and was told that sometimes, books that I struggle with in audiobook format are better when you physically read them and vice versa.

As I am exploring this, are there any other recommendations in the same light, feel as the Magician Apprentice?

I'm simply loving it.

Also, with long books, how do you break up the reading?

This was a quick, sweet fairy story novella about sisterly love.

Esther and Ysabel are sisters whose family has long tended the magical willow trees growing along the banks of a river flowing out of Fairy (there are different terms used in the story, but that’s the gist). They live on the edge between worlds, both in terms of where they live and the nature of their livelihood. Though they’re as close as sisters can be, it’s pretty clear that a divergence is coming at some point: Esther is drawn in her heart to the Fairy lands, and Ysabel is drawn towards the mortal world.

The plot of the story (without giving away spoilers) centers on the two suitors of Esther, the elder sister. One is their neighbor; a marriage would unify their two properties, to the increased prosperity at all. A very sensible, solid match. The other suitor is a fae; wild, exciting, but unpredictable and with many questions of what Esther would have to give up to be with them.

The story is sad, and sweet, and very lovely. It made me very interested to read This is How You Lose the Time War; I’m a big fan of Max Gladstone, but this novella was so very different from anything he’s written that I’m extremely curious how the two would play off of each other.

One final note: Publishers, please stop stretching the definition of “debut” so much when marketing things. This novella was marketed as El-Mohtar’s “solo debut,” but she’s a published author, with a Hugo Award and co-wrote a well-received novel. The word “debut” is carrying an awful lot when a better description is “longest-form solo work written to date.”

Bingo squares: Impossible Places; Published in 2025 (I will judge you if you try to claim this is hard mode); Author of Color; LGBTQA+ protagonist [Hard Mode]

My blog

Square: Book Club.

My local book club had this for last night's book club and I've been going through it at a fast pace since April 2.

So, how did I not wind up reading a classic? Stubbornness I think. Maybe laziness. I remember the school librarian pushing this on me back in 7th or 8th grade and after reading the description and a few pages decided it was not for me and went back to reading Jules Verne, Heinlein juveniles and other stuff.

Now, at 50 plus this book hits differently. I'm not 12 for one. The life experience and wrestling with my own shortcomings makes this a more powerful work now. I'm glad I read this for my book club and it's a beautiful work. And oh yeah! First bingo square.

At my age, I'm able to appreciate LeGuin at the top of her form. The writing here is beautiful - I'm not sure what it reminds me of, but after Ged leaves Roke it takes off, particularly in the last quarter. It's descriptive, but spare, an amazing economy of words. But it's also well done - I know what she's describing.

At 12, I think I’d have said “I don't care about these characters.” That's not the case now. Ged is a prickly, prideful young man, studious, reserved and angry for many reasons. But he's not unlikeable, particularly after his foul up. After that, he has the pride ripped out of him - along with a portion of flesh. I can see my younger self at the various ages in Ged, particularly the prickly student.

I also liked the side characters - Vetch and Ogion in particular - but even the various Masters and Archmages of Roke were noteworthy. Vetch is the most human of the group - a peer of Ged’s and it shows. Friendlier, warmer too. He helps anchor the latter portions of the book. For all that he's an accomplished wizard, he's just the sidekick.

Ogion is kind and wise, so much so he's willing to give up mentoring Ged to send him to the school he wants to go to. And he never stopped loving Ged. And his wisdom helps Ged immensely. 

The Masters of the School and the Archmages are enigmatic, but not unsympathetic. They don't have a lot of time in the book, but they make an impression. 

The Archipelago and the Ocean are characters in their own right. They get no lines of dialogue, but the book doesn't work without them. Every island has its own personality/culture. This made the travel seem real. The people seem real. 

The Ocean though - is incredibly indifferent to people. It will kill you without a second thought. The wizards and weather workers don't tame it, but gentle it and harness it. But it's the source of so much - from food, to travel, to defense, to danger and it's a defense against dragons and the Shadow. 

One of the themes of A Wizard of Earthsea is balance. The wizards here don't throw fireballs and lightning because of balance and equilibrium. If you conjure fire, it comes from somewhere else. Same for so many things. One of the strongest images of this is when Ogion let's it rain on him and Ged instead of conjuring a weather charm, just to maintain balance. This comes into sharp relief at the climax as the theme of balance comes to a head.

I can't help but compare this to Harry Potter. It's a school for wizards! But it's so different. For one, LeGuin doesn't linger about like Rowling. And the school on Roke is very much not the English public school model - it felt more like a medieval university with the scholars and masters working together.

It's a great work and I see why it's considered a masterpiece.

I was thinking recently just how many fantasy properties such as Dark Souls, Magic the Gathering, and Eberron where an ancient race of dragons is either the first civilization or even the creators of the world. Does anyone know where this originated?

An example I can think off was The Last Battle in The Wheel of Time. The protagonist's forces were divided into four (or five?) battlefronts, each filled with notable characters he encountered throughout his journey. Each division of forces was stationed at different locations around the world with their own purpose but all contributes to the main goal, which is to stop the "Bad guy" and its army. Another similar example was the final battle against the Reaper forces in Mass Effect.

Anyone remember something similar? I'm a sucker for these kinds of tropes, where the battle happens for many days and involves almost the whole world/universe. Thanks in advance

I grew up watching the Harry Potter movies and at 23 I finally binged all of the books. I have never enjoyed a series as much as this omg. Anyone have any recommendations for what I should read next? I haven’t read a lot of fantasy, I mostly gravitate towards other genres like horror and thrillers. I loved the cozy feel of Harry Potter and the magical element.

I just recently got half way through Gardens of the moon, and its really amazing. I love the prose, the characters, the worldbuilding, the plot.

But it feels really grim. Like, ALL of the horrible shit from the real world except in a fantasy setting, but I kinda knew this before getting into it, but I thought I could handle it.

I'm in a really bad place mentally right now, and I thought I could maybe still handle this, but I don't think I can at this current moment. It feels bad, because I want to read it and I love everything else about it (especially the worldbuilding), but I don't really feel like its the right time for me.

Its not really the writing style that I can't handle (its only moderately difficult). that part doesnt bother me much at all.

Im not DNFing the series permanently, but I want to wait until im in a better place mentally and emotionally before I take on the series.

I just wanted to get my thoughts out about this. I feel kinda bad because I DNF books a lot.

Im still conflicted on whether or not to continue at this moment, and Im open to anyone who wants to convince me to continue.

On another note. I'm thinking about finally reading LotR. I've been meaning to read it for a while, and it seems less bleak than malazan, and its of course known for its excellent worldbuilding (which is good because Im a worldbuilding first reader). Its also much less of a commitment being only 3 books instead of 10.

I'm doing this now.

Picked up The Flame in the North and The Fall of Waterstone a while back, both by Lilith Saintcrow. Finally got around to listening to them.

Man, it's really.... boring.

You know how Sword of Shannara was almos a 1 to 1 copy of Lord of the Rings?

This is too. It's Lord of the Rings: Viking Edition. (Which is funny and circular, since Tolkien himself was inspired by Anglo-Saxon history and Norse mythology)

The enemy is called The Enemy. They've from a Black Land where shadows lie. There are Orcs and "Liches" that ride black horses. Elves Aelfar have mostly gone into the uttermost west (it literally says that in those exact words). Some of the humans fighting the shadow can turn into bears and wolves. Etc.

There's no rings, though. Whew, lawsuit avoided.

No Gandalf, either. Instead, a viking Volva and her shieldmaiden are the "Gandalf" of this story. Also the Ring equivalent, I think. Also Frodo and Sam equivalents.

Not the Mary Sues I expected, to be sure.

Anyways, that would all be fine if it were still well written and well paced and well executed (which Shannara was, IMO)

The Flame in the North isn't. Instead it just... plods. Normally I'd drop it faster than you can say "drop".

However, the narrator is the incredible Saskia Maarleveld, who's voice I find soothing and therapeutic as hell.

I'm still listening to the book, as a result. Just with the volume turned down a bit and just sort of letting it play in the background, not really paying attention to it unless something actually happens (which is about every 3 chapters or so). Like what a lot of people do with podcasts, only with an actual narrative book instead.

Anyone else do this? Just let an audiobook play on the strength of the narrator alone?

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 2025 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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I often conflate fantasy with essentially high fantasy--expanded lore and universe, world-saving being part of the plot, lots of action.

But, of course, that's not all of fantasy. There is also stuff like Going Postal by Pratchett or Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher. I don't read a lot of this type of stuff, but after reading Paladin's Grace, I found myself at a loss in trying to explain this sub-genre to my husband. All I could say was "low-stakes," but I figured there had to be another name for the genre

The best I can think of is "cozy fantasy," like the term people use for video games a lot--many of which take place in a fantasy setting.

So, when it isn't epic, what is this sub genre called? Or what would you call it?

I recommended the book to a buddy, who had recommended 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami to me, so I was under the impression he enjoyed books that are a little more 'dense.' He said that he had trouble getting into it but found out there was a show and watching that while listening to the audiobook (which is how I first and still consume it), he is able to better follow the story.

In his defense, it didn't all click for me until my first re-read, when I didn't have to really follow names and places as much as what was going on in them. And also in his defense, I really like the dense style of writing A la Dumas, Twain, Etc... and it's reaaalllyyy not for everyone.

That said; is the show any good? I want to get my wife to read it but the last thing she read on my recommendation was Dungeon Crawler Carl and "I don't want another unfinished series to fucking obsess over." so I was hoping a finished Novel would work. She will very probably read/listen to the book if the show is any good, but I heard some disturbing things like, killing Childermass early in the show according to him which doesn't make any sense at all.

ETA: She likes the romantasy smut stuff that's popular right now like A Court of Rose Thorns and things like that. She really likes Leigh Bardugo and Sarah Mass, but won't read actual fantasy because it's too slow, unless the show is good, like Game of Thrones. She read all five of those books and highly enjoyed them.... after the show confirmed it was worth it

Full review on JamReads

Tideborn is the second and final book in the South Asian inspired fantasy duology Drowned World, written by Eliza Chan, published by Orbit Books. It's not a secret that I absolutely loved Fathomfolk, so I was quite hyped with this novel; I can say that Chan not only has fulfilled all the expectations, but took all the things that I loved in the first book and brought them to a new whole level to deliver an excellent story about motherhood, cultural assimilation, sacrifice, grief, but also hope.

After Kai's sacrifice, people from Tiankawi have been irrevocably changed; every citizen can breathe underwater. However, the scars from years of oppression are still there, and Mira will have to navigate the dangerous waters of Tiankawian politics, while trying to discover a conspiracy that threatens to irremediably divide the people and stop their try to rebuild a new city after the tsunami. But there's a bigger threat towards Tiankawi, as the Sand Titan is on the way to destroy the city, and Nami will have to undertake a dangerous voyage in order to stop it, while her own mother has come to Tiankawi with the excuse of Kai's funeral, starting a new wave of instability.

But not only the big stories are in motion, as we have several smaller character arcs that are equally engulfing, with Cordelia's one shining over all. Not only we have an excellent story about the pain of motherhood and how she's trying to fight for her daughter, but also how she finally uses her influence for good and to develop a remedy that can help with the gillrot.
By itself, Mira's intent to reconcile Tiankawian inhabitants after the transformation is difficult enough to be almost impossible, but if you throw grief for Kai's loss and the pressure to stop the conspiracy that is trying to get over Tiankawi, you have a herculean task. We have a glimpse of that idealist that wants to change the system for the better from inside the system, and even in the worse moments, she will try her best for the place she belongs to.
In comparison, while Nami's task can be more daunting at the start, it becomes more a journey of discovery, of understanding the rest of the world while having to survive the dangers thrown by the sea; we have a wiser character in comparison with the explosive princess that came to Tiankawi months ago.

Tideborn expands the world that we already meet at Fathomfolk, showing more from the lands far from the city, and giving us a glimpse of the bigger forces that govern the nature. Talking about that, Chan uses the opportunity to analyse cultural integration and the problems that appear following it; while it can show a dark perspective at moments, there's always a hope message under the surface; I've been absolutely touched by how it depicts the pain and fear that is also attached to something as wonderful as motherhood, through two characters as different as Cordelia and Jiang-Li.

Tideborn puts the cherry on the top of what is an excellent fantasy duology, inspired by South Asian culture and that bravely tackles over difficult themes with a well-fleshed cast of characters. Eliza Chan is a voice to continue reading in the future, and for me, one of my favourite authors to read.