a year or more, time passing as everything occurs. The exposition of the world, the religion, the traditions and more slowly unfolds as the book progresses, giving a well traveled and old feeling to the world without someone expositing a block of text for the reader. 

Hidden Gem (HM) Nightshade by *Jack Butler [1991\]-*This was not a good book, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. It’s barely salvaged by the epilogue and glossary at the end, but it’s not worth the slog to get there. An interesting concept executed terribly.

Pirates On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers \[1987\]\-This was a really fun book. Full of pirates and magic in the Caribbean, it's fast paced and exciting, and the exposition doesn’t feel long or dense. The characters are entertaining, and the fights are fun to follow. However, the highlight is the use of magics in the story. It feels both new and old fashioned, and if you’ve read enough fantasy, some elements will be familiar while some will be new and unique. Don’t be turned off by the noscript, apart from a few names and the use of pirates, there’s no real similarity between the book and the movie.

Down with the System (HM) The Gods Themselves by Issac Asimov \[1972\]\-I’ve always enjoyed Asimov’s writing, and this one is no exception. It leans very heavy on the science, adjusting atomic weights across universes to generate power, and presenting an extreme idea by the end. The characters feel a bit flat in places, but the story is still interesting, especially the perspectives in the second section. It feels much less dated then some sci-fi published around that time, and the story is just as relevant today as it was 50+ years ago. All in all, a good read.

Gods & Pantheons The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov \[1967\]\-A really well written book, and very well translated. The book appears long, but the pacing moves you along quickly, and creates a need for you to want to see what happens next. You see the interactions between dozens of different characters as they try to deal with the unknowable and inconceivable happening to and around them. It’s satirical, and filled with moments of dark comedy but balanced out by moments clearly pulled from his life in the Soviet Union. I enjoyed it a lot, even if it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

A Book in Parts (HM) Lanark by Alasdair Gray \[1981\]\-I find it hard to describe this book. I wasn’t a fan of it, but that wasn’t due to any writing issues. Plenty of detail, maybe a bit too much is places, but all understandable, and a wide variety of characters, though none of them were particularly likable. Having a non-chronological order to the sections, as well as an unreliable author/narrator and a main character who may or may not be hallucinating didn’t help either. I enjoyed books/parts 3 and 4 a lot more than 1 and 2.

Epistolary War with the Newts by Carel Kapek \[1936\]\-I enjoyed this book, even considering the sections written (intentionally so) as if part of a history textbook. It is a translation, but it didn’t feel stilted or awkward reading it, as the translator (Ewald Osers) seems to have managed to convey the author's tone as well as the characters' tones. The satire isn’t subtle, but it’s well done and even reading it now, still very much applicable. It was a very interesting alternate history, and a great book overall.

Stranger in a Strange Land (HM) Rocannon’s World by Ursala K LeGuin \[1966\]\-A quick book but an interesting one. LeGuin’s first published novel, you can see early on a lot of the themes and concepts she explores in greater detail in later books, such as exploring new cultures, loss, and more. While the story itself feels fairly generic fantasy, the way she integrates scifi elements gives the story a unique feel. Expanded on from a short story, it feels a bit rushed, and I’d have liked to see more of the world explored if possible. A nice little read. (Also, fun fact, this story is where the world ansible comes from, as LeGuin invented the word for this book.)

Small

2025 Bingo Reviews (Old School 1936-1991)

My old school themed card for this year. When I do the Old School card, along with the existing bingo rules, I pick books from authors not read on my other bingo cards (excluding short story collections) and published before I was born (1992 or earlier). It's a fun way for me to find older authors or classics I've missed or wouldn't normally read.

https://preview.redd.it/w8j707ntwt9g1.png?width=890&format=png&auto=webp&s=654b1f6d9a6079171a4604ac9590b655fcf944d6

Knights and Paladins (HM) **Black Sun Rising** by *C.S. Freidman \[1991\]*\-Honestly, I didn’t really connect with the book until the last 50 or so pages. It felt like a fairly straightforward dark fantasy throughout, though the sci-fi elements of the world were interesting, as was the blending of the alien and the magical. However, the reveal at the end put a lot more of the book into a different perspective, and suddenly I was a lot more interested in the sequel. Because it is a sci-fi set fantasy book, some of the concepts, such as generation ships, plate tectonics and evolution, don’t feel forced in what could be a traditional high fantasy setting.

Parent Protagonist **Dragonsbane** by *Barbara Hambly \[1985\]*\-This book flew by, but in a very good way. The focus characters were interesting and unique, and felt very much like people. It’s a traditional fantasy setting and story, but it pulls you in and out as it plays with your expectations of the archetypes, adding to the story. The fights were generally quick, but the last one was amazing.

Impossible Places (HM) **The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch** by \*Philip K Dick \[1965\] -\*This book was easy to read, and the plot moved forward quickly. The moments of the story flowed together from beat to beat, moving you on and through each moment. It was an interesting concept, but I felt it could have been longer. If more time spent on the characters, on the events, it would have felt more complete. It’s an interesting story, but a bit rushed sometimes.

Recycle a Bingo Square \[2021 Found Family\] **The Oathbound** by *Mercedes Lackey \[1988*\]-A quick epic fantasy book, it hit a lot of the expected fantasy elements well (bandits, magic, swords, mythical creatures, etc) The format and pacing of the book was interesting, as it’s clearly a novel, and reads like one, but it also feels at times like a collection of short stories, major moments in the characters lives focused on as they proceed with their quests. There is quite a lot of SA in the book, and while it's addressed, some of the ways it’s addressed feel a bit naive.

Biopunk **Schismatrix** by *Bruce Sterling \[1985\]*\-I liked the book, but it took a while for me to get into the story. I went in with an expectation of fights and battle between factions, but it unfolded into politics and debates. There was one major fight, but much of the violence happened off-page. The characters were interesting, if a bit flat at times, but the biotech was very well done. The author made great use of the solar system as a whole, though we didn’t visit every place, they were nearly all mentioned in some form. As the story progressed, more and more of biotech was demonstrated, culminating in how it was used to craft a massive house for one of the supporting characters. A lot of biotech uses that were mentioned I remember seeing in more recent stories as well, which makes sense as it seems to be one of the earliest novels involving biotechnology

Book Club/Readalong **Tigana** by \*Guy Gavriel Kay \[1990\]-\*My first time reading a book by Kay, and it should have happened a long time ago. The writing is beautiful, it’s not concise or quick, it’s full and lengthy but you don’t feel bogged down and bored as you read it. The characters again are full, thought out and complete, trying to be the best people they can in an unfair world. Choices they make are often wrong, but they’re still made. It’s a great story in itself, showing three perspectives of a conflict that has been happening for years and you see the end unfold over

a year or more, time passing as everything occurs. The exposition of the world, the religion, the traditions and more slowly unfolds as the book progresses, giving a well traveled and old feeling to the world without someone expositing a block of text for the reader. 

Hidden Gem (HM) **Nightshade** by \*Jack Butler \[1991\]-\*This was not a good book, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. It’s barely salvaged by the epilogue and glossary at the end, but it’s not worth the slog to get there. An interesting concept executed terribly.

Pirates **On Stranger Tides** by *Tim Powers \[1987\]*\-This was a really fun book. Full of pirates and magic in the Caribbean, it's fast paced and exciting, and the exposition doesn’t feel long or dense. The characters are entertaining, and the fights are fun to follow. However, the highlight is the use of magics in the story. It feels both new and old fashioned, and if you’ve read enough fantasy, some elements will be familiar while some will be new and unique. Don’t be turned off by the noscript, apart from a few names and the use of pirates, there’s no real similarity between the book and the movie.

Down with the System (HM) **The Gods Themselves** by *Issac Asimov \[1972\]*\-I’ve always enjoyed Asimov’s writing, and this one is no exception. It leans very heavy on the science, adjusting atomic weights across universes to generate power, and presenting an extreme idea by the end. The characters feel a bit flat in places, but the story is still interesting, especially the perspectives in the second section. It feels much less dated then some sci-fi published around that time, and the story is just as relevant today as it was 50+ years ago. All in all, a good read.

Gods & Pantheons **The Master & Margarita** by *Mikhail Bulgakov \[1967\]*\-A really well written book, and very well translated. The book appears long, but the pacing moves you along quickly, and creates a need for you to want to see what happens next. You see the interactions between dozens of different characters as they try to deal with the unknowable and inconceivable happening to and around them. It’s satirical, and filled with moments of dark comedy but balanced out by moments clearly pulled from his life in the Soviet Union. I enjoyed it a lot, even if it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

A Book in Parts (HM) **Lanark** by *Alasdair Gray \[1981\]*\-I find it hard to describe this book. I wasn’t a fan of it, but that wasn’t due to any writing issues. Plenty of detail, maybe a bit too much is places, but all understandable, and a wide variety of characters, though none of them were particularly likable. Having a non-chronological order to the sections, as well as an unreliable author/narrator and a main character who may or may not be hallucinating didn’t help either. I enjoyed books/parts 3 and 4 a lot more than 1 and 2.

Epistolary **War with the Newts** by *Carel Kapek \[1936\]*\-I enjoyed this book, even considering the sections written (intentionally so) as if part of a history textbook. It is a translation, but it didn’t feel stilted or awkward reading it, as the translator (Ewald Osers) seems to have managed to convey the author's tone as well as the characters' tones. The satire isn’t subtle, but it’s well done and even reading it now, still very much applicable. It was a very interesting alternate history, and a great book overall.

Stranger in a Strange Land (HM) **Rocannon’s World** by *Ursala K LeGuin \[1966\]*\-A quick book but an interesting one. LeGuin’s first published novel, you can see early on a lot of the themes and concepts she explores in greater detail in later books, such as exploring new cultures, loss, and more. While the story itself feels fairly generic fantasy, the way she integrates scifi elements gives the story a unique feel. Expanded on from a short story, it feels a bit rushed, and I’d have liked to see more of the world explored if possible. A nice little read. (*Also, fun fact, this story is where the world* ***ansible*** *comes from, as LeGuin invented the word for this book*.)

Small

Press/Self Published (HM) **Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was** by *Angelica Gorodischer \[1983\]*\-A collection of stories detailing moments for a fantastic empire. You get high points and low points, success and tragedy and everything else you could think of packed into only a couple of hundred pages. Even though it’s so short, the book makes you want to slow down and take your time as you read it. The edition I read was translated by Ursula K LeGuin, but it doesn’t read like her writing, giving you the original writer's voice. It’s full of dozens of different characters and locations, but you’re never told an order chronologically, such as this story happened before this one and then this one occurred, etc. Because of that, it makes the stories a lot more interesting, as you don’t have a grasp on how long the empire existed as you might get from a history book. An excellent story, one everyone should read.

5 Short Stories (HM) **The State of the Art** by *Iain M Banks \[1989\]*\-An interesting collection of stories, not all of which involve the Culture (though the majority do). Some were more interesting than others, some more confusing than others. All had interesting characters, if not all were human. A nice collection of his work.

Author of Color **Babel-17** by *Samuel R. Delany \[1966\]*\-This was an incredible book. It was simultaneously filled with academic statements and explanations on language while balanced against moments of an almost dream-like state and fast action. It never felt bogged down, and it didn’t leave cliffhangers on each chapter, though it keeps you wanting to read the next page. The characters were interesting and unique, both visually and personality-wise. It’s definitely worth the read, especially if you have any interest in language. *(As a sidenote, the copy I got from the library included the novella Empire Star, but instead of just being after Babel-17, it’s actually printed on the other side, which makes it feel like two different books, which I thought was a great idea)*

Generic Title **Jack of Shadows** by *Roger Zelazny \[1971\]*\-Having read The Chronicles of Amber and Lord of Light, I was extremely excited for a new Zelazny book to read. However I found the book a bit disappointing. It was an interesting world, but the characters felt generic and flat a lot of the time. There were places where it felt like parts of the book were missing, as story beats happened sometimes just to happen, without there appearing to be a reason. Similar to the overall story it felt, at the start, to be a really interesting revenge story, and then just kinda fell off at some point. Personally, not his best work.

High Fashion (HM) **The Garments of Caean** by *Barrington J. Bayley \[1976\]*\-I wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was an interesting story with some very unique alien worlds, and a very original story. The writing was denoscriptive without feeling rushed and the characters all felt unique. For such a short book, it felt like it provided all the information without missing much, though some treads were left unexplained intentionally. A bit dated, as with much old sci-fi, but a fun read.

Last in a Series **Marooned in Realtime** by *Vernon Vinge \[1986\]*\-The sequel to The Peace War, and one of his earliest books. The story still feels a bit rushed at times and I wish there had been more time to explore characters and motivations. They were interesting, and because of how you followed the protagonists perspective, you only ever say what they saw. The thing that stands out about this book though is the timeframe in which people operate. Things are planned to happen over thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of years, but because of the tech from the first book, the characters don’t age. It’s a very interesting concept, and gives a particularly melancholy tone to the book. A bit better then the first in the series, but not particularly standout.

Swap \[Standalone Novel 2022 (HM)\] **Icehenge** by *Kim Stanley Robinson

\[1984\]*\-An interesting hard scifi book, the story is told across about 500–600 years from three very different characters viewpoints at various points in time. The questions raised aren’t all answered flat out, but the author hints at enough for you to make your own decision about what happened. That characters are interesting, and you see how their decisions are made and minds change as they’re presented with evidence and events. It’s also interesting to see governmental shifts and similarities across the years. The writing feels a bit run on or rambly at times, as things just happen one after another after another without breaks, but a good standalone book.

Cozy SFF (HM) **At Amberleaf Fair** by *Phyllis Ann Kerr \[1986\]*\-A quick read that follows several characters at a festival in a heavily magical world. While no fantasy creatures are ever seen, magic is commonplace, mostly used for small comforts such as charms to keep you dry in the rain. The plot follows a theft and the characters jobs at the fair as they deal with the theft and other events that occur. There’s never any feelings of fear or worry for the characters, just some anticipation at what happens next. The characters are a bit thin, due to the size of the book, and you’re thrown into the world with no real background, but it’s a decent read.

LQBTQIA+ Protagonist **Silverglass** by *J.F. Rivkin \[1986\]*\-I was a bit disappointed in this book. The premise wasn’t the most original, but it sounded interesting enough. However, the pacing made the book a lot less enjoyable. It’s not long, but the writing and chapter lengths make you feel like you’re being rushed. The protagonists were interesting, but their actions and reactions got repetative, especially after spending time and working together. Magic was used, but rarely defined well, and expect some very long names that are shorted very quickly for ease of use.

Elves and/or Dwarves **Sheepfarmer’s Daughter** by *Elizabeth Moon \[1988\]*\-Such a great fantasy book. You hear about a lot of the world and its intersecting and overlapping web of alliances and enemies from the way mercenary contracts are hired out.  While no characters are introduced, both elves and dwarves exist in this world, and are briefly encountered. The main character is great, as are the supporting ones. They feel like people, doing a job, even if it is one that involves swords, fighting and occasional magic. Hints begin to show up later in the book about the main character having a greater destiny, but she’s not blessed with insane skills or overwhelming magics. She struggles to learn and continues to learn throughout the book, and it makes the story feel much more grounded. The author draws on her background, which grants even more realism to the mercenary companies, and at 500 pages the book flies by with how smoothly it's written.

Published in the 80’s **Starship & Haiku** by *Somtow Sucharitkul \[1981\]*\-While there is an element of hope driving the story forward, the book itself is very bleak. The entire story focuses on suicide in various ways, and interpretations of it in a plague ravaged, mutant filled world. It’s not a very long book, and it’s very well written. The characters feel a bit flat at times, but that may be due to the length and time available to explore them. Not a bad book, but not a cheerful read.

Not A Book (HM) **Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind** *\[1983\]*\-An amazing way to end this bingo card. Only my second Miyazaki film ever, and it held up to the hype. Beautifully animated, it presents as almost childlike with the soft animation style, but the story is much deeper, especially when seeing the much harsher animation style of the various antagonists. You visit a post-apocalyptic world where various factions attempt to do what they believe they need to do to survive, and damn the consequences of others. Meanwhile, the protagonist, having observed the world without prejudices, has found an alternative. It’s exciting, full of action and exploration, and worth the

watch.

https://redd.it/1pxbgp7
@r_fantasy

What historical events deserve an inspired fantasy book?

So many historical events have insane plots. For example, I know the Age of Madness trilogy by Abercrombie is loosely inspired in some ways by the events of the French Revolution. What other events deserve a “spin-off” so to speak? My vote would be for a siege of Constantinople inspired book from multiple POVs. Thoughts?

https://redd.it/1pxie0m
@r_fantasy

Looking for a high fantasy series with short individual books?

Hey Yall! Looking for a high fantasy book series with a giant world! For some reason I have a lot of trouble with super long books. But even if its a long series I feel like shorter books are more digestible. I am looking for books under 300 pages! Thanks!

https://redd.it/1pxgkt0
@r_fantasy

Most iconic trio in fantasy

Or your favourite

I think I'll go with Rand, Mat and Perrin but I wanna hear more takes

https://redd.it/1pxnvln
@r_fantasy

Fantasy being lumped in with Romantasy will always annoy me

I feel like this may ruffle a few feathers, but I mean no shade towards the romantasy enjoyers, it’s a best seller for a reason!

But pre booktok, if I wanted to get a good fantasy book to read I could just google “fantasy”. And lots would come up to choose from, and absolutely never would I expect these books to be “spicy”. Like, “spicy” was a completely different genre.

Fast forward to a post booktok world, and if I’m searching for a good, in depth, well written fantasy, romantasy is alwayssss included in recommendations. In physical book stores, the romantasy in all jumbled in with the fantasy too. I’m glad that romantasy has a name now, and seems to be its own thing, but still for some reason the two overlap.

I personally don’t understand this, because if I’m looking to read something like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, and get recommended a Court of Thorns and Roses, I’m going to be disappointed haha. I wish there was more separation between the two genres, because to me they’re completely different. (I’m also autistic and like to know what I’m getting, so expecting fantasy and getting romantasy is annoying.)

I mean no disrespect to romantasy readers but wanted to get this off my chest, Fantasy and Romantasy are not the same!

https://redd.it/1pxpmix
@r_fantasy

r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - December 28, 2025

https://preview.redd.it/dpxu3ckyo7af1.png?width=3508&format=png&auto=webp&s=bae1b3b9d4dcf3eeebcd94024f01089bcdddb669

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

Stickied/highlight slots are limited, so please remember to ~~like and subscribe~~ upvote this thread for visibility on the subreddit <3

——

This thread is to be used for recommendation requests or simple questions that are small/general enough that they won’t spark a full thread of discussion.

Check out [r/Fantasy](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/)'s [2025 Book Bingo Card here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1joxlrr/official_rfantasy_2025_book_bingo_challenge/)!

As usual, first have a look at the sidebar in case what you're after is there. The [r/Fantasy wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/wiki/recommendations) contains links to many community resources, including "best of" lists, flowcharts, the LGTBQ+ database, and more. If you need some help figuring out what you want, think about including some of the information below:

* Books you’ve liked or disliked
* Traits like prose, characters, or settings you most enjoy
* Series vs. standalone preference
* Tone preference (lighthearted, grimdark, etc)
* Complexity/depth level

Be sure to check out responses to other users' requests in the thread, as you may find plenty of ideas there as well. Happy reading, and may your TBR grow ever higher!

——

[^(tiny image link to make the preview show up correctly)](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ITpGPzWOOd7MHhCY2d6Zv_6MWsntfT3s/view?usp=sharing)

art credit: special thanks to our artist, [Himmis commissions](https://himmis.carrd.co/), 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.

https://redd.it/1pxqto2
@r_fantasy

A story where a mentor character turns to evil ?

Like, a mentor who was genuinely a good person while teaching, not someone who was evil all along.

https://redd.it/1pxqrbq
@r_fantasy

Urban Fantasy Recommendations

I'm really enjoying Urban Fantasy alot. So i'm here again to look for more.


Requirements:


Male Protagonist


Multiple Realms (Classic. Like Heaven and Hell)


Young MC (would prefer a Student MC. Studying in a College or University or Academy)


Some Romance (Not as a main thing tho, but as a Subplot. A side thing)


Novels I read:


The Demon Accords Series by John Conroe

https://redd.it/1pxrer1
@r_fantasy

Book recommendation with similar writing to Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams

I've recently started reading again and I am very much enjoying The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams at the moment. I am also reading Theft of Swords by Michael J Sullivan which is fine by me as well but I really like Tad William's writing style. Something about it just clicks with me. I'm just wondering what other fantasy books would have a similar writing style?

Books I remembered reading before:

Mistborn Trilogy
Name of The Wind
Kings of The Wyld
Naomi Novik's books except for her Temeraire(?) series
Ring-Sword Trilogy
Sabriel
First book of Chronicles of Prydain

https://redd.it/1pxuybv
@r_fantasy

Where to start with Warhammer Fantasy

As usual there are a lot books and I'm wondering which I should read first. TIA

https://redd.it/1pxv5vg
@r_fantasy

Book Review: Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans

Over a century ago, the changelings overran the known world, destroying the ten great empires. Their survivors fled west, finding refuge in the small nation of Semilla, erecting the great Salt Wall behind them to prevent the changelings from following. Behind the Wall, the refugees have built a new civilisation, but have brought some of their old problems with them. A generation ago, a devastating civil war shattered the fragile peace and the pains of that conflict have not been fully resolved.

The memories of that war are stirred when a cold-blooded murder takes place in front of a dozen witnesses, with the killer taking his own life. The killer's best friend, the scribe Quill, is adamant that his friend would not be able to hurt a fly, and his actions have to be the result of outside influence. His investigation, pressing against tides of scepticism, starts exposing secrets many wish had been left untouched...and hinting of a greater threat to all of Semilla.

It's been some time since I sat down and enjoyed a new epic fantasy series. The subgenre had felt oversaturated for a while. Empire of Exiles, the first novel in The Books of the Usurper, helps overcome that genre-ennui by bringing enough fresh ideas to the table whilst still retaining that core appeal of a group of characters coming together to face a threat in a well-realised secondary world.

It helps that the author, Erin Evans, is neither a newcomer nor a slouch. Her six-volume Brimstone Angels series was one of the brightest rays of sunshine to emerge from the otherwise highly troubled 4th Edition period of the Forgotten Realms shared world, and she brings that experience to bear here. Empire of Exiles lands with a bang (a brutal murder, with a clear culprit), immediately complicates things (the murderer has no motive or prior history to suggest why he would do such a thing) and then gradually builds up the story and the world around it in impressive complexity.

We have two primary POV characters. Sesquillio Haigu-lan Seupu-lai, or Quill, starts off feeling like the traditional "callow youth who grows into being a world-saving champion," but what he lacks in experience is made up for by his intelligence and his impressive tenacity. His refusal to believe in a simply illogical situation - his best friend of a decade suddenly turning into a killer for no reason - becomes infectious and causes other people to start doubting the sequence of events. His confidence is also generally well-earned, and it's nice to see a character like this who isn't immediately dismissed as a total lunatic and his arguments are engaged with seriously.

The second major POV is Amadea Gintanas, Archivist Superior at the Imperial Archives, who is in charge of the records and lore of Semilla. Amadea is the older, more no-nonsense, take-charge kind of character who cuts through BS and keeps the plot on track, but she is also harbouring trauma from the civil war twenty-plus years earlier, in which she played a very reluctant part. She is also in charge of a collection of novices and students who are gifted, able to wield magic.

Magic in this setting is original and interesting. Some people - specialists - have affinities for certain substances, like ink, bronze or glass, and can manipulate that substance: one character uses her ability to manipulate ink to "pull" sensitive information out of a letter and hide it under her skin whilst it's shown to someone else, and return it later on. They can also manipulate the constituent parts of those substances, so glass-sensitives also have power over sand. The problem is that they can also become addicted to their powers, and even overdose on them to their own destruction (or those around them). Such a risk is heightened during certain times of year, which vary by substance; this is known as coming into alignment. One of Amadea's jobs is keeping her students on the straight and narrow and out of harm's way when using their powers. It's an intriguing form of magic, only lightly

explored in this first book.

There are also smaller POV roles. Richa Langyun, the investigator assigned to the murderers, is refreshingly standard for such a character: he is committed to finding out the truth, no matter how many important toes he steps on in the process, and is gruff but seems to have a heart of gold. Fortunately he doesn't start the story four days from retirement. Yinii Six-Owl ul-Benturan is a specialist in ink and one of Amadea's students, who also allies with Quill early in his investigation, and provides a valuable POV on the use of magic in the setting.

The book also strikes a good balance between dropping us into the action and getting on with business - the book is just 340 pages long but packs in more worldbuilding, character and thematic development, and plot than some volumes twice that size - and explaining what is going on. Exposition is brief, pertinent and usually only delivered where necessary, which is a good balance between the Eriksonian "what the hell is happening?" in media res approach and the alternative of stopping the action every few chapters for a TED Talk on magic, religion and history.

The world is fascinating, and it's interesting that we get two large maps, one of the entire explored world and one of Semilla, but almost the whole story happens in the city of Arlabecca by itself (and a lot of it in just one building, the Imperial Archives). The world map at first feels useless, but as the backstory is revealed and the true horror of what happened to the old civilisations becomes clear, the map shows the sheer odyssey some of the refugee columns had to endure to get to safety. It's a good use of a map to enhance the storytelling rather than just existing as a reference.

With a rich world, solid characters, interesting-but-not-overwrought magic system and an enjoyable mystery plot (expanding into something grander later on), this is a compelling novel. It does have a few weaknesses. One is that it feels like the author was trying hard not to let the book become too dark, so sometime the tone feels a little unsteady with some humour appearing where it doesn't feel apt. Some of the less-well-drawn students in the Archives feel a bit whimsical or comic relief even when it's not really logical to be so. Another issue is that the ten civilisations aren't entirely human, or some were hybrids of humans and other things, so some of the people in the book appear to be entirely human, some have ram's horns coming out of their head and the most alien have tons of octopus-like tentacles. This is mentioned early on and doesn't really come up again, to the point that two characters might be having a conversation with the reader entirely unaware that one of them is not fully human until they casually use their tentacles to pick something up, which can be a little jarring (there being a quick reference to confirm which species is which would have helped).

The maps by Francesa Baerald are also beautiful but designed to be seen in colour; the black-and-white reproductions in the physical books aren't very readable, so I had to download copies from her website to read them better.

But these issues are mostly ignorable. Empire of Exiles (****) is a solidly enjoyable opening to this series, with an interesting world that seems ripe for further exploration. A sequel, Relics of Ruin, is available now and a third book is on its way.

https://redd.it/1pxv1ry
@r_fantasy

Authors similar to Guy Gavriel Kay?

I’ve been exploring his work recently and so far it’s been incredible. Who are some other authors to check out on the more literary side of fantasy, especially those with good prose and theme development?

https://redd.it/1pxzp92
@r_fantasy

Any literature that is a sort of middleground between LoTR and ASOIAF?

So Im currently reading Tolkien's works and will probably one day read ASOIAF (though I have seen the TV show).

As much as I'm loving reading Tolkien, I can't help but wish there was more politics and wars between different kingdoms. I know there is *some* of that, but the vast majority is more 'good vs evil'

Whereas when I was watching GoT I was thinking the complete opposite, I loved all the power struggles between different kingdoms etc but would have preferred more fantasy elements and wished the White Walkers and dragons had turned up earlier on.

So Im wondering if there is any literature that is sorta a combination of the two? Preferably books that are still easy enough to get hold of

https://redd.it/1py0nf2
@r_fantasy

Subtle Knife better than Golden Compass?

I’m currently reading The Subtle Knife, (no major spoilers please!) and for some reason I was expecting to be disappointed based on things I’ve heard, but I honestly think it’s better than Golden Compass! Something about the character Will just pulls me in, the world-building seems more effortless than before, and the themes are becoming really interesting.

Damn, Pullman isn’t holding back on criticizing organized religion too… 😅 This book really doesn’t hold its punches—and I kind of love it for that, even if it is a little heavy handed. The themes of organized control, plus “sin” and its connection to free-will are just really interesting in this setting.

I just can’t say enough good things about this series. I really hope book 3 pulls it together well.

https://redd.it/1py5b53
@r_fantasy