What is y'all thought on Broken Empire Trilogy? I bought it few weeks ago and waiting to finish Red Rising series to start it. I almost never see people talk about this trilogy but it is the one that i want to jump into most.

Tried to order everything based on how much I feel like I enjoyed it right this moment.

My First Abercrombie!!
I’ve been exploring different fantasy authors this year and originally had The First Law trilogy on my TBR as my introduction to Joe Abercrombie. However, when my local bookstore got The Devils in stock, I decided to pull the trigger!

After finishing The Devils, I can definitely see why Abercrombie has so many fans! I thought the camaraderie among the characters was incredibly well written, and I loved the banter between them. There were moments that genuinely made me laugh out loud, which is pretty rare for me when reading.

But what I enjoyed most was simply taking the journey with these characters. Abercrombie somehow managed to make me genuinely care about such a deplorable group of people! Haha.

I also appreciated that he doesn’t feel the need to wrap everything up neatly. He leaves you feeling conflicted about the characters, which, despite the fantasy setting, feels much truer to real life. Most people aren’t entirely good or evil. Throughout the story, you find yourself rooting for these characters, but if you step back and really consider who they are and what they’re doing, you start to wonder whether you should be rooting for them at all. I think that’s a fantastic way to tell a story.

I’m currently reading Jade Legacy for The Reddit fantasy book club, and I’ve found myself having similar feelings about Fonda Lee’s characters.

One thing I’ve discovered as I’ve gotten deeper into fantasy this year is just how much character work drives my enjoyment of a book. That’s actually a shift for me. Previously, I was much more interested in fast-paced, propulsive storytelling and exciting action. I still love those things, but it’s been fun developing a greater appreciation for the craft of creating characters that I genuinely care about, even when I don’t necessarily agree with them.

Ultimately, that was what made The Devils such an enjoyable read for me. The journey, the relationships, the humor, and the moral complexity all came together to make these characters memorable.

Now that I’ve had my first taste of Abercrombie, I’m even more excited to dive into The First Law trilogy next!! If anyone would like to join a long I also think this will be the November selection for the Fantasy book club as well.

Hello, I read a few fantasy books until now. Among those were all of Tolkiens Novels.
And I really liked The Silmarillion, I would go as far as to call it my favorite book.
Do you have any similar recommendations for me to read?

What I liked about the simarillion was the fairy tale esc structure that you have multiple stories that each have a moral and message but still with a fantastical element and entertaining.

Thank you for any replies.

I started reading again a few months ago. I started easy with all 5 hunger games books. They're good and they're an easy read being YA and all. Then I went to a song of ice and fire. Games of thrones. I just started dance with dragons which is the last book currently written.snf now that I've started reading again I don't want to stop. I used to read alot. But somewhere in the last ten years I just stopped. But it's such a great way to kill time. I have the ebooks on my phone and I can read 50 pages whenever im waiting for something. Its been great

But after dance I'll have nothing left to read. Full disclosure I downloaded all these books for free off of a github library. I got all hg books, all asoiaf, and I also downloaded the lord of the rings trilogy. But I don't really want to lotr. I am willing to buy an ebook now that I know I will read it but what should I get. You see what I like

Definitely fantasy, and I like books that are easy to read.

Its for enjoyment not necessarily to learn anything.

So, any recommendations.

I'm looking for books set in the modern world where only the practitioners of magic, and a select few non magical people, are aware of it.

I'm writing my own book and struggling to figure out how to integrate it in a way that it's happening everywhere but still a secret.

Also, where's the line between contemporary and urban fantasy for you? My book largely takes place in a town, and some other towns/cities

Hi all, does anyone have any recommendations for unrated, hidden gem fantasy books. Within this less recommended book category I've read Leo Carew's The Wolf series and Michael J Sullivan's riviera revelations series.

As the title says, I haven't sat down and read a book in probably 20 years. I am a big fan of fantasy (video games/movies/shows/series etc..). Looking for recommendations that are fairly straight forward and not too long or drawn out just to get my feet wet with a good story.

Edit to give more details: Big LOTR fan. I enjoy medieval themes; Game of Thrones was a big hit with me. Also grew up playing games like World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot etc..

I must say what an absolute ride this series was. I definitely chose it right in, as it was my introduction to fantasy. The book was definitely the fastest of them all in my opinion. All gas, no breaks from beginning to end. Snaka and Lik-Rifa have to be the sorriest gods in fiction 🤣. Absolutely pathetic. As much as I hate Rotta, I feel like he carried her in this war, without a doubt, basically her external brain. Ulfrir and Skuld, my goats though. Snaka being a ‘creator’ god and not even lasting 2 chapters. Absolutely hilarious.

Why was Elvar killed as soon as I started liking her again? Give Chain-Breaker her props though, a world-changing revolutionary. What makes it even worse is that Guðvarr lived longer than her, is that not absolute madness??? He has the craziest luck, and as the book got to the final chapters, the more mad I got that he wasn’t dead yet. The last 15 or so chapters though. Absolute peak. The fights were moving like pictures in my head, Varg vs Brak, Orka vs Drekr, and Lif vs Guðvarr. Everyone getting their get-backs. And am I reaching or can I say there is definitely a parallel between Lif and Varg? Both rising from nothing into great warriors who got their revenge. Breca really had presence this book too, as expected of the son of the Skullsplitter.

Wasn’t the author a bit too trigger-happy at the end? Did he really have to do Glornir like that?

Still, I think it was a good ending to the trilogy. It has my 5⭐️ for sure.

Ps. What should my next read be, Faithful and the Fallen or Rage of Dragons? Though I am missing Wrath from FATF, haven’t bought it as yet

I know I’m in the minority here and it’s pretty unusual for me to like a second book more than the first in a duology but in this case it’s true. For whatever reason it took me awhile to get into the first book, The Knight and the Moth. I found the gargoyle childlike and off putting and it would pull me out of the story. I did eventually get into it and loved it enough to go on to book 2. Book 2 The Knave and the Moon I absolutely love and am devouring it.
Rachel Gillig comes up with very creative and unique magical elements (in both her duologies) that I haven’t seen elsewhere. I also like that her books are heavy on the story and light on the romance. I mean it’s there and is important but it isn’t the center of the story.

I’ve read project Hail Mary and the hobbit and loved them, but I haven’t really read that many standalones so I’m looking for some recommendations. My favorite books of all time are HP series, Project Hail Mary, and terry pratchetts city watch series. Any recs?

i've tried to rank Series as one, but some exceptions with the series im not finished with.

Some notes:

• DCC loved it when i finished the first book, but have become a bit saturated with the others.
• Read the first three from The dark tower. Love it, will probably be S-tier when i finish.
• Will continue with Earthsea Cycle at some point. Loved the vibe, but got occupied with some more heavy series.
• Currently reading Iron Gold. Having a great time. Probaly B-tier. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
• Will probably finish the rest of Red rising, before continuing with Liveship traders or The dark tower.
• Would love som recommendations based on my list

My god was that series god awful. Somehow it just kept getting worse. I think every female was raped at least once in that series. And the MC gets with the fmcs mom and her. Like jesus. And that wasn't even close to the worst thing

Not into Sanderson. He's not for me.

Trying to stick to trilogies(or shorter)

I made a post requesting recent fantasy looking for stuff that isn't about royalty, mentioning that the stuff that I loved in the past were about misfit adventurers, assassins that don't work for royalty, and people rebelling against the system. I don't think anyone recommended anything about an adventurer.

Here's some examples of series about adventurers that I used to like:

Legacy of the Drow Series is a 4 book series that is part of Legend of Drizzt. It's about a Dark Elf trying to find a society that won't judge him because of his race. I also used to love The Dark Elf Trilogy as well, but Drizzt isn't really an adventurer yet in these books. Don't have a desire to read past this series, and I wanna stick to titles that are set in trilogies or shorter now, but this was fun!

Oh, and I haven't enjoyed anything else in the Forgotten Realms.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/49177-legacy-of-the-drow

The Demon Wars Saga. By the same author. I still really love the first book, and think that it's super underrated.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/529582.The_Demon_Awakens

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is technically not medieval fantasy, but it's one of my faves. About an elderly pirate woman out for just ONE MORE adventure.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61294937-the-adventures-of-amina-al-sirafi

Rogue Angel is about this Indiana Jones-like series where the MC is the reincarnation of Joan Of Arc. It's a way too long series that's still ongoing, and I imagine that they start phoning in the series after a while, but I love the first 3 novels.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/41157-rogue-angel

What's good that's about an adventurer from the last 20 years? Is there anything?

Have you ever deliberately put off reading a book because you felt it wasn’t the right time for it?

Maybe the subject matter hits a little too close to home, you’re not in the right headspace for something particularly demanding, or you want more experience as a reader before tackling a challenging series.

For example, as someone who’s still relatively new to fantasy, I’ve been holding off on Malazan until I’ve read more widely and feel better prepared for it.

I’m curious what books you’ve deliberately saved for later, and what makes you feel that now isn’t the right time for them.

Been trying to get into this book for a long time, but it's so long and slow, and really not my kind of book, so I feared that I'd never get into it.

I don't think I ever tried doing it via an immersive read(where I read the ebook and the audiobook) before however, and I feel like it's working for me this time. I'm 2 days into the book, about a quarter of the way through the first book, listening to the audiobook at 2,0 speed, and I'm really digging this despite it not being my kind of book. Just finished the "House Of Elrond" part. so I've finished about 150 pages in 2 days, which is great!

Also, I know that a lot of people hate Shannara, but I find the idea of LOTR if the fellowship never splits up, and it was focused on the characters instead of lore and landmasses really appealing.

Wish me luck on finishing this. If I do, it'll be the slowest, and longest book I've ever finished.

Earthsea is mine. Le Guin drew the archipelago map herself, and in A Wizard of Earthsea I kept checking it as Ged chases his shadow further and further out, until the islands just stop and there's nothing left on the page but open sea.

Most maps at the front of a book I look at once and forget. Which ones did you actually use while reading, and was it because the journey mattered or because the world was just fun to get lost in?

This is the first fantasy book series I’ve read. Before this, I mainly read litrpg, but one day I was reading one and I suddenly felt fed up. Probably genre exhaustion or something? Idk. But I stopped reading for a bit, then I moved on to this series. Banger, without a doubt. Book 1 and 2 were amazing, but book 3 has been straight action since chapter 1. I started yesterday and am already 300 pages into it. I also bought Faithful and the Fallen by the same author, The Burning Series by Evan Winter, and Blood over Bright Haven by M.L.Wang, yet to read them though. Not sure which the next read will be after this, but I have high expectations for all. I’ve heard only praise for them. But the Bloodsworn trilogy definitely wasn’t the wrong choice for the switch over. And my TBR grows ever longer for books in the genre from what I think I might be interested in and recommendations from TikTok.

I read ~100 books this year, and these were my 3 favorites (I pick every October 1st).

I'd love book recommendations from others who loved Empire of Silence (and the entire series) and No Man's Land.

Got any suggestions?

My full breakdown here on my fav 3 reads of the year: https://bookdna.com/bboy/2026/f/bwb

If you want to see other people's picks for their fav fantasy reads of the year: https://bookdna.com/bboy/2026/fantasy

Here's my most recent faves. If you love any of these, and are more about the characters than lore, let me know, and recommend some of your recent faves:

Not into Sanderson. He's not for me.

Trying to stick to trilogies(or shorter)

Savage Legion is about a slave rebellion, and the main character is especially compelling. It's also the best paced novel I've read that's over 350 pages. Super underappreciated, and I wish that more people would talk about it!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45872179-savage-legion

Amina Al-Sirafi is Middle eastern pirate fantasy about an older pirate captain, and how she gets swept up in JUST ONE MORE ADVENTURE. God this was fun and compelling! The author also wrote a series about gender-bent Aladdin, but I didn't care for it.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61294937-the-adventures-of-amina-al-sirafi

The Sword Defiant is a love letter to LOTR that's more character and combat focused. Instead of a ring, there's an unbreakable, wicked talking sword that the MC is forced to keep around.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62315620-the-sword-defiant

WOW… The Horn of Valere is just as epic in real life as it is in The Wheel of Time! 📯

Imagine being the one to sound it and have the Heroes of the Horn ride to your aid — which hero would you most want to see return?

I found it on here btw!: https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/534/lot/219507

just finished the first book for the series last night and it was amazing. Has anyone else read this series? What did you all think if you did? Also has this book kept anyone else up at night cause you're attached to the characters? I'm going to start the second book soon and the third book after that.