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Fantasy with a doomed romantic subplot
These days I’ve been craving heavily political fantasy books and I was wondering if anyone knows one where there is a couple (main or side) that are doomed due to political issues (like one of them has to d!e or they are from different political factions / social class, or are targeted by others. Something like that.
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Looking for a fantasy about inherrited sin/guilt.
I always found it silly the idea that a baby is born sinful or guilty of their parents crimes and must live a life of atonement or be punished for something they didn't do. This is a belief prevalent in many cultures, philosophies and religions.
Is there a fantasy book where the action takes place in a society structured around this belief and the major plot point is trying to debunk this idea and the oppressive regime build around it?
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to me and I’m so glad that her ending was a happy one (with the adorable little detail that she’s a talented artist who draws hilarious cartoons!).
I think these books would have been infinitely stronger if the author had focused much more on the relationships between the Paper Girls and their characterization. I would have loved an even deeper dive into the elements of trauma, survival and rebellion. The second book also could have been about recruiting the allies who randomly show up as a surprise before the raid on the Hidden Palace in this book so that book two has more relevance to the finale. I also think Ngan could have had Lei and Wren’s actions throughout book three contribute more to the final battle and downfall of the Demon King. Finally, I would have liked a lot less of the humor/banter and some focus on making Hanno ally side characters less one-note while reducing the amount of their bickering with each other.
Overall, these books have all been pleasantly written, engaging and easy enough to read. I think Ngan wrote about a difficult topic in an approachable a way for YA readers, and I can feel the earnestness in her approach. It's a shame that the last two books felt so much less clear in their vision than the first one, and I wish that the strongest elements had been given more space and exploration. This is one of the big YA series of the late 2010's that I always wondered about, and I'm ultimately glad that I did give it a try despite its faults.
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character strength, it is simply an automatic survival response. It really, really bugs me that it is treated as anything else, especially a way to make Lei seem better than the other girls. When she speaks up about the Demon King and his injustices, we are supposed to see it as her being brave and strong, and to a certain extent I understand that. On the other hand, I think you could also see her actions as extremely rash ones that ultimately do more harm than good - for example, she reveals to the King that there is a rebellion against him when he previously just thought that she was “betraying” him with Wren, and this ends up completely derailing the rebels' plans. The aforementioned mean girl Blue does have one moment of greater complexity when she makes it clear that she has no choice in doing what the Demon King wants and can’t speak up/fight back the way Wren does, and I liked that the author made that point.
Book 2: Girls of Storm and Shadow
In this mesmerizing sequel to the New York Times bestselling Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei and Wren have escaped their oppressive lives in the Hidden Palace, but soon learn that freedom comes with a terrible cost.Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan---it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within.Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her?
Review
I definitely anticipated a case of Second Book Syndrome here based on what I had heard about this book, and that is pretty much what I got. Simply by virtue of Lei and Wren having escaped from the Hidden Palace, the sequel had to be very different in nature and structure from the first book, which was quite contained. What I don’t think was necessary, however, was that Girls of Storm and Shadow be as sort of..meandering? aimless? as it turned out to be. The quest they’re on is somewhat focus-less, in a way, and I have a lot of questions about why it happens the way it does. Why does the rebellion actually have to send emissaries on this perilous journey? Why do they not know anything about each location and its ruler before they arrive there?
I would say that the vast majority of the book is spent in travel, training and banter. The banter really didn’t work for me at all between how forced it felt, how frequent it was, and the fact that it often felt extremely anachronistic with references to fanmail and resumes and things like that. Most of it stems from Bo, who irritated me in basically every scene he was in. Everything about him, from his underdeveloped romance plot to his death, felt completely unnecessary to me. I don’t even know why the leopard siblings are a part of the team in the first place - who would send a pair of incredibly rude kleptomaniacs on a delicate diplomatic mission? Is there really no one else in the rebellion better suited? They are outcast from Cat Clan and they’re not even allowed inside, so that justification for their inclusion feels very flimsy to me.
Wren and Lei’s relationship starts to unravel here, as Wren continually keeps secrets from Lei and is ultimately revealed to be willing to do terrible things for the sake of winning their war against the Demon King. To a certain extent I like this because it presents the natural stage of a relationship where the honeymoon is over and cracks start to show, especially because of the pressure they are under and what they have been through. That being said, the inconsistency of Lei’s feelings is frustrating and I
Redwall: The epic that shaped me
I grew up on the Redwall books. Every single one. I read them multiple times, and I still remember finishing the last book, The Rogue Crew, when I was 19. That was the end of an era for me, because those stories had carried me through my entire childhood.
To me, Redwall isn’t “just a kids’ series with talking animals.” I’d argue it’s one of the greatest epics ever written. It deserves to sit alongside Beowulf or The Odyssey. Why? Because Brian Jacques understood something a lot of “serious” literature forgets: heroism doesn’t belong only to kings, demigods, or chosen ones. It belongs to the timid, the ordinary, the ones who don’t look like warriors until the moment comes when they have no choice but to stand up.
That’s the message that stuck with me. Matthias, Mariel, Triss, Martin, none of them started out invincible. They were scared, small, unprepared. But they chose courage anyway. That’s what Jacques was writing about, and it hit me as hard as anything I learned in church or from my own family. Redwall formed my compass of morals and courage every bit as much as my Christian upbringing did.
And make no mistake, Jacques was writing in the epic tradition.
Like Beowulf, his heroes fought chaos and monsters for the sake of their people.
Like The Odyssey, their journeys were full of trials, riddles, temptations, and endurance.
Like Shakespeare’s histories, his saga spanned generations, building a living mythology where every story tied into the next.
But he did something those classics didn’t: he made it accessible. Kids could read these books and not just follow the stories, but live in them; the feasts, the riddles, the battles, the friendships. He wrote like a bard telling tales around the fire.
So yeah, maybe I’m just nostalgic, but I really believe Redwall is a forgotten classic. It shaped an entire generation’s imagination and sense of right and wrong. And honestly? I’m jealous of anyone picking it up for the first time.
TL;DR: Redwall isn’t just talking animals. It’s a true epic that belongs alongside the greats, and it helped shape my morals and courage as much as anything else in my life.
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RF Kuang is planning a Babel sequel
Went to Rf Kuangs reading today in Germany. She said she is planning on writing a sequel for Babel in the future, but first she has to learn French, brush up on her knowledge about American History (I believe she mentioned the civil war) and it will also involve time travel. She also mentioned that she is learning about visual art currently because she wants to write a book about Art and Artists.
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Gritty worlds/stories but with an underline of hope?
Hi everyone! I have recently been in a bit of a reading slump, which I think has to do with the fact that I'm somewhat tired of the whole full-on grimdark theme many books seem to have nowadays where nothing good ever happens, the characters are all nasty or self-serving, and no one ever does anything for the sake of doing something that is good or at least selfless. It does get to be a bit much. Don't get me wrong, I love a gritty, dark, world. I like ruthless, cunning, amoral, characters, and a world that lends itself to these characteristics. However, I also want there to be people who try to do good, even if they fail at times, or even if they are not fully noble people. Like yes, I get it, people in real life can be nasty, but they can also be good, and shitty times do pass (and then good times pass, as well).
So, what I'm trying to say is that I am looking for that sort of book/series. Perhaps something that is generally gritty and dark, but where hope, and some semblance of good or kindness, remain. Ideally, this would be a series rather than a standalone, medieval, and with low levels of magic. But I am still open to any and all suggestions! Thanks!
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Halfway (13/25) Through 2025 Bingo Review
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City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Date finished: April 13, 2025, Rating: 5/5
Liked: Reminded me of best of Gene Wolfe - meaning beautiful prose that compels you to reread some passages just for pure pleasure. Ideas that stay with you for a long time after. Exquisite world-building.
Didn’t like: It ended. But then luckily there are three more (with 4th coming in Mar 2026) books in the series!
Delicious in Dungeon (Vol. 1-14) by Ryoko Kui
Date finished: Aug 30, 2025, Rating: 4/5 HM
Liked: Quirky manga series that combined two of my favourite things: delicious food and dungeon exploring! Mind you the dishes are made from dungeon's many monsters and the dungeon itself is of the mysterious ever-changing, law of physics-defying kind. Kept me invested till the last volume!
Didn't like: The momentum of the story dragged a little in the last volume or two.
The Outsider by Stephen King
Date Finished: April 28, 2025, Rating: 3/5 HM
Liked: The procedural crime investigation that happens in the 1st half of the book.
Didn't like: The 2nd half where story became a little too weird (even by King's standards). Felt a little rushed as writer wanted to tie the story up neatly.
Soldier of The Mist by Gene Wolfe
Date Finished: August 11, 2025, Rating: 4/5 HM
Liked: Gene Wolfe is the master of unreliable narrators and Latro is one of his best. Perfect fit with epistolary-style story. Could have used it for that square but it fit nicely with the divinity one. Blends classical history and mythology in such way that you as a reader can't tell what really happened. Trippy!
Didn't Like: Keeping track of all the godly cameos becomes confusing and tiresome by last third.
World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters
Dare finished: May 29, 2025, Rating: 4/5
Liked: Main character is so likable! His endearing story build up over 3 books to point where I was sad to finish.
Didn't Like: The scifi aspect of this apocalyptic story was not as well developed as its murder mystery.
To Ride Hell’s Chasm by Janny Wurts
Date finished: August 1, 2025, Rating: 2.5/5
Liked: Some of the best descriptions of horses and equine action in any fantasy book. Quite original.
Didn’t like: Plodding, slog of a read made more so by an awkward writing style. Overlong descriptions and weird vocabulary (keep dictionary close for this one) ruin what should have been a pretty straightforward action-heavy book. But then without that, it probably would have been 300 pages shorter
Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
Date finished: June 1, 2025, Rating: 3.5/5
Liked: Strong female protagonist and solid writing from one of my favourite writers. Can now understand all the "Cordelia goes shopping" jokes that other Vorkosigan Saga fans make
Didn't Like: Read some Miles Vorkosigan books years ago, but skipped Cordelia prequel books. Now realize why I did. The pregnancy-focused story was just not for me. But at least now can move on to the reread of Warriors Apprentice!
Agyar by Steven Brust
Date finished: July 15, 2025, Rating: 3.5/5 HM
Liked: Pretty original, modern vampire story told from the perspective of the monster/villain. Elegant and easy to read prose by one of the best in the genre. Was my 1st Brust book and will definitely read more.
Didn't Like: Felt like could have been better when told in a bigger story rather than longish novella
Written on The Dark by Guy Gavriel Kay
Date Finished: August 27, 2025, Rating: 3/5
Liked: Beautifully lyrical and nostalgic style that Kay is known for. Like the French history allusions.
Didn't like: Pacing falls off the cliff by middle of the book to the point where I could barely finish it. Not as good as Kay's older books like Sarantine Mosaic.
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djeli Clark
Date Finished: June 16, 2025, Rating:
Books with a protagonist like Eren Yeager?
I looked for previous rec threads mentioning him or Attack on Titan but they're all about the feel of the first couple seasons. Mysterious world, isolated people figuring out why they're so isolated.
Fun, but I don't care about any of that stuff. I do love Eren as a character though and I'd love to read about similar characters. So 3 main things I identify as important to his character and how he affects the narrative:
* Eren begins as extremely well-intentioned and likeable, but by the end he's a monster
* Eren never betrays his original goal; he just pursues "I have to protect my friends" to an unconscionable extreme.
* The story doesn't switch to a different character once Eren becomes the villain, we stay with him throughout
So are there any fantasy books where the protagonist has a similar arc and the story stays with them, as you grow to question or even dislike their actions?
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pictures.
They have my definite recommendation.
https://redd.it/1nnpq7j
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Watership Down - Richard Adams Review
Watership Down follows a band of rabbits who abandon their warren at the prompting of a seer-rabbit who foresees disaster, just in time for their warren to be destroyed by human development. The life of a rabbit is full of hardship, and the rabbits face many challenges on their way to the hill of Watership Down, where they will eventually make their new warren, as well as new challenges once they get there.
This is a book well-known for traumatizing young children, who are drawn in by the promise of a cute rabbit adventure only to be hit in the face with the bloody reality of a wild rabbit’s life. As an adult reading, however, it’s not nearly as gruesome as I was led to believe. I think most of its reputation is the result of people reading it while very young. While I do think people can read this at any age, I’m glad to read it as an adult, because I don’t think I would have had the patience for its style as a kid. However, I was obsessed with Warrior Cats as a middle-schooler, which clearly took a great deal of inspiration from Watership Down.
I had watched the 1978 film about a year ago, so I remembered most of but not all of the plot beats. The film is remarkably loyal to the plot, but the book goes a lot more in depth into the rabbits as characters. I especially appreciated the stories of El-Ahrairah, which is something that is only lightly touched on in the film. In the book, they serve to give more color to the world, act as a reprieve between tenser plot beats, and later inspire our Chief Rabbit Hazel to come up with his plan to save the warren.
Adams’ prose and style was an unexpected highlight for me as well. He describes the settings very evocatively, especially considering he is writing from a rabbit’s point of view. An early example:
>“From the moment he entered it, the wood seemed full of noises. There was the smell of damp leaves and moss, and everywhere the splash of water went whispering about. Just inside, the brook made a little fall into a pool, and the sound, enclosed among the trees, echoed as though in a cave. Roosting birds rustled overhead; the night breeze stirred the leaves; here and there a dead twig fell. And there were more sinister, unidentified sounds from further away; sounds of movement.”
Again, this is not something I would have had the patience for as a kid, especially when he spends an entire page describing the specific way moonlight reflects on the downs, but it’s something I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for as an adult. Though that moonlight one was still a bit much.
Even though Adams claims this book is not allegory (in the same way that Lord of the Rings is not allegory I’m sure), there’s a lot to be analyzed and unpacked, while still being an enjoyable read on the surface level. The epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter point to some of the inspirations Adams uses, and those alone are enough to send you down a rabbit hole (pardon my pun). One of those books where the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Especially when it comes to the Efrafa arc and the characters fight against rabbit fascists, I refuse to believe there’s not at least some symbolism there. I’m all for Death of the Author in this instance - people have compared Woundwort to Stalin, or Hazel to Jesus Christ. Everybody seems to come to the book with a different lens, and I think all of them are fascinating, add to the story, and cast it in a new light.
In short, it’s a classic for a reason. It seems to be written for everyone and yet no one. Though it has dark themes and a scattering of bloody scenes, it’s nowhere near as gruesome as its reputation >!(all the main rabbits live!)!<
Bingo: Strangers in a Strange Land (HM), A Book in Parts (HM), Gods and Pantheons, Epistolary (if you count the epigraphs)
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r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - September 22, 2025
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**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!
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[^(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.
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RF Kuang and CCP propaganda
I just finished reading Babel and loved it, so I started the Poppy War. I have all of the usual criticisms of Kuang that I've read -- she isn't at all subtle and it can be a bit of telling rather than showing, etc., but overall I really enjoy her writing.
I have one major criticism of her writing that I haven't been able to find much discussion of, and it's really bothering me. Her representation of history and politics kind of reeks of CCP propaganda to me. I say this as somebody who has studied a bit of Chinese history in university, but who is not themselves Chinese, so take it with a grain of salt. But I am curious on other people's takes.
Let me explain what I mean. Kuang depicts colonialism in China very rightfully so in a strongly negative light, particularly with a focus on the opium wars. However, she also seems to depict this in an overly simplistic way that tends to glorify China, and more importantly, assumes a contagious Chinese identity throughout this period whose main problem is foreign invaders. This kind of narrative is used heavily by the CCP to stoke nationalism and to tell a simple, heroic story of the CCP swooping in and saving China from foreign invaders, making it into the strong and unified nation it is today. If you have heard of the "100 years of humiliation" you know what I mean. From my view, it sort of takes true events that are tragedy, but simplifies and exploits them to create a convenient narrative to benefit the ruling power.
Anybody who has read a bit of Chinese history and politics from the late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century knows that, while colonialism and invasions were surely horrific and a huge part of that period, they are only one piece of a much larger picture. It leaves out key aspects like extremely disjointed internal politics and fighting, the long, slow downfall of the late Qing government, the inefficient and brutal rule of the Qing, the very fluid sense of Chinese identity that only much later became forcibly consolidated, and the critical point that the CCP themselves were one of the main opponents of traditional Chinese culture and the late Qing government itself.
I guess what I am wondering, then, is why does Kuang seem to buy into and regurgitate this clearly simplistic and politically exploitative historical narrative? She is not stupid, and she is not a victim of lacking information. Could she simply harbor strong nationalistic vibes that she can't help but contain in her writing? I can't make sense of it.
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Why are there so few serialized fantasy podcasts
Every time I search for a fantasy podcast, 95% of what I find are actual-play/D&D shows. Nothing against dice games (love ’em), but sometimes I just want a straight serialized fantasy story — like binging a fantasy TV series in audio form.
Compared to horror (which has hundreds of active shows), fantasy audio dramas feel almost non-existent.
So I’m curious:
Have you found any good ongoing, scripted fantasy podcasts that aren’t actual play?
Why do you think there are so few? Is it production load? Lack of audience? Just bad discoverability?
I feel like there’s a massive untapped audience here — every time Netflix cancels a fantasy show, fans (and I) scream into the void — but audio hasn’t filled that gap.
What do you all listen to when you want serialized fantasy in podcast form?
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Robert Falco, which lays out a post-human world in which machines have evolved to fill the ecological niches previously occupied by organic creatures. It’s a short piece that offers a little bit of action but mostly focuses on the world and the attitude its sentient inhabitants have toward preservation and toward their departed creators. Though it’s a story where humanity has left rather than be destroyed, it still has the feel of a post-apocalyptic setting, but it’s one that focuses on hope for new perspectives and a better way forward.
On the nonfiction side, there’s a humorous editorial in which Neil Clarke responds to a phishing email in increasingly absurd fashion as the scammer doggedly refuses to realize they’ve been caught. There’s also a fascinating science article that digs into experimental design using a historical example in which a professor insisted she could taste the difference in cups of tea in which the milk is added first or second.
The first interview is with Martin Cahill, and as he often happens with Clarkesworld interviews, it makes me more intrigued to check out the novella Cahill released this month. The second interview didn’t move my opinion one whit, but only because I’ve been a fan of Thomas Ha’s writing for some time. If you’re on the fence about reading his debut collection, Uncertain Sons and Other Stories, check out his interview or my collection review. Or both.
# September Favorites
[Four People I Need You to Kill Before the Dance Begins](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/hall_09_25) by Louis Inglis Hall (novelette, Clarkesworld)
Abstraction Is When I Design Giant Death Creatures and Attraction Is When I Do It for You by Claire Jia-Wen (short story, Clarkesworld)
https://redd.it/1nn7pkq
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Halloween reads
What are some good Halloween reads? I'm thinking of books that are on the Spooky side but aren't outright terrifying, since this isn't r/horror. Granted, an officially horror book could count if it has fantastical elements and you feel the scariness level is moderate enough that the book could've been classified as fantasy.
Major bonus points for classic Halloween elements like witches, ghosts, pumpkins, black cats, and autumn. Enough of those elements and it doesn't even need to be Spooky.
I'll start with Salem's Lot (Vampires, Stephen King, not as scary as a lot of his books) and The Book of Lost Things (spooky fairy tale medley.) I'll also mention the cartoon Owl House, which isn't spooky but is very well done and has lots of classic Halloween elements.
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Reading to newborn
My kid was just born yesterday (9/21). I want to read to her at night. I know it doesn’t matter what book I read, I think she more likes my voice. What book should I first read to her?
https://redd.it/1no6j4h
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agree with those who have said that it feels like there was never a super strong foundation to their relationship in the first place. The sudden appearance of Wren’s catty (literally!!) and jealous ex felt completely unnecessary to me and detracted quite a bit from that portion of the story.
There is a continued focus on Lei and Wren supporting each other through their PTSD and starting to process what they went through in the Hidden Palace. I still really like how positive sexuality is such a prominent part of their reclamation of their bodies, and there are some good moments exploring both resilience and struggle. I would say that this was my favorite part of the book. Other than that, the writing style is generally very easy to read and pleasant and I felt compelled to keep reading most of the time.
Book 3: Girls of Fate and Fury
The jaw-dropping conclusion to Girls of Storm and Shadow left the fates of Lei and Wren hanging in the balance. There's one thing Lei knows - she can never return to the Hidden Palace. The trauma and tragedy she suffered behind those opulent walls will plague her forever. She cannot be trapped there with the sadistic king again, especially without Wren.The last time Lei saw the girl she loved, Wren was fighting an army of soldiers in a furious battle to the death.With the two girls torn apart and each in great peril, will they reunite at last, or have their destinies diverged forever?
Review
When I look back at this series, I can’t help but feel that Ngan had a really strong idea for the first book but didn’t ever quite figure out how to flesh it out into a cohesive, successful trilogy. As with the second book, a lot of the things that happened in this book ended up being filler and neither Lei’s or Wren’s stories through most of the book contributed satisfyingly to the finale. I also feel that the decision to write Lei’s chapters in first-person present tense and Wren’s chapters in third-person past tense was a mistake. This choice becomes especially ineffective and jarring when their plots get synced up and they are fighting through the palace together with the perspectives switching in such a way.
I think this series’ second biggest weakness is its side characters - they are either not fleshed out enough to carry their intended emotional weight or they are just incredibly annoying. The Paper Girls stand out as the main example of the former type - Blue and Aoki have mini character arcs but the rest are one dimensional and their bonds are not demonstrated especially powerfully for all the times that Lei talks about them being a family. It’s lovely that the survivors are all together and healing at the end, but this could have been a million times more amazing if I had really bought their bonds and felt that they were deeper characters. As for the annoying side characters, Lova takes Bo’s place here as the extremely grating “quippy” character who drags down every scene she is in and is constantly spewing banter that is not actually funny. Finally, for the major role that she ends up playing in the ending, the Demon Queen Shala only shows up a couple of times, and I also believe it was a mistake on Ngan’s part to not plant any seeds about her characterization (let alone her existence!) in earlier books.
Wren and Lei also continue their trend of hiding secrets from each other and making massive decisions that impact their relationship without communicating with each other first. When I look back, it honestly feels like these dynamics are more fundamental to their relationship than anything else. We all know I’m an absolute sap for endings about healing after trauma and Ngan made some especially lovely decisions with her ending here - revisiting the temple for the Hidden to mourn those who died; turning the palace into the Free Palace, a refuge for abused women; all the girls gathering together at Lei’s family shop with a new puppy and Shala’s baby named after the word for love. I’m especially happy with how Blue was treated - she was consistently the most interesting character
Charlotte Reads: The Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy by Natasha Ngan
I decided I'd combine my thoughts about each book in this series in one place now that I have finished them all (actually a while ago, oops)! I wasn't sure how to handle spoiler tagging here, as I'm going through each book one at a time, so just know that spoilers follow and are not tagged.
Book 1: Girls of Paper and Fire
In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest.Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.
Review
In many ways, Girls of Paper and Fire feels like the YA-est YA I’ve read in a while - there’s a beautiful protagonist with special eyes who doesn’t know how beautiful she is and randomly walks into things because the most loveable character flaw is clumsiness; there’s the pseudo-dystopian world-building with poorly defined castes and class oppression and magic; there’s that glorious, glorious instalove; there’s that first-person present tense writing style that basically every best-selling YA fantasy author seems to adopt effortlessly. And yet I think it would be mean to entirely dismiss it on those grounds, because, at the same time, this book is one that earnestly deals with the topics of sexism and sexual assault. I feel that it deserves a serious look at how it does so.
I think that the book’s biggest strengths and weaknesses lie in the relationships between the titular girls of paper and fire. One one hand, we get to see how different people react to situations of entrapment and sexual violence differently - Aoki falls in love with the Demon King in a rather trauma bond-y kind of way; Wren retreats into herself; Lei has conflicting feelings that confuse and disturb her - while she feels ashamed that she is chosen to be the King’s consort last, another part of her hates that she feels that shame and desire to be chosen. How they are treated as a group is also interesting. Paper caste slaves hate them and more elite castes think that they’re whores. We see the way that women are complicit in violence against other women with their teachers and the book talks about how resistance can take many forms when you are stripped of choices in Lei’s conversations with the older consort Zelle.
At the same time, the girls are very hastily sketched characters with the exception of Lei and Wren. At one point Wren talks about how they have become something of a family to her but this just doesn’t ring true at all, especially when the majority of them have never been fleshed out beyond a single characteristic: mean girl, mean girl’s sidekick, religious, twins, main character’s BFF. Wren herself is probably the most interesting character in the story, but the relationship between her and Lei is, as mentioned before, pretty much YA-brand instalove. I like that their relationship is their way of reclaiming their bodies and emotions, and I like the scene where Wren shows her a hidden tree with lost/killed women’s names on it, but those are really the only highlights of the relationship.
There is one bit of the story that bugged me quite a bit: multiple characters tell Wren that and has more “integrity” and “fight” than the other girls because she tries to fight the Demon King when he first tries to rape her. In reality, your response to trauma in the moment of danger is not a measure of
Who's got proper assassins?
As titled, a very common trope seen currently is the main character being an "assassin" at the start of the story but has a moral coniption over killing people, falls in love with their target, decides to leave the game shortly into the story, etc.
Who's got recommendations for a story with a main/prominent/POV character being an actual assassin, fully knowing their job doesn't sit well with most people, but knows that some people just need to meet an early end for things to happen the way they need to? Not even a "good guy" assassin but just a professional, sometimes people need killing.
I've read the Night Angel trilogy, doesn't quite fit what I'm looking for as he's actively trying to get out of the life the whole time.
As awesome as Artemis Entreri is, his arc does involve seeing the errors of his ways later on.
Haven't read Robin Hobb's Assassins Apprentice yet but from what I've been told it has very little to do with actual assassin activities.
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What kind of urban fantasy do you wish existed right now?
I’ve been thinking about this for the past few days and got curious to hear from you. Urban fantasy as a genre has been around for a while, and sometimes it feels like we keep circling around the same tropes.
So I wanted to ask: what themes or imagery do you feel are underused in urban fantasy? do you find yourself more interested in urban fantasy stories with humor and irony, or ones with more philosophical depth?
I’d love to read your thoughts. curious what people are secretly wishing for when they pick up a new book in the genre.
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1/5
Liked: The setting. The book nicely meshes Caribbean, North African and Middle Eastern cultures. Thankfully short length (read below on why)
Didn't Like: Witty Marvelesque one-liners and meme-speak. The dialogue in the last third was partly written in some fake creole language which was completely incomprehensible. Weird choice by writer.
Xenos by Dan Abnett
Date Finished: June 30, 2025, Rating: 4/5
Liked: Was my first Warhammer 40K book and honesty was surprised to find such a rollicking James Bond-like tale. Very enjoyable, so doubtI this will be my last Dan Abnett, or Warhammer. book.
Didn't Like: The ending felt a little too rushed and neat.
Way of Edan by Philip Chase
Date Finished: June 2. 2025, Rating: 3.5/5
Liked: Exceptionally well-written and plotted. Clearly it was a long-time labour of love project.
Didn't Like: Was a bit tropey but perhaps not surprising since it was writer's 1st book and 1st in trilogy.
Gods of The Wyrdwood by R.J. Barker (Recycle a Bingo Card from 2021 - Forest Setting)
Date Finished: Sep 13, 2025, Rating: 5/5 HM
Liked: I loved the forest world setting! And the pacing was non-stop, was my fastest long book read in a while. Also my only other 5/5 (2nd to Tchaikovsky's City of Last Chances). Incidentally both Barker and Tchaikovsky live in Leeds, England. Must be something in the water there to create phenomenal writers.
Didn't Like: It ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger and now I'm torn between starting Book 2 or reading another book from my Bingo list. At this pace, I have to be careful with how many great series (City of Last Chances, Xenos and Gods of Wyrdwood) I start during this Bingo Challenge or I might never finish it on time.
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What’s the most hauntingly beautiful world you’ve ever read in fantasy?
I was thinking about how some fantasy books don’t just tell a good story, they create a world that lingers in your head long after you finish. Not necessarily the most epic or the most detailed, but the kind of setting that feels almost alive, like you could step into it.
For me, it was Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea. The archipelago, the quiet power of names, the sense of vastness paired with solitude, it stuck with me in a way few worlds ever have.
What about you ? Which fantasy world left that lasting, haunting impression on you?
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The Raven Scholar: Neema
I’m like 40% though the raven scholar (loving it btw) but jeez why does everyone hate Neema so much? Is it purely because she’s a commoner? I feel like people hate her more than Ruko and that’s saying a lot.
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Criminally Underrated Series: Garrett PI by Glen Cook
Belinda is the Morticia Addams looking lady there.
Glen Cook is primarily known for his Black Company series and that's something that I have a horrifying confession to make as a grimdark stan: I could never really get into it. My favorite character was Raven from the opening book and I think the book was trying to tell me that such a character was silly (among other minor issues that put me off it). However, my love for Glen Cook as an author has never not been huge because of another series of his that has been sticking with me for decades and that's Garrett PI.
Described as Nero Wolfe in fantasyland, I couldn't tell you what that means because I've never read those books but it reminds me most of Vlad Taltos with a hardboiled detective slant. Basically, instead of the Dresden Files being about a wizard in the modern world, Garrett is an ordinary detective in a city like Ankh Morpork. Okay, maybe that is way too many references in a single paragraph and I write reference comedy.
The point is that Garrett is an investigator who spends each book trying to deal with wizards, ratkin, vampires, dark elves, the mob, and the increasingly draconian military. He's more successful than most private detectives and manages to make a decent living from the fact that he's not allegeric to success or mild corruption like Phillip Marlowe. He's also aided by an undead psychic called the Dead Man who sits in his house, contemplating the mysteries of the universe.
The books are vivid and well-written with the city of TunFaire being vividly realized in both its politics as well as characterization. Glen Cook takes a stab at fantastic racism even before Warcraft did it and takes the surprisingly direct approach that the reason humans and demihumans hate each other is because the rich want them at each other's throats. While humans are off fighting Karenta's wars, they recruit demihumans to do all the dirty jobs then see the former get angry when they return to no prospects. Its a simplification of RL but provides enough of a gritty feel to make it feel like it has a Great Depression feel despite all the magic.
The books are also surprisingly dark without getting into grimdark. It's a coin flip whether or not the bad guys will "win" and Garrett will be able to achieve some sense of justice but sometimes it does land on heads. Garrett has a sense of justice but there's sometimes just nothing good that can be done about events because there's no good answer. Still, I knew Garrett would be the kind of person I liked as a hero as his response to finding out a rich family of secret vampires is untouchable by law is just to get out the stakes as well as flaming oil.
If I have one complaint about the books, it's that people who complain about Harry Dresden's sexism and objectification will find Garrett so much worse. Glen Cook like Jim Butcher fills his stories with incredibly capable and potent women with strong characterizations (I'm a little in love with Belinda Contague the Queenpin) but Garrett is horny AF. He also makes more than a few off-color comments about teenage girls in-setting which reminded me of the worst of the Molly Carpenter complaints. Nothing ever happens on that but caveat emptor.
The books are all self-contained stories so while there's some overarching plots like the war in the Contard (the 100 year conflict over the silver mines in the region that is pointless for just about everyone but the rich), each book has a definitive end. You can also more or less reach each book as a standalone, which is a dying art. The series began in 1987 and ended in 2013 with over a dozen books. Glen Cook has also stated that he might someday revive it but we'll have to see about that. The covert art is also something that is unrivaled for me save by the old classic Dungeons and Dragons art and the British versions of Discworld. Seriously, check out the
Struggling with Hunger of the Gods
Hi all,
Mainly just posting this to see if anyone (or many anyones) can help push me to finish Hunger of the Gods lol
I LOVED Shadow of the Gods. I love viking and viking inspired stuff (it's my "Roman empire"). I love the way Gywnne writes action scenes. I love his world. I love how short his chapters are. But I can't seem to get through this book and I think it's because the characters, and particularly their motivations in this book are not capturing me.
Besides Orka and her vaesen, the characters are all feeling a bit "Samey" especially the supporting cast, who are all kinda blending together-- though *asterix* the audiobook has been helpful to distinguish bc of the narrator voices, but only a little bit.
This is the second time I've tried to get through it. The first time, my wife and I were hit with a big life change that I had to put it down half way through and never picked it back up again. That was 2 years ago, I'm trying again and am 1/4 of the way through and have put it down for almost a month now.
Anyway, I do really love the vibe and action and general idea of this book, just struggling with it. Looking for someone to give that push and go "nah bro, its kick ass, just keep reading!" or something lol
Also wondering if this is just how Gywnne's characters are or if it's different in TFaTF? I'm a big character reader. If the characters don't leap off the page or feel distinct I do find I tend to give up on books, even if the plot or world are good. (My order of interest goes: Character -> theme/ideas -> plot -> world - > prose.
Gywnne's worlds, inspirations, action, and tone/vibe is EXACTLY what I'm looking for, but I'm finding his character's a bit dry. Does this change between his series at all? Thanks!
Cheers!
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What is the (spoiler-free) general consensus on Wind and Truth?
I've heard mixed things about it and wondering if I should buy it.
Background: I've read the first three 'Mistborn' books and the Stormlight Archive up to W&T. I haven't read any other Cosmere works and I'm not particularly interested in it. I just want a good standalone work that concludes the story from the previous books.
Edit: Wow, thanks for the comprehensive replies everyone! Some really insightful comments. I think I’m going to skip it based on what people are saying. I’ll wait for reviews of the next book in the series (might be a few years away), and if it’s a return to form, maybe I’ll power through it.
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Finished my 2025 Book Bingo card!
https://preview.redd.it/effz6lyi0nqf1.png?width=1722&format=png&auto=webp&s=96089eb85be35860eec0fd7f746c7453f5244cbe
I finished my first book bingo card and had such a blast doing it! I recently got back into reading about a year and a half ago and I love how it forced me to get out of my comfort zone.
Rather than highlight each book I will highlight my personal Top 5 with short little blurbs:
1) The Knight and the Moth (Rachel Gillig) - No surprise this was my favorite read; Rachel Gillig is one of my favorite authors. The atmosphere and characters really drew me into what was a rather basic fantasy story. I can't wait for the second book in this series to come out.
2) Ashes of Aldyr (Russell Archey) - High fantasy meets eldritch horror. This book was the biggest surprise for me while going through my bingo card. I don't usually read horror/spooky books but I couldn't put this one down.
3) The Color of Magic (Terry Pratchett) - How have I not read anything by Terry Pratchett before?! This book had me literally laughing out loud. This gave me Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (an old favorite of mine)-meets-fantasy vibes. I'm looking forward to reading through more of Discworld!
4) Gideon the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir) - Necromancers in space. A super fun read with an equally fun heroine. While the story started out a little slow, the second half of the book really picked up the pace and sucked me in. The setting was fascinating and the world was full of unique characters.
5) Six Crimson Cranes (Elizabeth Lim) - A magical fairy tale with curses, a dragon and a love story. The world is well built and the characters experience a ton of personal growth.
Now that I am done with my bingo card, I am going to focus on getting through my TBR. I look forward to next year's Book Bingo Challenge!
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A book you can trust
I’m stressed IRL and just want a mindful book. To unwind.
Something where I know “it will all turn out okay.”
Wouldn’t say no to wholesomeness.
Too many books that I’m reading currently are kicking puppies, just to heighten the stakes.
Do we have some “slice of life” in this genre?
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Tarvolon Reads a Magazine: Review of Clarkesworld (September 2025)
My September short fiction reviews are coming out of order because of some travel early in the month, and GigaNotoSaurus remains on a two-month hiatus, so let’s do a rare late-month, single-issue review and take a look at the September 2025 issue of Clarkesworld.
# Clarkesworld
This issue of Clarkesworld features five short stories and two novelettes, and it perhaps comes as no surprise that the authors I’d recommended in the past are responsible for my favorites again this month. It starts with Abstraction Is When I Design Giant Death Creatures and Attraction Is When I Do It for You by Claire Jia-Wen, which…well it’s a bit of what it says on the tin. The lead is an artist who designs the monsters which will be featured on the gladiatorial reality show that is the planet’s biggest cultural export. The wrinkle is that the fact that the monsters are fabricated is a secret closely guarded by leaders passing off the combat as reality. The lead’s secrets throw her into a conflict between her sister and her lover in a tale with compelling storytelling and excellent internal consternation and interpersonal drama.
Wireworks by Sherri Singerling is a grief story in which the lead tries to work through her difficulty processing her mother’s death—and perhaps also the grief of her emotionally distant father—with the help of an AI working outside the law. It delivers a memorable ending that significantly elevates what came before, but the lead-up glosses over quite a few complications, making me feel that this may have been stronger in a longer format with a little more time to carefully develop.
In contrast, the longest story in the issue is Four People I Need You to Kill Before the Dance Begins by Louis Inglis Hall, in which an aging construct created for dance recounts formative moments to her newborn successor, in hopes of executing the titular plan to kill four people. It’s a gripping narrative with plenty to say about colonialism and oppression that gains additional power from a strange setting that’s recognizable enough to trigger the emotions but sufficiently unique to give the story a feeling of freshness. It’s clear from the title that this will be some form of revenge story, but the atmosphere, storytelling, and thematic work elevate it far above a generic speculative vengeance plot.
The issue’s second novelette is Aperture by Alexander Jablokov, in which a socially challenged civil design expert tries to build community among the small group of people preparing an icy asteroid habitat for the thaw that will open it up for further habitation. It’s a tale in which I often struggled to internalize how the setting had come to be in its current state of strangely promising inhospitability, and its themes of petty rivalry come through clearly but at times shade toward the blunt side. That said, it’s an entertaining story that delivers a satisfying ending.
The Fury of the Glowmen by David McGillveray is a non-linear tale of a powerful experimental AI breaking free from its constraints and loosing itself on an unsuspecting world. It’s an engaging and well-told story that doesn’t quite do enough to make such a familiar sci-fi plot feel new again--an enjoyable read for those not looking for something brand new.
Five Impossible Things by Koji A. Dae tackles another topic that I’ve seen pop up a few times in Clarkesworld over the last couple years, as a terminal patient tries to suspend her disbelief to allow for integration into a virtual society that offers her something of a second life. The storytelling itself is compelling and makes for an easy read, but unlike some of my favorite stories within this niche, it doesn’t do quite enough to motivate the premise. There are gestures at reasons for the necessity of the whole rigmarole, but I was never emotionally convinced by the lead’s desire to subject herself to it, undercutting an otherwise interesting tale.
The fiction section closes with A World of Their Own by
