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Books where gods/divine beings do exist, but not in the way the main religion interpreted them as
Just as the title says. The existence of gods and divine beings is a fairly common trope in fantasy, but I think it would be interesting if the main religion of the setting were either completely or mostly wrong about them.
The only example I can think is most of (though not all) of the Cosmere worlds worship gods that are either completely different than >!the Shards that inhabit their world!<
I know it's also a trope: the god everyone thinks is really evil (though I can't think of an example at the moment). Those are fine, too, though I'd prefer it to be a bit more complicated than just that.
Also, Bonus points if said divine being/s goes by a different name than the religion calls the god/s
Spoilers are fine with me
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Suggest a series for a guy that has not read any fantasy for 40 years
I have a hankering for a return to fantasy. I was looking at "best all time fantasy series" lists and to my horror, none of the books I read when I was a teen are showing up on these lists so I don't know where fantasy stands today. I read the original Shannara trilogy, the five books of the Belgariad, the Split Infinity books, Pern books, a lot of Vonnegut, Dune has some fantasy elements, there are more but I can't jog my memory because the books are just not showing up on lists... even a top 100 series list. It's driving my a little crazy.
Anyway, looking for a leg up to get back into it.
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The Farseer Trilogy reignited my appreciation for slower-paced fantasy
I just finished up Assassin's Quest recently and my god was it rewarding. I've heard quite a lot about these books on this sub and very much understand why they come so highly recommended. I think for those on the fence about starting out this series but are doubtful either because they've heard is a more slower-paced fantasy or that it's depressing/misery porn, you will know very quickly upon starting Assassin's Apprentice whether you'll enjoy them or not.
The slower pace is more than engaging due to the incredible character work Hobb's does. Every person in this series feels incredibly realistic and relatable. They're prone to making mistakes and decisions that always felt understandable and never as cheap devices to move the plot along.
In relation to the misery porn aspect, I found that while Fitz does go through many hardships, there are just as many moments where he overcomes an obstacle and experiences an uplifting triumph. I would say the best way to describe the overall tone of the books is that each difficult situation or decision he makes comes with consequences that are both detrimental and beneficial for both him and those around him.
Going into this series, I was a bit worried about losing interest or being put off, but never found the pacing or the trials the characters went through to be overwhelming.
Hobb takes her time ingratiating the reader in a wonderfully fleshed out world where events unfold in a complex and logical way. The books take their time to explore the day to day life of the different inhabitants of a medieval castle beyond the royalty and key characters. Having read dozens of series where things are paced at a breakneck speed and the main characters jump from one huge set piece to another, I adored spending time in one place where the intrigue comes from kings and peasants alike.
I think a good comparison is how The Shire feels in Lord of the Rings. While Farseer isn't exactly cozy, it feels like the kind of fantasy where you can take your time and not mind watching things unfold at their own pace.
And that's not to say there are epic scenes all throughout the Farseer trilogy. They most definitely are, but she manages to make the smaller, interpersonal battles feel equally as grand and high stakes as the ones that might decide the outcome of the kingdom.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who might be looking for a unique style of fantasy that's character driven and incredibly logical in its approach.
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Dungeon Crawler Carl works for me
I kinda accidentally fell into reading litrpg because I didn't know the market had changed toward them. Much like Isekai in anime, though, the whole fantasy of, "I got the hax ability that trivializes all the conflict in the story," has never worked for me. And what works less is reading/hearing a character stare at stat menus and grind for several chapters at a time.
It's literally why I don't like playing MMORPGs, and though I get that this is the exact flavor people are looking for, I have never been so done with a genre that fast.
Some people somewhere on this site suggested DCC when I mentioned this feeling before. I was reticent, between the genre and the slant toward comedy, but despite my doubts, Dungeon Crawler Carl actually works.
It feels like the first time when the gaming system isn't just for the minmaxxers, but sort of like how magic systems work in other stories. We're not pausing to stack our levels, they're going up as the story goes and when Carl does go off to grind, it's mentioned, but we're not locked into it. The system still matters, but it's not number porn, and it helps the comedy that the system is actually alive.
It helps that the characters are alive too. Too many of these stories just ignore the rest of their casts, or offer them the concession of, "You can be good, but not as good and uber cool as the super OP MC!" It's like letting the story waste my time, because nothing will actually happen until the super OP MC arrives to move the story along. Carl is still our protagonist, but the other characters feel like they're changing stuff about the world too, and it feels good when we catch up with the supporting cast, if there's a reason to feel good.
There's gravity to the other names that come up, not just in that, "I bet this fight will be hype!" way but in that, "What will actually happen when Carl's group meets them?"
I like this story. And when I catch up with it, I think I'm going to miss reading a LitRPG that feels this alive.
But what's the vibe out there? Are there other LitRPGs with this sort of "character-first" writing? Or, have I just found the (albeit popular) niche in the niche?
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TheReadingStray.com
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Review: The Lamb - Lucy Rose
Cannibalism ✓ Depressing ✓ Folktale ✓ Heart-Wrenching ✓ Motherhood ✓ Thought-Provoking ✓
“Men are forever thought of as boys. But girls? Once we’re mamas or once we’re ripe, we can never be girls again. Not in their eyes. But we are always girls and daughters, underneath. Always.”
Rating
Plot ★★★★☆
Characters ★★★★★
Creep Factor ★★☆☆☆
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Writing Style ★★★★★
Favourite Character
Margot
My thoughts while reading it
The Lamb did not just touch my heart, it ate it. And in that lies the truth of this novel. It devours you, takes you apart, tastes every emotion you have and leaves behind only the pieces you never dared to hide. Like a cannibal that does not eat the body but the soul. I have rarely read a book that entered me so deeply that I felt it chewing on my thoughts, my fears and my questions about love, motherhood and human dependence. This book is not horror in the traditional sense. It is horror in the form of emotional truths. It is an ancient folktale pulled into the present, wrapped in blood and longing. A story that feels as if it was once whispered around a fire, yet cuts painfully close to modern life. A fairy tale that writes itself into your blood.
When a book makes you ask yourself what motherly love even is, whether it is a natural instinct or sometimes simply a duty or maybe a way to stabilize your own sense of worth, then you know it will never let you go. These are exactly the questions The Lamb stirred in me. I could not help but pause and wonder whether love is always something pure or whether it is in truth much more often a craving. A need. A hunger. A hole that must be filled with something, anything. The cannibalism that many initially see as the central horror element is in truth only the tool Lucy Rose uses to dissect love with brutally honest precision.
Cannibalism in this story is not presented as a wild or desperate act but as something the mother plans and performs with unsettling intention. She does not simply kill strangers who wander too close to the cabin. She brings them in herself. She softens her voice, offers warmth, lets them sit by the fire. She gives them wine, kindness, a sense of safety. And she does it deliberately, because she believes that people taste better when they feel calm, cared for, even special. Margot watches this from the sidelines, not with shock but with the quiet acceptance of someone who has never known another version of life. She learns early that a smile from her mother can be part of a trap, that hospitality is only the first step of a ritual. And once the door closes, everything shifts. What follows is methodical. Practical. Bodies become food. Meat is cut, cooked, chewed. The book describes this plainly, almost casually, mirroring the way Margot has learned to see it. Cannibalism is not the core horror of The Lamb but the system that sustains the household, a daily practice meant to satisfy a hunger that goes far beyond the physical.
And all of this unfolds in a setting so filthy, raw, and unpleasantly real that you can almost smell the stale air inside the cabin. Yet beneath the grime and decay, there is something deeply folkloric about it, as if this place belongs to an old story where the forest watches, the walls remember, and hunger becomes a living thing. This is not a romantically decaying fairy tale house, but a space where life itself seems to rot. The kitchen is sticky with old grease, the floor layered with dirt, the bathroom drain clogged with dark, repulsive hairs clinging to the grate. The walls are stained, the mattresses thin, and the stench of damp clothes, blood, and physicality lingers in every scene. A thousand small details tighten your throat. The dull knife that never becomes clean. The bowls crusted with scraps. The water that never runs clear. The crumbs that never disappear. The cold seeping through the wood. This cabin is not just a setting. It is the physical expression of a decaying inner
murdered so he can buy sex slaves or they sell him sex slaves.
Female characters: They exist to be sex slaves and call him amazing. They have no personality besides this, literally none. Did they have lives before they got sold into slavery? Friends, family, goals? Never comes up.
How’s the anime adaptation: Probably a way better experience than the books, because I assume they cut out the many paragraphs of internal monologue as the main character figures out the best stat allocations to use to get discounts and other nonsense like that.
How does it end: I couldn’t finish this one. 13 books.
Dishonorable Mentions
Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon – I read it but I can’t remember it.
Spice and Wolf – didn’t interest me, but many people love it.
Buck Naked in Another World – It’s impressive how boring this is.
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life! – Every over-used trope ever.
My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World – The author knows less than nothing about blacksmithing.
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but I did like seeing the continuous progression of the main character on his grind.
Male characters: A few, but shallow.
Female characters: Several, but shallow.
How’s the anime adaptation: Coming in January!
How does it end: Ongoing, 11 books are out but I only read to book 8 so far.
The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat
The Premise: John Wick gets Isekaied for the purpose of killing the hero. The goddess who summons him knows the hero will go insane after defeating the demon lord and destroy the world, so only the finest assassin to ever live could defeat the hero and save the world.
Main Character: Cold and calculating, completely without morals and focused only on his goal. He will exploit, deceive, or kill whoever he needs to. Despite this he’s not unlikable, and even discovers he has the ability to love.
The good: The main character invents new types of magic and uses it in clever ways. Every step of the way he’s preparing for the ultimate conflict that he knows is coming.
The bad: A lot of telling and not showing. For instance, when he manipulates a girl to be emotionally dependent on him it’s described by saying he manipulates her instead of anything specific he did.
Best story moment: You know the theoretical space weapon that’s basically giant tungsten rods that would be dropped from high orbit and land with the force of a nuclear explosion? The main character figures out how to do that with his magic. He also invents magic sniper rifles because he’s basically John Wick.
Male characters: He has a significant relationship with his father, which is pretty uncommon for Isekai stories.
Female characters: A harem, pretty much, but made up of girls he’s exploiting in his quest to kill the hero. He surprises himself by actually falling for one of them.
How’s the anime adaptation: Pretty good! It needs a season 2, which has been announced. But it’s been a while.
How does it end: I’ve read every book except the last one, so I don’t know yet. 7 books.
The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt
The Premise: A lazy genius becomes ruler of a nation, but he would rather sell it. Technically a fantasy and not an Isekai, but extremely similar to most of the books on this list.
Main Character: He’s smart, but frequently not smart enough to keep his nation out of trouble.
The good: I enjoyed the dichotomy of the main character being a genius but also one who makes mistakes, while maintaining a public image completely different from his real personality.
The bad: It was amusing but not particularly deep.
Best story moment: There’s a moment where the main character negotiates with someone, and in order to get a better deal he tries to present himself like he’s in complete command of the situation despite being desperate. His opponent believes his pretense so completely that he decides the main character would never accept any deal, and so he ends the negotiation.
Male characters: A few, but pretty shallow.
Female characters: Same.
How’s the anime adaptation: People liked it, I think they only adapted the first book or so.
How does it end: I only read book 1. There are 12.
I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!
The Premise: A kid gets Isekaied to a sci-fi world where he’s the ruler of a whole system. He wants to be evil but accidentally ends up being kind. People try to exploit him but accidentally help him.
Main Character: Regular kid. He sees himself as evil but he’s too nice to actually do anything too mean to anyone, for instance he wants to tax his people but decides he must first get them out of poverty.
The good: It’s fun watching him be a benevolent leader by accident on his quest to be cruel and heartless. Also, the god that Isekaied him actually wanted to give him a life of misery and is instead tortured by the gratitude he ends up receiving.
The bad: After the main premise plays out the story repeats
she lays dying she thinks about her slime, the only animal she was able to tame. She keeps it in a bag at her waist and if she dies it will die trapped in the bag, so she struggles to set it free with the last of her strength. She doesn’t die, of course, but the scene hits so hard because as an animal lover myself it felt so real to me. The anime version of the scene actually ruins it, it’s better in the book.
Male characters: There are several, but they’re mostly defined by their relation to the main character and what they can do for her. The story revolves around the girl building a new family after her first rejected her, so the more important characters do get more depth.
Female characters: She meets some good and some evil female characters, usually well-written.
How’s the anime adaptation: super low budget, but it’s ok.
How does it end: I only read the first 4 books, there are 11 out.
Another World Survival
The Premise: A whole school gets Isekaied to a dangerous fantasy world with strong RPG mechanics they must master to not get brutally massacred.
Main Character: A guy who was horrifically bullied by everyone at the school. He decides to focus on support magic so that he can support himself and not need anyone else. Obviously, he ends up needing to team up with the other survivors.
The good: It’s dark and deadly, many MANY characters die. There’s a clear struggle the main character goes through to try to save as many lives as he can as the bodies pile up. He also struggles with serious traumas as a result of the bullying he experienced.
The bad: It’s an obvious power fantasy, even if the main character is faced with a serious challenge, and the harem has the flimsiest of justifications.
Best story moment: So in this world people level up after getting XP from killing monsters, and upon leveling up they and their party are taken to a room that exists outside of time and space to choose how to spend their points. They are returned to the exact time and place where they left. This becomes important when the main guy, who trusts no one, has partied up with a girl and they are overwhelmed by monsters and have to run away from people they were trying to save, abandoning them. Only the girl refuses to abandon them. She kills a monster and levels up, and they have this moment together in the level up room where she admits that when they leave she is seconds away from death, surrounded by monsters she can’t defeat. The main guy realizes he’s finally met a decent trustworthy person, that they do exist, and now she’s going to die.
Male characters: Literally just one and he’s the primary villain.
Female characters: Usually pretty shallow, pointless harem, but there’s lots of variety of personalities and roles in the group with some well-developed characters.
How’s the anime adaptation: None, but there’s a manga.
How does it end: I stopped reading when the main plot resolves and transitions to a “save the world” premise, a few books in. There are 9 books out.
Loner Life in Another World
The Premise: A class gets Isekaied together and choose their cheat skills from a list, but the one loner who goes last sees there are no good skills left to choose from. So the god who summoned him gives him all of the remaining, apparently useless skills.
Main Character: The densest guy to ever live, but who can kind of do anything because he’s too dense to know he can’t.
The good: It’s kind of funny, and the nonsense skills the main character gets end up doing some fun things. He uses his skills in clever ways.
The bad: People yell at the main character constantly, complaining that he’s being stupid or forgetting their names. Entire paragraphs of extremely repetitive complaints. It gets old.
Best story moment: The main character agrees to help a group of girls who were scared of the fantasy world, which activates his Servitude skill. It turns out that skill kind of forces the people he’s serving to follow him and obey his commands, and next
I've read hundreds of Isekai light novels and I have Opinions.
Over the last few years I’ve read hundreds of Isekai fantasy novels, some of which were adapted into anime series with actual budgets and a lot of fans, and boy do I have opinions. Some Isekais are good, some are terrible, and the genre as a whole has some serious issues but also some fantastic stories and potential for more.
Here are a few of the most common problems I see: They’re frequently power fantasies, where the main character gets whatever they want, faces no struggles, has no reason to change, and the story devolves into watching someone eat tasty food, bang the hottest girls, and have everyone call him “awesome.”
For this reason the best Isekai stories usually have a protagonist who starts weak and must overcome serious trials. Another good test is if the main character, if male, has any significant male friendships. If the entire cast is hot girls then the story will be weak. No hate for spicy scenes, I just like at least a little depth and originality in my brain candy books.
I’ve categorized my thoughts on these series, and listed them here roughly in order of my most to least favorite. Buckle up, this is a long one.
Full Clearing Another World Under a Goddess with Zero Believers
The Premise: My personal favorite. A whole class gets Isekaied together after they freeze to death following a bus crash. They’re given a variety of random skills in the new world and then recruited by various gods. A boy whose only skill is weak water magic is unwanted by any of the gods, except for a goddess who has no other followers, is trapped in the final dungeon, and has been feared for a thousand years.
Main Character: His water magic is so weak his best move is to shoot ice needles at monsters’ eyes or lure them to a lake so he can use it to drown them. He becomes stronger as he learns how to work around his weaknesses and trains his few skills harder than anyone else.
The good: The furthest thing from a power fantasy at first, you see the main character struggle and overcome until he’s genuinely a force to be reckoned with. Progression fantasy at its finest, comparable to a series like Cradle.
The bad: The main driving force of the story is the goal to free the goddess in the final dungeon, but that goal is so far away.
Best story moment: The main character sees another party get attacked by a monster they can’t defeat, and as they run they try to sacrifice one of the girls so the others can get away. He steps in to save her and barely succeeds and she becomes his first friend. There’s this isle of misfits theme in the story I really liked as this unwanted guy, following an unwanted goddess, saves a girl who was the least liked of her former party and they all band together to start a found family.
Male characters: So many! The boy had some genuine friends in his class and they join up with him sometimes, even his fat friend with merchant skills finds a clever way to use them in a fight. All the male characters are treated with the same depth and significance as the female characters.
Female characters: Usually quite realistic, with their own goals, traumas, and unique personalities. There’s a harem but all the relationships are unique and realistic.
How’s the anime adaptation: None, but it has a manga.
How does it end: Ongoing, currently 12 books (I’ve read all of them). The next book is supposed to be the last!
So I’m a Spider, So What
The Premise: A class explodes and gets Isekaied together but some of them aren’t reborn as humans, including one girl who find herself a monster spider alone in a dangerous labyrinth.
Main Character: Shy and quiet on the outside, extremely opinionated on the inside. She’s a gamer girl who decides to power level and evolve in order to survive the massive dungeon where she lives.
The good: Much of the story is seeing this girl fight her way through the labyrinth, level up her skills, encounter new monsters, and become stronger. There’s this additional
r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - December 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
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This thread is to be used for recommendation requests or simple questions that are small/general enough that they won’t spark a full thread of discussion.
Check out [r/Fantasy](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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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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by twelve kings -- cruel, ruthless, powerful, and immortal. With their army of Silver Spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert. There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule.
Or so it seems, until Çeda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings' laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha'ir. What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings' mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage. Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings' power...if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don't find her first.
After the poll is complete, I will lead the discussion for the chosen book next month. Head on over to Goodreads to vote in the poll.
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Looking for Urban Fantasy Books
As the title says, I'm looking for fantasy books, be it individual ones or series, that take place in hopefully the modern day, similar to Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles or "The Mythos Universe" as I like to call Rick Riordan's works.
My hopes for books/series are:
More action/adventure focused over romance (romance is still okay, just not the main focus)
Has a diverse cast (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, etc.)
Has a prominent shapeshifter character (preferably one that can shift into multiple things, not just an animal. Like Alex Fierro from Riordan's Magnus Chase series.)
Takes place in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon preferred)
The most important thing for me is the first listed item, with the second item being decently important and the last two being the least important. If you think there are good action/adventure books/series but don't have the other three things, feel free to suggest those anyways.
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High fantasy books with a good level of worldbuilding, history, and lore closer to the level of lord of the rings?
Asking on my brother's behalf, but he just watched the hobbit and lord of the rings extended versions with me and I kept on dropping backstories and lore for random characters and locations which he thought was super cool, that a literary work would have so much detailed worldbuilding/history.
He's reading the hobbit now for fun, but he wants a high fantasy series that is a little bit more recent/modern just because he finds the language style of LotR a bit foreign if that makes any sense, and because he feels he already has a general idea of how the plot of the books of LotR will play out thanks to the movies and all the youtube videos he's watched about LotR. So we're looking for slightly more recent fantasy books with a good amount of world building, history, development, and of course, a good story to tell as well.
He's a huge fan of the dark fantasy vibes if his favorite videogames are anything to go by (bloodborne, elden ring, etc) but that's not a must-have. ASOIAF came to mind but I was wanting to recommend something completed and less explicit.
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Book Review-"Little Thieves" by Margaret Owen, or, "I find your lack of patriarchy&acceptance of queer marriage unconvincing"
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen is a retelling of the fairy tale "The Goose girl", where the maidservant of a princess steals her mistress' identity when she's on the way to her wedding.
The protagonist is Vanja Schmidt, who was abandoned by her mother who consider her "unlucky" for being the 13th daughter of a 13th daughter, and taken in as a goddaughter by the goddesses Death and Fortune. On her 7th year she is left in the human world because the realm of her godmothers can't sustain a mortal child any longer, and is told that the price for their care is to choose between one of them as their godmother, something she would rather not.
Vanja becomes a servant in the von falbirg castle, serving as a maidservant to princess Gisele. On the travel to the castle of Gisele's future husband Adalbert, Vanja steals Gisele's identity by taking her magical necklace which allows her to assume her appearance. While the real Gisele is left a penniless nobody, Vanja uses the necklace to steal from nobility by switching between the appearance of Gisele and her maid.
Overall, the book was an enjoyable read, but there's a casual mention of queer acceptance which I don't find convincing and contradicts earlier established worldbuilding, and also hurts the message its trying to portray: to sum it up, the problem with the worldbuilding is that it presents class as the only systemic oppression, even though it clashes with other wb details.
After Vanja realizes that Gisele likes girls, she states in her monologue that this means her parents will have to look for noble girls "whose parents initially thought they were boys". So in other worlds, in this society trans people are accepted.
Except this line clashes with earlier pre-established information; It was stated that "may-december romances" arent uncommon among the nobility, like Gisele many young girls among the nobility are married off to much older partners because marriage for the upper classes were transactional affairs, plus Gisele's parents married her off to a man they knew was a POS.
So there's no way they would prioritize Gisele's feelings when there's wealth and alliances to be gained, especially since their family has been impoverished for a while.
I think this is one of the cases where an author makes a world where there's no gender roles and same-sex marriages are normalized, but doesnt put in the work to justify it, and doesnt think how it interacts with hereditary monarchies and class systems.
Historically, sexual divisions of labor and attitudes towards sex were based on the reality of who could give get pregnant and give birth, which would also be true for a low-tech setting with similar limitations. The world of Little Thieves is different from our own, and I can believe that gender roles and sexual attitudes are different if only it was communicated in the books the reason why.
The fact that Gisele's marital partner has to be AMAB tells us that there are no magic spells that allow for same-sex individuals to have children together, and since inheritance is based on bloodline which doesnt allow for adopting random kids off the street, I highly doubt Gisele's parents would take the trouble of looking for spouses among noble trans girls instead of prioritizing their family's economic interests.
The book makes a point that girls like Gisele are victims of an unjust system and had to become hardened and cruel to survive, unlike the men in power who prey on them; Gisele's arranged husband Adalbert von Reigenbach is the main antagonist of the story, and on his visit to von Falbirg he sexually assaulted Vanja, and the reason the von Falbirgs sent Vanja to accompany Gisele to Adalbert's estate was to be his sexual outlet.
So to sum it up, it feels like the author wanted her world to be progressive in terms of everything except class, but doesnt connect the dots of how a class system where status is hereditary would affect how marriage would
Caveman / stone age fantasy novels?
Looking for fantasy (and I suppose sci-fi) novels set during or just after the stone age of whatever world they're in.
Doesn't need to be pre-language, but I want nomadic tribes of humans, extremely low tech, and no cities. Or if there is a city, it's like "HOLY FUCK, A FULL THOUSAND PEOPLE LIVE HERE!"
Got anything?
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Best “Can’t Put It Down” fantasy series to gift a 15-year-old boy who’s fallen out of reading?
My baby brother used to read fantasy when he was a kid, but hasn't been reading a lot lately. Frankly he's been on social media a lot and I think it's been a bit toxic for him and I'd like to encourage his reading again and just came up with the idea to get him a small set to get him into something different that will take his attention away from that a bit. So something preferably really addicting/immersive from the start. I haven't read it yet but, I was thinking A Wheel of Time? Any better ideas?
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Tales of a Recovered Slumper.... (and thanks for BINGO)
In 2020, I moved countries and entered a profound reading slump. I went from reading 2 to 3 fantasy books a month to reading 2 to 3 books a year, with some years being literally 0. It was terrible. I just couldn't get into anything and kept DNF'ing books with no real reason.
This year, I decided to make a concerted attempt to haul myself out of the slump. And I was at least partially successfully (I've read 9 books this year, nowhere near where I was, but progress!).
So I thought I'd make this post in case anyone else is suffering a slump and struggling to get rid of it. Obviously, YMMV, this is what worked for me and might not work for you at all.
1. Give books more time. Used to be that I'd start a book and then just tear straight into it and finish it in a week or two. But these days, I struggle to get into any book. I don't know why, even when the hook is good, I have to make the time to read the first few chapters. Heck, the Paksinorra books took me to the middle of book 2, >!where she suffers from PTSD and goes homeless !<to really get into it! I tackled Promise of Blood for the second time after DNFing it during the worst of the slump and it took me till >!Tamas getting kidnapped!< to really get hooked, about halfway through. And Promise of Blood opens on a revolution for heaven's sake, you don't get much hookier than that! But deep in the slump, everything bored me for absolutely no reason at all. Giving myself time for the book to hook me, making time each day to read a chapter got me going with all the books this year and I look foreword to turning 9 into 12 next year and reading a book a month.
2. Give yourself grace. I've got bunches of real world stress, real life chores, stuff that needs to get done, nonfiction reading I have to get to. Sometimes it's just not possible to read all through the night the way I used to. And that's okay. It doesn't mean the book sucks that I can put it down, it just means I'm a grown-ass adult (sadly) with a lot of demands on my time. Sometimes, reading has to wait.
3. Resist the urge to re-read. I distracted myself from my lack of reading new books by rereading a few favorites because I didn't need to focus to read them. This was a mistake since it just ate into my precious reading time. Saying firmly that I wouldn't reread anything this year really helped me.
4. Cut social media. Man a lot of time vanished into nonsense social media. I've cut way down on everything except youtube which I'm still a little addicted to, but I'm working on it. Reading is way more entertaining and I feel way better after reading than I do after watching a video or scrolling 5 reels.
5. Play BINGO! I committed to at least trying to fil 1 row of my bingo card for this community this year and I actually got through it, so now I feel like I accomplished something and I had something of a goal to help me get started on reading again. So thank you to everyone who organizes Fantasy Bingo, you really helped me at least haul myself out of this slump
I think that's it. If you're in a slump, I hope this helps :)
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Wizard of Earthsea's influence
I recently read the Wizard of Earthsea, and the question I have is, how has the Wizard of Earthsea influenced this or other genres? I have heard a lot about how influential it is, and there are certain tropes (teenage boy goes to wizarding school or teenage boy has a close relationship with an animal). But I am quite new to fantasy, so I don't know this genre well enough to recognise the influences of this book.
Edited the typos.
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life, the heart of a dark legend where desperation and routine coexist.
The mother figure embodies this hunger in a way that shocked me and unsettled me deeply. And I want to be very clear: she is a terrible mother. Her actions are cruel, selfish and inexcusable. I do not idealize her. But The Lamb does not try to explain her away either. Instead, it shows something far more disturbing. That people are often driven by their own needs, their own ego, their own sense of entitlement. Not every cruelty has a tragic origin. Sometimes it simply grows quietly, unchecked, until it consumes everything around it. The mother is not meant to be understood or forgiven. She is meant to be seen. I have rarely read a mother character who felt so raw, so ugly, so human. Her love for Margot is not gentle or unconditional. It is fragmented, desperate, transactional. The taboo of motherhood is cut open here like meat on a board. She does not love her child enough or she loves her in the wrong way or only as long as Margot gives her something in return. She is overwhelmed, lonely, frustrated and everything she cannot give her daughter she seeks elsewhere. The most painful truth is that Margot is never enough for her.
And yet, Margot remains the emotional center of this story. It is fascinating how she manages to preserve a quiet sense of normality within herself despite everything that surrounds her. Despite blood, hunger, neglect and a mother oscillating between control and need, Margot remains remarkably clear and grounded. She does not collapse. She does not disappear into the chaos. There is a core of humanity inside her that refuses to be consumed. She reflects everyone who grew up in toxic or destructive environments and still tried to become something gentler. A child raised in such a world can still dream, hope, love, and build a moral compass of her own. Her strength is quiet, but it shines through every page.
One character who affected me deeply was the bus driver, a figure I initially mistrusted. Because the book is so grotesque, I assumed he would be another threat, another corrupted presence. Instead, he became the only genuinely kind person in Margot’s life. The only one who gives her warmth without expecting anything in return. The closest thing to family she ever has. His presence stirred something personal in me. I remembered sitting on a bus as a child, overwhelmed, and being noticed by a bus driver who spoke to me kindly and made me feel safe. Sometimes it is strangers who offer us our first experience of real humanity.
In terms of language, The Lamb is relentless. Lucy Rose writes with a voice that is sharp and tender at the same time. Her prose is poetic, visceral and brutally honest. The horror is never there just to shock. Every scene has purpose. Every description matters. This is not a book you simply read. You experience it. You taste the words. You smell them. You feel them. And sometimes you want to look away, but you cannot.
What unsettled me most is the emotional honesty that runs through every line. This book does not just question motherhood, but love itself. The desire to be accepted. The fear of emptiness. The question of whether love is ever selfless, or whether it is often just a way to keep ourselves from falling apart. The Lamb shows love not as salvation, but as hunger. As need. As consumption. Something that can comfort and destroy at the same time.
For me, The Lamb is a masterpiece. A modern folktale with deep roots in myth and teeth sunk firmly into the present. A book that does not rely on cheap shocks, but on psychological depth, emotional brutality, and literary power. It is dark, grotesque, poetic, and unforgettable.
In the end, The Lamb leaves you with a single, devastating truth: the most dangerous form of cannibalism is not eating flesh, but feeding on love until there is nothing left of the person being consumed.
Reading Recommendation? ✓
Favourite? ✓
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First person "medieval" fantasy?
Anybody have any recommendations for first person fantasy in a medieval setting?
I've read all Hobbs Fitz books already and I prefer books that aren't too dark and depressing.
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itself.
Best story moment: The main character learns swordsmanship from a fraud, who fakes the classic super-fast anime katana slash. Only he learns it for real, and then becomes an absolute menace on the battlefield with his gundam-type mech.
Male characters: Pretty much just the evil god.
Female characters: A few, but they’re shallow. He saves the life of a super powerful girl who then dedicates herself to him and joins his army. Then he saves the life of another super powerful girl who dedicates herself to him and joins his army. Then I stopped reading.
How’s the anime adaptation: Came out this year, probably on par with the quality of the novels. So, not great.
How does it end: Does it end? I stopped when he went to like the third school with the exact same plot.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
The Premise: A regular guy gets Isekaied and uses his modern knowledge to pull a kingdom back from the brink of ruin.
Main Character: Regular dude. He eventually gets puppeteering magic.
The good: I liked seeing a normal guy with the primary power of having a modern education achieve great things, and a lot of the plot revolves around him building up his family.
The bad: It’s so simple and predictable. Every challenge he faces has obvious solutions that always work out exactly as he hopes they will.
Best story moment: He invents TV shows.
Male characters: A few shallow characters.
Female characters: Several, still shallow characters.
How’s the anime adaptation: Better than the books, actually, and ends at a good enough point.
How does it end: I couldn’t keep reading, it was so bland. 19 novels and ongoing.
Lazy Dungeon Master
The Premise: A guy finds himself a dungeon master in a fantasy world, and must keep his dungeon from being conquered so he can sleep.
Main Character: Wants to sleep. Likes feet.
The good: The dungeon mechanics are really interesting. He finds clever ways to game the system and improve his dungeon.
The bad: Did I mention he likes feet? This gets especially weird when he starts sleeping with a child every night, one who is fully aware that he’s into her feet. She’s like 10.
Best story moment: A truly horrible guy enters his dungeon who is impossible to kill, he can completely restore his health, energy, even his mental state instantaneously any time he wants to. So he’s lured to a part of the dungeon where a wall was destroyed, and the main character restores the wall, trapping this guy inside it as it reforms. His body merges with the stone wall and he would die almost immediately except he keeps refreshing his health endlessly. Forever.
Male characters: Pretty much bland background guys or villains.
Female characters: A few interesting ones. He summons a female vampire with an attack power of 0 so she’s unable to harm anything, ever, and she struggles with feelings of being useless because she can’t hurt anyone.
How’s the anime adaptation: No anime, just a manga.
How does it end: No idea, it got creepier and creepier until I stopped reading. There are 17 books so far.
Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World
The Premise: A guy gets Isekaied and decides the only purpose in life is to collect sex slaves.
Main Character: Gamer guy who likes to figure out how to exploit game mechanics, which is handy because his new world depends on them, and who wants to bang every hot virgin sex slave he sees.
The good: I have a hard time finding anything good about this story.
The bad: EVERYTHING. This is the quintessential shameless “wouldn’t it be awesome to own sex slaves” self-insert story with no redeeming qualities.
Best story moment: The main character murders a bunch of bandits in their sleep in order to get the last of the money he needs to buy his first sex slave. This bothers him and makes him question his morals, until he straight up says he’s not going to worry about morals anymore and then just doesn’t.
Male characters: They exist to get
thing he knows these scared teenage girls are viciously gutting monsters while he’s helping them level grind to become stronger.
Male characters: Nerds, jocks, some friends some enemies. The full range. But they don’t get names because he can’t remember names anyway.
Female characters: They have an acceptable level of character depth, way more than the main character ever notices.
How’s the anime adaptation: Low budget, poorly animated and acted.
How does it end: Ongoing, 13 out so far.
Ecstas Online
The Premise: A class have their consciousnesses sent into a game world but there’s a problem with the technology, and if they attempt to leave the game before the bug is fixed they will die.
Main Character: The class outcast, he is the only one of them who knows they can’t leave the game. He’s also in the body of the game’s demon lord, the final boss, and the class wants to kill him to end the game. They respawn if they die, but he won’t. Also, the game is bugged so he has no spells except the ones from the hidden 18+ game mode.
The good: The story is surprisingly fantastic. There are real stakes, and it actually kind of makes sense why the main character is forced to use kinky spells on his classmates as he attempts to save their lives.
The bad: The only version of the book available in English is a really REALLY bad translation.
Best story moment: There’s a girl who starts to become aroused by the feeling of getting killed. It’s that kind of book.
Male characters: A few, but they’re shallow.
Female characters: A variety, and they’re pretty deep and realistic despite the obviously kinky premise.
How’s the anime adaptation: None.
How does it end: It gets a serious ending. There’s an emotional climax, the main character ends up actually choosing a girl, and it’s probably not who you’d guess. 8 books.
Survival in Another World with My Mistress
The Premise: A guy is Isekaied to a fantasy world and immediately made the slave of a dominant dark elf woman.
Main Character: He has Minecraft magic, in a world that otherwise operates on logic and physics. So his floating houses and torches that never go out are super weird and useful to them.
The good: Minecraft magic is something different, as is the main character being the sex slave instead of the other way around. But he quickly becomes a respected member of the community.
The bad: You do just kind of have to go with the premise. Pretend he consented.
Best story moment: He hides a bunch of dynamite cubes inside of a fake city and then detonates them when an enemy army camps there. It turns out that a cube of dynamite has a lot of explosive power, and he used a lot of them. The few that escape have severe PTSD from seeing their friends blown to pieces in front of them, with the others eaten by monsters who were attracted by the noise.
Male characters: The community is mostly devoid of males because of past conflicts, so there are few guys around but they do have some camaraderie between them.
Female characters: Tons of all varieties, including some with real depth.
How’s the anime adaptation: None, just a manga.
How does it end: Ongoing, 8 volumes so far.
Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing
The Premise: A gamer who wants a challenge gets Isekaied to a game world with RPG mechanics where he must play on the highest difficulty, Hell Mode. Everything is harder for him, but he compensates with hard work and exploiting game mechanics.
Main Character: Born to a low class family with no money or resources, he masters his summoner class skills and makes a name for himself, eventually becoming quite powerful.
The good: The main character has serious struggles he must overcome, it’s right there in the premise.
The bad: It’s mostly devoid of real emotional moments, the main fun is seeing what clever thing the main character will do next.
Best story moment: I can’t remember any one striking moment
story of the other kids finding each other across the world and discovering they’re not alone. And the world building is surprisingly deep, as the story progresses more and more details about what’s really going on get revealed.
The bad: Most of the story seems well-planned out, except for the very ending. Each of the last few books seems to be building to a different ending because the author clearly had no idea how to end it. Also, and I can’t emphasize enough how much this annoyed me, but every single sentence is its own paragraph. Every. Single. Sentence.
Best story moment: The revenge monkey fight was absolutely epic. It begins when the spider girl kills a monster monkey which alerts the horde, and it turns out these monkeys will stop at nothing to kill whoever kills one of them. So for hours, maybe days, the main character has to fight against this horde of monsters and the only way it could end is with her dead or their entire civilization ended.
Male characters: Several deep characters, with complex personalities and unique and sometimes opposing goals.
Female characters: Just as deep as the male characters. But for the first several books there’s pretty much the main girl as the only character.
How’s the anime adaptation: It has its fans, but it’s not as good as the books. The first season breezes through the first half of the book series, the next season would likely finish it. It skips a LOT.
How does it end: As more and more gets revealed the plot builds to the point where it’s almost impossible for everything to get wrapped up neatly, but somehow it does. The final ending is a little abrupt but overall I’d say it’s solid. 16 books.
Dungeon Dive – Aim for the Deepest Level
The Premise: A guy gets Isekaied and believes if he reaches the deepest level of the dungeon he can go back home to his dying sister who needs him.
Main Character: Sword fighter with spatial awareness magic, which is pretty unique.
The good: The story feels very realistic, and the action scenes are incredible. There are some exciting moments where characters get into serious trouble and don’t come out unscathed. It’s almost grimdark but it’s never dark just for the sake of being dark.
The bad: I don’t know if the author has an actual plan for where the plot is going.
Best story moment: The main character is fighting an enemy he has no hope of defeating, so he casts spells until he’s out of mana. Then he casts spells using his health as fuel, until he’s on the verge of death. Then he casts spells that burn up his memories as fuel. . .
Male characters: There are a few, and they’re treated like real characters.
Female characters: There’s a variety of them and they have real personalities. The characters are generally quite deep and realistic.
How’s the anime adaptation: None, but at least there’s a manga.
How does it end: I stopped reading a few books in when the main character gets his memories altered by a villain to forget they are enemies. I kept waiting for him to figure out he was under the villain’s spell and by the end of the book it still hadn’t happened, so I stopped there. There are 11 books.
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash
The Premise: A young girl is exiled from her community and forced to live off of trash, running from people who want to kill or kidnap her and with no skills other than the weakest possible animal tamer skill.
Main Character: She starts the series at 5 years old and remains pretty young through most of it. She is a reincarnation of someone from the modern world but her memories are distant, just enough to help her through her hardest moments.
The good: The story is heartbreaking but there is so much hope. Wow, this one made me cry.
The bad: The plot kind of resolves after a few books and then the story meanders. Maybe it picks a new direction for the story but this was where I stopped reading.
Best story moment: There’s a scene early on where the main girl gets mortally wounded. As
r/Fantasy Monday Show and Tell Thread - Show Off Your Pics, Videos, Music, and More - December 22, 2025
This is the weekly r/Fantasy Show and Tell thread - the place to post all your cool spec fic related pics, artwork, and crafts. Whether it's your latest book haul, a cross stitch of your favorite character, a cosplay photo, or cool SFF related music, it all goes here. You can even post about projects you'd like to start but haven't yet.
The only craft not allowed here is writing which can instead be posted in our Writing Wednesday threads. If two days is too long to wait though, you can always try r/fantasywriters right now but please check their sub rules before posting.
Don't forget, there's also r/bookshelf and r/bookhaul you can crosspost your book pics to those subs as well.
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Book reccomendations for my brother
I am looking to find a book for my brother's 12th birthday but I would prefer for it to be something that isn't a series (as then I can get an equal gift for his twin brother without dropping a bomb).
He is currently reading the Lord of the Rings series and has enjoyed The Ickabog and more fantasy/advanture books, I have been searching everywhere for books that he might like but I really can't find anything that he would enjoy.
(I have tried to get him to read books like The Hunger Games and Maze Runner but he is a scaredy cat so poreferably something not 'scary' according to a 12 year old.
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Vote for the January Goodreads Book of the Month - Deserts!
Hi everyone,
Let's kick 2026 off right, with a good book (as if there is any other way). It's time to vote for the January 2026 Book of the Month. The poll is open until December 26, 2025 11:59PM PST. If you are not a member of our r/Fantasy Goodreads Group, you will need to join. You can connect with more r/Fantasy members and check out what they are reading!
Also, be sure to check out this year's 2025 Bingo card.
This month's theme is Deserts, so stock up on fluids and mount your camels!
# The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud
1931, New Galveston , Mars: Fourteen-year-old Anabelle Crisp sets off through the wastelands of the Strange to find Silas Mundt’s gang who have stolen her mother’s voice, destroyed her father, and left her solely with a need for vengeance.
Since Anabelle’s mother left for Earth to care for her own ailing mother, her days in New Galveston have been spent at school and her nights at her laconic father’s diner with Watson, the family Kitchen Engine and dishwasher as her only companion. When the Silence came, and communication and shipments from Earth to its colonies on Mars stopped, life seemed stuck in foreboding stasis until the night Silas Mundt and his gang attacked.
At once evoking the dreams of an America explored in Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles and the harder realities of frontier life in Charles Portis True Grit , Ballingrud’s novel is haunting in its evocation of Anabelle’s quest for revenge amidst a spent and angry world accompanied by a domestic Engine, a drunken space pilot, and the toughest woman on Mars.
# Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen
Nettie Lonesome lives in a land of hard people and hard ground dusted with sand. She's a half-breed who dresses like a boy, raised by folks who don't call her a slave but use her like one. She knows of nothing else. That is, until the day a stranger attacks her. When nothing, not even a sickle to the eye can stop him, Nettie stabs him through the heart with a chunk of wood and he turns to black sand.
And just like that, Nettie can see.
But her newfound sight is a blessing and a curse. Even if she doesn't understand what's under her own skin, she can sense what everyone else is hiding—at least physically. The world is full of evil, and now she knows the source of all the sand in the desert. Haunted by the spirits, Nettie has no choice but to set out on a quest that might lead her to find her true kin . . . if the monsters along the way don't kill her first.
# Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston
The world is changing. Poison desert eats good farmland. Once-sweet water turns foul. The wind blows sand and sadness across the Empire. To get caught in a storm is death. To live and do nothing is death. There is magic in the world, but good conjure is hard to find.
Djola, righthand man and spymaster of the lord of the Arkhysian Empire, is desperately trying to save his adopted homeland, even in exile.
Awa, a young woman training to be a powerful griot, tests the limits of her knowledge and comes into her own in a world of sorcery, floating cities, kindly beasts, and uncertain men.
Awash in the rhythms of folklore and storytelling and rich with Hairston's characteristic lush prose, Master of Poisons is epic fantasy that will bleed your mind with its turns of phrase and leave you aching for the world it burns into being.
# Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley P Beaulieu
Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial
Looking for a fantasy Christmas movie? Look no further and watch The Green Knight
I watch this movie every year at Christmas time and it only grows in my estimation each time I watch it. Everything about this movie is incredible. The themes, Gawain, the structure, the visuals and audio are all something to behold. Please give it a try. It's a cryptic ambiguous adaptation of the old Arthurian romance of Gawain and the Green Knight and it's criminal that hardly anyone talks about it. It feels so ancient and modern and reminds of of an Eggers movie and like Eggers the atmosphere is unmatched. Dev Patel fans, we got you covered. He gives his best performance of his career here as a wannabe knight struggling to live up to the expectations of those around him.
warning: if you want a fast moving story with lots of action, and lacking ambiguity maybe this isn't for you.
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work and expectations for women, and harms the story as a critique of patriarchal systems.
This might not be completely coherent, but I hope I've made my point.
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Good fantasy for early teens girls…
I am looking for recommendations on good fantasy books (or comics) for 11-year-old girls. Things they have liked include Howl's Moving Castle, Orphans of the Tide, Shapeshifter, and Wereworld. Comics wise, anything by Hatke (Nobody Likes A Goblin), Amulet, and Usagi Yojimbo were all devoured. In general, things that are of interest include:
- Yokai.
- Dragons.
- Shape shifters.
- Witches.
- Archery.
Romance is viewed as boring, so are slow paced stories.
Any good recommendations?
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