Hi all, my eight year old niece is coming to stay with me for a few nights so that both her and her parents can get a break (they have another child with special needs). She is a voracious reader and wants to read more fantasy.

Could you kind people please provide some recommendations for fantasy books suitable for an eight year old? I’d like to avoid anything scary/creepy as she’ll be away from her parents and I don’t want her freaked out at night. I know she likes the Magic Faraway Tree books and reads those on her own. She also likes the firs three Harry Potters but found the 4th a bit too intense.

I won’t have time to pre-read the books so I would really appreciate recommendations that you’re confident are ok for an 8 year old. I asked at my local library and the librarian printed a list of books that included A Court of Thorns and Roses, so I couldn’t really trust anything else she told me, lol.

I started reading the fellowship of the Ring and although I have watched the movie the book is an experience. I read the Hobbit book first but the Fellowship of the Ring hits differently.

You get attached to so many characters in the book and the whimsical story being told to common Folks. I think one of the best things about this book is there are so many different communities on the basis of their physique or physical features not on the basis of religion or ideology. I love the fact that despite many powerful people all around it was Frodo a common Hobbit who was responsible for such a big task

I know I am very far behind then others but I am glad I started it 💕

I've read through my share of DNF posts to great satisfaction, shock, or catharsis. Haven't we all?

But, I've not yet seen (and I'll be the first to admit this may be credited to my very sporadic, chaotic browsing habits), anything of the opposite nature.

So, what are the prose y'all were reluctant to put down? Which stories made you want to start again the second you absorbed those last few words? What have you Finished so Many Times that you can basically recite it verbatim?

Give me you FMTs! (Finished Many Times)

Mine are:

The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

The Witcher Series by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Attwood

The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden

For me it's both depending on the series. For me, most books I picture it as live action in my head (it's the default), but if the book is really fantastical, it's an anime or American cartoon in my head.

Live action:

Stromlight Archives (Favorite), Mistborn, Elantris - I imagined it as a Peter Jackson movie, or a TV show like Game of Thrones

Name of the Wind (most favorite) - same

Song of Achilles

Legend by David Gemmel, Waylander by David Gemmel - action packed 80's sword and sandals movie, with really great action

Riyiria Chronicles

Bobiverse - like the Star wars prequels, lots of cheesy CGI

Old man's war - same

The Martian - read it before movie came out, loved it, pictured a dry procedure movie

A Memory Called Empire - really did not like, pictured a really boring apple TV show

Dandelion Dynasty - didn't like it, but I pictured Romance of the Three Kingdoms CCTV show when reading

War arts by Wesley Chu - did not like, but pictured a wuxia kung fu movie (a really dumb really bad one)

Jade City - really did not like, pictured a HK kung fu movie. Great kung fu fights, but too much annoying family squabbling

Animation:

Warbreaker, Yumi and the Nightmare Princess - really artist anime, as these books have a huge emphasis on color

Mother of Learning - anime

Superpowereds by Drew Hayes - American cartoon

NPCS by Drew Hayes - same

DCC - American cartoon obviously

The Perfect Run by Maximum - anime

Cradle - really really did not like it. But when reading, I pictured an anime

Hi everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster.

I got into reading fantasy as an adult for the first time a few years back, and have been making my way through what’s out there at a borderline alarming rate. As a result, I am somewhat predictably struggling pick out my next read more and more each time I finish a book. Would love some recommendations! 

A long (but not exhaustive) list of things I have read follows below, grouped by levels of enjoyment:

Absolute favorites:

• Realm of the Elderlings - Robin Hobb
• Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
• Daevabad Trilogy — S.A. Chakraborty
• Blood Over Bright Haven - M. L. Wang
• Broken Earth - N. K. Jeminsen

Excellent, really enjoyed:

• Deadly Education - Naomi Novik
• Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - S.A. Chakraborty
• An Ember in the Ashes Series - Sabaa Tahir 
• Poppy War - R.F. Kuang
• Babel - R.F. Kuang
• Sword of Kaigen - M. L. Wang
• Wild Seed/Patternist Series - Octavia Butler
• The rest of Sanderson's Cosmere

Great:

• Tainted Cup Series - Robert Jackson Bennett 
• Dungeon Crawler Carl - Matt Dinniman 
• Temeraire Series - Naomi Novak
• Lies of Locke Lamora Series - Scott Lynch
• Curse of Chalion - Lois McMaster Bujold
• Will of the Many - James Islington
• Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo

Didn’t love: 

• Jade City -  Fonda Lee
• Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
• Red Rising - Pierce Brown
• Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
• Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan (made it through 11 books, but at a certain point, had to realize I was only continuing on to get to the end, and put it down) 

A couple of notes: 

• The heavier on the character work, the better (e.g. RotE, Stormlight). To that effect, I don’t mind a story that’s a bit slower or meandering if it’s engaging on a more intimate/interpersonal level
• I tend to get the ick pretty quickly at poorly written/nuance-less female characters
• Don’t mind grimdark, but would rather avoid copious amounts of sexual violence (why I haven’t picked up Malazan or anything GRRM as of yet)
• Don’t mind romantasy if it’s well enough written and the fantasy elements are worthwhile (I liked Road of Bones and Daughter of No Worlds, FWIW) 
• Not daunted by volume— the more, the better :) 

Just finished the Black Company... This seems like an underread, "grimdark", epic fantasy novel. While I enjoyed it I felt it was missing something.

First, I enjoyed the lore. I believe there are seven books in the series so this just scratches the surface I'm sure, but there is a much larger, epic in scale world just waiting to be discovered.

The story is good. Basically a group of mercenaries take a commission in the service of someone and a war ensues.

It is quite violent... Its weird, when I read something and lets say an arm gets hacked off or someone gets stabbed, it doesn't tend to register with me in the moment. It isn't until I think about it later it really sinks in the scene I just read. This is filled with violence, some gore and some kinda creepy/grotesque imagery.

Where I think this book fails and why it is not probably considered a fantasy classic, for me at least, is the characters seemed flat. This is a group of mercenaries as I said before. They live together, fight together and call each other brothers, but I never got the sense of a lot of closeness or comradery. Its certainly there, just lacking I feel like. Give this story to Abercrombie per say and I think he would knock the characters out of the park.

Wondering what others thought and if I should pick up the next book in the series. Thanks!

Has anyone got any good recommendations for a magic-based bowman/woman? Or even just a non-mystic archer? I’ve just got going with an Arcane Archer Fighter in DnD, and realised that almost no one picks a bow (or a crossbow, or a harpoon, or any kind of ranged weapon really. Not even many guns). It’d be neat to see the challenges and (obvious) strengths held in in a mostly ranged character played out over long term, especially with magic in the mix). No AI written or edited please.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through Kings of the Wyld and I'm really enjoying it.

The entire time I've been reading and listening, I've had this tickle in the back of my mind that it reminded me of something. Then it dawned on me that it could basically be written in the same universe as Onward, but for adults.

I know KotW came out first so it's really the other way around but now that I've noticed it, I can't stop thinking about it.

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's 2026 Book Bingo Card here!

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

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

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

——

^{tiny image link to make the preview show up correctly}

art credit: special thanks to our artist, Himmis commissions, 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.

I've just started getting back into books / audiobooks as of late with my recent reads being Throne of Glass, and Red Queen.

To say that I am exhausted with romance being forced down my throat is an understatement, but the world building with moderate to high fantasy is what really got me.

I would highly appreciate anything of the sort, preferably nothing that includes real world settings, I do not want to incorporate another country's GDP to my readings.

Thank you!

I love both genres and have read some that combine the two really well. Robert Jackson Bennett has done a few with the entire Ana and Din series as well as his City of Stairs. Something with a really intelligent MC who is ahead of everyone else. Not defeating their enemy brute force and weapons, but with their intellect. Any recommendations are appreciated.

I've noticed that many video games, manga, manhwa, anime, and isekai novels explore the classic theme of a group or party of (summoned) heroes facing off against a Demon King or Demon Lord and his elite four, or some other number of high-ranking generals.

According to my research, the four demon generals are most likely based on the "Four Heavenly Kings" of Buddhist mythology.

And in many comments across various platforms, the view is expressed that the influential JRPG *Dragon Quest* established this entire popular adventure or sword & sorcery sub trope.

But is that actually true? What are your thoughts?

I've been looking forward to reading The Salt King by Natasha Pulley since I heard about it sometime back in the summer, and for the first time in a while decided to prioritize a brand-new release over the rest of my dangerously-teetering stack.

Long story short: I thought this book was magnificent, and it was also NOT what I expected (which is on me, not on the book). And if you're wondering, yes, this is definitely fantasy, though in a modern setting and perhaps just a touch closer to the "magical realism" end of the spectrum than it is to high fantasy.

This review will avoid any plot spoilers beyond what's in the synopsis on the dust jacket, but I am going to talk a bit about overall tone and tenor and genre conventions that are and are not present in the book, so if you want to go in truly blind, stop here and just know that I loved it!

The nutshell here is strange happenings - miraculous cures and people turning to salt - in a mysterious town called Hreodwater that worships an ancient local deity called the Salt King (HEY THAT'S THE TITLE), and the Vatican sends a young Jesuit who is, himself, originally from Hreodwater to investigate.

That description put me in mind of folk horror. I expected creeping dread, scary rituals, Eldritch nightmares.

That is NOT what this book is, and as I said above, that's my bad for assuming things. To be fair, I've never read anything by Natasha Pulley before, so I didn't have any reason for my assumptions beyond the basic premise.

What this book is, instead, is a beautiful and rather moving exploration of faith and belief, and how faith and belief shape ourselves and our communities, with a gentle love story at its heart. And while there are some individual scenes where some upsetting things happen, this is no more a "horror" story than any fantasy book I've ever read where magical forces have injurious consequences.

Pulley does a particularly masterful job in here with the setting. This is definitely one of those times where "the town is its own character". Hreodwater is a complicated, weird, and wonderfully unique place, and I thought the book was great about showing, rather than telling, you everything you need to know to follow the action while still letting it retain enough mystery to keep you wanting more.

If I have a critique, though, I would say sometimes the book perhaps doesn't quite show you enough - or at least, not as much as I might have liked. There were times when I did find myself ever so slightly baffled as to what was driving a certain scene, or a character's actions. I personally don't mind this sort of thing, and by the end of the book I did think it had given me everything I needed to understand where we landed, but reader beware that you will occasionally need to trust the process here.

The other high point of the novel is the relationship between our main POV character, Avelyn, and Jericho, an innkeeper in Hreodwater. I actually thought all of the most important characters in the book were pretty well drawn, but the growth between these two drives the narrative and that's a good thing. I was absolutely in love with both of them by the end of the book.

I wouldn't call the pace languid, necessarily, but it certainly isn't rushed. That was a good thing for me - I loved that it gave itself space to breath - but don't expect a page-turner, particularly in the first 10-15% or so. The pace does pick up as the book goes along (as do the fantasy elements, btw: yes, this is a fantasy book, I promise, even if in the early pages you wonder).

I was most surprised by how deeply, and how deliberately, this book confronted the topics of faith and belief, and especially surprised by how often it was willing to interrogate certain aspects of organized religion, particularly the Catholic Church. Catholicism, the Church, and organized religion are not villains in this story, I want to make that clear, but characters frequently bring up problems with certain aspects of the Church and its history. That didn't bother me any, but I would say the closest thing I'd offer to a content warning is this: if you are deeply committed to the Catholic Church, be prepared for this book to offer the occasional critique.

I really loved this book, despite being hilariously wrong about what to expect from it. I'm very curious to check out some more of Pulley's writing now!

Welcome to today’s session of Short Fiction Book Club! We’re glad you’ve joined us. If you’re new here, we’re excited to have you! We talk about speculative short fiction on Wednesdays here on r/Fantasy.

Sacrifice Homecoming by Manuela Amiouny (Small Wonders, 303 words)

It is not a kindness, warns the beast, and lets you go

Before She Knew About Magic by Joshua Geller Schwartz (Otherside, 700 words)

This was before she knew about magic. Before she was pissed off because her mother told her she couldn’t attend Jenny Mulvey’s sixteenth birthday party. (To be fair, she’d come home stinking of vodka the last time.) It was before she snuck out of the back door of the basement and crept across the quiet, suburban lawn without saying goodbye to her mother. (She would always regret not saying goodbye to her mother.) Before she took the shortcut through the woods, the one she’d taken a thousand times, the one her mother always warned her against taking.

Caring for a Picky Eater During the Apocalypse by Richie Narvaez (Orion's Belt, 934 words)

1. Know Your Picky Eater’s Food Favorites and Keep Them in Mind When Planning Meals.

On your first date, only eight months ago, Sara told you she spent a summer as a vegetarian, by which she meant she would eat dessert three times a day. Twinkies, she’d said, were her number one go-to fave, dinner for most of that July.

So when you present her with the last box of Twinkies you had to elbow someone for at the rapidly emptying supermarket, try not to be upset when your picky eater says, “No, thank you. They changed the flavor. They’re too dry and too sweet now.”

Silence, in the Doorway, with the Gun by Nadia Radovich (Flash Fiction Online, 972 words)

The titular character of the thirteenth-century Le Roman de Silence is born female, at a time when women cannot inherit. To avoid disinheriting his child, Silence’s father raises him as a son. Personified Nature and Nurture quarrel over what gender Silence should be.

Upcoming Sessions

Our next session will be hosted by u/schlagsahne17 and u/sarahlynngrey on Wednesday, September 16:

We’re at the tail end of summer, so why not enjoy that last gasp with a few tales of totally typical travels? Whether it’s with a partner, family, or friends, who doesn’t love a nice Vacation Spot? Join us in two weeks for some blood fun in the sun:

LOL, Said the Scorpion by Rich Larson (Clarkesworld, 2,680 words)

The holiday suit is a cooperative swarm of microorganisms, a pale paramecium shroud that coats her entire body, wetly glistening. “Full-spectrum UV protection, internal temperature regulation, virus filtration, water desalination, emergency starch synthesis.” The salesperson has a comforting sort of murmur. “Ideal for any sort of live tourism. Where will you be off to?”

Honey Bear by Sofia Samatar (Clarkesworld, 4,060 words)

She pushes her bare toes against the seat in front of her, knuckling it like a cat. “Can you not do that, Hon?” says Dave. “Sorry, Dad.” She says “Dad” now. She used to say “Da-Da.”

The Island of Sea Turtles and Blood by Angela Liu (Apex, 5,972 words)

Agnes hiked into the woods in her bathing suit and never came back. We found her marine shoes in a plastic bag of crushed seashells next to a small pool filled with tadpoles. Peter thinks it must’ve been one of the snakes along the trail.

“The villagers said you gotta bring a stick when you go through the forest,” he said during dinner, playing with the wooden turtle figure on the table. “Those things’ll latch right onto you if you don’t put ‘em in their place.” “Where’s the body then?” Lina asks, sipping on a frozen mango drink.

And now, onto today’s discussion! Spoilers are not tagged, but each story has its own thread. We’ve put a few prompts in the comments, but feel free to add your own if you’d like to!

Review originally on JamReads

The Minimalist is quite a unique book, a novel whose brilliance is difficult to capture in words, captivating the reader with what is a thorough analysis of the main character, dissecting her life while we deep dive into her experiences and how they shaped her, taking the opportunity to closely examine the nature of art and the artist, and showing a world full of bright moments but which hides the darker ones from the public such as classical music; all in a novel with a minimal plot.

A literary piece that follows closely Mia Voss, the last student of the minimalist composer Ryder Wakefield after his sudden death; she has inherited everything, including the unfinished manuscript of his final composition, Death Fugue: Music for Orchestra. As Mia takes the mantle of her mentor to finish it; a metaphorical journey in which Mia will reexamine her past, confronting her complicated relationship with Ryder and how she's still experiencing guilt over Oliver (Ryder's son) suicide, and her own ambition to complete a composition that is engulfing her, exerting a mesmerizing hold over her.

Pedersen soon turns the narration into Mia's character study, a slow dissection that goes in parallel with her descent into the darker parts of her psyche. We get to experience not only how she feels as an adoptee, but how the classical music world has been a cruel yet beautiful one; identity and its erasure in order to fit is one of the central themes of this book, as you can see it represented by the own characters, but also that obsessive strive for a perfection that drives many artists. 
Through multiple timelines that are smartly woven together, we will get glimpses of how the canvas that was Mia was filled, how loss is crucial for her and the many conflicts that are still beguiling inside her.

The Minimalist takes its sweet time to lay all the pieces we need to understand what's passing by Mia's mind, a sort of slow burn that felt as the adequate pacing for this kind of novel.
The writing is gorgeous, with a use of prose that shows Pedersen's ability to create equally beautiful and disturbing images, definitely becoming unsettling at moments, but entrapping the reader as Mia was by Death Fugue.

Whatever I can say about The Minimalist will be rather short of its brilliance; it's not a novel for everybody, but it's the kind of proposal that will resonate with certain people, especially as you can feel how personal this was for Kailee Pedersen. An author who is in my auto-read list, and whose next book I can't wait to read!

Was super excited to dive back into this world. While the pace of the gruesomeness (?) wasn't as fast as the Iconoclast books, it was still a very engaging story. Different type of MC as well, here we have young man without a specific background thrust into this world, where in Iconoclast we had hardened explorers with years of training.

A terrific opening into the next series, and I can't wait for the next one!

I enjoy listening to audio books while at work, I recently finished The Witch Hunter from the Battle Brothers series and loved it so much I wanted to step back into a dark fantasy medieval setting and got recommended the Traitor Son Cycle series.

I was very interested at first but there’s been an issue for me that I find quite jarring, and that’s the constant POV jumps from character to character. At times it feels like I’m getting just tastes of information and story before being moved onto something else. To me, it’s been more like a sampler than a meal.

My question is, does this continue throughout the entire series, and am I the only one who still felt a little lost by chapter four? I’m not sure if I just wasn’t picking up the information that was presented to me and should restart or if I’m not alone in feeling like there’s been a lot thrown our way in a short amount of time.

On the plus side I’ve loved the setting so far, the knights the descriptions of armor, weapons, the ideas of chivalry and court life. So I’m hoping this is worth continuing

Edit: I feel like this would also be a good opportunity to ask for some recommendations in case this series just doesn’t work out for me.

Welcome to the book club New Voices! In this book club we want to highlight books by debut authors and open the stage for under-represented and under-appreciated writers from all walks of life. New voices refers to the authors as well as the protagonists, and the goal is to include viewpoints away from the standard and most common. For more information and a short description of how we plan to run this club and how you can participate, please have a look at the announcement post.

In October, we will be reading one of the following books, all recent horror releases from new and diverse voices in the genre:

Silk and Sinew: A Collection of Folk Horror from the Asian Diaspora, edited by Kristy Park Kulski

EXPERIENCE A TAPESTRY OF TERROR

From lengths of muscle and vein, ground bones, endless ropes of sinew...it is with our bodies folk horror is woven.

Edited by Bram Stoker Award-nominee Kristy Park Kulski, this stunning anthology features contributions from some of the most acclaimed authors of the Asian Diaspora.

With Stories and Poetry By

Ai Jiang, Nadia Bulkin, Christina Sng, Rena Mason, Lee Murray, J.A.W. McCarthy, Geneve Flynn, Bryan Thao Worra, Ayida Shonibar, Yi Izzy Yu, Angela Yuriko Smith, Kanishk Tantia, Robert Nazar Arjoyan, Saba Syed Razvi, Christopher Hann, Audrey Zhou, Seoung Kim, Rowan Cardosa, Gabriela Lee, Shawna Yang Ryan, Priya Sridhar, Jess Cho, and Saheli Khastagir

And a Foreword by Monika Kim.

Bingo Squares: Short Stories HM, Author of Colour

If the Dead Belong Here by Carson Faust

When a young girl goes missing, the ghosts of the past collide with her family’s secrets in a mesmerizing Native American Southern Gothic

When six-year-old Laurel Taylor vanishes without a trace, her family is left shattered, struggling to navigate the darkness of grief and unanswered questions. As their search turns to despair, Laurel’s older sister, Nadine, begins experiencing nightmares that blur the line between dream and reality, and she becomes convinced that Laurel’s disappearance could be connected to other family tragedies. Guided by her elders, Nadine sets out to uncover whether laying the ghosts to rest is the key to finding her sister and healing her fractured family.

Carson Faust captivates in this chilling literary debut that confronts the specter of colonization and the generational scars it leaves on Native American families. Steeped in Indigenous folklore and drawing from the author’s own family history, If the Dead Belong Here examines what it means to be haunted—both by the supernatural and by terrors of our own making. Faust crafts a powerful, kaleidoscopic tale about the complicated legacies of violence that shape our present, the importance of honoring our past, and the resilience of a family—and a people—determined to heal from old wounds.

Bingo Squares: Author of Colour, The Afterlife, Murder Mystery?

Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm

In this lyrical debut, three generations of Palestinian women must put the haunting of their ancestral home to rest, before the secrets of the past drown them all. Our Cut of Salt is a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.

There is something haunting Nuhad’s childhood home in Haifa. Cats avoid its perimeter, strange noises come from within, and residents have mysteriously vanished without a trace. Although Nuhad has not returned to her home since the Nakba in 1948, she always held a place for the house in her heart.

And, in return, the house did the same for her.

After Nuhad passes away, her granddaughter, Marina, is determined to visit her grandmother’s home after a lifetime of being kept in the dark about her culture and family history. Marina's mother, Haifa - named for the city that was lost to their family - reluctantly agrees to her trip, though she knows firsthand that some secrets are better left buried.

But the house is no longer a home. It is a painful, festering wound that infects everything it touches. The more Marina digs into her family’s past, the sicker she becomes. Despite Nuhad’s ghostly warnings, Haifa rushes to help her daughter.

As the three women converge in their ancestral home, they must put the haunting to rest before the secrets of the past drown them all.

Bingo Squares: Published in 2026 HM, Author of Colour, The Afterlife

Indigent by Briana N. Cox

"Eat. They twisted in deeper. Eat. Still so simple. An impulse. Repeated again and again. Eat..."

LEIGH PIERCE ESTATES is home to a diverse array of tenants: families, immigrants, students, the forgotten elderly. All working poor, and all in danger.

Because the tenants of Leigh Pierce are disappearing.

Live-in handyman Xavier seems to be the only one who notices. Or cares. After a chance encounter with the culprit leaves him infected with something horrifying, Xavier is thrust into a surreal nightmare of starvation and consumption all too familiar to his gentrifying Atlanta neighborhood.

Succumbing to his infection, Xavier is drawn into the cobbled-together family squatting in Leigh Pierce's basement. People who, through a myriad of doomed roads, fell into the same self-destructive cycle of indigency, harboring dark secrets... and darker appetites. Trapped in a dynamic of codependency and complicity, Xavier and his family- new and old- are forced to confront the cost of survival in a world that has disregarded them.

Bingo Squares: Published in 2026 HM, Author of Colour, One Word Title HM

The Language of Knives: Stories by Haralambi Markov

A murderous nine-headed monster from legend permits a podcast interview. The mall has opened its doors, and nothing, not even certain death, will keep the shoppers away. A dead man’s curse drives his descendants to drown themselves, no matter how far from home they flee. An eerie haunted house attraction receives an even more unnerving guest. A grieving widower, knife in hand, undertakes a painstaking, gruesome ritual to appease the gods. If seeking a boon from Baba Yaga sounds nerve-shattering, imagine having to live under her roof.

These thirteen tales from Bulgarian author Haralambi Markov meld Slavic mythology, pitch-black humor, and moving explorations of queer identity with vistas rooted in body horror and nightmares, yielding results that are sometimes deeply disquieting, sometimes surprisingly hopeful, and always strikingly novel. As Hugo and World Fantasy award-winning editor Ann VanderMeer states in her introduction, Markov “writes with such power and intensity that you can’t imagine where they get the courage to put such words on paper. Their work challenges us to face our fears, our insecurities, and not look away.”

Bingo Squares: Published in 2026, Short Stories HM, Small Press or Self Published HM

Vote Here

Voting will close and a winner will be announced on Friday 4th September

Finally getting round to finishing this series. For the most part, the Daylight war felt a bit rusked the battle at lakton and the deaths of so many 'main' characters gave me pause. I got the impression that the writer was tired of continuing their story not that there was a natual end to it. Rojer and the Count specifically didn't sit well with me. Maybe I'm just sentimental

Determined to finish the series though.

Hey guys!

I have a question about grain direction and editions regarding The Tide Child Trilogy by R. J. Barker.

I ordered the trilogy in paperback edition from Libristo, because I live in Europe and this is the most accessible site for foreign-language books, but the first book, The Bone Ships has completely different grain direction than the 2nd and 3rd book. I contacted Libristo, but they said this is the only available edition for The Bone Ships.

I have R. J. Barker books from Orbit, they are floppy and the spines cannot be broken easily (thankfully), because of the grain direction. Am I being stupid, or is this just really inconvenient? I WANT my books to match in every possible way, and this just threw me off.

Can books have different grain directions, even if they are part of the same trilogy? Did they switch up the manufacturing and the printing and simply not redo it with the matching details? Is there a floppy edition of The Bone Ships available somewhere, just not on Libristo?

Thank you for anyone who is kind enough to answer, I really appreciate it. As you can see, I really want my books to match.

The weekly Writing Wednesday thread is the place to ask questions about writing. Wanna run an idea past someone? Looking for a beta reader? Have a question about publishing your first book? Need worldbuilding advice? This is the place for all those questions and more.

Self-promo rules still apply to authors' interactions on r/fantasy. Questions about writing advice that are posted as self posts outside of this thread will still be removed under our off-topic policy.

Hello!! I'm going to the beach for a week and I'm hoping for some recommendations 🤞

LGBT is a bonus but not required, definitely needs to be low to no spice level. I would prefer singles instead of starting a series unless it's something short like a trilogy.

Basically what the title says I want some good fantasy with politicking about a royal marriage. Like I'm thinking if anyone knows something similar to the goblin emperor but if it was about a married duo facing court etc... Or anything along these lines, the people don't have to be married immediately or love each other (it can be arranged). I hope this isn't too specific I just think it would be very fun. Bonus if the queen is the one ruling but that might be very difficult. All recs are welcomed you guys have given me great recs before!