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Philip’s Year In Books

Philip’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Philip’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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2026 Reading Challenge

2026

READING

CHALLENGE

Philip Athans has read 8 of 60 books.

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Philip Athans

Goodreads Author

Born

in Rochester, NY, The United States

Website

http://fantasyhandbook.wordpress.com/

Twitter

PhilAthans

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy, Horror, Literature & Fiction

Influences

Harlan Ellison, Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Iain M. Banks, ...more

Member Since

January 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/philathans

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I 100% support AUTHORS AGAINST BOOK BANS
https://www.authorsagainstbookbans.com

I give every book 5 stars in protest against the concept of star ratings in general and the ever-unfolding algorithm dystopia!

Philip Athans, an anti-AI, anti-book bans liberal, is the founding partner of Athans & Associates Creative Consulting (www.athansassociates.com), and the New York Times best-selling author of Annihilation and more than a dozen other fantasy and horror books including The Best of Fantasy Authors Handbook Vol. I 2009-2013, The Guide to Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Writing Monsters. Born in Rochester, New York he grew up in suburban Chicago, where he published the literary magazine Alternative Fiction & Poetry. His blog, Fantasy Auth ...more

795 posts
Philip Athans's Blog

YOUTUBE AND MY 100-BOOK CHALLENGE

It’s been more than a month since I posted my most recent video at the Fantasy Author’s Handbook YouTube channel, the 41st episode showcasing books I’ve been reading as I progress on my 100-book challenge journey. Over the course of that month I’ve finished reading seven more books, but have not made videos for those. I’ll get to why in a bit, but for those just coming in, a little context…

First o

Combine Editions
Philip Athans’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 19,102 ratings · 728 reviews · 55 distinct works • Similar authors

	Annihilation (Forgotten Realms: War of the Spider Queen, #5) 4.11 avg rating — 8,197 ratings — published 2004 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Reader's Guide to R.A. Salvatore's The Legend of Drizzt 4.45 avg rating — 1,600 ratings — published 2008 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Baldur's Gate (Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate, #1) 2.72 avg rating — 1,354 ratings — published 1998 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction: 6 Steps to Writing and Publishing Your Bestseller! by Philip Athans (Goodreads Author), R.A. Salvatore 3.89 avg rating — 734 ratings — published 2010 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Realms of the Dragons (Forgotten Realms: Anthologies, #9) by Philip Athans (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Jess Lebow (Contributor), R.A. Salvatore (Contributor) 3.80 avg rating — 553 ratings — published 2004 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Realms of Mystery (Forgotten Realms: Anthologies, #6) by Philip Athans (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Mary H. Herbert (Contributor), Stan Brown (Contributor) 3.63 avg rating — 539 ratings — published 1998 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Realms of the Elves (Forgotten Realms: Anthologies, #11) 3.83 avg rating — 478 ratings — published 2006 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate, #2) 2.72 avg rating — 616 ratings — published 2000 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Writing Monsters: How to Craft Believably Terrifying Creatures to Enhance Your Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction by Philip Athans (Goodreads Author), The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society (Foreword) 3.97 avg rating — 394 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Realms of the Deep (Forgotten Realms: Anthologies, #7) 3.49 avg rating — 324 ratings — published 1999 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Philip Athans…

Series by Philip Athans

Dungeons & Dragons (1 book)
by

Philip Athans (Goodreads Author)

4.11 avg rating — 8,196 ratings

Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate (3 books)
by

Philip Athans (Goodreads Author)

2.78 avg rating — 2,449 ratings

Forgotten Realms: Watercourse (3 books)
by

Philip Athans (Goodreads Author)

3.54 avg rating — 647 ratings

The Fathomless Abyss (5 books)
by

Philip Athans (Goodreads Author)

3.58 avg rating — 19 ratings

Philip is Currently Reading

Philip Athans is currently reading

A Poetry Handbook

by Mary Oliver

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Apr 10, 2026 10:30AM

Philip Athans is currently reading

Summerwater

by Sarah Moss (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Apr 09, 2026 10:17AM

Philip Athans is currently reading

Planet of Exile / Mankind Under the Leash

by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Mar 27, 2026 01:37PM

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Philip’s Recent Updates

Philip Athans voted on a poll in the group Beyond Reality Final Poll July 2026 SciFi BOTM He voted for: Passage Passage ...more
Apr 25, 2026 10:24AM · like · take the poll
Philip Athans voted on a poll in the group Beyond Reality Final poll July 2026 Fantasy BOTM He voted for: The Summer War The Summer War ...more
Apr 25, 2026 10:23AM · like · take the poll
Philip Athans is on page 59 of 332 of Harvard Classics, Vol. 3 Harvard Classics, Vol. 3: Essays, Civil and Moral / The New Atlantis / Areopagitica / Tractate on Education / Religio Medici by Francis Bacon progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 24, 2026 08:52AM · like · see status
Philip Athans wants to read The Crossroads of Time / Mankind on the Run by Andre Norton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 17, 2026 08:10AM · like
Philip Athans wants to read The Man Who Lived Forever / The Mars Monopoly by R. DeWitt Miller	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 17, 2026 08:10AM · like
Philip Athans wants to read The World Jones Made / Agent of the Unknown (Ace Double, D-150) by Philip K. Dick	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 17, 2026 08:09AM · like
Philip Athans wants to read The Forgotten Planet / Contraband Rocket by Murray Leinster	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 17, 2026 08:09AM · like
Philip Athans wants to read Alien From Arcturus/The Atom Curtain by Nick Boddie Williams	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 17, 2026 08:09AM · like
Philip Athans wants to read 3 Faces of Time / The Stars Are Ours by Sam Merwin Jr.	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 17, 2026 08:08AM · like
Philip Athans wants to read The Paradox Men / Dome Around America by Charles L. Harness	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 17, 2026 08:08AM · like

More of Philip's books…

Quotes by Philip Athans (?)

“Upon the one thing every writer absolutely must have, and that is intellectual curiosity.”
― Phillip Athans, R.A. Salvatore's War of the Spider Queen, Volume II: Extinction, Annihilation, Resurrection

tags: adivce, curiosity, intellect, writers, writing-advice

5 likes

“Stupid foes were easy to defeat and angry foes even easier. Mix the two together, though, and you’re in for a fight.”
― Philip Athans, Annihilation

2 likes

“A religion without followers is just a weird guy with strange ideas.”
― Philip Athans, How to Start Your Own Religion: Form a Church, Gain Followers, Become Tax-Exempt, and Sway the Minds of Millions in Five Easy Steps

2 likes

See all Philip Athans's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Riyria Revela...: Fantasy Writers Helping Victims of Hurricane Sandy	2	18	Jan 12, 2013 07:27AM
Fantasy Book Club: Triumph Over Tragedy - an anthology to benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy	2	22	Jan 12, 2013 07:29AM
The Sword and Laser: Fantasy Writers Helping Victims of Hurricane Sandy	1	32	Jan 12, 2013 07:54AM
The Riyria Revela...: New Release: Triumph Over Tragedy to Benefit Hurricane Sandy Victims	3	26	Jan 13, 2013 08:08AM
Retro Chapter Chi...: Stay Bookish: Everything & Anything Bookish or Historical 2024	20	15	Sep 04, 2024 07:04AM

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Philip’s Quotes

“You only go around once, but if you play your cards right, once is enough.”
― Frank Sinatra

49 likes

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero

tags: attributed-no-source, books, simile, soul

135823 likes

Philip’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-4) post a comment »

date

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message 4: by Philip

Oct 07, 2011 08:27AM

Elaina wrote: "Thanks for accepting my friend request! As an aspiring fantasy author, I try to learn from other fantasy authors and their writings =]"

ME TOO!

reply | flag

message 3: by Elaina

Jul 15, 2011 08:19AM

Thanks for accepting my friend request! As an aspiring fantasy author, I try to learn from other fantasy authors and their writings =]

reply | flag

message 2: by Philip

Mar 02, 2011 05:51PM

Kevin wrote: "Hey I just got The Collected Stories of Drizzt, can't wait to read it, not as much as the third book in Neverwind Trilogy, Icewind, hope it is going to be good."

ENJOY!

reply | flag

message 1: by Kevin

Mar 02, 2011 04:48PM

Hey I just got The Collected Stories of Drizzt, can't wait to read it, not as much as the third book in Neverwind Trilogy, Icewind, hope it is going to be good.

reply | flag

Philip Athans’s Followers (247)

Philip Athans

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