Around the Year in 52 Books discussion
Weekly Topics 2020
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19. A fantasy book
1. Either A Curse So Dark and Lonely or The Priory of the Orange Tree2. I love fantasy books! They're one of my go-to genres!
I'm reading Ship of Magic at the moment, and the writing is just phenomenal, I'm head over heels so far. So I'd love to read its sequel, The Mad Ship, for the 2020 prompt. But I'd love to hear more suggestions, I'm sure I'll read more than one fantasy book next year.
I promised myself that I would read a high or epic fantasy, because I was sad that didn't make it in. Any recommendations are welcome.
Both Priory and Ship of Magic are High/Epic Fantasy. :-)
Eva wrote: "Both Priory and Ship of Magic are High/Epic Fantasy. :-)"Thank you. Priory does sound really good, and it's hard to find a stand-alone one.
Mod
Woot! Fantasy is one of my favorite genres. I'll be reading a high or epic fantasy for this one. My shortlist is:The Name of the Wind
Wizard's First Rule
The Way of Kings
The Poppy War
Eragon
A Game of Thrones
I considered The Priory of the Orange Tree, but I am nearly certain that it will be a GR Choice nominee. If I'm right, I'll slot it in there.
If anyone has read any of the above, let me know how they are!
Eva wrote: "I'm reading Ship of Magic at the moment, and the writing is just phenomenal, I'm head over heels so far. So I'd love to read its sequel, The Mad Ship, for the 2020 prom..."I was thinking about doing Ship of Magic for another prompt, so I'm glad to hear that it's great!
I've read almost all of them!The Name of the Wind: this is a *beautifully written* story of a childhood, of music, of loss, and great things to come. It moves a little slowly, but you want it to because the writing is just so nice. Fair warning: I personally did not like the second book in the series because it almost doesn't progress the overall storyline at all and doesn't bring you closer to solving the initial mystery. But I'm still a total sucker for this series and will read book 3 the moment it comes out.
Way of Kings: This is planned to be a 10 book series, with 3 already out, and a prolific author who works fast. But due to its sheer epicness, it is just VAST. Its mysteries are endless and you find out only a little bit in book 1. It moves a bit slowly at first and you're stuck for quite some time with Kaladin being a slave carrying bridges all day, trying to give his existence some meaning. But the ending just blows you away and you can't wait reading book 2, which is one of my all-time favorites. The characters are deep and have secrets (from you, and even from themselves). If you like big tomes and complexity and glorious finales, then this is awesome.
Eragon: This is very standard boy-meets-dragon, trains dragon, saves the day fantasy. Paolini wrote it when he was only sixteen years old, which is why it made such a splash. But while it's of course very impressive for a teenager's debut novel, it is very derivative and steals all the tropes from other books. Not bad though, I enjoyed it.
A Game of Thrones: very epic and famous, of course, and many people love it to bits. It's not my cup of tea, because I do not enjoy spending so so much time in the heads of rapists and murderers thinking their ugly thoughts (and those are the heroes). If you start this book, you need to be aware that even though the series is not yet finished, there are already 214 rapes that you have to read your way through in those books. It was just too dark for my personal taste, but I realize I'm in the minority. You might really love it if you don't mind truly dark stuff and VERY grey characters.
Wizard's First Rule: Oh, dear. If you'd like to know my thoughts, then please do yourself a favor and go to youtube and search for "Sword of Truth Review" and click on the first hit (by Daniel Greene). He says it much better than I could and I would put a link here, but I'm not sure if the rules allow youtube links. This one's just bad. I mean, I really disliked Game of Thrones, but I do recognize that it's well-written, original, has great fleshed-out characters, etc. But this one - please don't. Since it was released, SO MANY AWESOME fantasy novels have been written that you could be reading instead. It's extremely derivative - if you've read LOTR and Wheel of Time and seen Star Wars - you'll know all the characters and plot twists, and the main character is tortured for literally 1/5th of the book, falls in love with his torturer and has weird fetish sex with her, and then when the almost endless torture is finally over, he just shrugs it off, puts it behind him and it is never mentioned again. Gee, don't you wish all torture victims could do that? They should just put it behind them and walk off whistling, completely unchanged! (I'm sorry if this is someone's favorite book, this is just my personal opinion.)
Poppy War: Haven't read it yet, but it sounds pretty cool! Disclaimer: don't expect any historical accuracy to the period in which it is set, but just a cool fantasy story.
Other great fantasy series/standalones not yet mentioned: The Black Prism, The Curse of Chalion, The Dragonbone Chair, Shadowmarch, The Fifth Season, Tigana (standalone, beautiful prose), A Brightness Long Ago (ditto), A Wizard of Earthsea, Perdido Street Station (literary style), His Dark Materials, The Golem and the Djinni (another standalone).
Hope this helps and that I haven't angered fans of the books I didn't like too much. :-)
Eva wrote: "I've read almost all of them!The Name of the Wind: this is a *beautifully written* story of a childhood, of music, of loss, and great things to come. It moves a little slowly, but you want it to ..."
Thank you! That feedback helps a lot. :)
I’m planning on The Darkest Part of the Forest, by Holly Black.
For me this prompt is the perfect place for The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I have anxiously been awaiting this book because The Night Circus is one of my all time favorite books.
Mod
Emily wrote: "Jill, I just don't know if I can wait until 2020 to read The Starless Sea! I think I'm going to use it for my 2019 release this year."Waiting will be hard for me but since I don’t read in order I am going to slate it for the beginning of the year. I am so excited to read it!
I never used to read fantasy and then I read Bitten and decided I liked fantasy set in this world...but I still avoided high fantasy for ages. I never got on with Lord of the Rings and I thought it was all like that. Oddly enough YA fantasy brought me round and now a big portion of my reading is fantasy (though I'll still pass on the grimdark).I'll probably use this prompt as an opportunity to fit in a 2020 release. N.K. Jemisin has her new book out in March (The City We Became) so that one's a contender.
Eva wrote: "I'm reading Ship of Magic at the moment, and the writing is just phenomenal, I'm head over heels so far. So I'd love to read its sequel, The Mad Ship, for the 2020 prom..."If you want to read more fantasy set at sea, I'd recommend The Bone Ships - Robin Hobb herself gave it a glowing review. :)
Jill wrote: "For me this prompt is the perfect place for The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I have anxiously been awaiting this book because The Night Circus i..."Switching mine...I LOVED The Night Circus, so this will be a great fit for The Starless Sea. Thanks for the idea!
Thank you for the suggestion, Cendaquenta! I've put it on my TBR.
Dana wrote: "Jill wrote: "For me this prompt is the perfect place for The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I have anxiously been awaiting this book because [book:The Night Circ..."You are welcome! Can’t wait to compare notes after we read it!
I was not looking forward to this, as I'm trying to stick to my physical/Kindle shelves and I'm not a huge fantasy reader. Thankfully I do actually have some options.American Gods
The Murmur of Bees
The Night Circus
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
I skipped ahead to this week first. I really wanted to read The golden Compass. It was wonderful. I’ve seen the movie previously and have wanted to watch the HBO series. I can’t wait to fit in the rest of the series this year. Anyone else read this lately?
Started A Game of Thrones as one of my first books of the year. I'm about 20%in and hooked, I forget how much I enjoy fantasy :-)I had watched a few episodes of the first season so I'm following along nicely with the characters so far.
I am finishing up a couple of other reads right now, but I cant wait to jump back into this one later tonight.
Mod
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels? I would have said no, it's not a genre I live but seeing the subgenre list, magical realism is one of my favorite genres!
1. What are you reading for this category?One More Last Time
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels?
Yes. I really enjoy the genre, though I try not to stick to just it.
I REALLY LOVED this book. I was excited to read it when I first selected it, but then was mildly dreading it when I picked it up. About two chapters in I was in love and hated when I had to put it down for other things.
5/5
What are you reading for this category?The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Do you normally read fantasy novels?
No--I'm not a big fantasy person at all.
1. What are you reading for this category?I read The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels?
Not exclusively but I will read at least a few a year.
1. What are you reading for this category?I read The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin.
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels?
I read fantasy fairly often. I read a lot of genres. This particular book is the second in a trilogy (which now has six volumes), and I will finish that. I have a number of fantasy novels on my TBR and my to read shelf at home.
I read the classic book Witch World by Andre Norton because I was reading with another Goodreads group. I normally read a couple fantasy books a year so it's not my usual genre.
Gods of Jade and ShadowI read this because of the hype, but it didn't live up to it. I found the MC unlikeable, and it was like a bunch of quest lines in a rpg. I read a lot of fantasy, and I'm excited about all the non-Euro fantasy that's hit the streets lately, but this isn't a great example. Lovely cover, though.
1. What are you reading for this category?A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels?
No the ones I only read is one or two fantasy romance novels a year.
I'm reading Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I especially liked the sound of it: Mayan magic in the Jazz Age, inspired by Mexican folklore.Nope, I don't usually read fantasy novels.
I read The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon for this prompt.
Mod
It's fantasy, in that it is definitely a different world, and you spend most of the book trying to figure out if these girls really have magic, or if it's just hysteria/poisoning/something else. In the end, the book is not as far-fetched as I would like (for both this prompt and for omg-this-could-probably-happen).
I don't typically read higher fantasy, although I do enjoy magical realism and YA dystopias.
What are you reading for this category?I read Clovenhoof by Heide Goody
Do you normally read fantasy novels? No I read this because it was recommended by a friend
I'm currently reading Ormeshadow by Priya Sharma for this category. At only 175 pages it's a quick read, and is set in a sort of rural British setting a la Thomas Hardy or the Brontes, where the traditional family country home is said to harbor a sleeping dragon underground. I'm not sure where this is going yet, but I'm enjoying the atmosphere.
READ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobeby CS LewisI do not normally read fantasy but I am trying to select more from this genre. I have read the entire HP series and read the Narnia books back in college
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://titlesurfingwithtraci.blogspo...
What are you reading for this category? I read Eno and the Dragon by C.B. Pratt2. Do you normally read fantasy novels? A fair amount - this is the third I've read this year. Highly recommend this one, although you really have to start with the first book Hero For Hire to get to know Eno the Thracian.
1. What are you reading for this category?The Fish That Climbed a Tree
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels?
No, not my genre. It is fine to step outside the comfort zone now and then and I have been pleasantly surprised by some fantasy reads, but it would not ever be a favorite genre for me.
1. What are you reading for this category? Children of Blood and Bone2. Do you normally read fantasy novels? Yes, I read a lot of fantasy. Sometimes it's nice to have a little escape into a different world.
1. What are you reading for this category? Scythe2. Do you normally read fantasy novels? Not all that often
A Natural History of DragonsFantasy is not my favorite genre (it is more likely near the bottom of my preferred genres), but this book was quite good. It is about a woman in Victorian times (though in an imaginary country) who must choose a suitable husband. She is not your typical young lady, loves adventure and dragons, so she chose the man who was known to have a copy of the book "A Natural History of Dragons" in his library. This is the story of their adventures. It reads much like a book of a Victorian lady who was, for example, a bird spotter, except this one is finding dragons. It was enjoyable, and very well written.
I would like to recommend The Golem and the Jinni to anyone looking for a recommendation. I read it several months ago and was enthralled by the story!
1. What are you reading for this category?I've read a few for the challenge but for this specific prompt, I placed
The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. It is a middle grade, girl power fantasy that I just loved so much.
2. Do you normally read fantasy novel?
I hadn't much in the past but this year I have been and am loving the genre.
1. What are you reading for this category? The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern2. Do you normally read fantasy novels? Not at all, but this has got me reconsidering my no-fantasy stance!
Someone tell me why I resisted this book for so long? I was so busy claiming not to like fantasy that I nearly missed this absolute treasure. But what could be more fantastical than an enchanted circus, the monochrome arena for a contest between two wielders of stunning magic and their shady puppet masters. The true magician here is Morgenstern, as even for a sceptic like me none of this felt unbelievable. I had no doubt that everything in this book was real. And maybe that was me being enchanted by the circus, perhaps I was also under a spell. Because I can acknowledge that the characters were not as deep as they could have been, that the romance felt a little cool for the stakes. But it didn't matter. And why? Because this book isn't a love story, it isn't a character study, it is a pure celebration of the power of magic. The beauty of illusion...when that illusion is completely real. The joy of something without purpose, which exists simply for the enjoyment of being in it. What begins as a competition between two egomaniacal old sorcerers becomes something so much more, so separate from them, that it has to endure. At any cost. Stunning.
1. What are you reading for this category?I am reading Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels?
I don't to be honest because I'm not a big fan of fantasy books. However, my favourite books are fantasy books (HP series and The Night Circus) so I clearly enjoy the genre lol
1. What are you reading for this category? I read Cinder by Marissa Meyer.
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels?
No. I rarely read anything in fantasy. Last summer, I found this group and a few other reading challenges. Since then I have tried a number of fantasy books and really enjoyed some of them. I liked Cinder but I doubt that I will read more in this series.
I have read many fantasy over the years. This book is listed as a fantasy on some people's lists. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
1. What are you reading for this category?Hunted by Meagan Spooner
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels?
I used to read a LOT more fantasy when I was younger, now not so much, I'm much more likely to pick up a thriller/mystery or contemporary. However, I still like to pick up an occasional fantasy, and my all-time fave series is still (and will always be) Harry Potter.
3.5 stars. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney film, so it was fun to read a retelling. IMHO, it had a few flaws with the characterization and relationship between Beast and Beauty, but I still overall enjoyed reading it.
I read Half a King by Joe Abercrombie.Fantasy is one of my favourite genres, and the one that I've loved the longest, so yes I normally read fantasy novels - as many as I can.
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Rivers of London (other topics)Yellow Brick War (other topics)
A Pocketful of Crows (other topics)
Terra (other topics)
Tempted (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Mitch Benn (other topics)Jonathan Renshaw (other topics)
Joe Abercrombie (other topics)
Marissa Meyer (other topics)
Erin Morgenstern (other topics)
More...
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Suggestions:
Fantasy Sub-Genres
50 Best Epic Fantasy Series
Best Low Fantasy Novels
100 Best Magical Realism Novels
10 Best Dark Fantasy Novels (That Aren't Game of Thrones)
Best Fairytale Retellings Note: These may not all be fantasy
17 Standalone Fantasy Novels
YA Standalone Fantasy Novels
Best Historical Fantasy Novels
Best Paranormal Fantasies of the Last Decade
ATY Group Listopia
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Optional Questions
1. What are you reading for this category?
2. Do you normally read fantasy novels?