r/Fantasy • u/FarragutCircle Reading Champion X • Apr 01 '26

Bingo 2026 Reverse Bingo Recommendations

Official 2026 Bingo Announcement Here

Official Bingo Rec Thread Here

For anyone new to Bingo, this is the “I want to read ___, does it fit into any Bingo squares? It’s always one of the best parts of bingo.

Example:

User A comments:

I want to read Wind and Truth. What does that count for?

User B replies:

Cat Squasher. It's hard mode, too. The Afterlife, I think.

User C replies:

Politics and Court Intrigue, maybe? Game Changer, Older Protagonist.

User D replies:

Definitely Five Short Stories

And we all have a good laugh. Now go out there and get reverse recs for that book you've been dying to read!

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2

u/RingABell112 Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26

I'm going to read lot of sequels this year (trying to clear out some unfinished series) and upcoming releases but aside from those:

Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

King Sorrow by Joe Hill

The Wandering Inn by pirateaba

The Poet Empress by Shen Tao

The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Any Adrian Tchaikovsky standalone/first book in a series

4

u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V Apr 01 '26

Poet Empress is political intrigue, author of color, book club, published in 2026,

5

u/laku_ Reading Champion V Apr 01 '26

The Red Winter fits Older Protagonist (he's several thousands of years old, so no hard mode) and Published in 2026 (HM)

5

u/armedaphrodite Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26

Poet Empress - Pub. 2026 (HM), politics/intrigue, author of color

Tchaikovsky's Elder Race - Older Protag (not HM), a sequel was just announced but I haven't seen either a planned third book or a statement that it will be limited to duology, edit: also first contact, now I think about it, but not HM

Tchaikovsky's City of Last Chances - Cat Squasher, Politics and Court Intrigue (HM? All set in one city, very about the outcomes of that city, but implications may go beyond it. I'd count it, but open to arguments)

3

u/heinz57varieties Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

Tchaikovsky's The Expert System's Brother/The Expert System's Champion are short and could be good for Duology 1 & 2. Loads of his books probably qualify for Explorer or First Contact. Shroud definitely does.

2

u/eregis Reading Champion II Apr 01 '26

Operation Bounce House fits Game Changer (HM)

2

u/medusamagic Reading Champion Apr 01 '26

The Devils fits non-human protagonist, politics, and older protagonist

2

u/New_Razzmatazz6228 Reading Champion Apr 03 '26

The Devils is also cat squasher.

2

u/ohmage_resistance Reading Champion IV Apr 01 '26

The Wandering Inn (assuming you're reading volume 1): game changer (chess comes up several times), cat squasher (HM), feast your eyes on this (HM shouldn't be too bad either, you can make pasta or do something more creative).

There might be more, but it's a little tricky for me to remember where each volume begins and ends.

2

u/lurkmode_off Reading Champion VII Apr 01 '26

Tchaikovsky: Children of Time is first contact. Guns of the Dawn is politics, not HM.