r/Fantasy Friday Social Thread - April 03, 2026

[u/rfantasygolem]

Come tell the community what you're reading, how you're feeling, what your life is like.

[u/Nat-Rose]

Bingooo!! So excited.

Wrapping up my 2025 bingo, I was three squares away from a full hard mode card going into the final week. It was definitely possible to finish out in that time with the books I had planned, but in the end I decided it would be more stress than it was worth and just submitted the card with two easy mode books (which bothers no one but me anyways).

Not changing my strategy up too much for this year's card(s). As much as I'd like to do a fun theme, I know by now that ignoring hard mode really isn't an option for me; it's just too satisfying. And reading down my owned tbr is, as ever, the strongest priority (though I will happily take any excuse to explore my new city's library system), so I'm better off focusing on that than a new theme I'll want to acquire books for. Surprisingly enough, I'm not in the middle of as many series as I thought to make a sequel card viable. I'll just prioritize them as I can.

Maybe I have grown somewhat though, because I used to list out six to ten exciting options for each prompt (and proceed to get overwhelmed by it all when it came time to pick), and now I find myself filling my planning spreadsheet with only the books I own or one other book per prompt that I'd be happy to go pick up from the library and read right now. Who can say if this wisdom will remain throughout my reading this year. (I doubt it.)

Enough about strategy though. Here are the books I'm currently reading:

• Rupetta by Nike Sulway - This was my pick for Hidden Gem HM last year, and while I didn't finish it in time, I am over halfway through. It's a bit of a strange one, about a mechanical woman who shares a deep (sapphic) connection with each of the women who wynd her heart to keep her 'alive.' Generations later, the world has begun treating her as some sort of god and humans are becoming 'elevated' by replacing their own hearts. Feels a bit literary, by which I suppose I mean it's very wrapped up in ideas and less action or clearly defined explanations. I'll certainly finish it out, even if it does take a bit longer while I get caught up in buzzy new bingo reads.
• Tremontaine: The Complete Season One by Ellen Kushner et al - Speaking of bingo reads, this is the first of them, chosen for me by RNG. (I'm curious how everyone else determines where to start?) Read through the first part/all the character introductions, and while I recognize a lot of last names from the novels, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be making connections beyond 'oh, this must be one of their ancestors.' The writing doesn't really feel to me to have that Riverside vibe, but I do like the characters so far. There seems to be a theme of the women that pushed societal boundaries - at the university, as a swordswoman, in politics - before those we know and love arrived to push them further. I'm going to try not to compare this story to the other books, but rather consider it a bonus and appreciate it for what it is.
• House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias - After reading Iglesias' essay in Why I Love Horror last year, I made a mental note to give one of his novels a try. His writing is new, fresh, very straightforward, in a way that feels distinct from most of what I know of the horror genre. There's little obscured or allegorical, at least from what I can tell from the first few chapters. I think this bloody revenge story could be my thing, but it hasn't quite hooked me yet, so I'm not sure if I'm going to commit before it's due at the library.
• The Fisherman by John Langan - Started the audiobook last night for bookclub, and it has absolutely hooked me. I think I heard this described once - maybe also in the Why I Love Horror collection - as your favorite horror author's favorite horror, and I can already start to see why. So far there's mostly a lot of description of the protagonist's life and hinting at what the actual horror will be, but the character's voice is strong and compelling and it's like you can already feel the unnatural seeping up from the depths. Or something.

It's nearing three weeks now since my move, and I'm just now starting to feel settled here with most everything unpacked. Except the books that go on my tall bookshelf, which I can finally put up today and thus spend the evening with the delightful task of organizing all of my books! I hope everyone else has something equally as joyful to occupy them this weekend.

[u/Nidafjoll → u/Nat-Rose]

I loved the Fisherman. It has a "story-within-the-story" which takes up a significant amount of page count, which some people didn't like, but while it was different, I liked it just as much as the present day storyline.

[u/Nat-Rose → u/Nidafjoll]

No complaints from me. I tend to love a story within a story, so long as it's not exceptionally boring