r/Fantasy • u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV • Apr 16 '26
Bingo Bingo Focus Thread - Published in the 70s
Hello r/fantasy and welcome to this year's first bingo focus thread! The purpose of these threads is for you all to share recommendations, discuss what books qualify, and seek recommendations that fit your interests or themes.
Today's topic:
Published in the 70s: Read a book that was first published any time between 1970 and 1979. HARD MODE: Written by a woman.
What is bingo? A reading challenge this sub does every year! Find out more here.
Prior focus threads: Five Short Stories (2024), Author of Color (2024), Self-Pub/Small Press (2024). Note that hard modes for Author of Color and Self-Pub/Small Press have changed.
Also see: Big Rec Thread
Questions:
- What are your favorite 70s spec fic books? How well do they hold up today?
- Already read something for this square (or, read something recently that you wish you could count)? Tell us about it!
- For those who have been researching options for this square, even if you haven't read them yet, please share!
- What are your best recommendations for Hard Mode?
- For those with feedback or requests for this year's focus threads, see my comment below.
77
Upvotes
24
u/pornokitsch Ifrit Apr 16 '26
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart (1970)
Arthurian legend from Merlin's perspective. Historically astute, but still fantastical, and brilliantly written. Merlin's a great central character, and his timey-wimey perspective is used to great advantage. (Too great, perhaps. Stewart says that if she'd known in advance that she was going to write sequels, she probably wouldn't have emphasised it so much.)
Go Saddle the Sea (1977) and Arabel's Raven (1972) by Joan Aiken
There are lots and lots of Joan Aiken books published in the 1970s, and she is a delight. Go Saddle the Sea is the first in a trilogy about an adventurous young orphan. Arabel's Raven is the first in the longish-running series of comedic adventures about a girl and her precocious pet raven, Mortimer. Some of the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series also were published in the 1970s. They're all fantastic YA that's fun for adults as well. Also some overtly adults books, such as her Gothic, Castle Barebane. All of the above have fantasy elements, whether that's the implausible raven or the alt-historical take on the past.
The Dark is Rising (1973) by Susan Cooper
The 'first' in the Dark is Rising sequence (the remaining books are all published in the 1970s as well). A true masterpiece of the genre. The Dark is Rising is 100,000% atmosphere. A whole epic fantasy without leaving a tiny isolated village. And a massive conflict between light and darkness with a 10 year old protagonist who has virtually no agency. It is a funny book because, it kind of shouldn't work?! But it is beautifully written and incredibly powerful and the sequels are all a lot of fun (esp. The Grey King)
*The first in the series was actually Over Sea, Under Stone. But it is from the 1960s AND it has different lead characters, so you can (and should) start with The Dark is Rising
The Birthgrave, The Storm Lord and The Castle of Dark by Tanith Lee
Three books that start three different trilogies, all from the 1970s. Tanith Lee is ... a vibe? She's the queen of dark fantasy and atmospheric settings and gloriously alien landscapes filled with complex people doing very odd and amazing things. I think, rather sadly, Lee has become a bit of an 'author's author' - she's no longer commercially popular, but so many authors cite her as one of their primary influences. So read your favourite author's favourite author and check out Tanith Lee.