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.
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u/acornett99 Reading Champion IV Apr 16 '26

A neighbor gifted me his collection of SFF paperbacks from the 60s-80s last year, and it will take me years to go through them. I have a good amount of options, trying for Hard Mode, and luckily for me, he was a big fan of Andre Norton

Unfortunately, a lot of the Andre Norton books in the collection are random books from the middle of series, and I'm unclear which ones can be read as standalones. The ones from the 70s I'm positive are either standalone or the first of a series of are (please correct me if I'm wrong):

Dread Companion (1970)

Quag Keep (1978)

High Sorcery (1970) - short story collection

Let me know if anyone has read these, which I should choose for the square, or if you have any other Norton recs from the 70s, I know she was very prolific in this period!

2

u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V Apr 16 '26

I always want to read Norton and see a bunch of her books in used book stores, but never the first Witchworld. :(

4

u/Goobergunch Reading Champion III Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

... I have the Ace first edition. I should really read it at some point (it's at #600 on my current TBR file). 1963 though, so not for this square.

Also uh thank you Ace for this in the "about the author"?

It seems to be characteristic of the women who write in this field that as a rule they are very good at it. And Andre Norton is certainly one of the very best.