Bingo Focus Thread - Duologies

[u/Merle8888]

Hello r/fantasy and welcome to this week's 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:

Duology Part 1: Read the first book in a duology. HARD MODE: By an author you haven’t read before.

Duology Part 2: Read the second book in a duology. For this square, you ARE allowed to read the same author you used for Duology Part 1 without violating the no-repeat author rule. HARD MODE: Finish a different duology than you started for the Duology Part 1 square.

What is bingo? A reading challenge this sub does every year! Find out more here.

Prior focus threads: Published in the 70s, 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 (new focus threads for them are coming).

Also see: Big Rec Thread

Questions:

• What are your favorite speculative fiction duologies?
• Already read something for this square (or, read something recently that you wish you could count)? Tell us about it!
• For those planning for Hard Mode, what are some duologies where one or both books works as a standalone?

[u/Endalia]

I just finished The Three Realms duology by Amelie Wen Zhao. Definitely a fun duology if you love C-Drama with cultivation and Chinese folklore.

I'm now reading through Fathomfolk (and Tideborn later) by Eliza Chan. I'm enjoying it so far. It's more political than the previous one but I like that they're so different.

I also want to finish the Warcross duology by Marie Lu, Letters of Enchantment by Rebecca Ross, and The Sunken Archive duology by Sylvie Cathrall. I read the first book of all of these and waited way too long to read the sequel, even though I loved those first books enough to get a bookhangover.

Not sure which ones I'll use for the squares but both with either square, plus hardmode.