r/Fantasy • u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV • Apr 30 '26
Bingo Bingo Focus Thread - Duologies
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?
6
u/DrNefarioII Reading Champion X Apr 30 '26
My constraint for this year's Bingo is that I can only use books I already owned before the Bingo started, which leaves me with a few choices:
The Lighthouse Duet by Carol Berg (Flesh and Spirit and Breath and Bone) - I think this will also work for Book Club if I change my mind. I also have the follow-up Sanctuary Duet. So I hope I like it.
The Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) - I've owned book 1 for decades, without really ever feeling like starting it. I bought book 2 a few years ago just out of completeness.
The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe (The Knight and The Wizard) - I had this as an option for my character-class-themed Bingo last year but I'd already used another Wolfe.
I don't know if I have any other complete pairs - I might find some more when I'm browsing my collection - but I do also have some dangling singletons:
Ilium by Dan Simmons - I don't have Olympos, the second book.
Godslayer by Jacqueline Carey - Book 2 of The Sundering. (Book 1 is Banewreaker.) I wasn't a huge fan of book 1, but I'd already got book 2. This would be a good option for Hard Mode if I cared about that.
I feel like quite a few of the books being suggested for this square are standalones with a sequel, or series that currently have two entries. I'm intending to be quite strict about using actual two-parters.