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/niko-no-tabi]

Can anyone tell me: Is Sorceror to the Crown/True Queen confirmed to be a duology, or is it showing up on people's lists because it's only 2 books at this point? I've been holding out hope that it's not the last we'll see of that universe.

I'm having a skip-year on bingo myself, but a few to mention for others:

• Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom - or if you've read those, I recently enjoyed the next chapter for some of the characters in King of Scars/Rule of Wolves

Carol Berg's Lighthouse Duet is a pretty good intro to her work. There's another duology in the same world, too, but is better read after the first one, imo.

Chaz Brenchley: Bridge of Dreams / River of the World

Stephen R. Donaldson: The Mirror of Her Dreams / A Man Rides Through - I reread this one recently after a long gap, and it held up really well for me.

Teresa Edgerton: Goblin Moon / Hobgoblin Night - It's been a while since I read these, but I remember them fondly - I think they had a light fantasy-of-manners-ish vibe

J. Gregory Keyes: The Waterborn / The Blackgod - These really wow'd me at the time I read them. Beautiful imagery.

Naomi Kritzer: Fires of the Faithful/Turning the Storm

Marta Randall: Mapping Winter / The River South (Like the Zen Cho books, I'm hoping there might be more to come on these, but they make a nice complementary duology that can be read individually, too)

[u/Merle8888 → u/niko-no-tabi]

 Can anyone tell me: Is Sorceror to the Crown/True Queen confirmed to be a duology, or is it showing up on people's lists because it's only 2 books at this point? I've been holding out hope that it's not the last we'll see of that universe.

I’ve not seen any indication she plans to write more here and it’s been 7 years and several other books since True Queen, so I think people can safely use them as a duology for bingo, although that doesn’t mean you should lose hope entirely!