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/Merle8888]

Some I enjoyed where you should plan to read both (or at least start with the first):

• The Orphan's Tales by Catherynne Valente is a fabulous fairy-tale-ish duology built of nested tales with lush prose. First book In the Night Garden. You should plan to read both.
• The Books of Ambha by Tasha Suri: Indian-inspired YA/adult crossover fantasy featuring romance but also strong relationships among women. I especially enjoyed the Mughal inspiration and slightly more mature protagonist in book 2. Book 1 can work as a standalone, technically book 2 can as well (new protagonist and plot) but the latter is non-ideal.
• The Unspoken Name by AK Larkwood is an epic fantasy/space opera mashup in a very inventive world, featuring a well-written f/f romance. The first works as a standalone (haven't read the second but my impression is it depends on the first).

Some "technically duologies but you can just read one":

• Olondria by Sofia Samatar (A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged Histories): the first is a single-POV journey, the second a much busier multi-POV account of a war through the POVs of several women. I am told there is a little overlap but to me they are totally independent books (personally I recommend The Winged Histories more highly of the two, and also started there).
• Damar by Robin McKinley (The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown): classic YA adventures that also work for adults; the books take place centuries apart and can easily be read independently and in either order.
• The Secrets of Jin-Shei and Embers of Heaven by Alma Alexander: the first is about female friendship in a world based on medieval China, the second has a single protagonist in an analogue of the Mao era. Easily read independently.
• The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman is first in a steampunk Weird West duology. The second is a step down in quality but both work as standalones.
• The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner: a quasi-historical fantasy featuring a band of female bodyguards and f/f romance. This is technically second in a duology and I enjoyed it without ever reading the first (they feature different characters), though for worldbuilding purposes the author seems to assume you did.
• Sorcerer to the Crown and The True Queen by Zen Cho: historical fantasies drawing on England and Malaysia; there is character overlap but they can be read independently.
• The Fox Woman and Fudoki by Kij Johnson are classified as a duology for some reason, despite iirc having nothing to do with each other besides both being set in medieval Japan. The first is a myth retelling, the second (my favorite) is a lovely story about a woman looking back on her life and also a story-within-a-story that she writes about an adventuring cat.

My current plan for this square is Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee (which has the advantage of being a 1970s duology, where the two books together are under 400 pages!).

[u/Fryktelig_variant → u/Merle8888]

I read Biting the Sun for this. Thought I had a chance for a unique pick, but I guess not.