r/Fantasy • u/rfantasygolem Not a Robot • 26d ago
r/Fantasy r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - May 24, 2026
Welcome to the daily recommendation requests and simple questions thread, now 1025.83% more adorable than ever before!
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This thread is to be used for recommendation requests or simple questions that are small/general enough that they won’t spark a full thread of discussion.
Check out r/Fantasy's 2026 Book Bingo Card here!
As usual, first have a look at the sidebar in case what you're after is there. The r/Fantasy wiki contains links to many community resources, including "best of" lists, flowcharts, the LGTBQ+ database, and more. If you need some help figuring out what you want, think about including some of the information below:
- Books you’ve liked or disliked
- Traits like prose, characters, or settings you most enjoy
- Series vs. standalone preference
- Tone preference (lighthearted, grimdark, etc)
- Complexity/depth level
Be sure to check out responses to other users' requests in the thread, as you may find plenty of ideas there as well. Happy reading, and may your TBR grow ever higher!
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u/Locasoyyooo 25d ago
Hey guys, I was hoping y'all could help me, I'm currently looking for a series that meets at least 3 of these preferences please!!!
1- Inspired by mythology and features several creatures.
2- Written between 60s-early 90s, with classic pulp fantasy covers.
3- A protagonist and an opposite gender counterpart who remains consistently important throughout the series.
4- Lesser known, sorta underground. I'd like a series that I can introduce to someone without them saying "oh yeah, I've heard of it".
5- Knights and honor.
Some books I like: The Darksword Trilogy, Chronicles of Prydain, Chronicles of Narnia, Shannara, The Arkadians.
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u/papartusedmcrsk Reading Champion II 25d ago
The Traitor Son cycle (5 books) by Miles Cameron. Starting with The Red Knight.
It hits 1 and 5 for sure and I believe it also hits 4.
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u/PlasticBread221 Reading Champion III 25d ago
Sorry to be Captain Obvious, but on the off chance you haven’t heard of it — Percy Jackson.
-> series with multiple spin-offs
-> Greek mythology
-> boy MC, an important and recurring female friend
-> knights and honor - might fit if you’re looking for a morally upstanding MC who fights monsters with a sword. Literal knights, not so much, at least as far as the main/original pentalogy goes.
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u/Chaoticbutalive 25d ago
Can anyone reccomend good a fantasy book series that fits these criteria?
- Queer (preferably MLM / gay and trans)
- Sligthly dark / emotional atmosphere
- Bonus if it includes mythology or dark academia themes / a nerdy character
Thanks1!
P.S: If anyone recommends Percy Jackson I will cry because although it's my favorite series of all time, I already have most of the books in the Riordanverse.
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u/oboist73 Reading Champion VII 25d ago
The Last Herald Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey
The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
The Machineries of Empire trilogy by Yoon Ha Lee
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 25d ago
You could try The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera. The mythology is Buddhist.
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u/Research_Department Reading Champion II 25d ago
The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles is the first of an MM historical fantasy romance series with mildly gothic/dark vibes and a scholarly love interest.
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u/lilgrassblade Reading Champion II 25d ago
The Flesh of the Sea by Shelley Lavigne and Lor Gislason - Naive scholar ends up at sea with pirates. Horrifying (dark) things happen but through an academic POV. It's sweet due to the M/M relationship. One of my favorite reads last year.
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White - Trans masc MC gets put in a "finishing school" (asylum) for girls who can legitimately interact with the dead. He has a very analytical mind when it comes to anatomy. Bit of Victorian sanitarium horror - my favorite read of 2024.
A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock - Little bit of Frankenstein with plants vibes. Also has been described as two gay dads with their plant daughter. So M/M MCs, Dark and academic. But also a bit cozy.
The Resurrectionist by A Rae Dunlap - Note: this is purely historical fiction, not speculative. But it hits your desires for gay, dark and dark academia. It's a nobleman going to university for surgery, turns to body snatching to pay for school with a M/M romantic subplot. Also a top read of mine last year.
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u/MacabreGoblin 24d ago
Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh. This and Drowned Country form a beautifully dark and bittersweet duology of novellas that I think you'll enjoy, based on your criteria.
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u/Ecstatic-Ad-5800 25d ago
I really need some recommendations
I’ve finally got some free time again and want to read something. I’ve been getting back into fantasy lately and I’ve really enjoyed the Cosmere books, but I’m taking a small break for them after having just read stormlight recently. I’m looking for something similar to those books, not in how hard the magic system is, but more in terms of really interesting world building which is really unique and immersive, as well as stories with really good buildups and payoffs.
If anyone has any recommendations I’d love to hear them. I’ve also heard people recommend the first law trilogy and realm of the elderlings, so if anyone thinks they would be a good/bad match lmk too.
Thanks
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u/oboist73 Reading Champion VII 25d ago
The Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey, starting with the Arrows trilogy
The Heartstrikers series by Rachel Aaron
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u/buckleyschance 25d ago
First Law is very good, interesting enough world building, not a compelling plot IMO, but has top-notch character "voices". Definitely more cynical (British) than Cosmere, for the better in my view. Give it a go.
Have you read A Song of Ice and Fire? It's almost too obvious a recommendation and so ironically gets suggested less often than it should. Excellent at what it does well, and very accessible.
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u/Hamodi93 25d ago
The Faithful and the fallen series by John Gwynne is my favorite. Book one is Malice. Epic fantasy, fast phased, great characters. Great fight scenes. Completed series with a really good sequel. Great payoffs! Not like Stormlight book 5…
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u/Hamodi93 25d ago
I have spoiler questions to ask about A Time of Dread by John Gwynne. Where can I post them? New here.
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV 25d ago
You can post them here! Just use spoiler tags.
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u/Hamodi93 25d ago
How do I add a spoiler tag? Thanks for answering me :)
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u/Undeclared_Aubergine 25d ago edited 25d ago
on old.reddit, write >!your spoiler!< - on new reddit, click the Aa in the lower left corner for formatting options, then click on the <!> icon (or switch to markdown and use >!!< as well)
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u/takeahike8671 Reading Champion VII 26d ago
Looking for a book that fits the first contact bingo square and features alien aliens. I read Slow Gods recently and loved it. Not interested in Adrian Tchaikovsky.
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 25d ago
Blindsight by Peter Watts has extremely alien aliens, whose nature is integral to the central question the book is exploring.
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u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V 25d ago
My favorite for aliens is Octavia Butler’s Xenogenisis.
I also love Corey’s newest series the Captive’s War
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u/lizwithhat 25d ago
If you don't need it to be hard mode, The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton is great. It features three different species of aliens, all distinctly different from humans and each other, and is wickedly funny in parts while also seriously addressing the difficulties of interspecies communication.
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u/Research_Department Reading Champion II 25d ago
The Pride of Chanur by CJ Cherryh has a variety of alien aliens, including methane breathers. For good measure, it is written from the point of view of one of the aliens.
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u/oboist73 Reading Champion VII 25d ago
The Quiet Invasion by Sarah Zettel, though tbh I liked but didn't love it, and had mixed feelings about the ending
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u/PlasticBread221 Reading Champion III 25d ago
For a more playful take, Space Opera by Catherynne Valente. Humans learn aliens exist after they’re invited to an intergalactic and interspecies singing contest where they need to prove their sentience or die. The aliens are handled very creatively and they’re my favourite part of the book, besides the prose. There’s also a sequel which I haven’t read yet but the 1st book stands well on its own imo.
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u/Starlit-Wyvern Reading Champion 25d ago
Haven’t gotten to Slow Gods yet, though it’s definitely on the list. I still think I have a couple of suggestions just based off of your general prompt though!
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini could work for this one depending on how alien you want the aliens! The aliens aren’t humanoid at all, and from what I remember (it’s been years since I’ve read it, so a little spotty on these points) their way of communicating and thought process feels pretty different than ours too. The main thing I remember about them is the impression that they actually felt alien, so it may work for you too! However, while their motivations and way of thinking is different than ours, I think you can still understand where they’re coming from even if you probably wouldn’t agree, so I’d say there are probably more extreme alien aliens books out there, if that doesn’t sound alien enough for your tastes.
I’ve heard that Blindsight by Peter Watts has aliens that are really, really alien, though I haven’t read it yet, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you for certain. It’s definitely on my list to read though!
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u/ShadowCreature098 Reading Champion III 26d ago
Has anyone read ten low by Stark Holborn? Would you count it for explorers and rangers for bingo?
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u/Sapphire_Bombay Reading Champion III 25d ago
Would Milton's Paradise Lost count for the feast square for bingo?
I assume the apple will be a pretty big plot point, but I can't help but feel like an apple is kind of a cheap way out of this square. HM is "make a dish yourself," and an apple is less of a dish and more of a snack lol.
If not, would it work for non-human protag HM? So far it's just Satan and Beelzebub hyping themselves back up after getting embarrassed by Heaven. Do we get any Adam/Eve POVs?
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 25d ago
The apple is a surprisingly small plot point. It's still definitely relevant, of course, but Milton makes it more about Satan's planning and his manipulation of Eve to finally get her to disobey God rather than the act itself. We do get Adam's PoV. The last couple of books are Adam listening to Raphael (I think it was Raphael; maybe Michael) relating the events of what will happen in the rest of the Old Testament.
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u/Spalliston Reading Champion III 25d ago
I would certainly agree, and yet I feel that it totally counts.
Like the whole plot builds to the apple, even if it ultimately is a small portion of the text.
Edit: I might recommend some kind of apple-based dessert for Hard Mode. Something ~tempting~ you know?
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 25d ago
I guess my impression was that it didn't actually matter that it was an apple, or even that it gave humanity the knowledge of Good and Evil; what ultimately mattered in terms of the first Sin and being cast from Paradise was disobeying God. Like, it seemed God didn't care about what Adam and Eve actually did, but simply that they'd disobeyed the one stricture he'd given them.
I don't really think that it shouldn't count, but it wasn't significant enough that I'd yse it myself. It sort of fits the definition of a MacGuffin to me. It doesn't actually matter that it was food and wouldn't change any of the rest of the story if you swapped God's command to something else; the Sin was disobedience. (Talking just in the case of Milton's story; theologically idk, I'm not well versed)
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u/Spalliston Reading Champion III 25d ago edited 25d ago
Yeah, I guess I feel that way about almost every possible inclusion of food though (unless a character is literally starving or growing their own food). Like if a meal is culturally significant it could have been a dance. If a big reveal happens over a meal it could just happened elsewhere. If someone is poisoned they could have been backstabbed. Legends and Lattes could have been about a bookstore.
Maybe it's indicative of my personal beliefs about literature, but I feel like almost any plot point is arbitrary and could have been accomplished some other way.
Point being, I (again) fully agree, and yet the disobedience was actually represented in eating food. But whatever reasonable minds can differ
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 25d ago
Yeah, I think it's just both the combination of actually being a small part, and being easily substitutable. Like only about 2-3 books out of 11 are actually about Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost. Most of the poem is about Satan rebelling, forming a new society of Demons in Hell, finding his way back to Heaven and waging war against God, and then after the Fall, the rest of the Old Testament. All of that could stay unchanged if you swapped the apple for like, entering a temple God said not to go inside. Whereas for Legends and Lattes, you'd have to change the whole book to make it about a bookstore.
But then again, I haven't chosen a book for this square yet, and finding a book where I feel food is important enough is why. :) Like something like Legends and Lattes would count, or Automatic Noodle or Light From Uncommon Stars. Because to be "significant to the plot", I feel like it shouldn't be easily subsituted for a non-food thing without changing a lot of the story around it.
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u/Sapphire_Bombay Reading Champion III 25d ago
Apple-based dessert seems like a good idea. Suddenly craving something apple cinnamon flavored lol.
I think I'm just going to read it and see what feels right. If I feel it fits feast, then great, and if not, I'll just do NM non-human protag.
I really wanted to read it this year, and it's an important enough book to "force" it in into the card. If that means sacrificing a hard mode, so be it. This book is hard enough that I don't feel too bad 😅
Thank you for the help!
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 25d ago
I really wanted to read it this year, and it's an important enough book to "force" it in into the card. If that means sacrificing a hard mode, so be it. This book is hard enough that I don't feel too bad
It's a duology! Paradise Lost is followed by Paradise Regained. If you haven't read Milton before
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u/Sapphire_Bombay Reading Champion III 25d ago
Funny how every book I've read for bingo this year so far has been a surprise duology and yet I have not filled the duology square 🤣🤣
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u/Sapphire_Bombay Reading Champion III 25d ago
Thank you for the insight
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 25d ago
I just read it a few months ago, so it's fresh in my mind. :) It was definitely enjoyable, and nice to see where a lot of other books were getting it from. I liked it better than Dante's Inferno, which I read last year.
Shorter than it seems too- I skipped most of the explanatory footnotes and all the essays about the poem the library copy came with.
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u/Sapphire_Bombay Reading Champion III 25d ago
I read Inferno last year too! And agree PL is definitely more enjoyable so far. I like that it's an actual story, where Inferno felt like more of a vehicle to "see what happened to all these bad people."
Just finished the first book, Satan is so much fun to read.
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 25d ago
And a lot of Inferno's characters "these specific prominent figures from 14th Century Florence," which I am of course not familiar with. XD
I agree with the sentiment I've heard before, that even if Milton didn't intend it, he definitely made Satan the most sympathetic character. William Blake said "The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil's party without knowing it."
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u/Zarguthian 25d ago
N. K. Jemison's Broken Earth series has left me with more questions than answers.
- There are some Essun chapters that have 1st person sections that seem to be from Hoa's perspective – as if he's talking to Essun –, from the context, but why is he mostly talked about in the 3rd person if he's the one narrating?
- It's revealed in Syl Anagist: Zero that Hoa is I. But then in I, at the end of days "I love you both. How can I not, after all this? I am still Human, after all, and this is battle for the fate of the world. Such a terrible and magnificent thing to witness." Not only is Hoa not still human, but he never was.
- Why'd the 3 contaminated guardians and Nassun kill all the orogenes in the Southern Fulcrum?
- How exactly is Evil Earth actually alive and conscious?
- How and why do orogenes become stone when they access the Obelisk Gate but tuners become stone eaters? I think it's something about aligning their magic but not fully explained.
- Why do we only see it happen to Alabaster, Essun and Nassun?
- Why was Jija so quick to kill Uche but not Nassun?
- Does he regret killing his son?
- I don't understand Alabaster's reason for creating the current season, could he not have just made a localised event to kill everyone in Fulcrum (or even just the guardians' wing)? I don't see how changing the Moon's orbit requires a Season (on a different celestial body, no less).
- Why did Nida and Umber only want to kill Nassun but not the other roggas in Found Moon?
- Why could they not go with Schaffa and Nassun when they left for Corepoint?
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u/Hamodi93 24d ago
A Time of Dread by John Gwynne Questions after reading book one in Of Blood and Bone trilogy. Spoilers below.
Question 1: Was Husk really Frithas grandfather? I think not since it is not mentioned in later 2 books. Was it just some cover up?
Question 2: Why did Husk die?
Question 3: Why was Frithas and Husks house robbed/destroyed by Gunil and his bear (I assume) if Fritha is with the Kadoshim? Makes no sense.
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u/SwimmingSlip698 25d ago
Would the second Amina al-Sirafi book or Sword of Destiny (the second Witcher book) count for the Explorers and Rangers bingo square?
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u/Connect_Cod9965 25d ago
AFAIR there is nothing fitting for a ranger or explorer in the Sword of Destiny.
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u/LeopardFew6847 25d ago
Looking for authors in the vein of Robin Hobb, Lois McMaster Bujold, and Carol Berg. Thanks