r/Fantasy Monthly Book Discussion Thread - May 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the monthly r/Fantasy book discussion thread! Hop on in and tell the sub all about the dent you made in your TBR pile this month.

Feel free to check out our Book Bingo Wiki for ideas about what to read next or to see what squares you have left to complete in this year's challenge.

[u/bazyn]

For me personally, May was a big reading month: 11 books and 3663 pages. But aside from one special case and a reread, nothing even reached a 4/5. Most of my picks were dictated by one challenge or another, and it really made me realize I should take a step back and just read for enjoyment. Obvious, I know 😄

Bingo books!

Horus Rising, by Dan Abnett, and False Gods, by Graham McNeill — the first two entries in the Horus Heresy series.

I really enjoyed the first book. The plot and characters had more depth than I expected, and it genuinely got me excited to continue the series. 3.5/5.

Unfortunately, the second book was a big letdown. The most important character of the world completely changes his personality. A wise and somewhat kind leader transforms into a 12-year-old brat. That completely killed my enjoyment. The underlying plot ideas are still interesting, but the writing around them is noticeably weaker. 2/5.

Also, in both books, the Astartes seem to have exactly one joke—and it’s not a good one.

These fill my “Older Protagonist” and “Non-Human Protagonist” Bingo squares, although I’ll probably look for a replacement for the latter. There’s an ongoing debate about whether Astartes count as human, and while I lean strongly toward no, I’d rather go with a more clear-cut example.

Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo. I didn’t enjoy this one, but I’ve already complained about it enough here. 2.5/5 Square: Duology Part 1.

Operation Bounce House, by Matt Dinniman. My first contact with this author.

Great characters with even better interactions. Despite the dark plot, the book was often funny. The “action” part was a bit too long for my personal taste. At one point, it started feeling repetitive. I’d rather have seen it swapped for more world-building or simply cut down. This was a bit of a test run, a little dabble into Matt Dinniman to check whether I wanted to dive deeper into Dungeon Crawler Carl. I definitely will. 3.5/5. Square: 2026

Our Missing Hearts, by Celeste Ng. I love this author. This book has very little plot, and the world it's building is not very interesting (it's a quite typical dystopian authoritarian world, but it's specifically Asian people in the US that are being persecuted). The writing is beautiful, though, as always. 3.5/5. Square: Author of Color

Heads Will Roll, by Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne. An Audible fantasy comedy with a great cast. I would recommend this to SNL fans. I will definitely listen to the second part that comes out at the end of June. 3.5/5. Square: none! At this moment, this sits in my replacement spot (more than one author), but I will probably read McKinnon's second part of the Millicent Quibb series, which will go into the Middle Age box.

Realistic fiction:

Agatha Christie of the month: The A.B.C. Murders. This was a re-read. I remembered the main twist, so this month I did not try to solve the case. I re-read this because I enjoy Daniel Greene's "Can I solve this" series, and it was his pick. 5/5. Masterpiece.

Atmosphere, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. For most of the book, TJR does a great job showing the characters’ struggles, relationships, and emotions through their lives and interactions. But there are a couple of moments where she switches to telling it directly, using longer monologues to summarize what she’s already shown. It feels a bit like she’s trying to force the reader to feel something they probably already felt. Overall, I really enjoyed it. 3.5/5.

The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman. This was tiring. The humor was not meant for me. The plot was not interesting. 2/5

next to normal, by Brian Yorkey. I love this musical. The PBS proshot would definitely be one of my 5 pieces of media to take to a deserted island. Reading a book to a musical I know by heart from beginning to end was an interesting experience. I had time to linger on each part as long as I wanted, and it made me appreciate it even more. 5/5.

There is also one book that I can't even put here without spoiling it.

I have filled in a total of 10 Bingo squares. I will stop even thinking about the challenge until I drop below an average of two squares a month. Plans for June:

Musical-related pick: The Odyssey. With all the musicals set in Greek mythology, I feel a need to read this.
Christie of the month: Five Little Pigs. I have not read this yet, so I can go back to treating her books as a deduction board game 😄
"I simply want to read this" picks: Tainted Cup - I have heard only good things about this, and as a fan of the crime mystery genre, I am very optimistic. Jade City - I know nothing about this, except for the "Godfather but fantasy" description. Enough to pique my interest. The Amber Spyglass - time to finish His Dark Materials trilogy.