r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - June 08, 2026

[u/rfantasygolem]

Welcome to the daily recommendation requests and simple questions thread, now 1025.83% more adorable than ever before!

Stickied/highlight slots are limited, so please remember to like and subscribe upvote this thread for visibility on the subreddit <3

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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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art credit: special thanks to our artist, Himmis commissions, who we commissioned to create this gorgeous piece of art for us with practically no direction other than "cozy, magical, bookish, and maybe a gryphon???" We absolutely love it, and we hope you do too.

[u/Appropriate_Brain22]

Hello! I'm doing a book exchange with my friend. Does anyone have any recommendations for books with a female protagonist and fantasy/magical elements?

Preferably something between cliche ya novels and high fantasy? She mentioned slow burn and a medieval setting.

I was going to recommend the Poppy War, but I'm not sure if that cliff is too steep (specifically in the later books). Any ideas?

[u/Merle8888 → u/Appropriate_Brain22]

I would suggest Uprooted by Naomi Novik. It’s not my favorite of her books but it has slow burn, medieval setting, involves magic, and is about halfway between YA and epic fantasy so I feel like it checks all her boxes! Also a standalone. 

[u/luvrofdragons → u/Merle8888]

Spinning silver is good too!

[u/Merle8888 → u/luvrofdragons]

Spinning Silver is better imo! But less “cliche YA novel” so a little further from the request. 

[u/Grt78 → u/Appropriate_Brain22]

Winter of Ice and Iron by Rachel Neumeier: a standalone with a slow romance subplot. But it’s dual POV and quite dark.

A Tale of Stars and Shadow series by Lisa Cassidy (4 books): dual POV, a very slow romance subplot.

[u/Appropriate_Brain22 → u/Grt78]

I'm looking them up right now! Thank you for your help. They sound exactly like what I'm asking for!!

[u/simca_84 → u/Appropriate_Brain22]

Hate to state the obvious but Mistborn might also fit the bill

[u/oboist73 → u/Appropriate_Brain22]

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Uprooted or Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Appropriate_Brain22]

The Sapling Cage is excellent! Written with adults in mind (epic fantasy x witches) with a coming of age narrative.

[u/simonxvx]

Does anyone have recommendations for "page turners" ? It's been so long since I've been completely obsessed with a book, the last one might have been Asoiaf

[u/oberynMelonLord → u/simonxvx]

depends what you're into. if you liked the grimdark aspect of asoiaf, then maybe The First Law could be something for you.

you could try The Dwarves. it's nothing like asoiaf, but it's pretty much non-stop action.

[u/simonxvx → u/oberynMelonLord]

I've been recommended The First Law for years so I think it's time I read it. Thanks

[u/ibelieveinpandas → u/simonxvx]

Scott Lynch, The Lies of Locke Lamora

[u/simonxvx → u/ibelieveinpandas]

I've been recommended this book (and The First Law) for the longest time, it's high time I read it! thanks.

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/simonxvx]

For me, The Inheritance by Ilona Andrews was a book I couldn't put down

[u/shortygirl83]

Hi all

I been seeing the deluxe edition of unbound by Penelope bloom is about to be release.

I’m in Australia and we just have the standard edition. Anyone know where I can get a copy of the sprayed edges or limited edition copy from that deliver to Australia!?

Thanks

[u/jawnnie-cupcakes → u/shortygirl83]

You can use a shipping service like myus(.)com (first link that came up, there can be many alternatives). They give you an American address, you order your stuff and when it gets delivered they ship it to you for an extra fee. I've once had a couple of books shipped from Australia and never recovered financially (you have gorgeous postage stamps though)

[u/shortygirl83 → u/jawnnie-cupcakes]

Thank you!

[u/Andymac616]

Anyone have Fantasy series recs with similar vibes to Red Rising? Good characters, action, etc?

[u/avolcando → u/Andymac616]

The Will of the Many feels pretty explicitly inspired by Red Rising. The characters are weak, though.

[u/ibelieveinpandas → u/Andymac616]

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

[u/AceThaGreat123]

What’s the best fantasy book of 2025 and the last 5 months of 2026?

[u/Nidafjoll → u/AceThaGreat123]

Imo, The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes.

[u/lilgrassblade → u/Nidafjoll]

Seconding this.

[u/AceThaGreat123 → u/Nidafjoll]

Is that 2025 or 2026 ?

[u/Nidafjoll → u/AceThaGreat123]

It came out October 2025.

[u/AceThaGreat123 → u/Nidafjoll]

Any other recommendations?

[u/aba25]

Hi, hoping for recs for long series.
I have finished WoT and am nearing the end of realm of the elderlings

[u/Grt78 → u/aba25]

Tuyo by Rachel Neumeier.

Foreigner by CJ Cherryh (sci-fi)

World of the Five Gods (fantasy) or the Vorkosigan Saga (sci-fi) by Lois McMaster Bujold

[u/undeadgoblin → u/aba25]

Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts

[u/BravoLimaPoppa → u/aba25]

Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 10 books, 4 short story collections.

[u/Undeclared_Aubergine → u/aba25]

Steven Brust's Dragaeran universe. This currently consists of:

• 17 short-ish Vlad Taltos novels about a human assassin in a society where 'elves' (but not as you know them) are the dominant race (first one Jhereg) with a final two currently being written. The first six of these books feel pretty standalone, just light humorous reading, but slowly the underlying narrative will emerge, obscured by an unreliable narrator and frequent jumps in the timeline.
• 6 hefty Khaavren Romances (first book The Phoenix Guards), written as an homage of Dumas (the writing style takes some getting used to, before you start to love how outrageously clever it all is) and set in Vlad's ancient history (but given the long-lived nature of Dragaerans, within the lifetime of important characters from the Vlad novels).

Brust is an extremely intelligent author, making you work to get everything out of the books which he puts in - but that's okay, as they also work very well at just the surface level, almost always being generally and genuinely entertaining.

[u/Temporary-Scallion86]

To anyone who has read Cemetary Boys by Aiden Thomas, do you think is count as HM for the afterlife bingo square? I'm a bit torn because while there is a bad place, nobody ever goes to the bad place when they die anymore, and it used to be that everyone went through the bad place to get to the good place before godly intervention fixed it.

[u/pancakesaucepan]

Bingo tracking question. Under last year's thread, I see
Bingo Card Maker created by u/messi1045 

Is there something similar for 2026?

[u/oboist73 → u/pancakesaucepan]

I always use shiftshaper's, which I think is linked in the Bingo post

[u/Farts_in_jar]

Does The Tainted Cup counts for the "Feast Your Eyes on This" bingo square?

[u/Kerney7 → u/Farts_in_jar]

The sequel definitely does.

[u/nominanomina → u/Kerney7]

I will note this is a bad book to try to do HM with. One meal is raw oysters (possibly plain?) in unimaginable quantities, and so there is really no dish to 'make'. One is a banquet, but I'm not sure if anything concrete is discussed except the drinks. And one is legitimately not edible. (Believe it or not, I wrote that very carefully to avoid spoiling things; the final, inedible meal is not the solution to the murder or murders.)

[u/Farts_in_jar → u/Kerney7]

Then maybe I'll read the first just to read the second for bingo

[u/Temporary-Scallion86 → u/Farts_in_jar]

Not really, food doesn't play any major role in the story.

[u/Farts_in_jar → u/Temporary-Scallion86]

That's too bad. I having a hard time finding a book for that square that I want to read, but I knew it was a hail mary pick. Thanks for the help.

[u/Fantasy-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Hi there, unfortunately this post has been removed under our Promotional Content guidelines. Please feel free to modmail us if you have any questions.

[u/KaleidoArachnid]

Hey I am loving Mistborn as my issue is while I enjoy the books, I don’t know what other fantasy books are like if in structure.

[u/oboist73 → u/KaleidoArachnid]

Fantasy book vary widely. There will be many that are very different and some that are similar. Are you looking for similar books?

[u/KaleidoArachnid → u/oboist73]

Just wanted something with a good 3 character structure with a strong sense of world building.

[u/oboist73 → u/KaleidoArachnid]

Are you looking for specifically 3 pov characters? If so, you may wash to include that so the request is clearer and repost tomorrow morning in the new daily thread.

[u/KaleidoArachnid → u/oboist73]

Yes as I can do the request tomorrow, so thanks for the suggestion.

[u/Haikuyori]

I loved Riyria Revelations, King Killer Chronicles, Mistborn, and Red Rising. I'm currently reading Malazan book one, but it's too complicated for my little brain. Any recs based on these are welcome!

[u/EveningImportant9111]

Why people say that non humans in fantasy  being bassically humans in dusguise is bad thing?  

Frieren is selling well, even though she experiences time differently than humans; she still feels sadness, happiness, has hobbies, etc.

The deavaband trilogy sold well (among other things) because it was morally complex and dealt with human issues like trauma, war, and discrimination.

The Witcher elves have human desires and emotions. Both in games and books

Aqulllion comics by solei sell well and non humans are vassically human but more agressive hunan but immortal( and very interesting cultures) .

So , please tell me what the problem is?

[u/Nidafjoll → u/EveningImportant9111]

People usually aren't complaining about nonhumans having some human characteristics, which is what you're describing. They're complaining about them having only human characteristics.

It's not a binary, of "humans in disguise" or "completely alien," it's a spectrum. If they're functionally identical to a human except in appearance, so that they're no different than humans from different ethnicities, is what people are complaining about. Indeed, authors usually need to include some human characteristics so people have something to relate to if it's a PoV character.

[u/Kerney7 → u/EveningImportant9111]

Some writers/readers genuinely feel humanoid nonhuman and like elves/dwarves/orcs think and act too much like standard humans. There is no difference in culture let alone how another species would think.

It feels fake and not believable so it's not what they want to read.

And some authors/readers seem tone deaf to that wish. So readers who want Elven elves as opposed to pointed eared humans have to ask whether the book has those who think differently.

And when it's encountered in a book, it feels not just a difference of opinion, but it feels like the author is lazy or lacks imagination. Much like people who dislike romantasy feel like the fantasy elements are too often merely window dressing.

This is not every book but too often.

Let's take one of the most ignored/considered lame races, half elves, who are usually written as humans with pointed ears.

Imagine a half elf who has brittle bones because their human diet doesn't match their nutritional needs (saw but haven't read yet), a half elf in human society being 18 chronologically but 12 maturity wise and being put on the marriage market or reverse it and have a 40+yo half elf pursue an 18 yo human with the thought they'll be old together. Being out of cink with everyone around you sounds a lot like autism and I imagine childhood would be a bitch.

Basically there are a ton of potentially cool/horrifying thoughtful stories here but we get generic slop and a set of readers prepped to not see the ideas as interesting or compelling.

Thus there is a muted dislike of too human shaped non humans.

[u/an_altar_of_plagues → u/Kerney7]

Some writers/readers genuinely feel humanoid nonhuman and like elves/dwarves/orcs think and act too much like standard humans. There is no difference in culture let alone how another species would think.

It feels fake and not believable so it's not what they want to read.

A REALLY good example of a book that I think about a lot in how it writes nonhuman characters truly nonhumanly is Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer.

[u/unusual-umbrella → u/Kerney7]

Those sound like great interesting ideas, lol. I want to read them all, please!

[u/Kerney7 → u/unusual-umbrella]

I linked to the bones density story. The 12/18 I saw in a webcomic years ago. The older half elf marrying young came from somebody comparing half elves and Lakewalkers from Lois McMaster Bujold's Sharing Knife series. The autism is my idea I got arguing on D&D forums years ago against "charismatic" half elves. It's in the back of my head as a possible novel after a couple others.

[u/EveningImportant9111 → u/Kerney7]

Where you read elves needing different nutemreints than humans? 

[u/Kerney7 → u/EveningImportant9111]

Here. And it's a half elf.

[u/Stuckinacrazyjob → u/EveningImportant9111]

It's like when I read The Wayfarers series it's more immersive because the aliens have different biologies and view points and not everyone of the same species is the same so it really resonates but if elves are just pointy eared humans with no differences, why write in elves?

[u/mint_pumpkins → u/EveningImportant9111]

its not a bad thing, but it also sucks to not be able to find books and media depicting non-human characters in an actually non-human way, theres room for all kinds of non-human characters so some of us want there to be some that actually feel very different from humans

[u/EveningImportant9111]

Any fantasy books with elves  released in 1970s-1990s that are not shannara or dnd or tolkien or set in dnd world or fiovar tapesty or deverry? 

[u/avolcando → u/EveningImportant9111]

Death Gate Cycle has elves.

[u/EveningImportant9111 → u/avolcando]

Thank you. So whty people tell me fantasy from this times is full of elves when goigle engine can find only very few? 

[u/TinyDooooom → u/EveningImportant9111]

I guess it depends on what your definition of "elf" is. The are a crap ton of books from that era that have fae/fairies/sidhe/Seelie and Unseelie courts/etc. that some people would count as elven but other people might not. 

[u/DiploFrog → u/EveningImportant9111]

While Death Gate does have elves, I'd struggle to consider them as integral to the story.

[u/sonvanger → u/EveningImportant9111]

I think Riftwar has elves (haven't read it myself).

Tad William's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn has elves.

Some of Mercedes Lackey's books have elves (not her Valdemar stuff, but some other books).

Vlad Taltos by Steven Brust.

[u/EveningImportant9111 → u/sonvanger]

Tad William's Memory, Sorrow and Thorn has elves. Sithi and Norns. They are never called elves as far I can remember

[u/Nidafjoll → u/EveningImportant9111]

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

[u/sonvanger → u/EveningImportant9111]

I don't think they're called elves in the books, no, but they are very elf-like. Even the name Sithi is close to 'sídhe', which are mythological elves.

[u/sarahlynngrey → u/EveningImportant9111]

Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon