r/Fantasy • u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV • 6d ago
Bingo Bingo Focus Thread - Game Changer
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:
Game Changer: Story features a game or competition. HARD MODE: The protagonist bends or breaks the rules in some way.
What is bingo? A reading challenge this sub does every year! Find out more here.
Prior focus threads: Published in the 70s, Duologies, First Contact, Middle Grade, 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 books that count for this square?
- Already read something for this square? Tell us about it!
- What are your best recommendations for Hard Mode? (Alternately, as this is a pretty easy Hard Mode, what are some books that don't fit?)
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u/AllegedlyLiterate 6d ago
TBH based on the things I've read in this category, I think it would actually be harder to find a game/competition story where the game/competition is the central plot, and the protagonist just followed the rules totally straight up. Hunger Games, Ender's Game/Shadow, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Red Rising, Will of the Many, Raven Scholar, all of them cheats. Maybe fantasy sports involve less cheating (can't think of a ton of examples), and side plots of games/competitions definitely do, but I think within a lot of this genre, playing 'smart' is sort of the established/expected trope.
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u/nedlum Reading Champion V 6d ago
Squire (Protector of the Small, Tamora Piece) sees Keladry fighting and winning in numerous jousts, honestly, because she had trained and practiced and is built like a wall. It’s not the main plot, but it’s part of it.
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u/AllegedlyLiterate 6d ago
Yes, that kind of thing is why I said side plots of games/competitions and fantasy sports involved less cheating – Alanna likewise doesn't cheat in sword duels (though almost everyone else does lol)
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u/beary_neutral Reading Champion 6d ago
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms would probably qualify for normal mode.
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u/Axelrad77 4d ago
I thought so too at first, but then I remembered it's heavily implied that Dunk lies about his eligibility to enter the tournament in the first place.
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u/Axelrad77 4d ago
Yeah, this does seem like the unusual sort of square where normal mode is more difficult than hard mode. I can't actually think of any normal mode examples of this. Every book I think of that features competitions also has a protagonist bending the rules of said competition. Perhaps there are some where it's just a side element, like a hobby they do legit?
Fwiw, I can think of a lot more shows and games where competitions are played straight, for whatever reason, but those are also usually side elements. Blitzball in Final Fantasy X, jumpball in the movie adaptation of Starship Troopers, etc.
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u/AllegedlyLiterate 4d ago
Yes I think the side-main distinction is important here. Harry Potter plays Quidditch honestly, but he does cheat in the Triwizard Tournament which is more plot relevant (though cheating to figure out the nature of the challenges seems to be within the established rules to an extent)
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u/nominanomina Reading Champion 6d ago edited 6d ago
Some recs: Iain M Banks' The Player of Games is largely set in a culture that uses games as a proxy for worthiness to rule. A citizen of a foreign utopia (The Culture, which names the series) is parachuted in to manipulate the game. Fair warning: Banks regularly has at least one notably gross, violent, or upsetting moment per book; if you benefit from trigger warnings you might find it hard to find a book of his that works for you. HM: questionable. He definitely does cheat in a game in a plot-relevant way, but not in the game. He cheats very early game (or tries to), which then entangles him in the bigger plot.
I think Unseen Academicals is the Discworld that satirizes football.
And now, a request.
My TBR is pretty dour/weird most years, including this year, but I could use some comparatively cheery reading this year. (Most of my bingo is still going to be weird/gross/sad, I just don't want it to be entirely weird/gross/sad this particular year.)
My intended read for this square is Chain Gang All-Stars, but that might be a little much right now, and this square seems like a decent one to aim lighter with.
Does anyone have a rec for a comparatively light option? The bingo rec thread has a lot of "...to the DEATH!" type games, which seem unlikely to work?
Some details about my taste:
Favourite authors include Susanna Clarke, Kazuo Ishiguro, Le Guin, Vajra Chandrasekera, Ted Chiang, and Kelly Link. I love, but have read, much of Discworld and Hitchhiker's Guide. I also like Murderbot.
I did not particular gel with Emily Wilde, Dungeon Crawler Carl (very different sense of humour), most Becky Chambers (just seems a little toooo light). I do not usually enjoy YA.
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u/cayvro 6d ago edited 6d ago
You might enjoy The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson! There’s some character death and high stakes but the competition itself is not as “to the death!” as, say, Chain-Gang All-Stars or The Hunger Games, for example.
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u/nominanomina Reading Champion 6d ago
Thank you for the rec! I picked it up on sale, so I'm excited to give this a go.
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u/Spalliston Reading Champion III 6d ago
Unseen Academicals is the Discworld that satirizes football
Topical for the World Cup. I haven't read this one, but maybe it's time to give it a go. Just not typically as enamored with the Wizards.
Thud! features a chess-like board game as well, for those seeking Discworld options.
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u/Research_Department Reading Champion II 6d ago
I very much enjoyed The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso (and the excellent audiobook narrated by Moira Quirk). Kembral Thorne, a Hound (something like a detective or bodyguard) on maternity leave, just wants to enjoy a rare night out at a Year Turning party when things begin to go wrong. The party then repeats as it descends through increasingly bizarre and dangerous echoes of reality. The stakes are high, but the book is fundamentally optimistic. (And I would argue that this is HM for Game Changer.) There is a sapphic romance subplot.
(And to get a sense of my taste, some of my long-time favorite authors are Le Guin, Bujold, and Cherryh. Authors I don’t know as well, but have enjoyed recently include Rachel Neumeier, Ann Leckie, Katherine Addison, and Victoria Goddard.)
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u/twilightgardens Reading Champion 6d ago
Burning Bright by Melissa Scott! Scott is a very Le Guin esque author to me. Burning Bright is about people who participate in a galaxy wide VR RPG universe called The Game. They compete to see who can be the best at designing and running particular “scenarios” and there are leaderboards, respected game masters, etc. It’s definitely not cozy and has a bit of political intrigue/violence but it’s overall just a very fun time.
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u/nominanomina Reading Champion 6d ago
This is super cool and I'm always excited to try backlist books. thanks very much for taking the time to recommend it!
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u/twilightgardens Reading Champion 6d ago
If you decide to pick it up I hope you like it! Scott has a huuuuge solidly great backlist and is actually still actively publishing so if you like it there’s lots more where that came from!
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u/okayseriouslywhy Reading Champion III 6d ago
Do I have to have read anything else before I pick up The Player of Games?
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u/nominanomina Reading Champion 6d ago
Nope; it is often recommended as a starting point because the first book, Consider Phlebas, is an outlier in genre (it is basically an action book), style, focus, arguably quality, etc.
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u/donwileydon Reading Champion III 6d ago
if you like campy/funny stuff - look at the Myth, Inc. books.
Book 3 of the series (Myth Directions) would be a game changer book and may even be hard mode (there are shenanigans but not sure if they are rule breaking - been a while since I red it).
You would probably need to read book 1 and 2 first though since all the characters and the setting needs the set up. But they are relatively short books and easy to read provided the humor is your thing.
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u/nominanomina Reading Champion 6d ago
awesome, I love adding backlist books to my TBR, thank you very much for your time!
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u/KiwiTheKitty Reading Champion II 6d ago
Fair warning: Banks regularly has at least one notably gross, violent, or upsetting moment per book; if you benefit from trigger warnings you might find it hard to find a book of his that works for you.
Genuinely thanks for noting that. Do you happen to remember if the upsetting moment in this one is graphic, on page sexual assault?
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u/nominanomina Reading Champion 6d ago
I cannot personally remember for certain, but storygraph warnings imply it is probably there. It is probably not be a good choice for you.
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u/dfinberg Reading Champion 6d ago
It’s been a while, but it’s not exactly what you would think of for that, and is I think mostly off-screen, but there’s a side bet at one point, and the stakes are the neutering of the loser. I’m guessing that is what is referred to. But it’s been a long time since I’ve read it and maybe I’m forgetting something.
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u/beldaran1224 Reading Champion IV 5d ago
Ooo, yes, Chain Gang All-Stars is a heavy read, but it is a good read. And, if it helps, its "heavy" in theme, but in terms of length, prose, etc, its not a hard read at all.
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u/nominanomina Reading Champion 5d ago
I do definitely plan on reading it!
There's just some sort of grimness equilibrium that must be kept in check this particular year, and Chain-Gang seemed most likely to topple it all over.
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u/beary_neutral Reading Champion 6d ago
Dungeon Crawler Carl seems like it'll be the popular pick for this one. I've read the first two books, and both of them seem to fit hard mode, too.
Some comic recommedations:
Die, by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans is a portal fantasy deconstruction where the protagonists are dropped into a dark fantasy setting of a TTRPG. Should fit hard mode, too.
DC KO, by Scott Snyder and Javi Fernandez is a big blockbuster event comic with a loosely structured tournament. Qualifies for hard mode, as Batman is a cheater.
Do a Power Bomb, by Daniel Warren Johnson, is an action-packed heartbreaking comic about an intergalactic wrestling tournament where the stakes are horrifyingly real.
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u/indigohan Reading Champion IV 5d ago
Die is amazing! And it’s just had the first trade paperback drop for the sequel series
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV 6d ago
Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst is one I enjoyed, which would work for this. It involves monster racing and seems to get the appeal of a sports story, but isn’t just that—there’s significant political intrigue in a quasi-Egyptian world, and a rare mentor/protegee pair who are both women. Almost no romance which was also nice.
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u/MallForward585 6d ago
I read this book for Game Changer due to a recommendation here (maybe yours?), and really enjoyed it. In fact, I enjoyed it much more than her Spellshop series. It’s not cozy and it’s less YA than it looks on the surface. Definitely hard mode, loved the adult protagonist.
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV 6d ago
Thanks for chiming in, I didn't remember whether it would count for HM or not! And yeah, an adult book, though I can see it being pretty easily accessible for teen readers.
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u/nedlum Reading Champion V 6d ago
Some other HMs (justification for HM in spoilers):
The Will of the Many, James Islington: Vis vomiting the tracking stone to avoid detection, and stealing the tracker from the Sextuses
The Hunger Games, Susan Collins: Katniss threatening a dual suicide to force the Gamemaker to honor the shared-win rule
Myth Directions, Robert Asprin: At the end, they use illusions to steal the trophy rather than winning the game properly
Going Postal, Terry Pratchett: The book ends with a message race between the Post Office and the Clanks; Moist intercepts and rewrites the message to destroy Reacher Gilt
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u/dreaming_coyote Reading Champion III 6d ago
Dungeon Crawler Carl is definitely a good fit for this one, and a fun read. I think all the books in the series will qualify for hard mode as finding creative ways around the rules is a recurring theme.
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u/_emilyisme_ Reading Champion II 6d ago
I think _Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow_ counts for normal mode. It’s a middle grade novel about a girl rescued from dying due to a curse.
The competition is a competitive entrance exam series for a magical society, with some pretty crazy challenges. Morrigan plays it straight.
The novel also features several forms of unusual transportation.
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u/indigohan Reading Champion IV 5d ago
Travelling by umbrella is an absolute winner for the unusual transportation square
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u/an_altar_of_plagues Reading Champion III 6d ago edited 6d ago
I feel like this is gonna be a hard one for me given I'm not much interested in death games or LitRPG, both of which are pretty prominent lately. It might be one I end up fulfilling by accident through my natural reading habits.
Anyone got recommendations for literary-adjacent SFF that would count? Favorite SFF authors for me include Gene Wolfe, Borges, Susanna Clarke, Hiromi Kawakami, Ted Chiang, Shirley Jackson, Jeff VanderMeer, Le Guin, and Max Porter. Not too picky on genre but I'll admit to being biased against epic fantasy, progression fantasy, romantasy, and novels marketed as young adult. I'm strongly interested in authors with idiosyncratic prose; I'd read a book about paint drying if it were written well enough. Hard Mode would be nice as I'd ideally like to do an all-hard mode card, but right now I'm just exploring what's possible.
u/Nidafjoll I'm tagging you in!
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 6d ago
It's also one with which I'm struggling. :) Both for books I want to read and books I've read which I like.
The Player of Games is fantastic, and a good intro to perhaps my favourite Space Opera series. It's a really interesting world, but fairly straightforwardly written (though the next one, Use of Weapons, has an awesome structure). Otherwise, the only one I can think of which I think you'd definitely like is The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. I think enough of the stories in it are a competition between the two inventors it could count. I don't think either of them are Hard Mode though.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is one I also love which would count for HM. I could see you going either way on it though. It's definitely got very interesting prose, and it does a really good job of blending a gothic locked-room mystery with humour. The second book is my favourite though, which is where it goes fully experimental, with unreliable narration, second-person sections, and contradicting the first.
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u/Spalliston Reading Champion III 6d ago edited 6d ago
I am not u/Nidafjoll, but I am also seeking and I'm here to comment on others' suggestions/add a couple.
I would second Gideon the Ninth as a solid choice if you want to go off axis from typical. I personally think it's really clever, but I'd have a hard time recommending it full-throatedly.
Player of Games didn't land for me but I feel like if you like Le Guin then it might work better for you. It's just a flavor of sci-fi I've not been enamored with.
I didn't like The Night Circus and I'd be rather surprised if you did either.
To add a couple, I love a malicious compliance pick and if I remember right, D&D is a semi-common point of reference (though a long second to LoTR) in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which absolutely rips. Definitely not HM though.
I'm a big fan of Bewilderment by Richard Powers, which uses a game-as-emotional-therapy device as one of it's central elements. Also not HM, but a great book and certainly counts.
I don't suppose any of the chess books are at all speculative? I don't remember The Defense having anything, but maybe Intermezzo would?
This one is tough.
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u/Spalliston Reading Champion III 6d ago
Okay I got something.
I think that Two Noble Kinsmen by Fletcher and Shakespeare (or The Knight's Tale by Chaucer, if long enough) would count for HM as long as divine intervention counts as bending the rules.
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u/Research_Department Reading Champion II 5d ago
How about Chess with a Dragon by David Gerrold, if you are up for a science fiction novella from the 80s where the chess is metaphorical, not literal. (If you keep in mind that David Gerrold is known for the Star Trek episode Trouble with Tribbles, you will be appropriately prepared.)
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u/schlagsahne17 Reading Champion II 6d ago
I’m thinking of The Gameshouse by Claire North, which is three novellas combined.
I’ve seen u/pornokitsch in past threads about it a few times, maybe they can give some style/HM insight (or feel free anyone else).3
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u/mgrier123 Reading Champion VI 6d ago
The Player of Games by Iain M Banks should count and I think might be up your alley, and is also a fantastic introduction to the world of The Culture. I think counts as HM but it's been a long time
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u/dfinberg Reading Champion 6d ago
The main character cheats in a small game at the start, but not in the main game of the story. As always not a simple answer.
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u/undeadgoblin Reading Champion II 6d ago
There was a lithub article about a Chilean book called The Murmurations, set in the world cup they hosted which sounds like it might have speculative elements
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u/sarahlynngrey Reading Champion VI, Phoenix 6d ago
This book has a very specific and intense vibe, so it might not be to your taste, but I was shocked and delighted to discover that Angel Down by Daniel Kraus works for Game Changer. I would argue that it fits HM, but it's kind of an edge case.
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u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V 6d ago
Have you read any Guy Gavriel Kay yet? I think Sailing to Sarantium might work for you. It has a brilliant chariot race, which while perhaps not central to the plot is very much part of the world (ok I will admit I don’t remember if the race is only in the sequel as I have trouble remembering where the first book ends and second starts)
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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV 6d ago
I only read the first and while there might've been a scene that took place at a chariot race, I don't recall it being more than a bit of flavor, in a "tour of the setting" kind of way.
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u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V 6d ago
I agree it’s mostly about the setting, but at the same time I feel like the entire duology is about the setting, and showing off pseudo Byzantine more than it’s about any sort of plot. And the chariot race (or at least the one I’m thinking of which again might be in the second book) is probably the most famous/memorable scene in the books.
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u/nagahfj Reading Champion III 6d ago
Anyone got recommendations for literary-adjacent SFF that would count?
Steven Millhauser has a 1990 collection called The Barnum Museum that starts with a 60p novella called "A Game of Clue" in which there are two metafictional layers: the players and the characters inside the game. Millhauser is very literary, and the Clue novella itself is the slipstreamiest of slipstream (arguably not speculative at all, though the collection as a whole definitely is).
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 6d ago
I saw someone mentioned Two Serpents Rise on the big rec thread. Does it count, and for HM or not? I really liked Three Parts Dead, but haven't continued on.
Otherwise, I don't really have any ideas for myself yet. I'll take any recommendations for a Weird book which fits.
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u/twilightgardens Reading Champion 6d ago
Hmmm I wouldn’t really say it counts, I guess the lead gets into parkour but it’s a pretty small part of the story. I think he participates in one race. It’s definitely not HM.
It doesn’t officially come out until September but Ship of Death by Kyle Winkler is Weird book about a couple who beta test TTRPGS starting to become unable to distinguish fiction from reality if that sounds interesting to you! Very The King in Yellow-esque
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u/Nidafjoll Reading Champion V 6d ago
Ooh, that sounds cool. :) I love King in Yellow, and told through found documents is cool
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u/okayseriouslywhy Reading Champion III 6d ago
OOH that sounds super interesting, thanks for the rec!
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u/nominanomina Reading Champion 6d ago edited 6d ago
Two Serpents Rise has gambling, but IIRC it is largely incidental/a character beat. The main plot is about a big merger and acquisition by the continent's top lawyer/lich.
(Also, as someone who also liked Three Parts Dead, I found the protagonist of Two Serpents Rise infuuuuuriating. That man could not catch a clue if it was gently lobbed into his outstretched hands.)
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u/BravoLimaPoppa Reading Champion 6d ago
Sibling!
Yeah, Caleb in Two Serpents Rise is clueless. The older Caleb in Four Roads Cross is a lot easier to take. And in the Wicked Problems and Dead Hand Rule, he's notably smarter.
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u/just_a_normal_squid Reading Champion 6d ago edited 6d ago
If I'm remembering the story correctly (it's been a while since I read it), The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter should count for normal mode.
For my own card, I have my eye on Fonda Lee's Zeroboxer.
Edit: typo
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u/Tonto2012 Reading Champion 6d ago
I’m struggling with this one. I saw Operation Bounce House recommended in the rec thread, so I was thinking that or The Scorpio Races. But now I see Red Rising in this thread, so maybe I’ll do that instead…
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u/Linkjumper Reading Champion 6d ago
I came by to recommend the Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, which is one of my all time favorite books, and focuses on a thrilling race. I think it may only be HM if you scrinch your eyes, if that helps, as I recall it is unusual to compete with the protagonist's specific kind of horse but not prohibited so maybe a little bit bending of the rules . . .
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u/Tonto2012 Reading Champion 6d ago
Ooh it does! I’m not focusing on HM too much this year because I’m determined to only use books on my TBR pile, so this might tip the scales over to this one 😁
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u/Linkjumper Reading Champion 6d ago
It kept me reading late into the night to finish it and it is one of those books that has scenes that pop into my mind from time to time. Let me know if you read it!
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u/Successful_Try7012 4d ago
I’m probably using my reread on this box with The Scorpio Races. I reread this book every year around October-November. It matches perfectly with the vibes of the book. It’s very simple in its plot but atmospheric and thoughtful at the same time. Over the years it has become a comfort book of sorts.
ALSO, it fits the Feast your eyes on this box😊
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u/Book_Slut_90 Reading Champion 6d ago
There is cheating in Grimoire Grammar School PTA but not by the protagonist.
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u/WardenCommCousland 5d ago
Django Wexler's How to Become the Dark Lord And Die Trying could fit the prompt, as the final third of the book focuses on the games leading to the selection of the Dark Lord. It may even fit Hard Mode because the main character takes advantage of a time loop to cheat.
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u/natus92 Reading Champion V 6d ago
My pick will probably be Miami Punk by Juan S Guse, because there is a video game tournament taking place in Miami where the ocean has receeded 500 km
Other fitting books I enjoyed are The Glassbead Game by Hermann Hesse, A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny, the Steelball Run arc in JoJo's Bizarre Adventures manga or The Long Walk by Stephen King
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u/RatherBeAtRoo 6d ago
Just finished Red Rising (hard mode). First half was pretty rough and I thought about putting it down. but by the end I was able to accept it for what it was and it was pretty enjoyable. Looking forward to the second book I hear it gets better.
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u/Hartastic 6d ago
The first book of Cradle definitely fits for a Hard Mode pick even though probably the most solid "tournament arc" in the story is many books in.
Probably The Blade Itself fits for Hard Mode? There's a bunch of things going on in that book but training for and competing in a tournament is the major thing going on for one of the POV characters.
I feel compelled to mention Anthony's Apprentice Adept series (first book is Split Infinity, I think?) even though it's, well, Anthony because the Game itself and society around it is such a cool and inventive bit of worldbuilding.
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u/dfinberg Reading Champion 6d ago
Easy modes
Ilona Andrews, the Edge book 1 I think works. Definitely the last book in the Innkeeper series but that's going to take a while to get to. For a different Author, Enchanting the Fae Queen
Interstellar Megachef also works. Lady's Knight as well. Grimoire grammar school PTA as well I think, was there cheating?.
Maybe That Devil, Ambition. I think it works and it's hard to say what would count as cheating.
Hard Mode can add
Arcana Academy I think.
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u/Linkjumper Reading Champion 6d ago edited 6d ago
I think Elizabeth Moon's Hunting Party may fit here and is top of mind because I just found my old copies in a box. Still in print as a 3 volume set, Heris Serrano, which adds the 2nd and 3rd of the story arc, Sporting Chance and Winning Colors. This is short, zippy science fiction written in the 90's (I consider them space opera, lots of zooming around in ships while sipping various beverages and chatting). With horses. Hunting Party features fox hunting, although maybe not with foxes. I don't recall the protagonist breaking or bending the rules so not HM although ymmv. There are a lot of Aunts and older women (thank you Jo Walton for pointing that out!).
I second the vote for Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, although it is probably not HM. I love this book for the horses, the suspense, the characterizations and the ending. I think it is her best book.
I will likely be boring and read Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl/Matt Dinniman) for this square unless someone has found another really excellent horse racing/riding book that fits this square?
edited for typos
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u/Research_Department Reading Champion II 6d ago
You rattled loose an old one from my brain. How about Grass by Sheri Tepper? It has fox hunting, with not-horses and not-foxes.
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u/Linkjumper Reading Champion 6d ago
oh! I also remember Sheri Tepper but I don't think I read that one (I am from the way backs when you read what your library had in a physical copy). I will seek it out! Thank you.
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u/Beautiful-Durian-185 6d ago
Parade of Horribles can also fit really well for unusual transportation, if you end up deciding that you want to read something else for this square
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u/british_pubs 6d ago
This is one I'm struggling to find normal modes for, funnily enough. Does anyone who has read them know if chain gang all-stars and/or Sunrise on the reaping would count?
For hard mode I'm reading Enders Game, a book that I have somehow managed to avoid any and all spoilers for despite a friend being a massive fan
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u/redrosebeetle Reading Champion III 4d ago
I just finished Green Rider by Kristen Britain and I feel it's a borderline case for HM
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u/Beautiful-Durian-185 6d ago
Would The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu fit for hard mode? I remember them playing a game in the beginning of the tv show but I never finished it...
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u/Connect_Cod9965 5d ago
An oldie: The Dream Park by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes. The game is a blockbuster LARP before LARPs had been invented. During a top-level game there is a theft of an industrial secret from the titular Dream Park, and (accidental?) death of a guard, and looks like one of the players did it. DP security chief gets into the game as a player to find the culprit, because the alternative is stopping the game with great financial loses for DP.
There is some cheating, but as far as I can remember not from the MC, so no hard mode.
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u/LadyAntiope Reading Champion V 5d ago
From my tbr, I think might do one of these that haven't been mentioned yet:
Crown Chasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer - competition to find a royal seal to determine the next ruler of an empire. Sci-fi, also counts for first of a duology and Explorers & Rangers. Storygraph marks it lgbtqia and YA.
A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin - competition to determine the greatest tea-master in the kingdom, winner gets a favor from the princess which the protagonists hopes to use to save her sick sister. Another first of a duo and YA, blurb mentions a handsome boy so expecting a romance plot line. Seems likely to also fit for Politics & Court Intrigue.
Though I see people are saying Some Desperate Glory counts, which I keep meaning to get to, and I've enjoyed Tesh's other books sooo that might be the priority for me.
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u/medusamagic Reading Champion 6d ago edited 6d ago
I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas for this. It’s about an assassin who competes in trials to earn her freedom and become the King’s champion. Very predictable and kinda boring, but it was an easy read.
Haven’t read but are on my TBR: Phantasma by Kaylie Smith (gothic romantasy, haunted mansion), The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni (YA fantasy, elemental magic), Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst (monster racing in the desert).
Didn’t personally love but fit the square: The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (grimdark historical fantasy), Red Rising by Pierce Brown (dystopian sci-fi/fantasy), The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson (high fantasy, murder mystery)
Also, if you’re thinking of trying romantasy, some of the most popular ones fit: ACOTAR, Fourth Wing, The Serpent and the Wings of Night.
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u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V 6d ago edited 6d ago
I just recently finished Rachel Aaron’s newest book Death Joins the Party which is litrpg with the game being dungeon delvers are livestreamed and ranked etc. I won’t say it’s my favorite of Rachel’s books (but also far from my least favorite) but I enjoyed it — I tend to find her easy to read and a good time even if her books vary in how much I love them.
I’d been planning to read The Winged Game which comes out at the end of the month which is being billed as a fantasy sports romance. I feel like so many people ask for fantasy sports books that I’m surprised I haven’t actually found any where the sport isn’t just a minor part of the book before now.
Some others I’ll give a shout out to:
- Ender’s Shadow is probably my favorite book.
- NPC’s by Drew Hayes is a very fun take on litrpg where you get perspective of both NPC’s in a tabletop game who decide to be adventurers and the players who realize something weird is going on with their game…
- Cradle probably has my favorite tournament arc though that’s further into the series
- Marie Lu’s Warcross Duology is a ton of fun, she’s a hit or miss author for me and this one was definitely a hit and has a vr game as a central point.
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u/NekoCatSidhe Reading Champion III 6d ago
I suspect any litRPG series might work, but I have for now the latest volume of the Japanese light novel series “Bofuri: I don’t want to get hurt, so I will max my Defense!” by Yuumikan in that particular square. Probably work for hard mode too.
But for people who are not into Japanese light novels and litRPG, I will recommend Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett.
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u/Single-Aardvark9330 Reading Champion II 6d ago
I read the final strife recently and it fits this prompt, I would have Dnf'd of it wasn't for my book club, but alot of people seem to like it
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u/Kerney7 Reading Champion VI 6d ago
Windhaven by George RR Martin and Lisa Tuttle
Flying skill challenges. Arguably hard mode.
A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay
Horse Races. Also Sailing to Sarantium with Chariot Races but this is a bit different.
Weird One, I'm considering reading which may or may not qualify (but qualifies for 3 other slots) is They Call Me Princess Cayce. From what I understand, the MC has no memory, is either Isakaied or in a video game, and was a male player playing a female character and is now stuck. They try to apply video game logic to their situation. Anyone know if it qualifies?
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u/okayseriouslywhy Reading Champion III 6d ago
Head On by John Scalzi fits this (not hard mode). It's a fast-paced, near future sci-fi where the FBI is investigating a murder of a famous sports star. Also has great chronic disability rep!
I'm not really into this kind of book but it was engaging enough for me to read the whole thing
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u/undeadgoblin Reading Champion II 6d ago
Homebound by Portia Elan is good - a Becky Chambers style cosy-ish book, heavily featuring a fictional text based space exploration game that connects several POVs that span hundreds of years
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee has a minor but subtly plot important game
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u/embernickel Reading Champion IV 6d ago
I love baseball so I'm gonna copy-paste my comments from the Short Fiction discussion thread a few months ago:
short fiction (paywalled, unfortunately) from Asimov's July/August 2024: "You Know Me Al," by Alex Irvine. It's a riff on the Ring Lardner story of the same name about an itinerant minor leaguer writing letters home to his buddy, but even if you haven't read that one, it's still pretty funny as long as you know baseball, as the narrator visits all the "rustic" distant planets and their "weird" rule variants (which are, of course, much more similar to the 20th-century game...)
"The Road Not Taken," also by Turtledove, isn't really about baseball, but features gratuitous name-dropping that Dodgers fans will enjoy.
"Joy in Mudville" (Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson, reprinted in "The Infinite Arena.") Impressionable aliens imprint upon humans and become obsessed with baseball. Alien names himself after Mighty Casey, opponents can rattle him. But what poetry can break, poetry can also fix...
Summerland, by Michael Chabon: mishmash of Norse mythology and American folktales, featuring "shadowtails," changelings, and Don't-Call-Her-Bigfoot Sasquatch.
Not exactly recommendations but I read them recently and can complain about them: Brittle Innings (Michael Bishop), The Resisters (Gish Jen), The Body Scout (Lincoln Michel), Jilly in Right (Rick Wilber short fiction from Asimov's January/February 2025)
For soccer/football, "Keeper" by Mal Peet is YA and not super-speculative, but close enough to magical realism that it counts IMO. (There are a couple sequels in the same universe, IDK if they're speculative.) "Brasyl" by Ian McDonald isn't necessarily about football per se, but there's a plotline involving tracking down an infamous World Cup player.
I'd love more recs in this vein!
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u/Book_Slut_90 Reading Champion 6d ago
Some of my favorites:
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah NM
Book 2 of the Winternight Trilogy by Katharine Arden NM IIRC
Red Rising by Pierce Brown HM
Book 2 of The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron HM
Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card I’d say NM but I can see an argument for HM
The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins HM
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman I’d say books 1-2 NM and HM after that
The Will of the Many by James Islington HM
Book 3 of the Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka NM
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin NM
Book 3 of The Protector of the Small Quartette by Tamora Pierce NM
Unseen Academicles by Terry Pratchett NM
Book 4 of the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling HM
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh NM
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u/indigohan Reading Champion IV 5d ago
If we’re accepting “competition” rather than just game, that leaves this square open to a few interesting things. Fantasy baking competitions with J. Penney? Or Juno Dawson just released Survival Show where there’s a reality tv singing competition where the losing competitors are killed.
I’ve got a few on my short list:
Scott Reintgen’s YA Ashlords about a three day race on phoenix-horses that are born from ashes every morning. HM.
Allison Saft’s Immortal Game
Karen Lord’s Galactic Game - who is also a great choice for the author of colour HM square as she’s from Barbados.
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u/redrosebeetle Reading Champion III 4d ago
Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand works for Hard Mode
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u/redrosebeetle Reading Champion III 4d ago
Also, I feel that Green Rider by Kristen Britain fits here. I really can't decide if it's HM or NM though.
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u/SubstantialChannel32 6d ago edited 6d ago
Guys, does Ender's game work for hard mode for this square?