*Piranesi* is a quick read. About a man who lives in a mysterious house/castle. The house is just as much of a character as anyone, and has some mystery involving who the MC is and how he got there.
*Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore* by Robin Sloan is a delightful little “mystery” novel about the secret society that uses bookstores and books as a way to test their membership. Sets up as something far more nefarious than it is, but has plenty of likable characters and enough interest to keep following their story. Harmless and likeable.
*Wilder Girls* by Rory Power is dubbed as a “Lord Of The Flies for girls” and features a boarding school whose students are plagued by mysterious disease. The writing and clever use of descriptive language shines here.
*A Psalm for the Wild-Built* by Becky Chambers is 2021’s “cozy cup of coffee” book. Insightful and touching, feels a little like reading a self-help book however.
*The Immortalists* by Chloe Benjamin about four siblings who meet a fortune teller, each one being told how they will die. You follow the story of each and how this hovering over their heads effects how they live their lives.
*Ogres* is an exciting action piece that falls around 100 pages. People living in an old world fantasy setting are under the thumb of giant Ogres who are their landlords and property owners. When they come for tithe/rent a young man stands up for himself, and winds up going down a rabbit hole of conspiracy and violence.
*The Rook* is Hellboy meets Blake Crouch. A woman wakes up without memory and surrounded by people she obviously bested in a brutal fight. She finds out she is a powered individual working for a government supernatural agency and someone from within is trying to kill her.
*Iron Widow* is a very interesting mash of Asian inspired alt-history/sci-fi/fantasy. I’ve seen it billed as “Handmaid’s Tale” meets “Pacific Rim” and honestly that’s not far off. A war against an alien threat is looming, and only giant mechs piloted by a male/female pair can stop them. Problem being, the female rarely survives the experience.
*Questland* by Carrie Vaughn is about a Jurassic Park-ish island with a D&D style adventure setting. Deceptive in that you feel like you’re reading a book with aims of being *Ready Player Run* for the fantasy set, with plenty of unrealistic comedic moments and nods to popular culture. What might be missed is an underlying commentary in why fantasy is so beloved to fans on a psychological level. A fun adventure read, but be warned this book deals with a MC suffering from PTSD and may trigger some readers.
*The Passage* is an excellent horror series that deals with life before and after a world altering cataclysm. Has some grounded characters and some interesting relationships. Jumps from pre-event to post-event and connects some cool dots by doing this.
*The Unbroken* by C.L. Clark is a new book that is one of the better Sapphic fantasy books I’ve read, featuring a very well fleshed out setting and filled with political drama, revenge, and vivid characters. Might have been a bit shorter and I didn’t completely buy the romance presented, but it showed up on a few 2021 best of lists.
*The Sentence* by Louise Erdrich is a mix of fantasy and reality. A woman works in a haunted bookstore. We follow her life and family through a year. It starts a bit light hearted and silly, but by the end we see the family deal with the pandemic and the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis on a very realistic level.
*The Empress of Salt and Fortune* by Nghi Vo is an Asian inspired novella that carries the story forward over a series of discussions/told stories between three characters. I really enjoyed the process of the plot revealing itself and how much deep world building was happening in such a short book.
nessiecraft on
Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books might fit. Fantasy, dragons, but not really magical. I personally like the dragon drums trilogy.
Ouranin on
A Trial of Blood and Steel by Joel Shepherd has very little magic.
Amphy64 on
*Gormenghast*, though would question if it’s fantasy at all rather than a gothic novel of manners. No magic, just utterly unique weirdness.
It’s not really a trilogy, as Peake was too unwell to write a cohesive third book, but the second book gives a fine conclusion to the story – strongly counsel leaving it there.
4 Comments
*Piranesi* is a quick read. About a man who lives in a mysterious house/castle. The house is just as much of a character as anyone, and has some mystery involving who the MC is and how he got there.
*Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore* by Robin Sloan is a delightful little “mystery” novel about the secret society that uses bookstores and books as a way to test their membership. Sets up as something far more nefarious than it is, but has plenty of likable characters and enough interest to keep following their story. Harmless and likeable.
*Wilder Girls* by Rory Power is dubbed as a “Lord Of The Flies for girls” and features a boarding school whose students are plagued by mysterious disease. The writing and clever use of descriptive language shines here.
*A Psalm for the Wild-Built* by Becky Chambers is 2021’s “cozy cup of coffee” book. Insightful and touching, feels a little like reading a self-help book however.
*The Immortalists* by Chloe Benjamin about four siblings who meet a fortune teller, each one being told how they will die. You follow the story of each and how this hovering over their heads effects how they live their lives.
*Ogres* is an exciting action piece that falls around 100 pages. People living in an old world fantasy setting are under the thumb of giant Ogres who are their landlords and property owners. When they come for tithe/rent a young man stands up for himself, and winds up going down a rabbit hole of conspiracy and violence.
*The Rook* is Hellboy meets Blake Crouch. A woman wakes up without memory and surrounded by people she obviously bested in a brutal fight. She finds out she is a powered individual working for a government supernatural agency and someone from within is trying to kill her.
*Iron Widow* is a very interesting mash of Asian inspired alt-history/sci-fi/fantasy. I’ve seen it billed as “Handmaid’s Tale” meets “Pacific Rim” and honestly that’s not far off. A war against an alien threat is looming, and only giant mechs piloted by a male/female pair can stop them. Problem being, the female rarely survives the experience.
*Questland* by Carrie Vaughn is about a Jurassic Park-ish island with a D&D style adventure setting. Deceptive in that you feel like you’re reading a book with aims of being *Ready Player Run* for the fantasy set, with plenty of unrealistic comedic moments and nods to popular culture. What might be missed is an underlying commentary in why fantasy is so beloved to fans on a psychological level. A fun adventure read, but be warned this book deals with a MC suffering from PTSD and may trigger some readers.
*The Passage* is an excellent horror series that deals with life before and after a world altering cataclysm. Has some grounded characters and some interesting relationships. Jumps from pre-event to post-event and connects some cool dots by doing this.
*The Unbroken* by C.L. Clark is a new book that is one of the better Sapphic fantasy books I’ve read, featuring a very well fleshed out setting and filled with political drama, revenge, and vivid characters. Might have been a bit shorter and I didn’t completely buy the romance presented, but it showed up on a few 2021 best of lists.
*The Sentence* by Louise Erdrich is a mix of fantasy and reality. A woman works in a haunted bookstore. We follow her life and family through a year. It starts a bit light hearted and silly, but by the end we see the family deal with the pandemic and the George Floyd riots in Minneapolis on a very realistic level.
*The Empress of Salt and Fortune* by Nghi Vo is an Asian inspired novella that carries the story forward over a series of discussions/told stories between three characters. I really enjoyed the process of the plot revealing itself and how much deep world building was happening in such a short book.
Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books might fit. Fantasy, dragons, but not really magical. I personally like the dragon drums trilogy.
A Trial of Blood and Steel by Joel Shepherd has very little magic.
*Gormenghast*, though would question if it’s fantasy at all rather than a gothic novel of manners. No magic, just utterly unique weirdness.
It’s not really a trilogy, as Peake was too unwell to write a cohesive third book, but the second book gives a fine conclusion to the story – strongly counsel leaving it there.