I read this! Extremely bleak read but not totally without hope. I know the opening scene gets some criticism, but the depiction of demons inspired by period-appropriate paintings was fantastic, needs to be done more often.
1 Like
The Broken Earth Series - N.K. Jemisin
On a world where humans have evolved to survive constant cataclysmic geological events, a woman concealing near-divine power over earth and seismic energy comes home to a tragedy and sets out on a journey to find her daughter on the eve of a massive, final catastrophe.
The Devourers - Indra Das
One hazy night in Kolkata, a professor meets a mysterious young man who shares the beginning of a feverish, impossible tale; mesmerized, they begin to transcribe a story of a secret race of flesh-eating shapeshifters living alongside humans for eons.
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
A haunting, heartbreaking retelling of the Trojan war and the doomed romance of Achilles and Patroclus, and the cruel plotting of uncaring gods all around them.
The Orphan’s Tales - Catherynne M. Valente
I: In The Night Garden
II: In The Cities of Spice and Coin
A brave and curious prince approaches a mysterious orphaned girl living in the vast garden of his family’s palace, and learns that the dark markings across her eyes are actually stories strung end to shining end–stories within stories, tales of pirate girls and singing manticores, of cunning djinn and talking bears, of scheming mice and fallen stars–and she must tell them all before the return of a demon who will judge her.
1 Like
I’d say anything by Octavia Butler or Ursula K. Le Guin is must-read quality. If we’re looking for strictly fantasy recommendations, however, Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea is brilliant. It’s influence cannot be overstated, and it’s not an intimidating work at all.
4 Likes
Easily one of my favorite trilogies that set up and invite you into such a fastinating culture and world, really fleshing it out in a way few can IMO.
2 Likes