francois

The latest installment of the one-upvote Reddit recs. This was recommended a few times alongside A Tale of Stars and Shadow, the series that kicked off this whole one upvote shebang.

There's a subgenre that's becoming very popular now, everywhere but particularly within self-published circles, that I'm dubbing “softcore epic fantasy” - a hopeful, less masculine, more gender-universal adventure story, often very emotional and angsty, and with strong found family elements. Maybe this is part of a merger of traditional, bulky, sprawling masculine epic fantasy stories with the increasingly popular young adult, romance, and cozy genres. But I've noticed a lot more books like this coming out since 2019 or so. Imagine Robin Hobb, but far more wholesome, upbeat and fulfilling.

I think this trend is, all in all, good. When this is done well - as it is in ATOSAS - it is wonderful; you get a lot of angst that pays off at the end, characters that are fun and relatable, and a very simple, clean, well-organized story. Here, it's less effective. Emerson writes well, but my reading experience alternated between “oh my, this is actually really good” and “this tantrum has gone on for far too long,” favoring the latter.

While I like the effort to simplify the often sprawling and complex plots of epic fantasy, this one went too far. Very little happens between the initial adventure and the final battle, and parts of the middle of the book felt empty and did not pay off at all. This setting is really the highest of high fantasy - I saw people call this “low fantasy”, and they couldn't be more wrong. Often, that's a problem, because there are really only three characters in this book, and they all are written pretty close to archetype. I think a book which such few characters has to make each character exceptional, and while they're not bad, they're not amazing either. There's very little to develop other than the character relationships, which have a jagged progression, and the world, which Emerson doesn't do a lot of. There is a villain, and there are two supporting characters who are introduced at the end, but they're not developed all that well.

I like the general gist of this book, it's interesting I like the world and characters, and the writing is competent. It's better than some of the more popular self-published epic fantasy (Bound and the Broken, Echoes Saga, Battle Mage, etc.) that's gone moderately viral over the last few years. But I think the simplification of the story is a step too far in the wrong direction, and I think this is best suited for an easy guilty pleasure night read. While I feel somewhat attached to the story, I can't say I love it. 7/10.

Another great Jennifer Fallon series. Fallon's “middle period,” this series and Tide Lords, are action-heavy epic fantasies that should be way more popular among fans of Sanderson and other more popular action fantasy authors.

This series had a lot in common with Tide Lords, though I thought Tide Lords was slightly more dynamic, convincing, and shocking. Both series have a very fun and bantery vibe for the first 80% of the series, with kitchen sink elements thrown in like crazy, plot twists, and a lot of very entertaining character interactions. But around the halfway point of the final book in each, the classic Fallon elements come in. The books get very dark, obscure side characters end up becoming the heroes of the story, and the characters slowly lose their humanity (something, if you reread, was coming all along, and you never noticed). Above all, in both series, there's a sense that the story was just a footnote in history, but clearly it's important enough that we are reading it and enjoying it.

I liked this aspect of both the Tide Lords and the Rift Runners. Many, as I can see below, do not.

Anyway, this book had a bit of a chaotic finale that didn't seem to be 100% executed correctly, but the chaos is kind of in line with the rest of the series, which felt a bit more haphazard than Tide Lords, and I can't help but think that part of that was intentional. Loved the characters, loved the ending, and I'm glad Fallon has an extensive back catalog because I cannot wait to mine it.

“Progression fantasy meets grimdark” is a fantastic selling point for a book in 2024, and Taran Matharu deserves immense credit for writing a traditionally published book that wholeheartedly embraces progression elements. Matharu tells the story of Jai, exiled prince of the steppes raised as a servant in the palace of the Sabine (read: Roman) emperor, on the run from the aftermath of a royal marriage gone horribly wrong (read: Red Wedding).

I have conflicting thoughts on this book. The story is fine, with twists that are pretty apparent to anyone who's read progression fantasy and a straightforward plot that won't surprise anyone who has read grimdark. It really does feel like traditional publishing hampers many progression stories, which thrive on a slow pace and the use of dedicated space to flesh out character development. Many of those moments felt truncated or lacking, causing many of the characters to feel undeveloped as I read through. Also, people who pick this one up for the dragon rider/magic plotline should be warned that it is much less prominent than you are expecting!

Bildungsroman is one of the most foundational tropes of progression fantasy, but one of the most attractive elements of the genre is that while it is shameless nostalgia, it is written for adults. Maybe it is because this novel is traditionally published, but I didn't feel like this novel featured characters making adult decisions or any sort of adult elements beyond racy language and copious invective. I would go as far as to say that Matharu probably swears much less in real life than he writes in this book, and it shows and feels forced.

Overall a decent start to a trilogy, I'll read the next two books.
Rating: 6.5/10
Closest comparison: The Umbral Storm

A disappointing read, considering how highly this book is recommended on social media.

Everything about this book is milquetoast epic fantasy: the setting in a small farming village, carefully artificed massive battles with characters strategically killed off as the book proceeds; corruption in royal families, and way too many points of view. The pace of the book plods along like an ox, and the chapters rotate between eight or nine characters without very much plot motivation to entice the reader to go forward to the next character.

There's an audience for this in people who really like to immerse themselves in all elements of the fantasy experience, so to speak, but for those who enjoy character development, plot, suspense, and excitement, I'm afraid this series has very little to offer.

4/10 because it's competently written and Storm is a good girl, but I probably won't continue on.

6/10. I think I am finally beginning to figure out this series. E.E. Knight's writing is so uniquely equipped to tell this story, but it's a slow-paced story and not one that you ever want to binge. I said this for the prequel, but it's hard to really see this as a young adult novel with how long it is, how difficult it is to get through, and how dark it ends up getting. But young readers who like Robin Hobb might like this too.

That said, this was better than the first book by miles. Knight just does a better job here focusing on characters other than Ileth and figuring out how to portray their growth through Ileth's perspective. The story still plods, but moved faster - and importantly, less consistently - than its predecessor. I still cannot figure out who this series is for, but I'll certainly read the next book!

A pretty weak conclusion to a good series that really established John Bierce as a very talented fantasy author with a strong imagination and storytelling ability. This volume generally abandoned the strong character work done in the previous couple books for bloated, never-ending action scenes and very confusing character turnarounds. The ending failed to land the right way, and it seemed that the plot was pretty linear, even for a progression fantasy novel. Usually Bierce delivers pretty decent endings, so maybe with this one he probably just wrote himself into a wall and had too many threads to tie together. However, I'm willing to give Bierce a pass for this, and am looking forward to his next work with anticipation.

An excellent and underrated series continues! This one continued the same vibe as the first one, with some new twists and turns that kept it very fresh. This is an exceptionally silly series that nevertheless has random serious moments and very strange things pop up - the closest comparison in tone is really the Winnowing Flame series, but that has more horror going on than this one. Fallon is one of those authors who requires a lot of suspension of disbelief to enjoy her books, and for this one, it's mostly just because of the randomness and absurdity of some of the directions of the plot.

A major arc of this novel is set in a Japanese-colonized version of Ireland. It is not a maximally historically informed version of Japan, because it is not Japan, but it's reasonably not offensive, and meets readers on their level and familiarity, for the most part. It is refreshing to see in a world where most portrayals of Eastern cultures are either academically sterile or offensive, but some might disagree.

I hope the series doesn't wrap up with a twist on the scale of the Tide Lords, but I'm looking forward to book 3!

Decent traditional fantasy. Great friendship/brotherhood writing. The magic school scenes at the beginning of the book are the most convincing. Sags a bit in the middle, but the last couple arcs are very satisfying, and the ending is well worth the read. Don't know if I'll read the sequels, as I've heard mixed things.

Characters are overall good, really liked Lyrna and Frentis. It's a good solid book, didn't really have the wow factor for me but entertaining throughout. 3.5 rounded up to 4.

The Phantom Tollbooth, for adults.

Another absolute gem discovered on a Reddit comment with one upvote. It's an elegiac, sad, literary fantasy novel that still indulges and delights when it is given time. It's the cri de coeur of a passionate artist, for whom finding love becomes difficult when one is able to find love and delight in everything. Each of the nine or ten characters we meet has their own tragedy and vigor to them, and each of them are so easy to fall in love with. I expect everyone has met some of the characters in this novel before, or if not, will meet them soon. It's that kind of book.

I sometimes find more literary strains of fantasy pretentious and unnecessary, but this prose is more than readable, and has a wonderful rhythm and variety to it, from the bouncy alliterative beginning representing the naivete of the young Pico, to the sprawling and patient style of Narya's novel. Even more so, we get things like mouthwatering descriptions of food, a wonderfully enjoyable and ultimately bittersweet friendship arc, and several elegant romances.

The influences here are certainly more literary - Russian novels are felt strongly here, as is Calvino. These are both things I like, and I do worry about the universality of this book - but I'm perfectly happy to keep it to myself, as really nothing has tugged my heartstrings more this year.

10/10.

A fun little book for a quiet evening at home. As always with Rachel Aaron, this book is snappily written and set in the very creative and whimsical DFZ. I thought this series so far didn't live up to Heartstrikers and DFZ in inhabiting the setting and immersing the reader in the magic of it, and it probably contained my least favorite romance of the three series (although I'm completely forgetting who the male interest was in the first DFZ series, so there you go). Still, with Aaron, you kind of know what you're going to get, and the plot is fast-paced and fun with satisfying endings and a nice setup for the rest of the series.

Far and away Paolini's best novel, and one of my favorite books of the year. And not just because of childhood nostalgia: this is a genuinely very good fantasy novel that emphasizes the best aspects of Paolini's storytelling and worldbuilding, and gives a wonderful story to the original series's most interesting character.

When I heard this book was coming out, I didn't have high expectations at all. Murtagh's arc at the end of the Inheritance Cycle is a dark one, and I'd expect his journey away from Ilirea to be filled with much more alcohol, sex, and depression than you could ever expect in a young adult book. I selfishly wanted a very adult, grimdark novel out of this one.

I'm thrilled to say that we got a very dark book in a fantastic way. Paolini handles Murtagh's arc with maturity, class, and deftness. Despite the young-adult marketing and clean narration, we have a protagonist in his twenties who at times approaches Fitz-like levels of intensity and emotional devastation. Murtagh is a far, far more interesting character viewpoint than Eragon, and Paolini lets his perspective burrow deeper into Murtagh's mind than we ever really saw with Eragon in the original series. The setup for what will be the next Alagaesia series is smaller than some people have been saying; you won't see many characters from the original series making appearances here.

I always felt that Paolini's world particularly separated itself from its derivative origins due to its large focus on wilderness and environment, and this one leans into those aspects even more. Readers familiar with the Western United States will recognize several natural, cultural, and social themes that pop up in the book. The writing was solid; a big improvement on the Fractalverse, but I suspect Paolini writes better in Alagaesia anyway.

My only substantial criticism of Murtagh is who it's for. I highly recommend this to all the other childhood Eragon fans out there who might have forgotten about the series and want a much-better-than expected jaunt down memory lane. It is absolutely not the best entry point into the world; adult readers who are interested will probably have to struggle through the original series for this to make much sense, and I find Murtagh's internal monologue far more relatable to people in their twenties than teens looking to get into the series. I've seen very little marketing around this series in my largely epic-fantasy-focused social media feeds, which is a shame because this book is good, and most of today's epic fantasy fans grew up on this series. Read this!

It always feels like there's an agenda to Jennifer Fallon's novels, neither social nor political, but one staking out a niche that fantasy authors have not explored. In the Tide Lords, it was writing immortals that are actually immortal: in Second Sons, which I'm planning to read soon, Fallon discusses writing an epic fantasy novel that doesn't have magic at all. In the Rift Runners trilogy, it's one where she asks what a portal fantasy set equally on Earth and a fantasy world would look like.

We have some contemporary examples, like The Magicians, although that one doesn't seem quite as balanced. Unlike The Magicians, this series is fun. The characters and plot lines are about as goofy and silly as you can imagine without reaching comic or urban fantasy territory. The book is straightforwardly and almost rudimentarily written, and it is full of Marvel-esque banter that's actually done quite well.

This book took me a long time to get through, because the premise and characters in the parallel worlds are complicated, and the sort of gestalt of the book doesn't really make itself clear until about 60% through. I took about a six-month break around that mark but was very much rewarded by the end.

This is by far Fallon's least popular series and I can see why. It's in a weird place between YA and adult where the premise of fantasy characters coming to our world and vice versa sort of makes it far too silly compared to most adult fiction. But it's not really YA, to be honest, mostly for thematic reasons. If you like Tide Lords, you'll probably like this, but be warned it's even more over the top. I'm looking forward to reading the next two soon.