Although I have loved fantasy and read it for 20 years, I have been sorely disappointed by the releases of the past few years. I had almost given up on US/UK publishers because of disappointments after disappointments: shallow world-building, poorly edited plots, rehashed tropes and the takeover of romantasy.

Since then, I have learned to like romantasy (one has to if one still wants to read newly released fantasy), though even there, a lot of my favourite reads are self-published.

What on earth has happened to all the amazing worldbuilding and epic stories? Since the start of the pandemic, I haven’t been able to find the same level of excitement that I used to experience with books like the Mistborn series by Sanderson, The Way of Kings, The Fifth Season by Jemisin, The Rage of Dragons by Winter (I still remember some scenes from that book all these years later), The Emperor’s Blades by Staveley, or science fiction books such all of those by my beloved author, Kameron …

Updated sales figures for fantasy megastars Brandon Sanderson and Sarah J. Maas demonstrate that the formidable market power of Romantasy is not stopping soon.

Back in January 2024, I assembled the latest incarnation of my “SFF All-Time Sales List,“ which had sales figures of 37 million for Sarah J. Maas (in 32nd place on the list) and 40 million for Brandon Sanderson (in 29th place). These were very healthy figures.

The updated figures for Sanderson (via the Edelweiss catalogue) now have him at 45 million, which would move him up to around 24th place. Very healthy and impressive. Unsurprising as in the meantime he’s released his long-awaited fifth Stormlight Archive novel, Wind and Truth, and is now working on a return to his perennially popular Mistborn sequence.

But the updated figures for Maas, straight from her publisher, are eye-popping. The updated figures put her at 75 million (!), which would rocket her up to around 17th on the list and instantly make her …

You know that feeling when you open a book with no idea what’s coming, and every twist, every moment, hits you completely fresh? If you could wipe your memory of one book and experience it all over again like the very first time, which book would you choose? I’ll start.

Quick note: I don’t mean books that gave you vital life knowledge or literally saved your life, blanking it doesn’t mean you’d die or anything like that. Just purely the thrill of discovery.

For me, the obvious answers are The Lord of the Rings or *Harry Potter*—the wonder of stepping into those worlds for the first time was incredible. But I could just as easily say many other books, because as a kid the adventures gave me a joy nothing else could.

And on a different note, I sometimes wonder what it would be like to come to Beowulf, or even The Faerie Queene, with completely fresh eyes, not as texts you “know about,” but as living stories and ideas you’re experiencing for the first time.

Could I pick only …

Just wanted to share an experience I had as a child, I thought some folks at this subreddit would appreciate. In the early eighties, my family got our first computer. And I played my first video game, The Black Cauldron by Sierra. The experience I had with that game made my imagination go wild, I was in love with everything about it.

It made me start reading The Chronicles of Prydain, I read straight through the entire series. So I ended up becoming a huge fan of Lloyd Alexander. I also used to write a lot of books back then, and I actually sent one to Lloyd Alexander. He sent me back a postcard, with a really sweet heartfelt paragraph about my book. And even drew a little illustration on the postcard.

Anyway, this is one of my fondest memories I have as a child. It’s basically what got me into fantasy. Lloyd Alexander is amazing, and he created some amazing stories and worlds in his novels.

What’s your favorite city in a fantasy world?

There are so many cool ones out there. Like Ankh-Morpork from Discworld, Minas Tirith from LotR, Camorr from Lies of Locke Lamora, or Luthadel from Mistborn. Even stuff like Vivec City from Elder Scrolls Morrowind or Novigrad from The Witcher counts.

Which one sticks with you the most? Would you actually want to live there, or just admire it from afar?

Looking to hear your picks (and maybe find a few new books/games too).

In 2020 I decided to finally sit down and read a Brandon Sanderson book. It was The Final Empire, otherwise known as Mistborn. It was my first adult fantasy novel (I’m aware it verges on YA). Having spent my late teens reading mostly literary fiction, I wanted to try reading fantasy, a genre I had always adored in films and video games, but strangely I’d never picked up a fantasy book before, outside of stuff like Harry Potter and The Hobbit as a kid. Going in, my understanding of the genre was filtered by my obsessive playthroughs of Skyrim and Oblivion, a little D&D experience, and my love for films like Lord of the Rings.

I was very impressed with Mistborn. Based on my knowledge of the genre, I had expected a trope-ridden world of elvish magic, pixie tricksters, wizard’s robes, and brave warriors slaying orcs. What I got instead was a post-apocalyptic world where the different races were all wholly original to the story, and whose …

I have never ONCE read the various songs and poems that feature in fantasy novels. Not a single time. Not even Lord of the Rings! I can’t picture a melody or sounds in my head and my ability to read poetry is limited to Edgar Allen Poe (and even then only between September 30 and Thanksgiving). The jarring arrival of a song makes my whole body clench and I sheepishly flip the page until it’s over, silently asking forgiveness from the author I just hurt.

A throw myself on the mercy of this great community for I fear I have committed a great crime.

Hello. I recently turned 41 (note to young people: it’s not that bad). A year ago, I realized my life had too many video games and too much social media. I decided to make reading my primary form of entertainment. I have to admit, I did not expect to “catch the bug” as hard as I have, and I did not expect the multitude of positive changes the mere first year of heavy reading hath wrought.

I read voraciously when I was a kid, and then fell out of the habit after discovering weed, girls, and so on. I still made time to read two or three non-fiction novels annually (I’m a great lover of history and politics), but fiction escaped me for almost two decades. But I’m back, and back with passion.

I believe now that literature is the storage container for humanity’s greatest wisdom. Math and science, for us as a species, were critical, yes. But for individuals? I don’t personally use calculus in my life. Neither does a cook or a psychiatrist. …

Recently I tried reading ‘Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone’ by Benjamin Stevenson off of StoryGraph’s recommendation. It seemed interesting based on the synopsis, and it wasn’t a hard read. The pacing was similar to other stories I’ve enjoyed reading, too.

But man, nothing about the book was interesting to me. None of the characters interested me enough and the plot wasn’t all that interesting either. I kept telling myself to try a little bit more. I read about half the book before I decided to call it quits.

What was the last book you decided to call it quits on?

Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle is one of those books I’d heard about in school, but never took the time to pick up. I knew that it led to significant law reform in America due to its discussion of the meat packing industry, but what I did not know was how accurately it represented the plight of being poor in America.

I’m on chapter 11. Jurgen and his family just cannot catch a break! Right when things seem to be going okay, something else happens that puts them in an even worse position than they were before. They’re all forced to learn hard lessons they never should have had to learn, many of which I learned growing up. Of course, I had the benefit of being born here. They have the extra hurdle of being Lithuanian and having to slowly learn English over time.

The things that strike me are the injustices that will never be righted, like how Marija was fired because she didn’t get the wages she was rightfully owed, or how Jurgen’s ankle was injured on …

I have mixed opinions about this. It is a shared culture and to give up on Pushkin et al seems unrelated to present times.

As the world becomes more digital everyday, what work captures the essence of the new age?

What books that you think depict the most plausible futures that might actually happen. Ones that feel like they could be real history written from the future, that incorporate major technological trends you see could change everything—AI, transhumanism, quantum, etc.

Basically, books that aren’t just a bunch of basic homosapiens doing a roman empire analogue, but in space!

It’s from 2013 but had not dated at all.

https://arcfinity.tumblr.com/post/52289912683/were-mourning-the-loss-of-jack-vance

I’m finishing up Shroud and I’m really enjoying how blunt it is in its portrayal of our glittering and luxurious capitalist future, and it’s got me wanting to ask for other recommendations apart from the obvious (KSR, PKD, le Guin, Murderbot, some Cordwainer Smith iirc, Strugatskii, etc.). What you got? Old or newer, don’t care, as you likely gathered from my examples.

EDIT: I can’t reply to everyone but this is awesome. Y’all know some good stuff.

Thanks to everyone recommending the stuff I mentioned in my post, too; maybe I’ll reread it.

One thing I’ve always loved about speculative fiction is when it carries the weight of myth or ritual alongside the science. Some books blur the line so well that they feel like epics worlds where history, religion, or symbols are just as important as technology.

For example, I recently came across a story (The Red Testament) that leans into this style: treating omens, ancient language, and hidden lore almost the way Wolfe or Le Guin might, while still keeping it in a speculative framework. It reminded me of how Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun feels both futuristic and mythic, or how Lem builds mysteries that border on the spiritual.

So I’m curious:

What other books have you read where sci-fi and mythic storytelling intertwine?

Do you enjoy when a speculative world leans into ritual, prophecy, or symbolism - or does it risk drifting too far into “fantasy”?

Would love to hear what titles stood out to you.

Noob here. Just started reading books a few weeks ago and it is now one of my favorite hobbies. I can’t stop.

So far I’ve read Tesla and the Pyramid.

Andrmeda Strain.

Sphere.

Rendevous at the Rama.

2001 space odyssey (did not like this one).

recursion.

My favorite so far is Recursion. I had no idea you could get that excited reading a book and I keep reading more trying to find that same feeling of excitement. I read the entire thing in one day and was blown away.

Right now I’m reading Upgrade by the same author, Blake Crouch and I’m not liking this book at all. The plot is pretty simple. It only follows one character (so far). It feels more like an action movie. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions and it’ll change. (I’m halfway through)

Next on my list is:.

Dark Matter.

Red Rising.

The Expanse series.

Hitching guide to galaxy.

Three body problem series.

The Davinci code.

Daemon.

The Martian .

Hail Mary.

Artemis.

A bunch of other michael Crichton books .

Wayward pines …