I tried giving Mushoku Tensei an honest shot after S3 hype, but the slave market sequence completely disgusted me, and I can't understand how anyone defends it.

Rudeus isn't an uneducated native born into a brutal world—he has the mind and moral awareness of a 34-year-old modern adult. Yet he browses caged, traumatized children like he's shopping at a flea market, jokes around and looks at a starving six-year-old with total apathy. His reason for buying a human being isn't to liberate her; it's to force a child to mass-produce anime figurines for his hobby.

Worse, the show paints him as benevolent just because he feeds her and doesn't abuse her, sanitizing child trafficking into a wholesome "mentorship."

Defending this with "it's medieval morality" falls apart when the protagonist's consciousness is modern. You can't claim this is a profound redemption story when the lead casually participates in human trafficking seasons in, only to be constantly rewarded by the narrative. Depicting dark themes is fine; trivializing child slavery for a hobby while asking the audience to root for the perpetrator is completely repulsive.

For me it's these:

• Fitz and Fool (Farseer, Tawny Man)
• Vanitas and Noe (The Case Study of Vanitas)
• Dean and Castiel (Supernatural - specifically in s4-s5)
• Locke and Jean (Gentlemen Bastards - though really, all of them)
• Gansey and Adam (The Raven Cycle - though again, all of them)

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Honorable mentions: Killua and Gon (Hunter x Hunter) | Kaladin and Adolin (Stormlight Archive) | Hadrian and Royce (Riyria Revelations/Chronicles) | Merry and Pippin (Lord of the Rings) | James, Lupin and Sirius (Harry Potter)

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Which male duos/groups are your favourite?

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After a very sudden illness I just lost one of my best friends Cheddar. Cheddar was a goofy pitbull mix with personality for days. I almost named him Mouse after Harry Dresden's dog, but it my partner didnt love that name and isn't a Dresden fan. I am looking for lightish fantasy stories that feature awsome dogs or other furry friends. Anything that touches on the special relationships between humans and their pets in an escapist fantasy world, would be really appreciated.

Edit: Before this becomes overrun with Dungeon Crawler Carl rec, I am aware of how awesome Princess Doughnut is.

I’ll be honest, I went into this not knowing anything about the plot or concept, just based on the strength of how much I loved The Everlasting by the same author. I assumed from the title that this would also be a little Arthurian-adjacent, but it’s way more of a fairy-tale story than anything. No connection to Arthur beyond a tower named Avalon. I think if I had read the blurb, I would not have picked this up. Just a plot and concept that does not typically appeal to me. 

The writing style of The Everlasting that had gripped me from the first pages was just not present in Witches. In fact, it read way more juvenile, on the edge of YA, which is another thing that’s just not for me. And romance, which was a central feature and very well done in Everlasting, felt forced and half-baked in Witches. 

I was also baffled by some of the world-building. This is supposed to be a highly patriarchal society where women have been spurned for witchcraft, but/and many male historical figures or fictional heroes have been genderbent. So this version of Odysseus is a woman, yet trickery and cunning is not a heroic trait for a woman in this world. So how does that change the Odyssey? We also get mentions of Charlotte Perrault and Andrea Lang and the Sisters Grimm as famous folklorists, but why would women scholars be held in such esteem? (And why genderbend Andrew Lang at all when Leonora Blanche Lang was right there? I think it would perhaps have been better to showcase how the work of women was historically overlooked in favor of propping up their male collaborators, both in the fictional world and in ours. Especially considering the themes of the book.)

It also has very white feminism. Someone with a now-deleted account left a few very good comments about this in the FIF book club discussions a few years back, which I felt encapsulated my own misgivings. It’s not the worst thing in the world; it’s trying, at least. While Harrow makes an effort to include various characters of color, they read more as token inclusions to serve the stories of the white main characters, who are, despite the environment in which they were raised, somehow more open minded and progressive than anyone else of this period would be. Despite having a prominent interracial lesbian romance, the story mainly highlights the queerness of it, rather than attempting discussions around intersectionality. It’s a similar story when it comes to the inclusion of classism and the labor movement. In fairness, there may simply not have been space for it, what with three main characters each needing their own character arcs. 

And this brings me to the impression I get of this book as a whole: that it’s trying to do too much, and ends up doing a lot of things poorly rather than a few things well.

All that being said, there are things I still enjoyed. The story picked up in the second half, and often kept me guessing as to where it would go. The three main characters felt distinct, and their anger at the world justified. I especially appreciated Agnes’s arc and the centering of motherhood.

But the only reason I finished this is because I buddy-read it with a friend; as I said, had I read the synopsis I would not have picked it up myself. (My friend had given me a list of books to choose from, and I landed on this just because I saw Harrow’s name.) It’s wild to go from one of my favorite reads of the year in The Everlasting, to having this one be such a huge disappointment. It also does a very specific meta thing in its ending which is a pet peeve of mine, something that without spoilers The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue does too.

Bingo: Judge a Book by its Title, Book Club or Readalong, Politics and Court Intrigue (HM, as a mayoral election is a major plot point)

Welcome to the daily recommendation requests and simple questions thread, now 1025.83% more adorable than ever before!

Stickied/highlight slots are limited, so please remember to like and subscribe upvote this thread for visibility on the subreddit <3

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This thread is to be used for recommendation requests or simple questions that are small/general enough that they won’t spark a full thread of discussion.

Check out r/Fantasy's 2026 Book Bingo Card here!

As usual, first have a look at the sidebar in case what you're after is there. The r/Fantasy wiki contains links to many community resources, including "best of" lists, flowcharts, the LGTBQ+ database, and more. If you need some help figuring out what you want, think about including some of the information below:

• Books you’ve liked or disliked
• Traits like prose, characters, or settings you most enjoy
• Series vs. standalone preference
• Tone preference (lighthearted, grimdark, etc)
• Complexity/depth level

Be sure to check out responses to other users' requests in the thread, as you may find plenty of ideas there as well. Happy reading, and may your TBR grow ever higher!

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^{tiny image link to make the preview show up correctly}

art credit: special thanks to our artist, Himmis commissions, who we commissioned to create this gorgeous piece of art for us with practically no direction other than "cozy, magical, bookish, and maybe a gryphon???" We absolutely love it, and we hope you do too.

A pair of anthology reviews means I left the magazines until late this month, but I still read through Clarkesworld and GigaNotoSaurus. What sci-fi/fantasy short fiction do I have to recommend? Let’s take a look!

Clarkesworld

Clarkesworld celebrated its twentieth anniversary this month, and if you think that means a star-studded issue full of big-name authors, you don’t know Clarkesworld. They pride themselves on a total refusal to solicit stories, so while this issue has several pieces by authors I’ve enjoyed in the past, it’s very much in keeping with a normal issue of Clarkesworld. 

The October issue opens with A Vintage Kind of Death by newly-minted Sturgeon Award-winner Alex T. Singer. It details something of an AI meet-cute, with a pair of synthetics donning human costumes and awkwardly recreating the untimely death that had arrived on the heels of a broken relationship. Both generate pathos with the personalities peeking out through their struggles to stay in-character, making for a story that’s a bit more uplifting than its premise may suggest. 

Fiona Moore returns to Clarkesworld with another entry in her long-running Morag series that started in 2023 with “The Spoil Heap.” The Mari Lwyd is very much in keeping with the previous entries, so fans will doubtless stay fans and critics have no real reason to try again. But it’s a pleasant story that offers a bit of seasonally-appropriate spookiness and some light in an issue that certainly does get darker. 

The issue’s sole novelette, How Does One Person Kill a Mountain by Shi Heiyao, translated by Andy Dudak, sees the Malawian lead attempt to execute a scheme to kill the mountainous alien that he sees as the center of the death of local industry and the influx of wealthy foreigners. As one might expect, the job doesn’t go off quite as planned, forcing him to consider things from another angle. I’ve often shared my dislike of heist stories, and assassination plots hit much the same for me, leading to a read that I view as a bit overlong but could easily click better for another reader. 

For me, the highlight of the issue—by a large margin—is the extended centerpiece, Elizabeth Bear’s novella The Job. Like my other favorite novella published this year in Clarkesworld (Rebecca Campbell’s “The Floating Republic”), this deals with people going off-script while working on a distant planet and later having to reckon with Earth’s response. In this case, the lead leaves behind a failing body and a rocky relationship for the opportunity to earn life-changing money being embedded in a whale-like body designed to scout an ocean world for extractible resources. But a potential first contact significantly muddies the waters, casting doubt on the project’s viability and introducing friction between the lead, her partner, and their boss. It all comes together in a way that’s absolutely enthralling, with nuanced characters and heart-wrenching moments. A truly exceptional tale. 

The issue returns to short stories with Five Bottles in Memory of Petronius Finch by Louis Inglis Hall, an author who has released more than his fair share of excellent tales over the last couple years. Here, the quality of the storytelling is as good as always, but the premise of making wine from human cadavers is a bit more grotesque than I prefer. If that’s not an obstacle, this family drama formatted as a wine tasting is still worth the read, though it wouldn’t be the place I’d go first for readers new to Hall’s work. 

Natalia Theodoridou’s Roams the Planet of Our Grief introduces a lead who hears voices of the dead coming from a mysterious planet nicknamed Little Prince. He tries persistently to pass those messages to loved ones, even at great personal cost, all the while caught up in his own loss and a society that doesn’t always accept his gender identity. The thread of self-sacrifice to the point of vice comes through wonderfully, making for a quality read, even if the various other story threads don’t always click quite as well. 

The fiction section closes with The Rice Paper Bleed by Tia Tashiro, starring a woman in an assisted living facility who insists that her surroundings keep changing inexplicably. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her family members chalk it up to deteriorating memory, but the reader quickly sees glimpses of the underlying truth. Well put-together and emotionally engaging. Nothing else in this issue hits the level of the novella, but for me, this comes the closest. 

The editorial reflects on twenty years of survival as a short fiction magazine—truly a staggering achievement—while also talking about pay for staff, columnists, artists, translators, authors, etc. It also updates an anniversary subscription drive conducted with an eye toward raising pay (for authors, who were next in the raise rotation). At the time of publication, it was just short, but I’m pleased to see that Clarkesworld reached its goal before the month was out. There is, of course, no rest for the weary, but good news is good news. 

The science article takes a look at the amazing vision and flight of the dragonfly and wonders whether any of the principles behind it could be applied to spaceship design. And as usual, there are a pair of interviews, this time with authors Wole Talabi and Yoon Ha Lee. I’ve already read the former’s upcoming novel (and liked it!) and am certainly intrigued by the latter’s. 

GigaNotoSaurus 

This month’s longish short fiction in GigaNotoSaurus is the novelette People Like Us by Grace F. Hopkins, which tells of the awakening of a werewolf. The narrator tells the reader immediately what to expect, before retreating to a time when she had not known werewolves existed and detailing the agonizingly slow process of trying to figure out just what kept going so wrong every month. There’s very little plot here, but it wonderfully sinks into the character’s perspective. For fans of origin stories and found families, this is an excellent read.

October Favorites

• The Job by Elizabeth Bear (novella, Clarkesworld)

Are there any books set in the modern day that use typical fantasy tropes and archetypes. I guess what I'm looking for are fantasy archetypes wandering the streets of 2026. A barbarian and a battlemage duking it out on the streets of London or a spellsword and a nightblade plotting in a dark back alley in New York. Are there any fantasy series out there which fit this vibe?

Review originally on JamReads

Some novels definitely feel as terribly accurate to the times, a wake-up call that leaves us with much to think about, and Our Infinite and Inevitable Ends is one of those. An ambitious sapphic, climate-fiction speculative thriller that also puts the effort of becoming a character study over grief and self-destruction, a plot that keeps us asking questions about the central mystery, and a terribly accurate book for our times.

At the center of the plot, we have Dr. Cassandra Barlowe, just after finding her ex-lover and leader researcher on deleria (a drug that allows to see alternative futures), Dr. Yana Gusniv, has died in mysterious circumstances. A moment that starts a journey for Cass, while she's being investigated as a suspect for it, to discover the truth behind Yana's death, using the own drug to try to find what happened, while self-torturing herself with visions of herself and Yana in other timelines where they might would have been happy together.

Cass is a marvelously complex character, and we get to know her very intimately, especially as past, present and future become intertwined in the narration; she's suffering a lot, emotionally destroyed with Yana's death even if six years have passed since they took different ways. A person that is at the absolute bottom, almost self-destroying herself using the deleria, trying to find what could have happened, but also reviving and experiencing really painful moments, false hope that also feels like not being able to let Yana go.

However, even when this book is a really well-executed character study, I found the ideas behind it extremely compelling (but also a bit scary). The way deleria is eating the funds for any kind of investigation, just aiming to find that perfect solution in the alternative futures; the thing is, sometimes you might need to compromise with a less than perfect solution, a temporal help that might allow to alleviate the problem, even when it's not the perfect answer (and it also feels as a parallel to how LLMs are trying to cannibalize science promising those unachievable goals while at the same time they are the ones contributing to burn the planet). The climate collapse that is described is not a far-fetched future, and again, it's still possible to reverse it; there's hope, but we need to acknowledge the problem and stop shrugging our heads because "this is not a definitive solution".

Our Infinite and Inevitable Ends is a brilliant novel, a piece that invites the reader to think about its themes while following the deconstruction of Cass looking for a clue about Yana's death. Another book that puts A.D. Sui on my auto-buy list!

Still Lost: Tales From 2080 by Sam A. Miller

Bingo Square: Five Short Stories (HM)

My IRL book club strikes again! Not because it was this month's book, but as a suggestion from one of the friends I made there.

The premise is the author finds these stories on a mysterious floppy disc while dumpster diving and is, ah, rather forcibly made the custodian of the stories here. 

What did I think? Not bad. I was expecting it to be stories about dealing with the aliens, instead it's about people. Yes, the Xenos do put in some appearances, but they aren't the focus. 

• Foreword: How the author found the disk and the stories.
• Prologue: How the aliens came and we got into this mess. The aliens are amusing, all powerful and annoyed. And disappointed in humanity. ★★★★★★★
• Xenos: A grade student meets with a Xeno for an exchange. The Xeno is trying to get samples, but there are restrictions on how it can be done. So, the Xeno is left to deal with perverts. It's a funny story and also gets into a new religion established after contact.★★★★★★★★★
• Being a Nothingness: A man dealing with crippling anxiety seeks out a new treatment that would allow him to communicate with his unconscious mind that's responsible for his anxiety. It doesn't go as expected for them. ★★★★★★★
• Eggs For Roman: A bit like Flowers for Algernon, but Algernon is a baboon called Habbibi (who prefers to be called Roman). It's an uplift story, and one where we humans don't come off looking good in any real sense. ★★★★★★★★★
• Four Little Words: Annoying botanist is very smug, technically correct and annoying. Not very realistic in how people immediately changed tacks. ★★★★★★
• Bloodstreams: Professional hit man who takes out only hits on the annoying and aggravating. I mean, who wouldn't want to take out a petty tyrant of an HOA president? But it's not solo work. No, he's generating content and there are rival streamers. ★★★★★★★
• The Prophet: A skeptical industrial hacker seeks out a “prophet” and gets into something he didn't expect. ★★★★★★★★
• Beat: A story of new addiction and a young man's fall to rock bottom. ★★★★★★★
• Story Notes / Conclusion: Author's notes for the stories. 

7 stars on average. “Eggs for Roman” and “Xenos” were the winners for me. “The Prophet” was close though, and if someone did that to my dog…

Very much a first book though. And I’m taking away a star for only being able to read it on my tablet.
Six stars. ★★★★★★

Recently, I read The Riyria Revelations, and it immediately pulled me in with the great and unlikely friendship pairing of Royce and Hadrian. Then it slowly built an incredible epic fantasy story around that foundation. After finishing Revelations, then Chronicles, I was a bit hesitant to jump into Legends of the First Empire because, well, no Royce or Hadrian. But then I am almost immediately sucked into the series and the world, and it tells such an engrossing story while also fleshing out and adding incredible weight to what happens in the Riyria series.

My question is, are there any worlds that you know of that ease you into the same way, but then allow you to immerse yourself in the world? The closest comp I can see is the Realm of the Elderlings even though every aspect is completely different. It just starts immediately personal with Fitz, and then grows into what I consider the best epic fantasy series of all time.

Just to give you guys an inkling of my further likes and dislikes, as well as my reading history, here are some of the other authors (and series) I've read as well as my thoughts about them.

Tad Williams (MST and almost his entire catalogue.) - Probably my favorite author. If I enjoyed Robin Hobb's other works more, she would probably be there by the strength of ROTE and her deep emotional work. Other than that, I feel like Tad is the modern Tolkien with his prose, imagination, and the sense of wonder you feel while reading, but his catalogue is so diverse that feels like it could easily be interpreted wrong if you weren't familiar with his entire catalogue.

Wheel of Time - Going with the series here instead of the author for several reasons. 1: I have never read any of Jordan's other works. 2: While I enjoyed his contributions to WoT, I've found everything else I've read by Sanderson to be underwhelming. Good concepts, mediocre execution with little to no emotional attachment.

I read a ton, but nothing else as broad or expansive as the works I've listed here, so I'd appreciate your input and recommendations!

Edit: Fixed some clunky phrasing. Also I a word in the title...goddammit.

Housekeeping: in case you aren't aware this is the third installment in a series so I wouldn't recommend starting with this book.

That said this is basically everything I enjoyed in the Blacktongue thief and a bit more. Full disclosure: Blacktongue Thief is basically my favourite book so if you didn't like that, chances are you won't like this.

Kinch's narrative voice and quick one liners are as witty as they were in the first book and frankly I'd happily listen to him reading and academic report on the speed of nail growth. Every fantasy writer eventually runs across the problem of "how do I tell my reader about the dry details of my particular fantasy world without boring them to death?" - I would argue that nobody does that better than Kinch.

My biggest gripe with the story is probably that it really does feel like a middle book. If you're going in thinking this'll be the epic conclusion to the Blacktongue thief story, I'll save you some disappointment: it's not. It's just another episode in the series, but it's a really good episode.

The plot is probably the weakest part of this book which was much the case with the Blacktongue thief - if you're the kind of reader that really needs to know where things are going and why do I care about any of this, you might struggle. It's not super apparent by the end of the book why any of this matters, but if you can put that to one side and just enjoy the ride it's great.

The thing you don't expect is the emotional beats that Buehlman manages to hit. Especially if you listen to the audiobook, Buehlman's voice acting for the climax of the book is genuinely some of the best stuff I've heard. Sure, he doesn't quite have as many voices to choose from as Steven Pacey, but the acting is spot on.

Overall this is my top book this year and it's not close.

I just finished reading Idols Fall, the third book in the Iconoclasts series by Mike Shel. I have questions. I liked the first two books, but there are so many things about the third book that confused me. Maybe some of you smart people can help me understand.

1. What was the point of Ilanda’s story?

A large part of the book was dedicated to Ilanda and her political struggles, the barbarian invasion and the “flame child”. I just couldn’t get my head around how these stories impacted Agnes’ story and her mission to destroy the “gods”. I feel these stories were developed and concluded pretty much independently.

Have I missed something? How do Ilanda’s decisions or the events in the realm affect Agnes’ mission which we have been following for three books?

1. What was the deal with the «flame child»? Why didn’t the “gods” care about her?

If I remember correctly, Ilanda’s magic talking sword says that it can’t foresee/see the “flame child’s” actions. This seems significant since it can usually make accurate prophetic predictions of the future. Doesn’t this point towards the “flame child” having powers fundamentally different to those of the “gods”?

Why then is this revelation seemingly of no consequence to the main story? As far as I remember the implications of this are never brought up. The “gods” don’t seem to find it a big deal. Which I should think it is considering the nature of magic. Which brings me to my next question.

1. How does magic work?

We are told that magic will disappear from the world if the “gods” are killed, so Belu must survive to save magic and avoid societal collapse. However, the «gods» were originally powerful sorcerers. Hoarding magical power to such an extent as to make them practically gods. Humans now channel magic through them somehow. Lending types of magic from specific «gods». Magic leaving the world if the «gods» die is told to us and Agnes by Belu, herself a “god”, thus giving her ample reason to lie about this to save her skin. Agnes, or the book, never stops to ask the question “if the “gods” started out as sorcerers, didn’t magic have to exist before the “gods”? Should we be fine if they die?”

What happens to the magically inhabited swords if the “gods” die? They are after all the same powerful sorcerers that the “gods” themselves were. Would that magic stop working? If not, could they then take on the mantle of the “gods” and be the new magic dispensers?

Also, Agnes butchers all the “gods” except Belu, who then takes on all duties of dispensing magic to worshippers, regardless of which “god” they previously prayed to for magic? I just don’t understand it.

1. What was the purpose of main characters losing agency?

Agnes and Ilanda (maybe more characters, can’t remember) become increasingly dependent on magical advisors who know exactly what they have to do and when. This happens a lot in the last book. I feel this makes their actions somehow less meaningful and they lose agency. Is there a point to this that I don’t understand?

1. Ilanda has a magical talking sword as well now?

Her sword suddenly comes to life after she starts killing people with it and turns into a powerful magical advisor. I felt this came a bit out of thin air. Were there hints or foreshadowing for this that I missed? It just suddenly showing up and stealing the show made her packing it away in a box not feel very impactful. Especially since she just turn to another magical advisor in the form of a talking head moments later.

1. What happened to the implied moral ambiguity of the “gods”?

Reading the books I felt that I was lead to believe that maybe Agnes’ talking sword wasn’t quite honest and maybe there would be some sort of betrayal. Or that Timilis had made some elaborate plan that steered Agnes towards making a mistake. But no, the «gods» were evil as shit and deserved to die. Every shady character and advisor actually told the truth and no one was misled (except that Belu was the sword’s wife and there was a grudge – that was however irrelevant). There was implied moral ambiguity that turned out to black and white.

Were there deeper moral conflicts that I didn’t pick up on?

1. What happened to Qeelb?

He was left behind thousands of years in the past. When this happened I immediately expected it to be revealed that he had survived, gained power and become an important part of the ancient uprising against the “gods”. Maybe he was one of the swords all along? That dude in the cave? I looked forward to going back through the books to look for hints and foreshadowing. However, revelation never came. Or did I miss it?

It seemed like an obvious cool twist to throw into the mix.

That was perhaps more of a rant disguised as questions. But I am curious if anyone can answer some of them.

Thank you!

I'm looking for books with a main character who is an unsung hero and wants to stay that way, or someone who becomes a hero over the course of the story and wants to be unsung.

My main requirement is that the character must still be an unsung hero by the end of the story. If it's a standalone book, they need to remain unsung at the end of that book. If it's a series, they need to remain unsung at the end of the entire series.

I'd prefer a male main character, but that's not a requirement.

I'd also prefer the main character to have a love interest, and ideally, they end up in a relationship by the end of the story or series. Romance doesn't have to be a major part of the plot, and books without romance are still fine.

The only absolute requirement is that the main character wants to remain unsung and actually stays unsung by the end of the complete story.

There are a lot of shared motifs, from dealing with the terminal stage of a world in entropic decline to the unreliable and fragmentary nature of history and even the lightly surreal, almost psychedelic vibe of its deliberately vague cosmology.

I'd say it counts if Dark Sun counts.

Looking for Fantasy books that have many super short, self contained vignettes or prose miniatures. Anything shorter than the average short story length. Not looking for poetry but prose poems and similar forms count

This is such an intricate world, and I’d love to find an in-depth guide covering its history, peoples, magic systems, etc.

Does a comprehensive guide like this exist, or has anyone put one together?

Spoilers for all three books are welcome (obviously).

Hi everyone.

I'm in the process of creating my next writing project, which, is effectively Dante's Inferno but with the aesthetic of Doom: Eternal. I'm looking for some dark fantasy reads that have a similar aesthetic as Eternal, Doom 2016 or Doom: the Dark Ages to read as I design the world. It doesn't have to be a descent into hell in particular, it can also be a world with very... high intensity locations? I don't know how else to describe it. Also, I would prefer it if the main character or main characters were not victims of their circumstance. Sure, they're up against it, but they're not just fighting for survival or falling victim to the story, but battling through it and against it for one reason or another.

Also appreciated is a good combined arms combat system (not only fighting with a shotgun, hellish magic but ALSO a broadsword type of thing.)

Finally, and this is extreme bonus points, but if you had a good rivals-to-lovers or enemies-to-lovers story to recommend in that high-scale world that'd be appreciated too!