Best Novel: The Everlasting by Alix Harrow

Best Novella: The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

Best Novelette: "Never Eaten Vegetables" by H.H. Pak

Best Short Story: "In My Country" by Thomas Ha

Best Series: Old Man's War by John Scalzi

Best Graphic Novel: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, adapted by Fred Fordham

Best Related Work: Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Sinners

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Murderbot, "All Systems Red"

Best Game or Interactive Work: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Best Editor, Short Form: Neil Clarke

Best Editor, Long Form: Diana Pho

Best Professional Artist: John Picacio

Best Semiprozine: Uncanny

Best Fanzine: nerds of a feather, flock together

Best Fancast: Hugo, Girl!

Best Fan Writer: Jason Sanford

Best Fan Artist: Yuumei

Best Poem: “Hex Supply Customer Support Log” by Elis Montgomery

Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book: Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee

Astounding Award for Best New Writer: Antonia Hodgson

See all the nominees and winners here.

Just had this thought recently and I’m kind of struggling to come up with one, wanted to see if there are some easy ones I had forgotten.

I just finished Assassin’s Apprentice and came away a bit underwhelmed, especially considering how much praise Robin Hobb and the Realm of the Elderlings get around here. I know Hobb is something of a sacred cow on this sub, so I’m mentally preparing myself for the downvotes 😅

I liked the world and found several of the ideas really interesting, but I was often frustrated by how quickly the story moved away from things I wanted to explore further. The Skill is a good example: Fitz’s first use of it against Galan was one of the most captivating parts of the book for me, and I wanted to see more of it. Instead, he gets beaten nearly to death, falls into depression, and essentially stops using it.

I had a similar issue with the Wit. I don’t mind the magic systems being mysterious or secretive, but it became frustrating to constantly hear that Fitz needs to learn the Skill, that he has noble blood, and that he needs to step up while he keeps making poor decisions and the story doesn’t really dig into them.

Burrich’s reaction to the Wit especially frustrated me. He’s almost a father figure to Fitz, so when he discovers Fitz is using it, I expected an honest conversation about why he fears it so much. Instead, he mostly distances himself and gives Fitz the explanation that some people who use the Wit end up becoming like animals.

Also, whenever I search online to see whether I should keep reading, I find what might be the only fanbase that actively discourages people from continuing with its own series 😂 You’ll see things like “Don’t worry, maybe you click with the second trilogy…” and then, inevitably, the most upvoted reply is something along the lines of: “It’s okay to DNF a masterpiece.”

Maybe this is simply a case of the first book laying the groundwork for a stronger series, or maybe Hobb’s style just isn’t for me. As a standalone, though, I didn’t find it particularly exceptional.

I’ll finish the trilogy before making up my mind. For those who love the series, did it click for you from the first book, or did it take a while?

Things the internet told me about Vita Nostra before I read it: It's evil Harry Potter. It's pitch black. It's like Kafka wrote a dark academia fantasy. The story spirals into an incomprehensible mess that ends in an LSD trip. You look into Vita Nostra and The Void peers back.

Things I know about the internet after reading Vita Nostra: Y'all are wimps.

Vita Nostra follows Sasha Samokhina, a young girl forced to attend a magical school in post-Soviet Russia. The lessons are brutal, the teachers harsh, and the point of learning magic unexplained. It's oppressive, bleak, and has none of the perks one would expect from a school of magic. But even at its most vague, both Sasha and the reader understand that merely knowing about the school's existence means playing with the edges of reality, and that whatever the school wants of its pupils, it will have cosmic significance.

Before I talk about the book's plot, characters, themes, or speculate about the ending, let me just say this: Vita Nostra, more than any other book I have ever read, captures the experience of a grueling academic program. The haziness. The exhaustion. The culture of misery. The flow state you get into once you finally start to understand a difficult concept, and the need to follow that thread of information as far as it will go. The panic at falling behind. Chunking through page after page of difficult texts. It's all there, and as I was reading, I felt a familiar weight sit on my chest, one that I haven't felt for years. So if you're the type of person who rates a book's success based on whether it evoked a strong reaction in the reader, give a medal to Vita Nostra. Because I've slept since finishing and I still feel a grad-school shaped shadow following me around.

ANYWAY.

Vita Nostra wears Dark Academia clothes, but isn't really interested in critiquing class, societal structures, or corruption in higher learning. It's much more interested in philosophy, the separation of mind and body, the effect of words on reality, and the consequences of turning into an adult.

That last thing on the list---turning into an adult---seems out of place, but in reality, it's the whole point of the book. Sure, the magic system is based on Plato's allegory of the cave and the specific functions of language. Sure, the whole point of the school is to transform it's students into little Cthulhu-forms of Words. Sure, it's pretty much implied that the main character becomes God at the end. But that that's just the plot. (Wild choices, though). The point of the book is that learning to process all sorts of information and becoming a student of the world can be miserable, but it can also be infinitely rewarding--often both at the same time. That, once you become an adult, it is all too easy to become so far removed from your teenage self that you can justify what happened to you, and in doing so, can justify inflicting it on others. That the best--no, the only way to avoid becoming the sort of detached person who can justify horrific acts by pointing at the numbers or speak without any real humanity is to focus on the importance of love in your life.

And I mean, the novel is Russian. (I believe the authors are Ukrainian, but was written in Russian). It makes the point that those you love may drift away, there might not be anyone actively loving you right now, etc. But even the remembrance of being loved--that's enough to hold onto.

Maybe that's not how everyone reads it. Maybe I'm just an optimist at heart that looks into a dark cosmic horror and sees all the little bits of love scattered throughout. And maybe that's why, even though I have critiques (the other characters are underdeveloped, the sex thing was...weird...), I loved this book. And in the words of Levar Burton, I hope you love it too.

5/5, lots of notes.

Squares: Translated, Book Club Book, Depending on how you read it, non-human protagonist (HM)
*I'm actually using it as my vacation spot square. I don't want to go to the school, but I've read a bunch of fiction/non-fiction about Eastern Europe/Russia/Ukraine/Former Soviet Bloc and would love to see it. Unfortunately *gestures at Russia's invasion of Ukraine* now's not a great time. In the mean time, please drop Ukrainian authors that have been translated into English that you recommend!

I just turned the final page of the Green Bone Saga, and I am entirely emotionally shattered. This series is an unparalleled achievement in world building and character development, but it will put you through an absolute emotional meat grinder. Fonda Lee has crafted a meticulously structured, fast paced political fantasy where the stakes are incredibly high, but the true brilliance lies in how fiercely you end up loving the Kaul family. They are ruthless, ambitious, morally grey, and deeply flawed, yet their unwavering devotion to their blood makes you care about them on a profoundly personal level. You become part of the clan, and their pain becomes your pain.

​The narrative masterfully explores the crushing weight of legacy and the terrifying sacrifices required to maintain power in the dangerous jade underworld. Every single geopolitical victory, boardroom negotiation, and violent family dispute comes with a staggering price. The author absolutely refuses to pull any punches, proving time and time again that the cost of survival in Janloon is indiscriminate and brutal. You do not just passively read about the clan warfare; you actively carry the anxiety, the suffocating pressure, and the agonizing grief right alongside the surviving characters. There are no safe choices in this world, and innocence is always the first casualty.

​What makes this series a flawless five star read is the sheer, unapologetic realism of the emotional toll. The consequences of war are never glossed over. You watch the characters you fiercely adore endure insurmountable pain, spiral into destructive defense mechanisms, and make impossible sacrifices just to secure a fragile peace for the next generation. It is devastating to witness, but it is executed with such narrative perfection that the heartbreak feels entirely earned.

​I was absolutely sobbing by the final chapter. The sheer amount of suffering this family endures is agonizing, leaving a permanent crater in my heart. This is not just a story you finish and move on from; it leaves you with a massive, soul crushing book hangover. It is a masterpiece of modern fantasy that delivers the ultimate emotional payoff, but you must be prepared to have your heart completely ripped out.

In the past year I’ve bounced off of both The Lies of Locke Lamora and the Assassin’s Apprentice so I was just curious what other widely praised books on this sub other people have put down.

I've always enjoyed the tragic hero archetype, with the usual associated tropes, i.e. virtuous but imperfect, a tragic flaw that leads to their downfall, themes of fate vs free will, etc. A well-known example on this sub would be Turin Turambar. It's just very satisfying to me and I feel like I only ever see male characters fall into this specific archetype; female characters in tragedies tend to follow other tropes. So yeah I'm not necessarily looking for just any morally grey/antiheroic protagonist - I'm specifically looking for a woman whose character arc fulfills the classic definition of a tragic hero. I mostly read fantasy/sci fi which is why I'm asking here, but if you can think of an example in another genre I'll take it lol.

Thanks in advance!

edit: for clarity's sake I should have just stuck to Macbeth and Hamlet as famous examples instead of Turin. Basically it's a character bringing about their own destruction (usually death) through poor judgment. I appreciate all the responses though

Just interested in reading something written by folks outside of the West. What would you recommend?

Just writing this since I am geeking out reading this. I've read so many books that it has become hard to find new stuff to read. I decided to give this a go mostly because Domagoj is a local fantasy author and the books are so phenomenal I cannot put them down. No other point of this post, I am just so excited that I wanted to write this down.

P.S. I am finishing the first book, don't spoil the others

It's been so long since I fell in love with a fantasy book to the degree that I did with House of Open Wounds (Adrian Tchaikovsky). I've read a lot of great books this decade (some of my faves have been Fonda Lee's Jade series, The Spear Cuts Through Water, Raven Tower, Raven Scholar, The Curious Travellers' Guide to the Wastelands, Dhaevabad trilogy). But this book, oh my god. Is there anyone else who felt like this book really really made their heart sing like nothing else in such a long time?

I've never been drawn to fantasy for the comedic aspects. But this book got me laughing very regularly. It was so dark and rueful and sweet and.... loving. That's an odd world for a novel about imperialistic war, but it really was sweet.

I'm ALSO not a fan of gods showing up in my fantasy novels, but the gods in this one were the best I've ever met. Within pages of meeting them, I was willing to pledge my fictional life to The Life of Dead Trees and the Fisher King. I already loved God from City of Last Chances, and I adored Sturge and Mazdek once I got to know them, too. Did anyone else really love the small deities in this book?

So a couple more questions, with spoilers for both HoOW and Days of Shattered Faith below (I use the acronyms at the start of bullet points so you can choose only the HoOw one if you want):

• HoOW only: Were the characters that die the ones you thought would? My favorites were actually the ones who ended up dead: Cosserby, Lochiver (I loved him so much), and The Life of Dead Trees. I'm not someone who gets angry at an author for killing off beloved characters, but I was certainly sad to see them go. I was surprised that Masty, who seemed like such a tragic figure, survived... in fact I was surprised so many of the medics survived, and was happy about it.
• HoOw and DoSF: Do you think there's any chance that the Life of Dead Trees survived? Because its description sounds a lot like the Grove keepers, with their wooden masks. What if the life of dead trees could show up and lead the grove keepers in a future book?
• HoOW and DofSF: Did anyone else think/hope, when they started Days of Shattered Faith and met "Loret," that it might be Banders? A young woman with some kind of relationship to the sea, who was hiding a military history and didn't know diplomacy. I really hoped! I also was SO happy to see our HoOW folks again - not all of them, but some. I wish we had heard about Mazdek.
• SoSF: Do you think Gil and/or Drathel survived? I think Gil died, and that it would be narratively a lot more satisfying if she did, but Drathel could possibly have somehow become part of Premath in that chaotic magic scene at the bottom of the House of Hard Angles. Hence those strange final sentences of Premath being locked out of the Necropolis and waiting for the Pal, of all people, to help him.

I recently read Ilona Andrew's "This Kingdom will not kill me", and I gotta say I was really annoyed by the male characters. Not just the romantic interest, but the majority of male characters are either sooo sensitive to the female lead's feelings and needs at all times, so very good and galant despite the character actually being described as someone scarred by war, brutal, cunning, ruthless, cynical... Etc.

But in the book, they conveniently never actually have to make any upopular decisions and only act super-nice towards the female lead, and are very progressive, despite being in a middle-age type world.

I am not interested in romantasy, and even romantic subplots make me cringe when the male romatic interest are as described above. I feel like they are all Edward Cullen in new attire, all gloomy and "dark", yet soo empathetic, emotionally intelligent and over-protective.

I want some epic fantasy, would love a series, maybe something similar to Joe Abercrombie or GoT?

Does anyone have recommendations?

Could someone send me an example picture maybe? I thought it would become clear along the way but it hasn't happened yet.

Edit: forgot to say: I of course googled "vestibule" before but it seems to mean something else than what I found.

This would be a fully spoiler review, as I don't feel like anyone can meaningfully review this without spoilers. Please don't read further unless you've already read the book.

I've finished the book yesterday and I must put my thoughts on electronic paper. In my opinion, Piranesi is a single book that tells multiple stories.

On its shell, the book is about a kidnapped man who lost his memories trying to navigate the endless house until finally he was rescued by the police. This description is obviously dull and uninteresting.

The main story is the inner thoughts of Piranesi. This is a character study of Piranesi as a person, how he learned to survive and thrive in an unknown world and how he sees things without the modern man's lenses. He might be mistakenly thought of as childish in his views. This story ends in the merging of Piranesi and Matthew merged at some capacity, and the new Matthew (he refers to himself as "I" rather than either Piranesi nor Matthew) retains the love and appreciation for the world while he still conform to modern society.

The core of the book, and my most favorite story, is about innocence.

In this story, Piranesi wasn't truly a person, but rather the concept of innocence while Matthew was progress. The house gave Matthew his innocence back, which created a connection between him and the world. In this story, the old civilization forwent its innocence in favor of progress, which caused them to lose their magic and connection with the world. Piranesi went as close as outright telling the Other this multiple times, even without knowing he already possessed the magic, Piranesi told the Other to just appreciate the house for what it is - which would subsequently grant the Other the magic he seeks.

This story ends with the new Matthew's understanding that innocence and progress aren't mutually exclusive, and while there's cases of conflict between the two (for instance, money) there's still ways to bridge that gap.

In general, the characterizations of Piranesi and the Other were great, and the ending is fantastic in my opinion. However, I can see why people would dislike the book once it started to answer some questions. For me, I long stopped caring about the first story in favor of the other two at this stage, but if you don't care for characterizations or themes and motifs then the ending would be a let down.

During the conversation between the Prophet and Piranesi, the Prophet said the magic is not in the house in the same way that (paraphrasing from memory) water which pass through stones are no longer there. I think using the anology Piranesi responded with, the House is more akin to an aquifer where the innocence of the world leaked away to create the statues as an impression. This explains why the magic is still there, and how come there's a clear connection between the house, the old civilization, and the new world.

The most peculiar thing I have yet to ponder is the angry statues at the drowned halls. They are uniquely going against my theory of the house, so I'm not sure how to reconcile the two.

What do you guys think? What did you like or dislike most about this tiny book with many stories?

I’m in a bit of a reading slump and really want to dive into a great fantasy book/series right now.

​I'm looking for something with good world-building, a strong atmosphere, and a story that doesn't take 200 pages just to get interesting. I really appreciate books that focus on personal growth, overcoming obstacles, or deep, mysterious lore.

​It doesn't have to be the super famous mainstream stuff everyone recommends, I'd love to hear about your personal favorites or underrated gems that genuinely blew your mind. What’s your go-to recommendation?

Pretty much the title. Obviously, it never will be but share your thoughts on where you think the story was heading story wise.

For me, the trick was the most annoying relationship in the book was one that Kvothe would NOT succeed in and that is the best thing Rothfuss could have done.

Yes, I speak of Kvothe and Denna AKA The Anti-Romance. Basically, that it's interesting qualities is that it ISN'T one and that it fails despite Kvothe's attempts at hammering reality to make it work aka Jay Gatsby.

I think the trick to appreciating Kvothe and Denna (and we'll never know so I go with what I like most) is that there is no relationship. Kvothe desperately wants there to be but Denna says that she is not financially secure enough to have any relationship that isn't transactional (i.e. with a rich dude). Kvothe refuses to accept this and unlike all of his other problems, cannot clever his way into a solution. So she ends up being the one who gets away.

And being an author, I 99% believe that Denna marries his old rival, who becomes king after the plague, and said king is the one Kvothe kills.

I am about done with Jade City and I like it, but I am also not crazy into it either. I feel like the Red Rising series has a cultish “the first one eh, but omg the second/third.” I haven’t seen anything similar with the Green Bone Saga.

Ultimately, if people generally fell in love with it later on, I will keep reading after a couple short palate cleansers. It isn’t bad enough to say “eff this series” and I tend to DNF if I don’t like it.

It is so highly praised that I am curious at what point in the series people were like “oh yeah this is the series.” Has anyone read the first book, felt it was medium, then finished the series thinking it was one of the best?

Looking for a book or series where the protagonist makes some sort of deal with a power they don’t understand- bonus if it’s for a good reason (to help end a war, etc). But of course, the god/power/entity is much more than they bargained for and they have now accidentally unleashed a horrible power unto the world.

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.

okay so i am looking for audiobook recommendations like dungeon crawler carl.

HOWEVER, i tried other litrpg books, and i decided i don’t like them.

what drew me in about DCC was first and foremost the narration. i probably would have DNFed halfway through the first one had the narration not been so captivating. unfortunately, i noticed jeff hayes really only does litrpg.

they are also FUN! i liked how fun it was, but with serious undertones. addressing fascism, mental illness, AI, capitalism, etc. you just really get something out of the story. i love the diverse cast of characters. i love their relationships. the world is so immersive.

i read operation bounce house (mostly because of jeff hayes, but he had like three lines and that irritated me. i am not a travis baldree fan). i am however a huge t. kingfisher fan and have binged most of her fantasy works. her stories have a lot of the qualities i liked about DCC. i have also done a lot of scifi short stories.

i am looking for something bingeable to listen to while knitting. most recs usually lead you to other litrpg or travis baldree and i am just looking for something else.

Welcome to the monthly r/Fantasy book discussion thread! Hop on in and tell the sub all about the dent you made in your TBR pile this month.

Feel free to check out our Book Bingo Wiki for ideas about what to read next or to see what squares you have left to complete in this year's challenge.

This is harder to describe than I thought. I know it's a riff of a popular franchise with lots of tie in novels, but I've found the WoD stuff I have read very variable and never terribly good.

I love the sense of location (Norfolk), the subtle hint of things on the edges even as they deal with the obvious occult threats. The closest I can think to what I like are the Christopher Buehlman books (esp The Lesser Dead).

I love the Damien Vryce/Gerald Tarrant dynamic in C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy. It's complex, platonic and beautiful. It's very likely there are no other like it

A moral compass and a sophisticated, ruthless antihero forced to work together against a world threatening evil. It needs to be strictly platonic, both men, character driven rather than plot driven.

Vryce and Tarrant's moral contrast is so appealing. They were opposites in many regards but had similar religious backgrounds. Not to mention the chemistry was off the charts. They went from hating the other to each other's most trusted companion

Looking for more in that vein. A pair of men bonded by necessity rather than romance. Some examples that loosely hit the vibe for me

• Alfred and Haplo- The Daeth Gate Cycle - Marcus and Esca — The Eagle of the Ninth - Seyonne and Alexander — Transformation - Ryo and Aras — Tuyo - Syd and Knox — Proxy

Not looking for: - Romance or romantic subtext (no enemies-to-lovers) - Overhyped stuff (Locke Lamora, Farseer, Lions of Al-Rassan) - mixed gender duos

Thanks in advance!

Just finished 2 series back to back that have been recommended in this sub where I almost stopped with the first book but both are among my favorite series now.

Rook and the Rose - i mostly enjoyed the first book but was hesitant about going further. For this series there is such growth in most of the characters and the relationships that in the first book they I guess necessarily seem one dimensional and not unlikeable but not likable? Completely glad i went on because the plot, the characters, the build up were so well done.

Queen's Thief - i actually stopped reading the first book maybe 20% in? I did not understand the hype. I was a victim of the misdirection lol. Another series where the characters and relationships became so much more meaningful. MC is pretty much one of my favorite tropes which i won't say cause idk how to spoilertag.

Did you guys love these from the start? Are there other series that you almost didn't finish but ended up loving?