Fantasy hole
Monday, June 30, 2025
Yeah, I have fallen down one in the past few months for sure.
Last year my brother introduced me to The Blade Itself (2006) by Joe Abercrombie, part of the (currently) 10 book series called The First Law. A year later and I have completed the first trilogy, the three standalone novels, and the short story collection. Keep in mind that I am not one to binge book series… in fact I like to spread them out a little since I prefer variety in my reading diet week-to-week.
It had been a while since I got this excited about fantasy. I read a lot when I was a kid starting with Kaz The Minotaur introduced to me in Grade 6 by one of my best friends (even today!). Two years after that we would meet another of my best friends (even today!) who would be the Dungeon Master of our very first Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (2nd Edition) tabletop role playing game adventure! In those days my fantasy reading was deep in D&D content marketing realms which are best forgotten.
As a more adult reader I am not looking for pure escape. I prefer a challenge… commentary… which tends to be more on the speculative fiction side of the ledger. Except urban fantasy, which being situated in our world demands a story to have a relevant politics. This is why I very much enjoy the Rivers of London series. But the modern fantasy movement over the past couple of decades has really pushed social commentary forward. Think of dark academia books like The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik, and Babel by Rebecca Kuang. Amazing! (ADDENDUM: Oh and if you are looking for an alternative to that wizard, check this out)
That said, the past five years of my life (and the 12 moves induced by it) have had some trials, and I discovered the joys of curling up with a cozy fantasy like Legends & Lattes or A Psalm for the Wild-Built
But back to The First Law. It is not so much a social commentary as an exploration of the human condition. Joe Abercrombie’s ability to personify deep human traits and play them out on a grim dark fantasy backdrop is just so much more satisfying than the types of stories I read (and wrote!) as a kid. Highly recommended.
I suppose the lesson is: if you are looking in the right sub-genre of fantasy, you can find what you need. In fact, if you want to take a tour of many of the sub-genres of fantasy, check out this video by fantasy YouTuber Daniel Greene:
This video has motivated me to explore more branches of the wider fantasy genre. It is like when we read Among Others for my old Genre Fic book club in Kelowna ten years ago: a network analysis of related books to help you find more of the kinds of books you will enjoy.
Since I have read many of the books on the map, I am going to be jumping in the deep end with the first book of the Malazan series by Steven Erickson: Gardens of the Moon. If you want to get into your own slightly less deep fantasy hole, I would like to recommend House of the Rain KIng an independent first novel that I recently finished and love. It is a standalone story (no 10 book commitment like Malazan!) and is more of a “low” fantasy in the vein of some of the less child-targeted Ghibli films (my spoiler-free mini-review).
Let me know if you have any recent recommendations!
Also, speaking of book clubs… I should really find (start?) one here in Surrey. 🤔 Would be a good way to find some of my people. 💪