The World of Avlis

I just finished a three book series that I absolutely loved. It is 2008 financial crisis refracted through an east india trading company approach to adventuring meets ancient prophecy and slap-fight among the gods. The first book is called Orconomics. The writing is tight and the premise enjoyable. The author also has a schtick where the last sentence and first sentence across a scene change line up thematically. It was thoroughly enjoyable and had me looking forward to turning to the page to get a chuckle each new chapter. I heartily recommend the series.

The adventuring industry drives the economy of Arth, a world much like our own but with more magic and fewer vowels. Monsters’ hoards are claimed, bought by corporate interests, and sold off to plunder funds long before the beasts are slain. Once the contracts and paperwork are settled, the Heroes’ Guild issues a quest to kill the monster and bring back its treasure for disbursement to shareholders.

Life in The Shadows
Of course, while professional heroics has been a great boon for Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and all the other peoples of light, it's a terrible arrangement for the Shadowkin. Orcs, Goblins, Kobolds, and their ilk must apply for to become Noncombatant Paper Carriers (or NPCs) to avoid being killed and looted by guild heroes. Even after getting their papers, NPCs are treated as second class citizens, driven into the margins of society.

An Insane Quest
Gorm Ingerson, a Dwarven ex-hero with a checkered past, has no idea what he's getting himself into when he stands up for an undocumented Goblin. His act of kindness starts a series of events that ends with Gorm recruited by a prophet of the mad goddess Al'Matra to fulfill a prophecy so crazy that even the Al'Matran temple doesn't believe it.

Money, Magic, and Mayhem
But there’s more to Gorm’s new job than an insane prophecy: powerful corporations and governments, usually indifferent to the affairs of the derelict Al’Matran temple, have shown an unusual interest in the quest. If his party of eccentric misfits can stop fighting each other long enough to recover the Elven Marbles, Gorm might be able to turn a bad deal into a golden opportunity and win back the fame and fortune he lost so long ago.

So did anyone else read something fun or good lately?

Fred the Vampire Accountant Series by Drew Hayes
Starts out as a group of short stories, so the first few book's "chapters" are very self-contained though they follow a chronological order with a larger story arch. As the author figured out he had actual novels on his hand, you can see the shift in writing style where his books then shift from short-story format to novella format to full novels near the end of the series. As such, some redundancies (usually in the introduction to each chapter) drove some readers nuts (but I didn't mind as it was easy enough to skip). HOWEVER, every book is hilarious, heartfelt, and delightful. I absolutely love how Fred solves each supernatural problem with paperwork as he's not a fighter (though tougher than he thinks), the friends he meets along the way, and how he navigates balance sheets and bloodletting. haha!

It's remained one of my favorite modern urban fantasy series of this year.

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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
This supernatural mystery with a twsit is easily this year's favorite "Deal with the Devil" book.

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To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
This is the BEST retelling of the Little Mermaid story I've read in a very long time. In this version the prince is a pirate siren hunter and she's the princess siren most infamous for her ability to coldly murder princes.

The banter was great. The intrigue was fantastic and by the 86% mark the book had me screaming that it had better have a happy ending or I'd hate it forever. Fantastic read. Highly recommend.

My only (little) complaint is the book is Dual Point of View without noting which chapters are who. I figured it out each chapter, but it would have been nice not to have to wonder.

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This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
This sci-fi tale was also my favorite sapphic romance for 2023. It's one of the most intimate books without sex I've ever read, because the story is told via a series of letters passed back and forth between two assassins on opposite side of the time war who are both so good they're their last opponents. I could not figure out the ending and it was fantastic.

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Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
This book very much reminded me of the universe setting of Chronicles of Riddick, but where the Necromongers were only one of Nine Houses across space, and the weakest (*mwa ha ha*) - this book is unlike anything I've ever read. It also easily introduced me to the most vocabulary words I've had to look up since I was in grade school. hahaha - It's goth/dystopian/sci-fi/mystery at its best (and weirdest.) - and the ending made me literally scream nonstop for at least five minutes at the top of my lungs. I had a book hangover for DAYS.

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The Court of the Underworld Books 1-7 by Alessa Thorn
For the Supernatural/Monster Smut lovers out there, I binged this urban fantasy erotica series in a week. I did not know I needed Greek Gods in a Modern Setting who also know their way around a glass of whiskey and an uzi in my life, but here we are. Hilarious, great adventure/mystery, each romance pair was great (great enough I forgave them for all being MF only), and the banter was top-notch! The order is important for the overall story. Some of my favorite lines of the year are quotes from book seven.

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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, and Legends & Lattes by Travis Blaldree

All top-faves of 2023 for cottage-charm hugs in a book. They're like slowly sipping a cup of hot drink in front of a fireplace. Great feel-good books for a good-mood infusion.

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Embers on the Wind by Lisa W. Rosenberg
An alternate title for this book could also have been Kaleidoscope in Red.

I call this book a kaleidoscope, because, to me, that's how to best describe how the story unfolds. There's a tale told of the house. Then the glass shifts a bit and you visit the house from another perspective and another tale is told. Another shift. Another stoy. Another shift. Another life. Past and Present slowly entwine...Until the end of the book where all the shards shift all at once into place and you can clearly see the tragically beautiful tapestry which spans the history of the house and all who were touched by its existence.

This book is a haunting ghost story written not to scare so much as bare and expose and retell a deeply moving account of a tiny slice of American History. The Haunted House in question was once a stop on the Underground Railroad for freedom seekers on their way to the Hope of new lives in Canada. Not everyone who hid there lived. Death, however, was not the end of their story...and they need you to listen. (Trigger warnings include most anything you can associate with the topics around a haunted historical fictional tale about slavery, the enslaved, and what it really means to be free.)

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Crowns of Nyaxia Series by Carissa Broadbent
I had a book hangover for WEEKS after this series (Book 1, 2, and Novella 1.5) - Carissa took Hunger Games and asked, "What if it were vampires instead? Then, let's make the stakes somehow even more critical than life vs death? And what if there were no weak main characters? And then what would happen if we made the storyline 1000 times more intense?"

Book 1 ripped my heart out. Book 2 somehow managed to put it back together again even better than it was before. You absolutely do not want to start book 1 without already having book 2, because the wait for me between release dates just about killed me. hahaha! - Violent, intense, and woah, what a wild wild ride. I don't know that any book topped this series for me yet this year. Though the 1.5 Novella was very very close. SO GOOD. For sure a new favorite author; I will read everything she writes.

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How I stole the Princess's White Knight and Turned him to Villainy Series by AJ Sherwood
If you've ever fantasized about Alexis wooing Rodrick, this is the MM Fantasy Adventure/Romance series for you.
Each book is super easy to read and the whole series is laugh-out-loud funny. Doesn't take itself seriously at all and that's part of its charm. I re-read these books a lot.


I'd better stop now.


Enjoy!

Oh those look fun. I've been on a historical fiction kick lately. I've read three that I still think about and highly recommend.

Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn - based on the true story of a female Russian sniper who killed over 300 Nazis during WW2.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - Follows a family during the depression and their journey from the Dust Bowl to California. Very moving.

Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner - Shines a light on the US's eugenics program in the late 1930's. Follows the stories of an unwed mother with synesthesia who was victimized by it, as well as an American woman in Austria who was a loving nanny to a child with disabilities.

Currently reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett so I'm likely jumping to your fun recommendations after this, Tindertwiggy!

I need to add information to this post.
I've nicknamed the historical fiction Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, "Rapey Rapey Rape Rape".
I highly recommend avoiding it.
Ugh!

Recently I read Hilary Mantel's novels about Thomas Cromwell (Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies, The Mirror and the Light). Heartily recommended.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
This book very much reminded me of the universe setting of Chronicles of Riddick, but where the Necromongers were only one of Nine Houses across space, and the weakest (*mwa ha ha*) - this book is unlike anything I've ever read. It also easily introduced me to the most vocabulary words I've had to look up since I was in grade school. hahaha - It's goth/dystopian/sci-fi/mystery at its best (and weirdest.) - and the ending made me literally scream nonstop for at least five minutes at the top of my lungs. I had a book hangover for DAYS.

This series (unfinished, there are 3 out) is my favourite. Specifically the second one, Harrow the Ninth, is my favourite book of all time. I've been selling The Locked Tomb series to Avlissians for years now, and if you've ever wondered why my discord avatar is a grinning skull wearing sunglasses, go ahead and read Gideon the Ninth.

Some other recommendations that are a mix of recent and all-timers. All SFF because I'm that person:

The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon
Big mechs sci-fi. Like all big mech stories, it's about bodies, personhood, and the idea of individual identity. What if a computer was a person was a computer was several people? Also there's big mech fights. Like Harrow this is written in a way that makes you kind of feel insane, for thematic reasons.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson (Masquerade series)
Spy/political intrigue fantasy about the weight of personal loyalty and what empire demands of it's subjects. Probably best to go in quite blind on this and learn the ins and outs along with Baru. Book 1 of an unfinished series with 3 books out, because apparently that's how I roll. Content warning for some fairly gnarly in-universe homophobia - it's portrayed in a very negative light, but it is present.

Gods of the Wyrdwood by R. J. Barker (Forsaken trilogy)
Another fantasy about empire, and leaving things behind. A lot of fun druidic stuff going on here, and themes of how we interact with nature - adversarially or in harmony, and what is the cost of that? There's skeletons, which is always a plus. Book 2 is out next year. The Tide Child Trilogy (The Bone Ships et al) by the same author is also very good, and actually complete!

The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley (Worldbreaker saga)
Parellel worlds fantasy significantly about the nature of "chosen one" narratives and what it actually means to be the prophesied hero of legend. Also a lot of fun druidic stuff here, though more in the "extreme body horror" vein. Real content warning for body horror. A couple of my favourite characters of all time are in these books, though I should also note the tone is very downbeat. Do you like misery? You'll love this. This is a completed trilogy, so it probably ends well for someone eventually (it does) (sort of).

Ravirn series by Kelly McCoullough

Take the Greek pantheon, add in many worlds theory, and finish with computing theory. Now, follow the adventures of the newest generation of immortals and an ethical dilemma.

https://kellymccullough.com/the-webmage-story/

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames.

Set in a World where "Bands" of adventurers plunder the Wyld - a nightmarish forest full of countless goodness-knows-whats that all think you're dinner, and that's if the Rot doesn't get you - for treasure and fame. It follows a retired adventurer named Clay Cooper who now works as a town guard in a sleepy little town, until the day his old friend "Golden" Gabe turns up to tell him he's getting the Band back together. It's brilliant, funny, thought provoking, heart-breaking... a real gem.

There's a second book named Bloody Rose that is quite as good imo but still an excellent read.

A hearty second on both Wolf Hall and Gideon the Ninth! Both are really excellent. Wolf Hall was one of the best things I'd read in ages, and Gideon the Ninth is so fun and energetic! Very glad I did both.

I'm jazzed to hear "This is how you lose the time war" was good, I like Amal El Mohtar!

So from me I've got The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle- which is like an Agatha Christie murder mystery in a time loop where the protagonist is inhabiting multiple different people in the narrative. It's fun!

I liked The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's kind of Arthuriana, but also has some very post-samurai sensibilities and is all about memory and generational trauma. I know I probably just talked a lot of people out of it, but IF you're into that sort of thing it's really nice.

On the subject of Arthuriana, I read Once and Future King just a bit back for the first time and really loved it! Ill-made Knight especially was really good. It's a nice marriage of like mid 20th century realism sensibilities and high myth.

I also really enjoyed Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow a bit back. Listed 38th on Time's best novels of the 20th century? It's a nice surreal historical fiction.

Just did this one again, it seemed relevant to the times.

always would recommend

-fun
-abstract
-satire
-my favorite intro of all time

I love that one! It's got one of my favorite end scenes. And I love all the whimsical modern art!

This thread is reminding me that I really should be reading more, considering how many books I come into contact with on a daily basis. Here's a few recent-ish personal reads and other ones that this thread made me remember.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This has often been credited as originating the 'dark academia' subgenre. After a lot of series reads I was up for a standalone and finally read this. It's a long one but I was pretty invested so it didn't slog on. What happens when a group of privileged Classics students at a small liberal arts college in Vermont get a little too deep into Greek mythology and do some bad things in the woods?

The Fourth Wing/Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

I picked this one up because I was in love with the first edition cover when it came into the library. This is the series for you if you were really into mid-00s-10s young adult romance/dystopia hits like The Hunger Games and Divergent. Very strong vibes of those but now it's called "New Adult" and they can swear and have sex and are aged up a few years. Akin to anything by Sarah J. Maas. This series ticks off a few boxes for me, which include WAR SCHOOL, dragons, rebellions, and magic abilities. Also a bit of invisible disability rep in the form of a main character who has something similar to ehlers-danlos syndrome in the real world and has come up with adaptive solutions to be a dragon rider. Cool, fun guilty pleasure read overall.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

An epic fantasy trilogy (book 1 and 2 are out) in a really cool world inspired by ancient India. It's also a sapphic romance. I loved a lot about this. I really love this world and its lore as well as the characters. It also gets a lot of bonus points from me for having some really horrifying nature magic as well. The second book slogged a bit for me but I have good hopes for the final book.

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

I found out about this from a library patron when it was still an indie book and not very well known outside of booktok. More dark magic academia - can you tell I was in a mood? I'm in agreement with some reviewers who say it's kind of a chaotic angsty/horny trainwreck full of characters who are all really rather bad people. And yet I still got really into it somehow? I found it to be fun if you don't take it super seriously. I honestly think it just needs some really good editing - it's possible this has happened in later editions that are published by Tor Books. I read it when it was still self published.

I need to add information to my above post.
I've nicknamed the historical fiction Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, "Rapey Rapey Rape Rape".
I highly recommend avoiding it.
Ugh!

The Law of One.

Life isn’t complete without reading and understanding the law of one

I am absolutely loving "The Daughter's War" by Christopher Buehlman, it is a prequel to "The Blacktongue Thief" which I also loved, yet they are very different.

Where Blacktongue Thief is filled with wit about rogue capers and adventure, the Daughter's War is dramatic and about soldiers, war and family.

The main protagonist is also like 95% how I consider Sanna so that helps