Book #154 of 2020: The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings #3) This conclusion to the classic fantasy trilogy probably has too much falling action after the main stakes are resolved, and its treatment of the anonymous hordes of dark-skinned humans who rally to the banner of …
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Book #153 of 2020: Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega I simply adore the Dominican-American family at the heart of this fantasy novel, most of whom are spirits of the dead that only twelve-year-old Lucely can see. To everyone else they appear as fireflies, as per the #ownvoices folklore that author Claribel A. Ortega is …
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Book #149 of 2020: A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow This 2020 YA novel has so much to say about contemporary racism and sexism (and their intersection, sometimes called misogynoir), and I could see it both validating the experiences of some readers and providing others a valuable window into their lives. From school …
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Book #148 of 2020: Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan (Powder Mage #1) The plot to this 2013 fantasy debut reminds me of the second Mistborn novel, from the challenges facing a force of rebels after they successfully overthrow their tyrant ruler and must figure out how to govern amid the dying warning of a …
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Book #146 of 2020: A Conjuring of Light by V. E. Schwab (Shades of Magic #3) This last volume has the most coherent plot stakes of the Shades of Magic trilogy, but it’s still a pretty rambling adventure that never seems to take full advantage of the cool multiverse setting. There’s also a lot of …
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Book #145 of 2020: Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi (Beasts Made of Night #1) This debut novel from Nigerian-American author Tochi Onyebuchi has an interesting concept of an underclass of magical sin-eaters who assuage the consciences of their society’s wicked nobility, but the plot is pretty slow and I struggle to ever understand …
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Book #144 of 2020: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson This standalone fantasy novel is a real gem, populated with endearing characters and the glimmering magic tomes that whisper to them in the darkness. I’m reminded of Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom series, and not merely because the heroine has been raised in a library like …
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Book #141 of 2020: The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings #2) This second volume of the epic fantasy classic continues the charm and adventure of the debut, with further settings, concepts, and character moments that have proved indelible upon both the literary genre that followed and myself as …
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Book #129 of 2020: The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) I picked up this book on the strength of author Marie Rutkoski’s later novel The Midnight Lie, which features a different cast in a different area of the same fantasy setting (sort of like the relationship between the Grisha trilogy and …
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Book #127 of 2020: The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings #1) As a foundational text of the fantasy genre that’s inspired countless homages and knock-offs — and as a product of the mid-twentieth century — you might expect The Lord of the Rings to seem generic …
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