Ronit J

I can’t believe I read this many books in just 2 months! Seriously, I’m a slow reader who manages to read about 20-25 books a year. But since I saw the Fantasy Bingo post, I thought I’d challenge myself and am already done with 9 squares!

Note: This was originally posted on Reddit in r/Fantasy on May 30th. [click here to read the original post]

Some thoughts about each book that I’ve read [in the order in which I read them]:

This was the nicest book I read all year. Seriously, it left me feeling NICE. A sweet adventure tale with Sanderson’s trademark worldbuilding and magic made this a wonderful experience start to finish. I’ve read that many consider this book one of Sanderson’s best, and I can’t help but agree.

Side Note: I was about 35% done with this when I saw the Fantasy Bingo Announcement post. While this book fits the requirements for this square, I’m not 100% confident. If I finish the bingo card ahead of time, I might switch this out with another book.

Read my full review here.

I added this to my TBR years ago, and then again when I saw the Book Club post. Finally, when I saw this was a square on the card, I just had to read it.

Honestly, I hate that I didn’t pick this up sooner. I loved everything about it. The humour was very reminiscent of Pratchett, and the characters felt very real. I loved how it wasn’t just a mindless parody, but a well-written, thought-out story sprinkled with ample humour, drama, thrill and adventure, almost like a complete package.

Read my full review here.

Received an eARC around the time I was finishing Orconomics. I really enjoyed Titan Hoppers, so I dived into this one. Holy fricking hell, this book was such a major improvement. It takes everything good from Titan Hoppers and cranks it to 11. It has none of the problems from TH. Even the character work in this one was significantly better than TH. With breakneck speed and awesome worldbuilding, I think this was the fastest I read a book all year.

Read my full review here.

Zamil Akhtar has a unique voice that just elevates the whole experience. I don’t even want to compare Akhtar to any other author, because that’s how good he is! The blend of Middle Eastern culture with cosmic horror told from opposing POVs is such a brilliant concept, executed to near perfection by Akhtar’s unique voice and storytelling.

Read my full review here.

I started reading the Robots series a year or two ago. This was the last in the series. I always find it hard to review authors from the past. Although this book was first published in 1985, it reads like something from the 50s, which is when I, Robot was first published. From what I’ve learned, Asimov’s books are less about the story and characters, and more about concepts and speculation. In that regard, Robots and Empire is the perfect ending to the Robots series. It envisions a far future where humans, including Earthers, have begun colonising the galaxy and studies that phenomenon from several different perspectives. Every chapter made me think, and that’s what I really loved about the book. Yes, there were dull moments, but all in all a very good read.

Read my full review here.

I really liked the movie, and this book had been on my TBR for 8 years. Now, I can finally say, the book is better than the movie by leagues! Of course, the film did its best with the medium, but reading this book was a spectacular experience. Weir’s sharp wit, the science behind Watney’s survival, everything plays out so smoothly. I did feel some parts to be a drag, but I kinda knew what to expect so I just powered through. What I loved most about the book was Mark Watney; he’s such a real character, I wish I had known him as just that and not Matt Damon’s realisation of the same.

Read my full review here.

Hated it. Hated everything about it. What a terrible book. A passive protagonist who’s a 2100-year-old immature douche who just sits in his shop and does nothing… why? Gods attack him, threats are raised, and then everything resolves itself because of other characterss. Argh! This was such a frustrating read. Everything that I loved about the other eight bingo books was missing here.

I can’t believe this book is so highly rated. Apparently, the series gets better, then goes downhill. I don’t care enough to find out.

Read my full review here.

As a First Law fan, I loved it. As a regular fantasy reader, I liked.

Of course, the collection had its share of hits and misses. Some stories were really good, a perfect snippet of TFL. But others read like rejected chapters/plots, which was really disappointing. I loved Shev’s entire story arc which spans over 5 short stories, but I found the end a little underwhelming. Why did Javre’s encounter with Khalul’s agents have to happen off-screen?

I’m somewhat of a completionist, and knowing this collection existed has stopped me from picking up A Little Hatred. Finally, I can get to that book now!

Read my full review here.

Finished this one at breakfast. Holy cow, how do I describe this book? It reminded me of Hearts of Darkness, except this wasn’t a fever dream, it was a highly imaginative trance-like state. This book is so flowery and complex, yet tells a very simple story. It’s not for everyone, definitely. But I really loved how the book made me feel. The puzzling world-building only made the book more mystical, leaving a lot to my imagination. Even though I found myself confused a few times, I kept reading because I was really invested in the two characters.

I would highly recommend this book but with some caution.

Read my full review here.

Edit: Moved this to the Multi-verse square, and read another book for the Novella square.

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I don’t know if it’s the challenge aspect of it or that I just got lucky with picking up really good books, I’m loving the progress I’ve made as a fantasy reader in these past 2 months. Some books I’m looking forward to reading for the bingo card:

• Lords & Ladies by Terry Pratchett [Title with a Title]
• The Captain by Will Wight [Published in 2023]
• Starter Villain by John Scalzi [Superheroes]
• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi [Magic Realism or LitFantasy]
• Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan [Sequel]

I’m going to end this long post by just thanking this community. Y’all have introduced me to some of the best books I’ve ever read, and r/Fantasy is one of my favourite places to lurk on the internet.

Edit: I posted Part 2 of Fantasy Bingo, where I talk about the next 9 bingo books I read: https://bit.ly/3urUjTw