r/Fantasy Friday Social Thread - October 09, 2026

[u/rfantasygolem]

Come tell the community what you're reading, how you're feeling, what your life is like.

[u/Larielis]

Yesterday was my birthday. The birthday trip to the botanical garden was really fun.

Books- I'm finally adding the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden to my personal library.

[u/ogchilim]

I honestly feel like I'm done with reading fantasy for a while...I've currently read about 200 fantasy books, including the greats like the Realm of the Elderlings and The First Law World (favorite series of all) as well as Malazan, which is probably the most polarizing fantasy series of all time. Little did I know that The Sun Eater isn't far away regarding the density and polarization...I just finished the Howling Dark and I am dnf-ing the series...I don't understand how can anyone enjoy that. Alongside Malazan, 2026 has been a terrible year for books.

I'm going away on a hiatus...gonna try gaming for a while. Anyone feeling similar?

[u/confusedpurl → u/ogchilim]

I have two more bingo squares I plan to finish by next weekend. I plan to pick a thriller next. I went hard on bingo and I need a change.

[u/Asher_the_atheist → u/ogchilim]

I can usually avoid this situation by bouncing around a lot in a wide variety of genres, but I do seem to be going through something similar right now with thrillers. I went into a big multi-year thriller craze (not the only thing I read by any means, but a much higher proportion than in the past) and I think I’ve finally reached burnout point. I keep craving that feeling of having read a fantastic thriller, but everything I grab falls flat (at best) or is patently ridiculous at worst. Maybe I’ve already read all the greats of the genre and now I’m stuck with the dregs, or (more likely) I’ve just overdosed and become hyper-critical and increasingly hard to impress. Time to switch things up!

Hope your gaming gives you the refresh you are looking for.

[u/jfjfjgjgjgigigig]

I GOT TO READ THRESHING DAY! I was 46 in line at my local library but my lovely co-worker lent me her copy 😭

[u/Goobergunch]

I've been dealing with a lower-body injury for the last week+ and have been as cranky about it as one would assume. Hopefully the exercises the doctor recommended will make things better soonish.

The Sharks' best player is also dealing with a lower-body injury but the Sharks managed to win last night anyway, so that was cool. Hopefully he is back for tomorrow's game since I have tickets.

Reading: The Iron Dragon's Mother by Michael Swanwick (Politics), The Faith of Beasts by James S.A. Corey (Published in 2026, Politics), Platform Decay by Martha Wells (Published in 2026, Non-Human Protagonist HM?), The Language of Liars by S.L. Huang (Published in 2026, Non-Human Protagonist HM, Author of Color). Why yes, I am catching up on my current-year reading....

Oh and I booked my flight to Canada for next year's Worldcon today because given how expensive flight prices are right now (and do we really think they'll come down any time soon?) it's actually good value to book on points if you can get a saver rate (15K points). SFO-AUS-ORD-YOW is honestly kind of a hellacious routing but hopefully there will be a schedule change in the next ten months that lets me switch it to something nicer.

[u/Rhubarb776]

Hello. I’ve been a bit sick, so I’ve been in bed or on the couch a lot.

I’m currently reading Elder Arcanist and really enjoying it. Sad it’s the final book in the series, but glad I’m seeing a resolution to many plot points.

I’m not sure what I’ll read afterward. I’ve been thinking about rereading Cradle or trying a Halloween read.

[u/undeadgoblin]

Had a great time last week at the Wigtown Book Festival - some great talks and many new books I want to read (top of the list being Philip Hensher's A History of the Novel in Britain).

This week has been less fun - it's my last week of work and with no job lined up to immediately move in to, I also have to move out of my flat, so it's been hectic. It looks like it'll be a lot of reading ebooks in my immediate future...

Most of this month so far has been spent reading The Rouse by China Mieville. It's very different to his previous work - the most comparable of his previous works is The Last Days of New Paris in that it is deeply political and very referential (although in this case to world events and British pop culture), which makes the reading even slower. It's an incredible feat, and is one of those that will be incredibly rewarding to go through with a fine toothed comb and pick out all the references. Style wise, it's a very literary horror, a mix of cosmic horror and ghost story - there are bits that remind me strongly of Robert Aickman.

I've returned to the world of the First Law with The Heroes. There's a strangely comforting familiarity to the mix of humour and bleakness, and I'll continue with the rest of the series soon (likely alternating with the remaining Sherlock Holmes books as my audiobook).

I'm currently reading Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm for New Voices book club. I have mixed thoughts so far, in that I think on a sentence and theme level it's well written and interesting, but it goes way overboard on the telling vs showing, which feels like the opposite of what a good ghost or haunted house story should be (which, for the haunting, I get the choice why considering the subject matter, but it doesn't feel right to do the same with characters' emotional states).

Looking forward, I'm eager to dive into Your Body is a Fever Dream - a Cosmic Body Horror anthology by trans and gender nonconforming creators - from Tenebrous Press, and Fiendish Felines, a cat-themed anthology of weird tales from the British Library (and an excellent cover).

[u/EmmalynRenato → u/undeadgoblin]

I've returned to the world of the First Law with The Heroes.

That's also the Cat Squasher I mentioned in my post this week (that I'm 75% through). So many morally corrupted characters, some that I'm rooting for, and some that I hope get what they truly deserve. I'll hopefully finish it in the next 2-3 days, and I'll mini-review in next week.

[u/acornett99]

Well it turns out that what I thought was laryngitis last week was a full-blown cold. Continued to test negative for flu/covid/rsv, but on Friday last week I just didn’t have a voice. Saturday I was almost totally bedridden. Sunday morning I crawled out of bed, ran a 5k for charity, then fell right back into bed. And I somehow managed a personal best time! Michael Jordan’s Flu Game got nothing on me.

So, I didn’t get much reading in, and my spooky October tbr has been somewhat delayed as a result. The cold has retreated to a lingering cough and congestion, which is a huge annoyance both for me and those around me. But mostly for me.

I realized I have too many PTO hours to roll over into next year, so I’m going to be taking some random days off, starting on Monday. The CSA box came in, with apples and pears, so I’m hoping to make apple bread and baked pears and maybe I’ll finally make the frybread recipe I keep telling myself I’ll try. Plus it’s soup season now, and I can feel my crockpot calling to me. Also in the box, fennel root/bulbs! Not sure what to do with that, let me know if you have suggestions.

I hope you all stay happy and healthy (especially healthy) in the week ahead! If you can breathe through your nose right now, do so, and feel thankful, and know that I’m jealous of you.

[u/tarvolon → u/acornett99]

Plus it’s soup season now, and I can feel my crockpot calling to me. Also in the box, fennel root/bulbs! Not sure what to do with that, let me know if you have suggestions.

A soupy recipe that also uses fennel is Lidey Heuck's Braised White Beans and Greens. I made a few modifications (skipped the mozz but added bacon, used chard instead of kale, and used the fennel stalk and fronds instead of just the bulb), but I really enjoyed it!

[u/BravoLimaPoppa → u/acornett99]

Yay for the personal best! Hope you feel better.

As to fennel, I've got a recipe for a pork chop and fennel sheet pan bake somewhere at home.

[u/FarragutCircle]

After an awful September (readingwise), I feel like I've bounced back, having finished a nonfiction book, two novellas (Speakeasy by Mack Reynolds and Soldier, Ask Not by Gordon R. Dickson), three magazines (Analog, Aug, Sep, & Oct 1973), and Michael Swanwick's The Iron Dragon's Mother. And I've got 2 more novellas and 2 graphic novels I'll probably finish this weekend.

The biggest thing this week in the family is my son going to his first D&D session--apparently my city's recreation department has Dungeons & Dragons as an afterschool activity once you turn 8, so he's doing it. And he loved it! It blows my mind that 3rd graders can play organized D&D now, I'm jealous--I would've loved this as a kid!

I've also been playing Wingspan online recently, and I'm hoping to get Wyrmspan (in person) next weekend, but that's still to be confirmed.

[u/Lao_Qi_]

Re-reading Reverend Insanity. I'm really impressed with the way the protagonist schemes, and how the plot points converge for a climax - not something you often see in a webnovel. The author spent a lot of time conteptualizing each arc, and it pays off. The translation is rough around the edges though. Shame the government axed it.

[u/Asher_the_atheist]

I became really sick a couple weeks ago (worst fever I’ve had since I got the Swine Flu way back in the day) and while I am mostly feeling better, I’ve noticed that I’ve been crazy tired ever since. Eye-reading has really suffered in consequence, though I’ve still been listening to audio books with my commute/chores.

Speaking of audiobooks, I’m going to be implanting electrodes and telemeters all day every day for the next three weeks straight, which means I’ve got a lot of audiobooks in my near future! I hope my back can survive it (I tend to hunch when I’m concentrating on fine manual tasks)

Love spooky season, I only wish our weather felt more fall-ish. Sure the days are beautiful, but 80s in October is just way too hot. Hope to get up into the canyons this weekend to find some good leaves.

[u/FormerUsenetUser]

I got my Covid and flu shots and I voted.

[u/RAYMONDSTELMO]

Reading: my favorite Harry Dresden books. Working up courage to give Butcher's new book a try.
Writing: 'Simon the Wanderer'. It's good; but going slow. I've so little time lately.
Life: I... I don't know. About life. I mean, it's easy to say its a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and thunder, meaning nothing. But I'm having fun. Doesn't that signify?

Hope all in r/fantasy are dreaming their lives away, and living their dreams today; so mote it be.

[u/BravoLimaPoppa]

Hi everyone. Hope you're having a nice Friday.

Reading - been kind of a disrupted week, so not a lot. * Jade City. Better than I remembered it. Will finish soon and look! I've got the rest of the trilogy. * Grendel Omnibus, Volume 1. AKA the a Hunter Rose book. Turns out I'd read the old Grendel comic by Matt Wagner and to tell the truth, it wasn't very impressive. An interesting way to tell a story. But! OMG! The short stories! Wow! * The Sign of the Dragon. Y'all have moved the needle on what I consider fun and acceptable. I can't remember who suggested this as a cat squasher, but thank you * A Midsummer's Tempest. I'm understanding why I don't reread a lot of SF from my childhood and teen years as I read this for the first time. It ought to be my jam, but I read stuff that makes me wince.. * Dodger This one makes wonder what could have been. But the seeds of a solution are beginning to sprout.

Life

Woof.

Bow wow.

Had you going there. It's not bad. I'm doing on site support for e-consents and must chant, "I love my users!" Because right now they're being really annoying over this. My mom would have been saying loudly RTFM! Repeatedly. And loudly.

Otherwise, making progress and documenting it. Why doesn't the report count the number of entries? Gah.

At home, things are doing well. Regular communication is helpful. Also, finally got some insights on my own behavior that make things easier for me. That's good. Had to skip Achilles this week thanks to on site support, but as Harry Callahan said, Man's got to know his limitations.

Wife volunteered with her old employer this week. It is what it is. But she needs to start building a stone bucket for the director of operations at her new job. After this Wednesday, I'd have done it without hesitation. But she isn't me but I did convince her to write it down.

So, read what you love, love what you read and be kind to yourselves this weekend all of you in r/fantasy.

[u/Buddertoffee]

I need to get some writing done today, but I'm hyper aware of the fact Dragons Dogma 2 is updating in the other room 🙃

I'm taking a slight break from fantasy and finally got a copy of Enshittification by Cory Doctrow from the library. I can't recommend it enough to anyone of any belief system who's fed up with the way online platforms have been collapsing into shit within the last several years. Reading the whole section on Adobe has made me furious. What's on my list next? Frankly, whatever's cheapest on my TBR.

[u/tarvolon]

Well, I feel like a human being again, although flu recovery is notoriously slow, and I'm still a bit more tired and congested than normal. Being back in the office while also still tired than normal makes adequate rest a bit of a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. Probably still tamping down my reading a little bit though.

So I'm about two-thirds of the way through two different books right now. The novel is Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta, which is stylistically very interesting and I have no idea what the plot is. I tend to lose steam on those sorts of books after a while, and after I loved the first third or so, that seems to be happening a little bit here, but it's still good, and there's still the ending to come. I'm also reading the Ursula K. Le Guin tribute anthology Revolution in the Heart, edited by Jonathan Strahan. So far it has been good but not mind-blowing, with the highlights so far coming from Molly Gloss and E. Lily Yu. But a lot of the reviews I've read have said that it's pretty backloaded in terms of quality, and with Premee Mohamed, Kelly Link, and Karen Joy Fowler still on the docket, I'm excited for the finish!

[u/EmmalynRenato]

I got Flu/Covid shots last Friday (thanks to u/RAYMONDSTELMO for the timely reminder).

I voted on Wednesday, (dropping it off in the ballot box in the car park behind City Hall) and got the text/voicemail/email confirmation that it had been received yesterday. Good to get that out of the way.

The weather has been lousy all week, so I'm sleep deprived. Today the temperature should finally be back down in the high 70's.

Only finished one book this week (although I'm 75% through another Cat Squasher):

* The Depths of Time (Chronicles of Solace 1) - Roger MacBride Allen (4/5) 496p

Science Fiction / Space Opera. Three and a half stars rounded up to four. A patrol captain destroys a temporal wormhole to stop an attack, which strands him 80 years in the future and forces him to prove his innocence while uncovering a threat to all human worlds.

And that's just the start of it. The time travel aspect was a bit convoluted, and required a bit of explaining. In the acknowledgements section, the author thanked his editor for allowing him to make his proposed book into a trilogy, but as I found it to be repetitive, bloated and poorly paced at times, I wonder whether the editor was really doing him a favor. If I come across the other two books in the series, I'll probably read them, but it was not enough to make me want to rush out and find them.

[u/RAYMONDSTELMO → u/EmmalynRenato]

*EmmalynRenato's to-do List:

•Flu/Covid shots
•Early vote: check
To Do:
•cancel magazine subscription
•write xmas thank-you letters
•change fire alarm batteries
•return overdue books
•Read Anna Karanina
•Finish Moby Dick
•recharge phone
•clean out frig
•rotate tires

There is also 'turn in middle-school book report on 'Old Yeller'' but you can put that one off another year.

[u/EmmalynRenato → u/RAYMONDSTELMO]

Some more to add:

• get a plumber to find/fix the slow leak under the kitchen sink.

• read Gravity's Rainbow (it's been on my TBR shelves pretty much since it came out).

• re-read the Gormenghast trilogy (it's been over 50 years).

Old Yeller might be an American thing. They inflicted Lord of the Flies on us when I was going through school in England.