This is my fourth year of doing r/fantasy’s bingo challenge, and my fourth year of reading with the joy and intensity of my youth. You can find the official bingo announcement here, but the rules are simple: read 25 books by different authors, fitting a wide variety of categories.
I finally feel like I’ve caught up with a lot of the breakout hits I missed on my reading hiatus, though there are still some glaring gaps, and was ready to start exploring books as they were being released. And so this year I committed to completing a themed ‘published in 2024’ card. I committed to posting each review on r/fantasy, which eventually led to me creating this blog.
Despite only needing to read 25 books, I ended up reading 38 books published this year and DNFing another three. There were some great books that didn’t make the cut, and some lackluster books included because I needed to fill a square. Overall though, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
My card in frustratingly grainy detail. It looks worse when sized up. Sometimes I feel like my parents when it comes to technology. Lot’s of pretty high resolution cover images below though!
Overall Thoughts
- I thought this card had a nice blend of specific squares requiring intentional reading and more general ‘find it as you go along’ squares. I was able to fill the card relatively easily without needing to plan much out, instead reading books and seeing where the slotted into the card.
- Dreams, Orcs Goblins and Trolls, and Entitled Animals were my least favorite squares overall. For Orcs and Animals, despite loving the books I read for those squares, it was something that felt a little more restrictive. And for Dreams … unless it was a big plot point I usually forgot whether the main character dreamed during the story, which was a pain.
- Multi POV, Reference Materials, and Bards were excellent, because they fit with my taste in books and were fun to find options for. Bards in particular, I found was a square filled with fun options for me to pick from, and fit nicely with my preferences for stories featuring layered narratives.
- Unsurprisingly, there were lots of Romantasy books I read, and a decent number of them were … fine. Ironically my favorite, Yield Under Great Persuasion, didn’t make the cut because I already had another Alexandra Rowland book – which I enjoyed more – on my card.
- It was a bad year for traditionally published Epic Fantasy. I read a decent amount of mediocre stuff, and the two really standout books in this subgenre came from outside the traditional publishing circuit (The Storm Beneath the World and The Sapling Cage).
- I found a new favorite book! As of now, Welcome to Forever sits at #4 on my top books list. It’s phenomenal and you should read it.
Statistics
- 17 (68%) of these books involved queer representation, across a fairly wide band of identities. I think of the ones I track, I was only missing aromantic, though there’s a few books that didn’t list beyond generically ‘queer’ and can’t remember specifics. Also lots more Polyamorous rep than I’ve seen in the past. I’m curious if it will make the jump out of the romantasy sphere and into books with other structures.
- 10 (40%) of the reads were by authors of color. This is lower than I wanted (I was aiming for 50%). This is also the first year I’ve tracked author race as a metric, and I’m glad its something on my mind more than it used to be.
- 15 (60%) of the books were by non-male authors. This tracks pretty close to my reading habits recently, though I’ve noticed that my full-series binges tend to be more male-authored, while my standalones tend to be more female-authored.
- 18 (72%) were authors that I hadn’t read before, and of those, 7 (28%) are authors I will be actively seeking out future and/or past books by. Several others are ones I’d be happy to read more of, but to add so many authors I’m actively pursuing is awesome, if a bit stressful for my already overloaded reading pile.
First in a Series: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
A fantasy/murder mystery hybrid with a deliciously weird world, tightly written plot and characters, and compelling writing. Plus a gay lead in a non-romance oriented book! Very excited for the sequel.
Should You Read It? This one’s got a very wide appeal, and I anticipate it being a staple in the fantasy space for a while.
Alliterative Title: The First Gate by Tobias Begley
A Slice of Life / Progression Fantasy story featuring a trans wizard doing sidequests in a story that is ultimately hopeful and supportive. Features a vaguely evil mentor figure. I had a lot of fun with this one, but was disappointed by the sequel. Begley is one of my favorite authors though, and I’m tentatively hopeful book 3 will be a return to form.
Should You Read It: if you aren’t into progression fantasy, this isn’t a good fit, though it’s far more slice of life than any I’ve read before.
Under the Surface: The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy
Epic Fantasy meets Witches, with all the wonderful things that implies. Features great trans representation, and feels like a natural outgrowth of the style of writing Tamora Pierce was doing in the 90s, but in a modern style.
Should You Read It? Definitely. This is a great example of what queer epic fantasy should look like
Criminals: The Scarlet Throne by Amy Leow
A villain origin story that takes inspiration from the Living Gods of Nepal. It was my favorite debut novel of the 2024 batch of books, and by a wide margin. It avoids most of the tropes of villain stories too, which was nice!
Should You Read It? As long as you don’t require big battles to be happy, and you don’t need your protagonists to be good people, this is a great fantasy book.
Dreams: The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
A horror installment for the Singing Hills Cycle. It didn’t have a lot of what I loved from this series (storytelling themes, multiple perspectives, etc) but was an enjoyable – if predictable – horror book in isolation. And as usual, Vo’s prose is exquisite.
Should You Read It? If you’re a fan of gothic vibes or haunted houses, definitely.
Entitled Animals: The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
A dual POV story between a fox seeking revenge and an investigator with a supernatural gift for telling truth from lies. Wonderful characters, and the setting of early 1900s China & Japan was excellently done.
Should You Read It? Only if you’re open to historical fantasy with relatively few supernatural elements.
Bards: Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland
Rowland is one of my favorite authors, and this was a blast. Comedic pirate fantasy, and it was pure joy injected into my veins. The cake competition had my roaring with laughter.
Should You Read This? I think everyone should read the first page or two. If it’s your vibe, absolutely. If the style turns you off, don’t touch it with a ten foot pole.
Prologues and Epilogues: Welcome to Forever by Nathan Tavares
One of my new all time favorite novels. It’s a psychedelic acid trip of edited memories as a man seeks to untangle his trauma, and examine his complicated feelings for his recently deceased ex. An emotional rollercoaster, and a novel with big things to say.
Should You Read It: It’s not a light read (emotionally or from a prose standpoint) but if you’re willing to put the work in, 100% yes.
Self Published/Indie: The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard
An emotional examination of the stereotypical fantasy hero’s life after the great evil has been vanquished. A hopeful book that grapples with trauma, identity, and self-love. I cried a lot reading this one.
Should You Read It? Only if introspective books are your jam, and if you’re open to repetition as a plot device
Romantasy: The Mars House by Natasha Pulley
A romance novel meets a science fiction ethics dilemma. The setup for a situation without easy solutions was really good, but the book was let down by an ending that was too neat and tidy. I also didn’t love the queer elements in this one. Beautiful writing, though.
Should You Read It? I don’t recommend this one overall, but I think the first half has some truly interesting ideas to chew on.
Dark Academia: An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
A fast-paced books filled with as many plot holes as a block of swiss cheese. I had some issues with depictions of toxic relationships and mental health in the story, but it was a fun binge read.
Should You Read It: only if the blurb looks interesting and you’re willing to turn your critical thinking brain off to enjoy the ride.
Multi POV: Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis
A subgenre-defying Sci Fi book following the crew and customers of a luxury space yacht. Each chapter follows a new POV, and the story shifts from slice of life to something close to a space thriller with a surprisingly dark tone.
Should You Read It? If the rather flimsy worldbuilding doesn’t bug you, and a popcorn POV story appeals, this is a great option
Published in 2024: The Storm Beneath the World by Michael R. Fletcher
An epic fantasy follow insect-cultures living on continents perched on the back of tentacle monsters flying in orbit around a gas giant planet. Wildly creative worldbuilding that was largely successful, four great POVs, and some serious ethical questions posed to the characters.
Should You Read It? if dark, brutal epic fantasy appeals to you? Absolutely yes
Character with a Disability: The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
A reincarnation story focusing on a pair of men who find each other across time and lives from ancient China to modern LA. A debut novel with lots of queer culture baked in. It had a great opening section, but fell apart a bit in the last half. Definitely an author to keep an eye on.
Should You Read It? If a reincarnation “love” story with lots of sex appeals to you, yes. Otherwise, probably pass.
Literary Fantasy: Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera
Note: I subbed the ‘published in the 90s’ square for ‘Literary Fantasy’. You get 1 sub per card, and this one was mandatory.
An acid trip of a book that experiments wildly with prose, style, and form. Sri Lanken and Buddhist history and culture are baked into the story’s DNA. In theory about reincarnating people in love, but I could only tell you that from the back cover. This book made me feel stupid.
Should You Read It? For Literary Fantasy fans only. Have a dictionary handy
Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins: The Daughter’s War by Christopher Buehlman
A dark story about the horrors of war. Features terrifying goblins as enemies and terrifying war-corvids as allies. Has a good blend of horror and military fantasy elements. The cover does a good job of representing the reading experience.
Should You Read It? This book is dark, and probably not as action packed as you’re expecting. But yeah, it was great.
Space Opera: Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas
A rather slow paced found family book following the crew of a spunky underdog spaceship crew. Fairly slow paced for most of the book, focusing on the relationships between characters. Loved the AI captain in particular.
Should You Read It? If you loved the TV show Firefly then this is absolutely your jam.
Author of Color: Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
A historical speculative fiction book with no fantasy elements, which is lightly Persephone themed. Heavy on the romance, with some really interesting and ambitious ideas, but didn’t quite pull it off. As with Emperor and the Endless Palace, this was a debut author I’m keeping my eyes on, because the swings taken make me curious about future books, even if they didn’t quite hit the mark.
Should You Read It? Only if historical romance with feminist overtones is your thing
Survival: The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo
Queer horror set in rural Appalachia. The sense of place is incredible, and I learned a lot about historic queer identities. There are few speculative elements, and religious horror is a bigger part of the novel.
Should You Read It: If you are at all a fan of queer horror or history, yes yes yes
Judge a Book by its Cover: Mistress of Lies by E.M. Enright
Look at that cover! It looks so good! This is a vampire adjacent fantasy dystopia story smashed together with a poly-romance plotline. The romance was great, the dystopia good, the political intrigue sorely lacking.
Should You Read It: best for romantasy fans. Others should pass unless the sequels show a step up in the dystopia and political parts of the series.
Set in a Small Town: The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
A Magical Realism Western following a bandit and his movie star descendent across parallel stories. I thought the bandit storyline was far stronger, but overall enjoyed this one a lot, and the setting work was excellent.
Should You Read It? Probably not for the average fantasy fan. But those who enjoy more grounded historical works with fewer speculative elements will likely get a lot out of it.
Five Short Stories: Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi
An anthology of mostly Science Fiction stories closely tied to Nigerian culture. No clunkers in the collection, and lots of stories really popped. I especially loved the near future stories which felt terrifyingly possible.
Should You Read It? Assuming you at all like short fiction, this is one of the better collections I’ve read.
Eldritch Creatures: The Wings Upon Her Back by Samantha Mills
A book about fascist governments and one characters relationship where abusive mentor, told from two timelines of her as a trainee, and then decades later as an outcast. It was well written and deeply thematic, but I sort of wanted it have more of a focus on deprogramming than it ultimately did.
Should You Read It: Good for fans of deep looks into complex relationships, but not if you want a dystopian story with lots of action scenes.
Reference Materials: Evocation by S.T. Gibson
Another books from this card featuring great poly-relationship development, but with lackluster non-romance elements. The plot is sharp and fun though, and it was an engaging read. Clearly a setup for a series, at the expense of this book’s plot.
Should You Read It? Again, good for romantasy fans, but not enough here for others to enjoy I think
Book Club: Someone You Can Build a Nest In
Finally a romantasy I can see broader appeal in! It’s a monster/monster hunter relationship with cozy horror vibes. Some really interesting work with disability coding our monstrous lead, and generally a fun story.
Should You Read It? I think this is an excellent option for non-romantasy fans to try out, especially if they are participating in bingo this year.
Marked for Plot 
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