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Since starting at Book Riot, I’ve found myself reading more and more out of my comfort zone. So much so that my comfort zone has readjusted. I’ve picked up more romances, a bigger variety of graphic novels, and have started reading more nonfiction. When it comes to reading fantasy, though? Baby. Fantasy and I go way back. It’s one of the genres that I have liked since I started reading independently, and that I still love and read a lot of.
One thing about fantasy writers, though, is that they can be a little, let’s say long-winded. Now, I love spending as much time in my favorite fantasy worlds with my favorite fantasy characters, so I’m not complaining, but many fantasy writers have the reputation of being what kids these days would might call literary yappers, with storylines that stretch over hundreds of pages and several books.
That’s why standalone fantasy books come in so clutch. Because yes, I want to escape into a world totally different from my own, or maybe not totally different, but with some interesting magic shaking things up, but no, I don’t have like 10 years to sit and wait for a sequel.
If you similarly want a little fantastical razzle-dazzle but want to be in and out, the books below will take you through musical deals with the devil, a journey with ancient Mexican gods in Jazz Age Mexico City, and there are even some philosophical musings set against a dark academia setting.
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
In a bid to avoid eternal damnation, Shizuka has made a deal with the devil to deliver seven violin prodigies’ souls. She’s just heard her final candidate, runaway trans girl Katrina, when she crosses paths with retired starship captain and refugee Lan in a donut shop. The three women’s lives become intertwined in this novel, which has been likened to The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and also has Faust teas, naturally.
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
I read this around the time it first came out in 2015 (which was 10 years ago…ugh). I remember it being one of the most out-there books I’d ever read, both in its creativity and its cruelty. I enjoyed it, but kind of thought it was a bit of a niche read. Years later, its 66,000+ ratings on Goodreads tell me that there were many others who got just as effed up (in a good way) by this as I did.
We follow Carolyn, who remembers what it was like to be human before she and a dozen other children were adopted by someone who they would call “Father.” They learn early on that Father is strange — he can do seemingly impossible things like call light from darkness and raise the dead. He also has a library that holds the knowledge for power over all creation. Growing up under Father can be terrible, though. He raises his adopted children according to ancient Pelapi customs and enacts exceedingly harsh punishments when disobeyed. But now, Father — who the siblings have theorized is actually secretly God — is missing, and with him gone, there’s a vie for Father’s library and the power it holds. This book kind of warped my little brain.
Check out all the previous 2024 Read Harder posts here.
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