One week until Wyrd & Wonder* 2022 begins! I’ve shared some of my favorite Top 5s fantasy reads these past few weeks as I’ve counted down to May 1. This week, I’m sharing my Wyrd & Wonder TBR.
*Not sure what Wyrd & Wonder is? Check out this post first.
Two weeks to go! The countdown to Wyrd & Wonder* 2022 continues. Wyrd & Wonder starts May 1, and I’m getting ready by posting some of my favorite Top 5s. This week, I’m sharing my Top 5 Fantasy Sub-Genre Reads
*Not sure what Wyrd & Wonder is? Check out this post first.
Fantasy is itself a subgenre that falls under the broad category of Speculative Fiction. Speculative Fiction is a broad literary genre encompassing any fiction with supernatural, fantastical, or futuristic elements and encompasses literature ranging from hard science fiction to epic fantasy to ghost stories to horror to folk and fairy tales to slipstream to magical realism to modern myth-making and more.
So maybe in that sense, Spec Fiction is a super-genre and Fantasy is a genre with a ridiculous number of subgenres. There really is no one definition of Spec Fic just as there’s no one singular list of Fantasy sub-genres. Some put science fiction under fantasy, some have science fiction as adjacent to fantasy.
Regardless, Fantasy has a lot of bandwidth to cover a wide swath of literature. And I’ve picked out my Top 5 Reads from various subgenres. You may agree or disagree on the category and that’s okay. Because in the end, who cares as long as we’re reading.
Continue reading “Countdown 2: Top 5 Fantasy Subgenre Reads”Three weeks and the countdown to Wyrd & Wonder* 2022 continues! Wyrd & Wonder starts May 1, and I’m getting ready by posting some of my favorite Top 5s fantasy reads. This week, I’m sharing my Top 5 Forest Fantasy Reads.
*Not sure what Wyrd & Wonder is? Check out this post first.
The traditional fifth anniversary gift is wood, and so Wyrd and Wonder is all about forest fantasy this year. (Hence the tree wolf.) This list celebrates all things forest-y, which covers a lot of ground from woodland settings to forest creatures, from a focus on trees to important wooden artifacts. But I’ve chosen to stay away from the most obvious answers, LOTR (Old Man Willow, Treebeard and the Ents, Trollshaws, and Mirkwood just to name a few as trees and forests play multiple roles in Middle Earth) and HP (Whomping Willow and the Forbidden Forest). And so here are 5 of my fave forest fantasy reads.
Continue reading “Countdown 3: Top 5 Forest Fantasy Reads”FOUR weeks to go! The countdown to Wyrd & Wonder* 2022 continues. Wyrd & Wonder starts May 1, and I’m getting ready by posting some of my favorite Top 5s fantasy reads. This week, I’m sharing my Top 5 Stand Alone Fantasy Reads.
*Not sure what Wyrd & Wonder is? Check out this post first.
Fantasy, more often than not, seems to give rise to series. It seems like every fantasy book I’ve picked up lately is at least a duology. While I love a good series and the ability to take a deep dive into a world, sometimes it’s also nice to have a stand alone book and not get to the cliffhanger at the end and realize there’s another book. (Why hello Skyhunter.) It’s especially distressing when I discover a series, realize it isn’t complete, and then have to anxiously await the next installment. Typically, it takes one to two years for the next book to be published (unless the author is a writing machine like J.D. Robb). But in some cases, it takes decades for the next book to drop. (I’m looking at you Pat Rothfuss!)
So it’s awesome to pick up a book, enjoy it, and not have to worry about when the sequel will be published. And despite the numerous fantasy series I have read and loved, I have found some wonderful stand alone fantasy books, no waiting required. So in no particular order, I present . . .
Continue reading “Countdown 4: Top 5 Stand Alone Fantasy Reads”A couple of years ago I stumbled across something called Wyrd & Wonder. Wyrd & Wonder is an annual geek-out of people who love all things fantasy hosted by Lisa, Jorie, and imyril. The month of May is dedicated to celebrating fantasy books, movies TV shows, games, and more, and the fun includes read-alongs, interviews, memes, gaming, and more.
I joined the fun in 2020 and wrote one of my all-time favorite posts on A Few of My Favorite (Fantasy) Things.
This year, Wyrd & Wonder turns 5. And there just happens to be 5 weeks before May 1. To celebrate this 5th Wyrdiverisary, I’m doing 5 countdown posts to Wyrd & Wonder. I’m starting off the countdown with my Top 5 Fantasy Read since last May.
Continue reading “Wyrd & Wonder Countdown: Top 5 Fantasy Reads Since Last May”The fantastical adventure continues.
You chose to go into the dark, spooky forest. As soon as you step into the forest, you notice the air cooled instantly. The tightly packed canopy doesn’t allow enough sunlight to reach the forest floor, which also means there’s minimal flora or other underbrush that you’d typically see in a forest. The forest floor is covered with a strange, almost glowing moss that also seems to dampen the sounds. The scent of something (or many things) decomposing fills your nostrils. You look around but see no trace of humans or other beings.
You start along the narrow, winding path, occasionally stumbling over unseen roots. After walking for what feels like hours, you hear a small whimpering sound. Almost like someone crying. Walking toward the noise, you see a small cottage. You can tell the crying is coming from the cottage. You grip your small, rusty sword tightly.
Do you enter the cottage or keep going along the path?
Continue reading “Wyrd and Wonder TBR”
wanderinglynn.com 