Fantasy Book Club Series discussion

Our current series discussion will finish at the end of July, so I am opening nominations for a series to begin August 1, 2020.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Rules for nominating a series:
1. The series must be complete.
2. The series must be fantasy (I know, seems obvious).
3. The series should not be targeted mainly for middle school or a YA audience.
4. The series must not be one the group has already read. Look through the website or the group bookshelf to see if we’ve read it before.
5. Each member may nominate one series. Please tell us the name of the series, the author, and the first book in the series. If you want to add more information, please feel free.
6. Each member may second one other nomination in addition to making their own nomination.
7. In order to move into the polling, a nomination must be seconded.
8. Nominations will be open through June 17. We will then have a poll. If the results are close, we may have a run-off poll between or among the top vote-getters.

Nominations are open! Let’s go!
Thanks,
Kathi, for the mods

Nominated and seconded:
Chronicles of the Black Gate series (5 books) by Phil Tucker, starting with The Path of Flames
Promethean Age series (5 books) by Elizabeth Bear, starting with Blood and Iron
Riddle-Master Trilogy (3 books) by Patricia A. McKillip, starting with The Riddle-Master of Hed
Daevabad Trilogy (3 books) by S.A. Chakraborty, starting with The City of Brass
Book of Ash (4 books) by Mary Gentle, starting with A Secret History

Nominated but not yet seconded:
Nine Realms (4 books) by Sarah Kozloff, starting with A Queen in Hiding

Nominated but disqualified :

I’ll start us off—I will nominate the Promethean Age series by Elizabeth Bear, a 5 book series starting with starting with Blood and Iron. This has been nominated in the last and always garners some interest, but not enough to win. Maybe this time it will. The series combines historical characters with fantasy.

I nominate Chronicles of the Black Gate by Phil Tucker. The first book is Path of the Flame.

I would love to read the Chronicles

Ed wrote: "I would love to read the Chronicles"

I will assume this is a second for Chronicles of the Black Gate. Thanks!

Yes

I nominate The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty starting with The City of Brass and I second the Promethean Age

Kathi wrote: "I’ll start us off—I will nominate the Promethean Age series by Elizabeth Bear, a 5 book series starting with starting with Blood and Iron. This has been nominated in t..."

I will second this one

The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip, generally called the Riddle-master trilogy

Mary wrote: "The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia A. McKillip, generally called the Riddle-master trilogy"

I will second this.

Last day for nominations and seconds... we could use a few more options, I think.

I will second the Daevabad Trilogy.

Probably too late for anyone to second it, but since we're sparse on nominations, I'll nominate The Book of Ash, by Mary Gentle - first volume, A Secret History. And I know nobody else has done this, but the rules seem to say I can, so I'll add a few words of explanation...

It's one of the best epic fantasies out there, but sadly has become overlooked; it's from the late 90s, and is part of the same phase of the genre as George RR Martin and early Robin Hobb - classic epic fantasy taken as epic as it can get, and starting to get a bit darker, a bit more psychological, and with a bit more emphasis on thrilling adventure.

Some pros:
- thrilling, constant action
- strong female protagonist and multiple other strong female characters (also some LGBT interest, though it's not the focus)
- realistic and very vividly portrayed mediaeval setting - probably the most realistic, historically accurate mediaeval fantasy
- very cleverly plotted
- completely unpredictable
- very competently written

Some possible cons:
- graphic sex and violence; even the first page could have multiple trigger warnings. Realistic mediaeval society - so lots of cruelty and injustice, not all magically solved in the end.
- a military focus. There is time for romance, politics, adventure and mystery between the battles, but a lot more time is spent in filthy army camps than in palaces and royal castles. If you want a fantasy about people in rose-perfumed bowers falling chastely in love with one another, this is not the one for you.
- it's impossible to pigeonhole it to one genre. I think it's fantasy, and I think that's how it's usually been marketed. But some people would call it science fiction, and others would call it alternate history, and some would call it slipstream I suppose, or...
- detailed and intelligent - so although it's exciting, it's not a casual read, you do need to pay attention

On the face of it, it's a historical novel set in 15th century Burgundy and environs (numerous historical figures appear), with a frame story set in our contemporary society. However, it rapidly becomes clear that everything is not how it should be and it is emphatically not a plain historical novel, although exactly how and why is only gradually revealed (through a combination of subtle hints and stunning twists). Our heroine (and she mostly is an admirably heroine, although she's certainly not innocent or morally pure) is Ash, a young woman who commands a small mercenary company; when the story begins in earnest, she's employed in the Burgundian wars, but a much bigger (and weirder) threat is about to be revealed.


[I feel a little odd nominating it as a series, because I believe it's actually a single novel, Ash: A Secret History, which is how the author wrote it, and how it was published in the UK, and how I read it. However, it was published as a four-part series in the US. So it's a sort of Lord of the Rings situation. And given its length (somewhat longer than Lord of the Rings), people always seem reluctant to give it a go when they think of it as a standalone novel, so pitching it as a four-part series is probably better marketing...]

I second A Secret History (Book of Ash, #1)

I would like to nominate The Nine Realms series starting with A Queen in Hiding. This series has intrigued me since all 4 books were released over a 4 month period earlier this year. Perfect for binge reading.

Hailee wrote: "I would like to nominate The Nine Realms series starting with A Queen in Hiding. This series has intrigued me since all 4 books were released over a 4 month period earlier this year..."
Since this didn’t get a second, please save this idea for our next round of nominations. Thanks!

Nominations are closed and the poll is up.

Please vote!
Poll for Series to Start August 1, 2020

The poll for our series read to start August 1, 2020, will close at the end of the month, 11:59 PM (PDT) On June 30, so there is still a little time for you to vote!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

Thanks!
Kathi, for the mods