African Influence · Africanfuturism · ATLUS · Audiobook · Australia · Book Haul · Books · Christianity · Coming-of-Age · Education · Favorite Books · First in a Series · Folklore · Gaming · Harry Potter · Literature · magic realism · Middle Grade Books · Middle Grade Fiction · Reading · School · Sequel · speculative fiction · Trilogy · Video Games · Young Adult Fiction

Reading Check-In: December 25, 2021

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it! Because today is a holiday and I'm a bit of a workaholic, I'm keeping this week's post simple and straightforward. What have you finished reading recently? I did it! I finished this book, which is the 20th book released in 2021, which means I'll be able to present… Continue reading Reading Check-In: December 25, 2021

A Song of Ice and Fire · Asian Influence · Authors/Writers · Award Nominee · Award Winner · Book Theories · Books · Christianity · Debut · Dystopia · Fantasy · Favorite Books · First in a Series · Gaming · Gender Roles · George R.R. Martin · Grimdark · Horror · humanity · Ideas · Indie Books · Literary Awards · Literature · Mark Lawrence · Military Fiction · Reading · speculative fiction · Trilogy · TV · Video Games · Vigilantism · Writing

An Analysis of the Genre: Grimdark, Horror & Dark Fantasy

NOTE: This post is a rewrite of an assignment I wrote for a graduate school course. If you would like to read the original essay, then click here. Also, this is written in APA Format. Speculative fiction is the general term used when describing books which fall under the genres of fantasy, science fiction and horror,… Continue reading An Analysis of the Genre: Grimdark, Horror & Dark Fantasy

A Song of Ice and Fire · ARCs · Asian Influence · Audiobook · Authors/Writers · Award Nominee · Award Winner · Book Review · Book Spoilers · Books · Family · Family Dynamics · Fantasy · Favorite Books · Folklore · Freedom · Game of Thrones · George R.R. Martin · Goodreads · Grimdark · Historical Fiction · history · humanity · identity · Literature · Reading · religious beliefs · Review · Sequel · speculative fiction · Trilogy

Why You Need to Read: “The Burning God”

The Poppy War Trilogy, #3: The Burning God By: R.F. Kuang                                                                       Audiobook: 23 hours 47 minutes Published: November 17, 2020                                              Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller Genre: Historical Fantasy, Grimdark, Military Fantasy, Folklore             What was wrong with her? She’d started and ended wars. She’d buried a god. She’d incinerated a country. There wasn’t an entity on the planet that… Continue reading Why You Need to Read: “The Burning God”

A Song of Ice and Fire · Advice and Suggestions · African Influence · Asian Influence · Australia · Authors/Writers · Award Winner · Book Review · Books · Debut · Dunk and Egg · Essos · Fantasy · Favorite Books · First in a Series · Game of Thrones · George R.R. Martin · graphic novels · Grimdark · LGBTQ · Literature · Mark Lawrence · Middle Eastern Fantasy · Military Fiction · mystery · Reading · Religion · religious beliefs · speculative fiction · Trilogy

Why You Need to Read: These Books While Waiting for “The Winds of Winter”: Part II

Here we go again. It’s been almost 3 years since I complied the 1st list of book recommendations; and, we’re still waiting for The Winds of Winter, the next book in A Song of Ice and Fire series. Many of us continue to wait, patiently, for this book by reading similar books by authors who write fantasy stories. There… Continue reading Why You Need to Read: These Books While Waiting for “The Winds of Winter”: Part II

A Song of Ice and Fire · ARCs · Authors/Writers · Book Review · Book Spoilers · Books · Egypt · Fairy Tale Retellings · Family · Family Dynamics · Fantasy · Favorite Books · Folklore · Gender Roles · Historical Fiction · identity · Islam · LGBTQ · Literature · Love · Middle Eastern Fantasy · mythology · Old Magic · Parents and Parenting · Reading · Religion · religious beliefs · Review · Sequel · speculative fiction · Trilogy

Why You Need to Read: “The Empire of Gold”

The Daevabad Trilogy, #3: The Empire of Gold By: S.A. Chakraborty  Published: June 30, 2020 Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction             Daevabad, in all its glory and infamy. The mighty brass walls embellished with the facades of its founders, her ancestors. The crush of ziggurats and minarets, temples and stupas; the dizzying array of clashing architecture and eras—each… Continue reading Why You Need to Read: “The Empire of Gold”

Anime · Asian Influence · Authors/Writers · Award Nominee · Award Winner · Book Review · Books · Children's Fiction · Coming-of-Age · Debut · Dystopia · Education · Fairy Tale Retellings · Family Dynamics · Fantasy · Favorite Books · First in a Series · Folklore · Game of Thrones · George R.R. Martin · graphic novels · His Dark Materials · identity · J.K. Rowling · Japan · Literary Awards · Literature · Love · magic realism · Metaphysical Fiction · mythology · Neil Gaiman · Old Magic · Paganism · Paranormal · Reading · Sailor Moon · School · Science Fiction · Sequel · speculative fiction · The Golden Compass · Trilogy · Urban Fantasy · Young Adult Fiction

Speculative Fiction Books that Kept My Interest in the Genre

Please note the title of this post refers to books! I will write a separate list containing movies, TV shows and video games related to speculative fiction sometime in the future. And, expect that list to consist of “originals,” not just media adaptations of books. Also, these are NOT my favorite speculative fiction books of… Continue reading Speculative Fiction Books that Kept My Interest in the Genre

Advice and Suggestions · American Society · Authors/Writers · Award Nominee · Award Winner · Book to Media Adaptations · Books · Debut · Education · Fantasy · Favorite Books · Gender Roles · George R.R. Martin · Harry Potter · history · Horror · humanity · identity · LGBTQ · Literary Awards · Literature · Predictions · Reading · Science Fiction · Social Media · speculative fiction · Time

The Disclosure Behind the 2020 Hugo Awards

A lot can happen in a week. Politics and COVID-19 aside, it seems like “everyone” wants to return to a time when “things were the way they used to be.” Out of all of the prejudices that’s been going around, it seems that ageism continues to be accepted widely due to the notion that “the… Continue reading The Disclosure Behind the 2020 Hugo Awards

Authors/Writers · Book Review · Book Spoilers · Books · Coming-of-Age · Family · Family Dynamics · Fantasy · Favorite Books · Freedom · history · identity · Literature · Love · Parents and Parenting · Reading · religious beliefs · Review · speculative fiction

Why You Need to Read: “The Queen of Raiders”

The Nine Realms #2: The Queen of Raiders By: Sarah Kozloff Published: February 18, 2020 Genre: Fantasy             I could lend my Talent to (the) Raiders. I could attack the Oros in their lair, (Chapter Thirteen, Slagos to Alpetar).             The wait between books in a series are often long. There are times when the book comes out the next… Continue reading Why You Need to Read: “The Queen of Raiders”

A Song of Ice and Fire · American Society · Authors/Writers · Book Theories · Book to Media Adaptations · Comics · Game of Thrones · George R.R. Martin · Marvel · Movie Spoilers · Movies · Predictions · Reading · speculative fiction · Superheroes · TV · TV Show Spoilers · Wakanda

The Bittersweet Conclusions that are Coming in April 2019

Note: There are some spoilers and theories surrounding Game of Thronesand the MCU. I don’t have any knowledge of what’s going to happen in either Game of Thronesor Endgame. Just like everyone else, I’m excited for both Season 8 of Game of Thrones and Avengers: Endgame. Both the television show and the movie are continuations of popular media adaptations of… Continue reading The Bittersweet Conclusions that are Coming in April 2019

A Song of Ice and Fire · Authors/Writers · Book Theories · Book to Media Adaptations · Books · Dunk and Egg · Essos · Game of Thrones · George R.R. Martin · Harry Potter · J.K. Rowling · Literature · Robert Jordan · speculative fiction · Time · Westeros

My Theory on George R.R. Martin’s Writing “Plan” for A Song of Ice and Fire

What do you believe is going on with George R.R. Martin's writing process? Like many other fans and readers of A Song of Ice and Fire series, we have been waiting for a very long time for Winds of Winter. A Dance with Dragons was published in 2011, a few weeks after the first season… Continue reading My Theory on George R.R. Martin’s Writing “Plan” for A Song of Ice and Fire