It’s not secret that I love reading challenges and the r/Fantasy bingo is my favorite of the year. I’m a mod there, so ofc, biased, but it’s so much fun. It’s huge, runs each year from April 1st to March 30th. A few hundred people participate. Starting last year we have a discussion thread for each square. Mountains of book recs. And the prompt themselves are always fun, with a normal mode, a hard more and a special hero mode for reviewing all the things!

A lot of people do multiple cards and pick extra themes for their cards, and I’m one of them. For this year I’m doing two cards, one featuring only BIPOC authors and one only books I already own. The BIPOC authors card is also 80% owned books, but there are 5 squares I couldn’t cover with what I had so I’ll try to fill them up with 2021 releases.

Here’s the big post with all the information, if I can tempt you into participating. 

First Row Across:

• Five SFF Short Stories – Any short story as long as there are five of them. HARD MODE: Read an entire SFF anthology or collection.

  1. Love After The End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit & Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction (h) by Joshua Whitehead
  2. Exhalation by Ted Chiang

• Set in Asia – Any book set in Asia or an analogous fantasy setting that is based on a real-world Asian setting. HARD MODE: Written by an Asian author.

  1. The Bone Shard Daughter (h) by Andrea Stewart
  2. The Fire Eye Chosen by Samuel Gately

• A Selection from the r/Fantasy A to Z Genre Guide – Any book listed in our A to Z Genre Guide. HARD MODE: A book by a BIPOC author.

  1. Imaro (h) by Charles Saunders – READ – Enjoyed it a lot, the world was great and I loved the evil creepy magic, will read on
  2. Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

• Found Family – Or as TV Tropes calls it – Family of Choice. Often not biologically related, these relationships in a group typically form through bonds of shared experiences and become as important (in some cases more) as family members. HARD MODE: Featuring an LGBTQ+ character as a member of the found family.

  1. The Obelisk Gate (?) by N. K. Jemisin (I’m not actually sure these fit, but want to read them this year so will see if they need moving elsewhere)
  2. The Stone Sky by NK Jemisin

• First Person POV – defined as: a literary style in which the narrative is told from the perspective of a narrator speaking directly about themselves. Link for examples. HARD MODE: There is more than one perspective, but each perspective is written in First Person.

  1. Thorn by Intisar Khanani
  2. Half-Off Ragnarok by Seanan McGuire

Second Row Across:

• Book Club OR Readalong Book – Any past or still active r/Fantasy book clubs count, as well as past or current r/Fantasy readalongs. NOTE: All of the current book club info can also be found on our Goodreads page. Every book added to our Goodreads shelf counts. HARD MODE: Must read a current selection of either a book club or readalong and participate in the discussion.

  1. God of Gnomes by Demi Harper

• New to You Author – This would be an author whose work you’ve yet to read, meaning no novel, no novella, no short fiction, etc. HARD MODE: Not only have you never read their work before but you’ve not heard much about this author or their work before deciding to try a book by them.

  1. Exit West (h) by Mohsin Hamad – READ – really liked it, had no clue what it would be about and was pleasantly surprised. It showed the migrant life through a very interesting perspective.
  2. Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler

• Gothic Fantasy – Gothic Fantasy is similar to Gothic Fiction but it includes fantasy elements or settings. Gothic Fiction is “a style of writing that is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death, and gloom, as well as romantic elements, such as nature, individuality, and very high emotion. These emotions can include fear and suspense.” (Source) Here is a good ‘introductory post’ on Gothic Fantasy for further reading from Book Riot. HARD MODE: NOT one of the ten titles listed in the Book Riot article.

  1. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
  2. The Half Killed by Quenby Olson

• Backlist Book – For our purposes we’re considering ‘backlist’ an author’s older titles that are not their latest published book or part of a currently running series (no further sequels announced when you read it). The author must also be a currently publishing author. HARD MODE: Published before the year 2000.

  2. The Element of Fire (Ile-Rien Book 1) by Martha Wells

• Revenge-Seeking Character – Book has a character whose main motivation in the story is revenge. HARD MODE: Revenge is central to the plot of the entire book.

  1. Black Sun (h) by Rebecca Roanhorse
  2. The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold

Third Row Across:

• Mystery Plot – The main plot of the book centers around solving a mystery. HARD MODE: Not a primary world Urban Fantasy (secondary world urban fantasy is okay!)

  1. The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard
  2. Tenebre Miercuri by Daniel Timariu

• Comfort Read – This is one of those ‘personal to you’ squares. Any book that brings you comfort while reading it. You can use a reread on this square and it WON’T count for your ‘1 reread’. HARD MODE: Don’t use a reread, find a brand new comfort read!

  1. Amari and the Night Brothers (h) by B.B. Alston – READ- Loved it, such a great fun and magical MG novel.
  2. Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey

• Published in 2021 – A book published for the first time in 2021 (no reprints or new editions). HARD MODE: It’s also a debut novel–as in it’s the author’s first published novel.

  1. Escaping Exodus: Symbiosis by Nicky Drayden – currently reading, lots of fun, I was thinking it was more light-hearted than the first but then it hit me with some body horror
  2. The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu

• Cat Squasher: 500+ Pages – Time to go tome hunting–find a book that is over 500 pages in length. HARD MODE: Lion Squasher – a book that is over 800 pages.

  1. The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story by M. L. Wang
  2. Scarlet Odyssey by C.T. Rwizi

• SFF-Related Nonfiction – Back by popular demand! Any nonfiction book that is related to SFF. Could be a book about the history of something in SFF, writing SFF, essays from a SFF writer, etc. HARD MODE: Published within the last five years.

  2. Hustlers, Harlots, and Heroes: A Regency and Steampunk Field Guide by Krista D. Ball

Fourth Row Across:

• Latinx or Latin American Author – Author is from Latin America or of Latinx/Hispanic heritage. HARD MODE: Book has fewer than 1000 Goodreads ratings.

  1. Craddle of Sea and Soil by Bernie Anés Paz
  2. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

• Self-Published – Only self-published novels will count for this square. If the novel has been picked up by a publisher as long as you read it when it was self-pubbed it will still count. HARD MODE: Self-pubbed and has fewer than 50 ratings on Goodreads.

  1. Songs of Insurrection: Legends of Tivara (The Dragon Songs Saga Book 1) (h) JC Kang
  2. The Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster

• Forest Setting – This setting must be used be for a good portion of the book. HARD MODE: The entire book takes place in this setting.

  1. The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
  2. The Stone Knife by Anna Stephens

• Genre Mashup – A book that utilizes major elements from two or more genres. Examples: a romance set in a fantasy world, a book that combines science fiction and fantasy, etc. HARD MODE: Three or more genres are combined.

  1. The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk – READ – loved it, such a great mix of infuriating and comforting.
  2. The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal (why did I put this here … t doesn’t seem to fit … )

• Has Chapter Titles – A book where each chapter has a title (other than numbers or just a character’s name). HARD MODE: Chapter title is more than a single word.

  1. The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar
  2. The Footprints of Writing by Raymond St. Elmo

Fifth Row Across:

• Title: _____ of _____ – The title of the book must feature the format X of Y. Example: The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier. HARD MODE: _____ of ______ and ________. Format of title must be X of Y and Z.

  1. The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
  2. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

• First Contact – From Wikipedia: Science Fiction about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient species’ first encounter with another one, given they are from different planets or natural satellites. HARD MODE: War does not break out as a result of contact.

  2. Space Opera by Catherine M. Valente

• Trans or Nonbinary Character – A book featuring a trans or nonbinary character that isn’t an alien or a robot. HARD MODE: This character is a main protagonist.

  1. The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow – currently reading, very much liking the characters even though the alien colonization setting is most grim
  2. The Four Profound Weaves by B.R. Lemberg – READ – liked it a lot

• Debut Author – An author’s debut novel or novella. HARD MODE: The author has participated in an AMA. AMA List linked here.

  1. Elemental: Shadows of Otherside Book 1 by Whitney Hill – READ – Something just didn’t click with me here, I think because elves and vampires being in the same universe apparently confuses me cause I associate them with the same sort of stereotypes.
  2. City of Lies by Sam Hawke

• Witches – A book featuring witches. Note – characters practicing what is traditionally in their culture referred to as witchcraft would also count. For example brujos or brujas would count for this square. HARD MODE: A witch is a main protagonist.

  1. –
  2. Din Negura Timpului by Lavinia Calina