All these books take place at a specific time and place in Earth’s past. Other than that one nod to reality, all bets are off.
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Every now and then, everyone needs a boost, and these books deliver. Some are funny, some are just plain fun, and some simply have a big heart.
Weird fantasy has to leave me with a “That was great, but what the hell did I just read?” feeling. The books below all fit the bill.
Sometimes, at the end of a long day (or even a short one), I want to be thrown into the middle of a bunch of exploding weirdness and not have to think too hard. Or, if a book is going to make me think when I’m tired, it had better be sneaky about it, and do it while I’m having a lot of fun.
So close! These books were all nominated but failed to win the Hugo.
There were way more than 27 great fantasy books written in the 21st century, but I had to draw the line somewhere or we’d be here all day.
It takes a steady hand to write a fantasy story that’s exciting, interesting, and funny as hell.
Or maybe it’s just that people are funny, and no matter what you do with them, like putting them on dragons or in the afterlife, they’re going to do something ridiculous.
Gathering this list together in mid-2020 makes me think I should read post-apocalyptic books not for entertainment, but for practical tips and tricks.
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23 Best Fantasy Books by Black Authors
Though almost absent in the early years of fantasy writing, the number of Black authors—and the recognition of their work—is growing year by year.
It’s impossible to talk about fantasy written by Black authors as a cohesive genre because, like writers of other skin tones, Black authors come from all over the world and write about a wildly diverse array of subjects in their own unique ways and voices.
Despite that, I’m including this list because most other lists of fantasy books tend to be heavy on white folk, and trumpeting the achievements of Black authors should help balance that out a little bit.
Note: I’m using “Black” instead of “African-American” because a number of these authors are not American.
Horror seems like a strange thing to enjoy reading: why would you want to be terrified while mental images of grotesque bloodshed are burned into your head? What’s wrong with you?
Of course, nothing’s wrong with you. One of the jobs of fiction is to give us clues on how to survive, and seeing how characters (maybe) defeat horrific beasts gives us hope in fighting our own monsters.