Okay, it may be impossible to top my favorite fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire and the Wheel of Time, but Michael G. Manning’s work is in that league. Here I rave about his Art of the Adept series, which starts with The Choice of Magic and ends with The Wizard’s Crown. Fans had problems with the tragic ending, but he wrote an ongoing sequel series to address that. I enjoyed Wizard in Exile and Daughter of the Dragon.
I enjoyed this litRPG book series by Erin Ampersand.
It’s refreshing to read a hero who’s not your typical young guy thrust into leadership. She’s a mom of 3 little kids, and she uses her mom skills not only to keep her kids safe throughout a system apocalypse where aliens pit humans against monsters, but also to rally humanity into defiance against their true enemies instead of fighting over loot and scraps.
Meghan’s character shows a lot of strength without being muscle-strong. She has to keep emotions controlled and her wits sharp while secretly yearning for her husband and fearful for the safety of her family. She is thrust into trolley problem dilemmas and comes through them with sensible solutions, fueled by her emotional intelligence.
I just enjoyed this whole series, which is up to Book 4 so far. There’s a lot of cleverness in terms of fights and challenges and aliens.
The downside, for me, is that these books are just a touch too cozy for my tastes. Alien monsters that can’t even kill little kids (albeit kids with powers) seem kinda incompetent, no matter how threatening they are, no matter how many adults they kill off-screen. But plot armor is a common thing in a lot of litRPG, so I give it a pass.
After reading this series, I still don’t want kids. But it’s nice to get one version of a glimpse into motherhood. Holy smokes.
Here’s my inside look at the male reading crisis, which I believe is very much engendered by the book industry. Reading should be for everyone.
00:00 Why the male reading crisis shouldn’t be dismissed.
01:19 What do men prefer in a good story? Here it is.
02:44 The big best-sellers of the last twenty years cater to teen and female audiences.
04:13 Why the book industry leans female: a feedback loop of risk avoidance driven by analytics. Also…
05:34 The tastemakers of the book industry are mostly underpaid, stressed out young women.
07:12 And big publishing avoids epic series, aka big and heroic tales.
07:59 Where do men go for stories? Videogames, manga, and underground niches such as web serials.
09:27 Some hope for male-oriented fiction going mainstream.
10:48 Men who read are sexy.
If you’re looking for some great modern classics to read for this spooky autumn season, here are my top five Psychological Horror book recommendations.
00:00 Pet Sematary by Stephen King
01:53 Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
03:08 Interview With A Vampire by Anne Rice
03:44 The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
04:31 Night of Sorrows by Frances Sherwood
Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time book series had a huge influence on my story crafting techniques and the importance of research and world-building. Here I reflect on my personal memories of rereads, and also of meeting the influential fantasy author in person.
Here’s my old Wheel of Time fan site.
It’s not learning a skill when you just press a button, but the economic and social pressure to use it (and to rapidly iterate low effort content) is intense. Here’s my hot take on writers and other creatives using generative A.I. to package and promote their otherwise high effort human endeavors.
Whether professional or amateur, sci-fi and fantasy writers rarely finish the epic series they start. Abby explores the reasons why authors abandon their series, having run that gauntlet herself, as well as having studied the craft for over twenty years.
Here’s why extreme culture clashes make for such compelling storytelling, with epic heroes, crazy villains, and powerful action-based plots. The best sci-fi and fantasy books include conquest or extreme first contact situations. So does historical nonfiction, particularly the Age of Exploration and the Spanish Conquistadors.
This London-based urban fantasy book series by Benedict Jacka is right up there with Wheel of Time and Game of Thrones in terms of dramatic tension, escalating stakes, and character interactions. Definitely in Abby’s top ten book series of all time. EXCELLENT.
The Alex Verus series starts with Fated by Benedict Jacka.
In honor of the late Vernor Vinge, I read Rainbows End.
What a wonderful visionary. In Vinge’s future (which is now), machine learning and internet search engines have made everyone smarter instead of stupider. Social media has made everyone kinder and more understanding of different cultures. People are living their best lives. The global economy is booming, and rich people sponsor bioengineers to make custom-tailored cures for their diseases, which has led to huge breakthroughs in medicine. They can cure Alzheimer’s and cancer. Also, kids constantly play games and education is fun. Everyone wears AR/VR contact lenses, no visors required, and there are touchy-feely haptics.
Doesn’t it sound nice? I want to live there.
Anyway, the plot is sort of a cross between A Man Called Ove and a 1980s feel-good movie. The main character is a grouch with a boomer attitude, and he needs to get off his high horse and team up with some kids in order to progress as a person. It’s great.
There is some silliness to the story, which might be a Vinge trademark, but my admiration for his work remains strong. Of all the sci-fi authors of that generation, he is my favorite.
Vinge is best known for A Fire Upon the Deep, which I discussed on a podcast with other fans of his work.
Also, I’ve surpassed 1300+ books read on Goodreads. Someday, maybe I’ll receive as many reviews as I’ve written, heh.
© 2025 Abby Goldsmith DBA Fiery Press