#T5W | Favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

This week, we are talking about FAVORITE SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY BOOKS.

I was looking at my books and fantasy is definitely one of my favorite genres. I do read sci-fi as well, maybe starting to dabble deeper into it soon. I definitely had more than 5 books in my first list. I tried to see if I can have five fantasy and five sci-fi books but it was just impossible to separate them into categories. The line between fantasy and sci-fi is blurring more and more. I wrote down some titles that toe that line, jump across it multiple times, and plant one foot on each side of it. I am overthinking this, aren’t I?

Or I can just do this:

All of these are signed copies!

That’s my list. Bye-bye! *logs off*

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I’m kidding! While VE Schwab is definitely deserving a top spot on this list, I’m counting all these books as one. The Shades of Magic trilogy alone is an excellent example of a solid fantasy series with awesome world-building and an interesting magic system with equally engaging characters. The Savage Song, written under the name Victoria Schwab is a YA fantasy with NO ROMANCE. About monsters. No romance. Let that sink in. And my favorite, Vicious, is about two villains – anti-heroes. Both of them are bad guys trying to eliminate the other. Vicious and This Savage Song is bordering on urban fantasy while Shades of Magic is straight up magic and adventure and yes, romance.

I guess that’s my first pick!

Number two, The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. It’s the first book in the Mistborn trilogy. I only read the first book so far but I have every intention to finish this book by the end of 2017. It’s high fantasy but it’s so easy to read and follow. We follow Kelsier and Vin and their band of rebels trying to overthrow the Lord Ruler. The pretty UK paperbacks are a booktube and bookstagram staple so you bet I have them too. The world-building is excellent and while the magic system can be complicated, it is so interesting that you won’t mind it. Plus, there are guides that you can check out. Honestly, the hype is real with this book. It’s not even hype… it’s PRAISE!

(I just noticed parallels between The Final Empire and A Conjuring of Light, specifically. I would have to do more research but I’m lazy and I’m sure other people already noticed that too.)

My pick of sci-fi is the Parasitology trilogy by Mira Grant. I feel like this is an underrated series. It’s about parasites in the form of worms that is consumed by the body to help it combat illness and basically better the quality of life. Then these parasites develop a mind of their own and start to take over their hosts. This trilogy is unique where the pace doesn’t really change. It’s a continuous slow-ish burn. There’s so many twists and turns. While it does get a bit repetitive at parts, it’s still an enjoyable ride.

This can’t be a list of fantasy books without one of my favorite books of all time, The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. There was a time I read this twice in a row – the first one was for leisure and the second one for school. All in three days. I used to read this once a year but I’ve since fell off of that tradition. However, I recently got the 50th Anniversary Limited Edition so I might go back on that re-read habit.

And I’m going to bookend this list with another author pick, James Rollins. Specifically, his Sigma Force series. I finished listening to The 6th Extinction a few hours ago. They are perfect audio book material especially if you’re already used to the formula that these sci-fi thrillers usually have. And of course, a certain amount of suspension of disbelief. I absolutely love this series and I’m actually thinking of re-reading some now that GoodReads has the re-read feature. There’s never a dull moment when reading this series.

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There you have it. That’s five. But in my indecisiveness, I can’t leave out these titles. Honorable mentions!

37/200

• Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. I was hesitant to include this because I wasn’t sure if it were fantasy or sci-fi. Both then. I completely fell in love with Marie Lu’s writing and at how simple yet intense this trilogy is.
• Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown. This didn’t make the cut because I didn’t enjoy the first book as much as I did the second and third ones. The first book was more sci-fi while the rest is definitely fantasy.

Notice the lack of Harry Potter, The Night Circus, and Ready Player One… while I do love all of them, these title stand out more to me when I hear the words “fantasy” and “sci-fi”.