Five real books to relax to
May. 20th, 2025 09:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
anehanI'm jumping onto the bandwagon of reccing books that actually exist (unlike these). This is a quick-and-dirty list of books that'll let you sit back and relax if you, like me, are still a ways away from summer vacation.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
My most recently finished read, and one I recommended to my dad when he was lamenting the lack of old-school detective work in contemporary detective novels. Holmes and Watson in a fantasy setting.
Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
It's true that this book is about dictatorships, and it's true that it's about the lasting effects of colonialism, but it's so utterly hilarious and brilliant that it absolutely counts as a sit-back-and-relax book. How is it possibly for a book so full of utterly despicable people to be so enjoyable? Kudos for achieving that!
The Astreiant series by Melissa Scott
Very enjoyable low fantasy series about a proto-police officer and his soldier boyfriend, especially if you like to read about ordinary people working ordinary jobs in a historical or pseudo-historical setting. Not quite as insightful about structures of power as the previous two, but it does try.
The Element of Fire by Martha Wells
People usually rec The Death of the Necromancer, and it definitely is a technically better novel, but I've got a soft spot for this one. This is Wells's debut, a swashbuckling adventure with magic and some truly terrific characters, including the MC, Thomas Boniface, and his ex, Queen Ravenna. I wasn't convinced by the developing romance, but other than that I enjoyed it a lot.
Think of England by KJ Charles
This is an older one by Charles, and solid KJ Charles quality. Featuring an upright British gentleman, a decadent Jewish poet, and dastardly plots in a country house. I've read it at least three times by now. Archie Curtis and Daniel da Silva are perhaps my favourite Charles couple.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
My most recently finished read, and one I recommended to my dad when he was lamenting the lack of old-school detective work in contemporary detective novels. Holmes and Watson in a fantasy setting.
Wizard of the Crow by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
It's true that this book is about dictatorships, and it's true that it's about the lasting effects of colonialism, but it's so utterly hilarious and brilliant that it absolutely counts as a sit-back-and-relax book. How is it possibly for a book so full of utterly despicable people to be so enjoyable? Kudos for achieving that!
The Astreiant series by Melissa Scott
Very enjoyable low fantasy series about a proto-police officer and his soldier boyfriend, especially if you like to read about ordinary people working ordinary jobs in a historical or pseudo-historical setting. Not quite as insightful about structures of power as the previous two, but it does try.
The Element of Fire by Martha Wells
People usually rec The Death of the Necromancer, and it definitely is a technically better novel, but I've got a soft spot for this one. This is Wells's debut, a swashbuckling adventure with magic and some truly terrific characters, including the MC, Thomas Boniface, and his ex, Queen Ravenna. I wasn't convinced by the developing romance, but other than that I enjoyed it a lot.
Think of England by KJ Charles
This is an older one by Charles, and solid KJ Charles quality. Featuring an upright British gentleman, a decadent Jewish poet, and dastardly plots in a country house. I've read it at least three times by now. Archie Curtis and Daniel da Silva are perhaps my favourite Charles couple.
