Chunky-but-worthwhile books to tackle this holiday season ⭐

What’s great about the holiday season is – among many other things – the chance to sit down with a big, chunky book and really get stuck in. Here are a few suggestions for big books (and long-running series!) if you’re looking for your next read while vegging out in front of the fire:

• Jacqueline Carey might be said to have kicked off the current romantasy trend way back in 2001 with Kushiel’s Dart, a dark and sexy historical fantasy set in an alternate historical timeline. Phedre is a spy and courtesan making her way through an extraordinary world built on an immense scale. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maass and Naomi Novik, start with Kushiel’s Dart and watch the hours melt away…
• Speaking of Naomi Novik… her Temeraire series is basically the Napoleonic Wars… with dragons. Novik’s a dab hand with action, making for some thrilling combat scenes, but she really excels at creating warm, well-rounded characters you simply can’t help wanting to spend time with. Begin with His Majesty’s Dragon; there are seven in the series and, best of all, Novik’s also written several wonderful stand-alone fantasy novels and a three-book dark academia series. Get reading!
• NK Jemisin’s Broken Earth series is a banger; it begins with the apocalypse and just gets bigger and bigger. And if you finish the trilogy (start with The Fifth Season)… well, she’s written a lot of others! (Also, The City We Became has the best cover.)
• Obviously I’m going to throw a vote in for Becky Chambers’ Wayfarer series: each novel is stand-alone but set in the same world, and filled with warmth and love and found family and the occasional lesson in physics, delivered by a six-armed otter-like creature. Come for the Star Trek vibes; stay for the glow of good will.
• On a completely different note… have you tried The Greatcoats series, by Sebastien de Castell. Sebastien arrived on the scene essentially fully fledged, with his sprawling world of wit, magic and swordplay… lot of swordplay. And lots of wit. Begin with Traitor’s Blade and, if you make it through the first four books of the series, you can move on to the next books, beginning with Crucible of Chaos. That’s six books to hoover up this holiday season, with more on the way… and doesn’t even take into account his other series, the YA-adjacent Spellislinger books, or his dark and violent Malevolent Seven.

Have a wonderful holiday season, and happy reading!

Anne, Publisher