Roberto

Our 2 heroes are serving a small lord during a drought and the clash with another one for a river. I like this small stake story, seeing this through a commoner's point of view brings an interesting perspective. And we get to see how the Blackfyre Rebellion changed the realm, exploring themes like loyalty, fairness, status.

A hedge knight's tale in westeros. A simple tourney which goes in history after it finishes. Small stakes, cozy fantasy, a nice read along a hot cup of tea

A classic and hugely influential novel, the one that birthed the alien invasion genre. It doesn’t focus on grand battles between humanity and extraterrestrials or brilliant scientists saving the day. Instead, we follow an ordinary man trying to survive and make sense of the chaos around him. Even wondering about our place in the universe.

Written at the end of the 19th century, it can feel a bit dated at times, especially compared to the complexity of modern sci-fi. Still, it remains a worthwhile read.

I picked up this book during a trip to London, where the story is set, and it was nice to read about places I had walked through myself.

At 15, this might have been my favorite book. Reading it after 30, it very much feels like a young adult novel of its era.

We have a caste system, not a very subtle way to pinpoint the class divide but it does its job. We start the story with the lowest one, the Reds who are mining underground on Mars and we meet our protagonist, Darrow. It was the best part for me seeing their culture and witnessing how they are controlled. We get to see more of the world after this. Darrow starts his Count of Monte Cristo journey, he even reads the book. As we can see subtlety is not a thing in this book.

Then comes the Institute—essentially a Hunger Games-style arena school for the Golds, the highest caste, where students are split into houses and engage in medieval warfare to prove themselves. The concept is bold, but this was the part that clicked the least with me.

We are again at a tourney, but here we have a mystery to unfold. Really like these duo, would love more stories with them. And I would like a book focused on the Blackfyre Rebellion.