Stories I Love
Whether the story comes in the form of short or long writing, movies or episodic, if it’s good I am in for the duration. If it can take me on a journey, lead me through a new door, or alter the way I think of something, I want to experience it. Please find below a list stories I may or may not be momentarily obsessed with. I was partially raised by the Shaw Brothers martial arts films every Sunday afternoon for a good chunk of my childhood, you will definitely see the influence on this list. But I love many other types of stories and remember, everyone’s opinion is subjective. This list is by no means comprehensive and I hope to update it regularly. Truly, this is the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
I don’t know why it took me so long to read the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells but I really wished that I had started them sooner. Murderbot’s awkwardness, sarcastic quips, resentment, and reluctant do-gooder with questionable insight offers a fresh, engaging, and relatable perspective. I read the first four books (novellas) in three days. https://www.marthawells.com/murderbot1.htm
The Story of Kunning Palace is a 38 episode historical C-drama that has the slowest burn enemies to romance ever. I love a story that has a complicated political climate with martial arts and intelligent characters. Plus neither of our two leads are good people and that makes for great tension. I wasn’t a huge fan of either of these two actors prior to this series but their chemistry was incredible and the acting superb. https://www.iq.com/album/story-of-kunning-palace-2023-yg33cwbzwl?lang=en_us
I absolutely loved the voice of the main character in Starling House. She was not a good person but she struggled to do the right thing as she learned and the descriptive elements that Alix E. Harrow uses throughout the story set in eastern Kentucky really struck true. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/starling-house-alix-e-harrow/1142827202
I just finished The Drowning Empire series by Andrea Stewart and it did not disappoint. The world building and characters are rich and the stakes are high. One thing the author does that I ended up really enjoying is the switch from first person POV to third person depending on the characters. Anyway, check it out!
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu is one of my favorite recent reads. With a nontraditional main character, great world building and rising pace, this spin on wuxia encompasses elements I crave in novels.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652712/the-art-of-prophecy-by-wesley-chu/
The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah is a fun read incorporating djinn, a strong female main character, and vivid worldbuilding.
Alchemy of Souls (2 seasons) on Netflix is an epic Korean fantasy that puts an amazing amount of story telling into 30 episodes. What happens when the souls of the dead or powerful can take over the bodies of those they want? This show is visually stunning and the acting and chemistry of the main leads is engaging.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20859920/
The First Binding by R.R. Virdi is an epic fantasy worth checking out if you are into magic and engaging characters. ‘I am legend. And I am a monster.’ So says the main character. This story pulls you in and doesn’t let go.
Sinopticon 2021: A Celebration of Chinese Science Fiction translated and edited by Xueting Christine Ni is a collection of remarkable stories. I highly recommend this for those who need to remember why they love Sci-Fi.
The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow is a great book about the collective history of humankind that seeks to reimagine who we are and what we are capable of.
Love Between Fairy and Demon (no image) is a Chinese Dark Fantasy Romance (36 episodes) that I went in to simply for the visuals but was carried away by the fantastic story. Before I knew what was happening, I was mildly obsessed. I might still be. I’ll admit that the elements I struggled with in the first episode resolved with the character growth, and the chemistry between Dylan Wang and Esther Yu is charming. Worth the investment. There is also an anime which I haven’t been able to find a subtitled version of yet and it is based on the work The Devil and the Orchid by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang the web novelist, only available in the Chinese Edition.
Watch it here: https://www.viki.com/tv/38664c-love-between-fairy-and-devil
A Creation of Birds by Teagan Moore is a short story that drew me right in. I found the imagery and sensory beats beautiful. It is available in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction January/February 2023 issue.