Latest / Galaxies and Goddesses: A Sci-Fi & Fantasy Bookcast / Trilogies on our TBR: Commitment, Cliffhangers, and Classic Epics
Transcript
- Trilogies TBR Andrea: I’m Andrea. Elizabeth: And I'm Elizabeth. Andrea: Join us as we chat about sci-fi and fantasy books and beyond. Elizabeth: Looking for a little escape from reality? So are we. Andrea: Welcome to Galaxies and Goddesses. Elizabeth: On this week's episode, we're talking about trilogies. Andrea: Specifically, we'll be chatting about ones that we're currently reading and want to read the next book in the trilogy. Elizabeth: This is a mix of completed trilogies that we haven't gotten the chance to read the next book yet, along with books that have the next anticipated book in the series publishing this year. Andrea: Let's get started. Andrea: Elizabeth, what was the most recent book you read that was part of a trilogy? Elizabeth: I just finished the first book in the Wolf Hall trilogy by Hillary Mantel. It is historical fiction about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's, right hand man. Elizabeth: It follows his story as he becomes more successful and trusted by the king and the journey to basically the English Reformation, which led to the formation of the Church of England as it separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. It's all something that happened 500 years ago. Elizabeth: But it is such an incredible book. It is a little bit of a commitment, I'd say. It's not necessarily like the easiest book to read. It takes a little minute to get into because Thomas Cromwell, it's not in first person, it's in third person, but he's always referred to as he very rarely Thomas or Cromwell. Elizabeth: Sometimes it's going back and forth between his character and other characters, it's a lot of men, in the English monarchy 500 years ago. There's so many people, like it is a book that's similar to fantasy books, it has the cast of characters at the beginning. Elizabeth: And it's just so incredibly well researched and it is a really engaging story, even though, of course, you know what happens in the end. Thomas Cromwell loses his head. But I am excited to read the second one, which is Bring Up the Bodies. Wolf Hall is like 600 pages. The Mirror and the Light is the third, and that one's maybe like seven or 800 pages. So it's, it is kind of a bit of a commitment, but I'm excited to read the next one. Andrea: I've heard good things about it. I have a copy of Wolf Hall. It's not sci-fi or fantasy, but I've heard it's just a really good book. Elizabeth: Yeah! Andrea: And it's one that I've had for a while thinking, “Oh, maybe I should pick this up.” Andrea: I feel like I don't read much historical fiction. My mind immediately goes to Bridgeton. You've seen Bridgeton too, right Elizabeth? Elizabeth: Ohh, I’m very excited for the fourth season. Elizabeth: I can't wait to follow Benedict. It's gonna be great. Elizabeth: So I recently reconnected with a friend of mine who is a librarian, we grew up together and she's a librarian now, a university librarian for the engineers. She reminded me I have always read a lot, and I felt like that was the ultimate validation to have a librarian tell you that you're a big reader and so actually I suppose I had this sort of weird hesitation. Part of the guilt of the guilty pleasure that I haven't read yet, but recently popped into my mind when she said that I was like, “oh, yeah, I do read everything.” That means I need to read Bridgerton. So, I may very soon be checking out The Duke and I from the library. Elizabeth: Yeah, I think I'm gonna get those from the library. And I'll be starting with the Duke and I, and I think I'm going to probably inhale them pretty fast. Elizabeth: So, another thing about Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, but not the Mirror and the Light. Those two books, once again, back to the New York Times Book Review a Hundred Best of the 21st Century, the Reader's Choice and The Critic's Choice, the two different lists, and both of those books are on, I think both of those lists in, in like different, rankings. The Reader's Choice List Wolf Hall is maybe number like 14. So yeah, it was really good. It was really good. Elizabeth: What about you? Elizabeth: What's the most recent book you read that's part of a trilogy? Andrea: So I just finished reading Brimstone by Callie Hart, which is the second book in a trilogy. I didn't know it was a trilogy until picking up the book. The first book was Quicksilver. Originally when I read Quicksilver, I thought it was going to be a standalone novel. Andrea: And then when I found out, oh, there's another book, I'm like, oh, there are two books. And then when I got the second book, it's like, oh, there's actually three books. Andrea: But I'm happy about that because I've enjoyed it so far. Elizabeth: Are you sure that’s where it ends? Or are you going to find a fourth? Andrea: Yeah. I think it ends there. She called it a trilogy, but it seems like it seems like a very common thing that three books come out and then it's like, oh, well we're gonna continue in an adjacent character storyline and it extends it into a longer series, and that's okay too. I enjoy that. I like kind of staying longer in that world. Andrea: But I also really like the trilogy format. Andrea: For Brimstone, I think I mentioned before that it started out a little slow. Andrea: I wasn't so sure about it, but it picks up and gets you moving along in the adventure. Andrea: I ended up really liking it. It feels very different from the first book because the characters grow and evolve and they're not the same people that they were when you started the first few chapters in, in Quicksilver, they've really matured and there's more layers in history now, but all the elements that you enjoy, whether it's the adventure or the magic or the romance, those are all still there. And it leaves off on a cliffhanger. So I am excited to pick up the next book. I don't believe it's titled at the moment. I think it's still untitled, but it comes out in November of 2026. Elizabeth: Just in time for the holidays. Andrea: Yeah. Well, and also an interesting thing was that when Brimstone came out, it was right when all of the Goodreads Award stuff was going on. The Goodreads Award nominee book. It's only books that are published through, I wanna say the first week of November. So Brimstone will be considered as a new release for the 2026 calendar year. Elizabeth: So it’s out the longest. It's out the longest amount of time for the most people to read it. Andrea: Yes. I wonder if that's an element to it too. Elizabeth: Interesting. Andrea: I'm not sure. Elizabeth: Did you like it as, or much as or more than, the first one? Andrea: I liked the first one more because everything was so new, but the second book feels more intense. There's more fighting, more magic. Andrea: Everything's brought up another level. It's sort of like your character in a video game has leveled up and they're about to meet the big bosses and the next, the next book. Andrea: So yeah. I'm excited for that, but I have to, wait a whole year almost. Andrea: Going back to your Wolf Hall trilogy, did that first book commit you? Was there a hook that committed you to reading all three? Are you like, “Yes! I'm going to read all three books for sure.” Elizabeth: Yeah, definitely. ‘Cause I'm trying to remember 'cause Anne Boleyn has not lost her head yet, but it's going to happen soon. I think that's probably gonna be the opening parts of the next book. I bet and that's quite dramatic. Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: Yeah, and once again, knowing it's on those lists of best books of the last 25 years. It's more normal book length, but I'm sure it will also be fantastic. And then, you know, I don't know that, I don't know that I'm gonna be rushing to read the next one and then rushing to read the third one. There might be some time, like purposefully between them and I mean, I have the other two on my shelf, so I could read 'em at any time. But it might be nice to, you know, read some other stuff for a while and then come back to it. Andrea: Yeah. Andrea: I feel like there are a certain series where you and I might binge read them all back to back. I have definitely done that before. But you're saying with this one in particular, you feel like spreading it out a bit? Elizabeth: Yeah. Yeah. Well it depends upon sort of the availability of the book, right? Do you have the next one available and the one after that? Elizabeth: So, I am realizing with the Lord of the Rings that if I had The Two Towers, I might actually just go straight into it, but I don't. But that's okay. Sometimes it's nice to wait a little bit too. Elizabeth: The anticipation can build a bit. Andrea: For sure. Andrea: Are there any other trilogies you're excited about reading this year, besides Lord of the Rings, Is there anything else on your radar? Elizabeth: I did not realize until I saw this one was coming out that the Harlem Trilogy by Colson Whitehead. Also not sci-fi and fantasy, but first book is Harlem Shuffle, which I've read. Crook Manifesto is the second one that's was published in 2024. Cool Machine the third is coming out this year. So when I saw that Cool Machine was coming out, I did not realize that it was a trilogy. Elizabeth: Harlem Shuffle is really good. I've also read the Nickel Boys and Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. I think both of which he won a Pulitzer Prize for. They're excellent, excellent books. Andrea: Which one was your favorite and what was it about? Elizabeth: Whew. So Underground Railroad is historical fiction, but as if there were an actual railroad underground, like an actual train that people would ride on this train. Elizabeth: It's been a couple years since I read it. I've watched the show too. Elizabeth: Blending magical realism with historical horror to explore American slavery and racism through a fantastical lens. Elizabeth: Anyway, Harlem Shuffle is completely different. He's a really great writer. He has such like I guess sort of eclectic stories and such a wide variety of topics. 'Cause then Harlem Shuffle is about the criminal underworld of New York Manhattan in the sixties. Elizabeth: This guy, I think they call him a fence. Through his furniture store. They like run drugs or criminal underworld activities through the back of his store. And then I think he has like the legitimate business that they'll sort of use in lots of ways. So it's like this like mystery thriller in like historical mystery thriller in the sixties in Manhattan. Elizabeth: It's great. It's a really good book. I totally wanna read the other two. Andrea: Nice. Elizabeth: ‘Cause it’s just cool, you know, like Harlem in the sixties and all these characters are black, like part of the, the black community in Harlem in the sixties. And the culture and the vibes and the, and the music and what they're wearing. Elizabeth: It's really well written. Elizabeth: The second one is called Crook Manifesto. Came out in 2023. Takes place in the seventies. More criminal dealings amidst a city and turmoil. And then Cool Machine is the one that's supposed to come out year. So yeah, I only just learned that it actually was a trilogy. Elizabeth: I thought it was just Harlem Shuffle. Sort of like your story with Quicksilver that I did not realize it was a trilogy until the announcement of this third one came out. I think I maybe should have realized sooner though, because they have very distinctive covers that have like a similar, but different but similar aesthetic. Elizabeth: And when I saw the cover for Crook Manifesto, I should have realized it was related, but I'll be curious to check that one out. But I gotta read that one first. Andrea: Speaking of covers that are really different. Sometimes that can tie a trilogy together or really throw you off or be different enough that it's a little bit annoying. So when a cover or the size of the book, like two of them are the same and the third one's a lot bigger, does that irk you as much as it does me? Elizabeth: Yes, if there's a trilogy and if there are multiple versions of the cover, there have been times where I have bypassed a copy of the book because it didn't match. Andrea: Last year I read Will of the Many by James Islington and the second book came out called The Strength of the Few. And that one had a very different cover. Andrea: But what they did, which was pretty cool, is that they printed the dust jacket double-sided, so you could turn it inside out to match the previous cover. That way it would look good on your shelf and match the first book in the series. Andrea: I don't know if that was all of the versions, but like, so they were trying to accommodate people that want things to look nice on their bookshelves. Andrea: It's not the Hierarchy Trilogy. It's a Hierarchy Series, but there's only three books listed. It's listed as three total works on Goodreads. The first book being The Will of the Many, the second being The Strength of the Few, which I have not read, but I would like to read at some point. Andrea: And then the third book being Justice of One. And Justice of One does not have any kind of date for when that will be published. Andrea: There are so many series that I'm not sure if it's a trilogy because they call it a saga or series. Andrea: And I feel like that's a lot of publishers or authors trying to keep their options open. Like, oh, if there's enough interest, we'll continue it. If not, it'll be trilogy. Andrea: And so I feel like there's a tendency for younger or more debut authors to be like, oh, yay, I got accepted to, to write a trilogy. Andrea: They're committed to those three books. But then, that trilogy could continue. Andrea: It's a trilogy, but will it stay a trilogy? Elizabeth: Yeah. Elizabeth: What do you think it is about a trilogy? Elizabeth: What do you think the draw is to like the specific trilogy as opposed to the series or the two books of duology? Like what is it about the trilogy, do you think? Andrea: I think it's that there's a little bit of anticipation. You know, the first book is usually the setup. Introducing the world and the characters and kind of the laws or rules of how that, works. Andrea: And then the second book, you can get into more of the drama and the action because you understand the characters and you learn more about the backstory and they start to evolve. Andrea: And then by the third book, you get a big climax, like kind of epic, shifting dramatic world! Andrea: I mean, at least with the trilogies I read, that's usually the kind of general arc, right? Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: Maybe there's more official literary publishing terms for that, but that, that's how I feel when I read them. Andrea: What do you think? Elizabeth: Yeah. If you think about a play, it seems like a lot of different things fall in sort of like three acts that there's something about the setup, the build, and the resolution that easily fits into three parts. Elizabeth: Another trilogy, that is not sci-fi and fantasy, but is a different idea of a trilogy I think because each of the books are not actually connected, except for overarching themes to them. It's the Empire Trilogy by J.G. Farrell. The first book is Troubles. The second book is The Siege of Krishnapur, and the third book is The Singapore Grip. And they are related in the sense that they're like dark comedy exploring the political human consequences of colonialism, specifically the English empire. Elizabeth: And they were published like 50 years ago, so Troubles I think was 1970. The Siege of Krishnapur is 1973 and the Singapore Grip is 1978. And yeah, Troubles is really good. It, it may not necessarily be for every reader. I think this is done on purpose in that, this sense of like boredom, like ennui throughout. It place in Ireland and a, a soldier coming back from World War I. Elizabeth: So he comes back to Ireland and is staying at the, it's called the Majestic Hotel. And he just ends up getting kind of stuck there. So in Irish history, after World War I that was when Ireland then had a war of Independence against England, and then after they gained their independence, there was a civil war, from the Easter rising in 1916 until they finally settled it in, I believe, I wanna say 1922. And so JG Farrell was an Irishman and he wrote it in, you know, published in 1970, which was the start of the troubles, what was in the modern sense of like, the fighting between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, from 1969 till the Good Friday agreement in 1998, I believe. So that's when he was writing it, but then he was just writing about this time that was also of great upheaval in Irish identity and, what the Republic of Ireland is now. Elizabeth: And it, it won the Lost Man Booker Prize, of 1970. So, around that time they changed the rules for when the book was published and which year it could qualify for the Booker Prize. And so, they changed it right at that time. And so it made it so that there wasn't a, a Booker Prize for 1970. Andrea: Oh, interesting. Elizabeth: So, later, they gathered all the books published in 1970 in the UK and chose the "lost year”. Elizabeth: His book was the one that won for the, the Lost Man Booker Prize of 1970. Elizabeth: And I believe the Siege of Krishnapur, which is the second one, I think that one also won the Booker Prize. The Singapore Grip takes place in Singapore during the Japanese invasion in World War and the Siege of Krishnapur is set in India during The Great Mutiny of 1857. Elizabeth: So they take place in different time periods in different countries that were colonized by England. And so then, you know, exploring political and human consequences of colonialism. The overarching theme makes it a trilogy, but the stories are not related otherwise. Andrea: And you read the first book, but you haven't. Read the other two? Elizabeth: I have them on my shelf and will read them at some point. Andrea: Oh, I see. Okay. Andrea: As I said, I don't really read much historical fiction, but I do really enjoy when fantasy books incorporate history and I feel like I learn some history through the sort of fantasy side of things. Andrea: An author that I think does a really good job of that is Shannon Chakraborty. She wrote the Deavabad Trilogy, which I've talked about. So I'm not in the middle of reading that trilogy, because I've read it and I loved it, and highly recommend it. She also has a new book coming out, which is the second book and the Amina al-Sirafi Series or trilogy. I read the first book and enjoyed it. I didn't love it as much as the first series she did, but it was still very, very good. Andrea: Sometimes when an author writes something and you love that world and those characters so much it's hard to compete with that, but it was still a fun story. And I'm excited for this book when it comes out. And it's called The Tapestry of Fate. And it has pirates! Andrea: So I do really enjoy the pirate aspects. Andrea: The author does a lot of history research and through her Instagram account, sometimes she shares some of the things that she learns while she's researching for her writing. Andrea: And, I really enjoyed following her as an author and I'm excited to read her next book. Andrea: There's magic, pirates, and Middle Eastern history and lore incorporated into that. Elizabeth: And pirates! Andrea: And pirates! Tapestry of Fate is supposed to come out in May this year, so we don't have to wait too long for that, which is nice. And, you know, you're, you're joking about how I like pirates and dragons. Andrea: There are so many dragon trilogies coming out. Elizabeth: That the first one hasn't been released? Or are you talking about like the continuation of some? Andrea: We won't be talking about it on this episode because I haven't started reading them, but there are several dragon trilogies I have not read at all, and I, I am having like analysis paralysis of like, which one do I choose? There are, there's so many dragon trilogies and I want to read them all. Andrea: How do I choose Elizabeth? Maybe you can help me narrow it down. Elizabeth: What are we talking about? How many different dragon trilogies are there? Andrea: I mean, I think I have at least six. Elizabeth: Oh! Andrea: Maybe I'll have to send you my list separately. Yes. Help me choose there's so many! Elizabeth: I thought you were gonna say like three or four, maybe six. That's a lot! Andrea: Yeah. I can't read 'em all. I mean like six times three. That's 18 books. Elizabeth: Are these trilogies finished and you just haven't read them yet? Andrea: A couple of them are finished, some of them are not finished. So various states of completion. Elizabeth: I think I'd start with the ones that are finished. Then go into the ones that aren't finished because maybe by the time you get there, they will have finished. Andrea: That's good advice. Good advice. Elizabeth: And by the time you get to the end, 18 books, you've read none of these books? Andrea: Oh, I take that back. I have started reading one of them and you read it with me. Elizabeth: When the Moon Hatched. Andrea: When the Moon Hatched. Yeah. Elizabeth: And that's only has the one out so far. Right? Andrea: Yes. And the second one the Ballad of Fallen Dragons by Sarah A. Parker is coming out in April. I am excited to read that one, but I know it's gonna leap off on another cliffhanger. Right. Elizabeth: Read the completed ones first. Andrea: I guess this is going back to the idea of I enjoy the anticipation waiting for the next book. I get excited about it and if they're all ready for you, that's almost, sometimes intimidating. Andrea: It's like too much all at once. Andrea: When you see the giant stack of over a thousand plus pages of Lord of the Rings, like that's why it's been sitting there for so long, because I'm intimidated by it. Andrea: But we're gonna break it up. Andrea: We're gonna read it slowly. Andrea: I think alternating between the Lord of the Rings book and then a book of my own coming back to the Lord of the Rings, talking about it with you. Elizabeth: Is that what you're reading next? Andrea: I should, yes. Yeah. Elizabeth: Andrea? Yes. Elizabeth: Seriously, I started it yesterday. It’s so good! Andrea: Okay. Elizabeth: You just have to get past the intimidation of it and just and you can't stop. I can tell you right now that you may not take a break because they're that good. Elizabeth: So, my friend she started to talk about reading The Lord of the Rings, or maybe she was like listening to the audio book, on our commute to and from work. And I was like thinking that I had said to her that we were reading the Lord of the Rings. I was like, oh my gosh, you're reading it because we're doing it. Oh, fun, you're gonna read along with us. And she was like, wait, you're reading the Lord of the Rings? And I was like, oh yeah. So she just happened to be coincidentally reading the Lord of the Rings for the second time. She read The Hobbit first and then the Fellowship of the Ring. She's now into The Two Towers. And she made it sound like maybe with the two towers she might actually have the, the paper version. 'Cause she said that it is inspiring her love of reading again. Just in herself. Andrea: That’s wonderful. Elizabeth: She's like, it's been a long time since there's been a book that she's been like, oh, I can't wait to go to bed. 'cause I get to read my book a little bit more. And it's because of the Lord of the Rings. Elizabeth: Seriously, Andrea, I started yesterday and I'm more than halfway, through it, it's so good. Elizabeth: I know everything that happens, right? Because of the movies too, like picturing the movies, it's just so rich, there's just so much that's not in the movie. You just can't include all of the richness in the depth that he includes. Elizabeth: And I can understand why part of it could seem intimidating because people get really academic about it, but that's because it inspires people to get academic about it. Elizabeth: It's just so captivating you can't pull yourself out of it. there's so much depth, the mythology, the men and the elves, and the dwarves and the hobbit kinds of races, and over these, you know, eons and eons and these names that are mentioned it doesn't bog anything down. Elizabeth: It just adds depth, but you zip through it. It's a page turner. Andrea: Okay. Elizabeth: Just dive in. Andrea: Well, it is hard to be the epic nature of Lord of the Rings. Andrea: I went to an author event for Brimstone where Callie Hart was speaking and she mentioned that she had been inspired by the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s writing. Andrea: Part of why I'm excited to read Lord of the Rings is because I know it has inspired so many authors and I wanna read where that all comes from. Andrea: Going to the source. Elizabeth: It's made me think about, the classics, right? There's something about them that they withstand the test of time. I feel like what a definition of a classic book one that's studied. You know, like in English classes and part of that is because it inspires people to be academic about it. But sometimes you read classics and may not be as pleasurable or as easy to read. And sometimes they can be rather dense. Something that comes to mind just like War and Peace or Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, you know, can be dense. But what's so incredible about The Lord of the Rings being more than halfway through The Fellowship of the Ring for the second time is that they are page turners, they read so easily. Elizabeth: It's exciting. So much of it is exciting. Even when you know the story well, this is the second time I'm reading The Fellowship of the Ring and I think it's better than the first time around. And I loved them the first time around. So it's, it's exciting that it's like, oh, this might be better. Andrea: Cool. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: I'll go read a little bit of The Fellowship of the Ring, and that's the next book we talk about on the podcast. So, I hope people are reading along with us and they'll get to enjoy us talking about that on our next episode. Elizabeth: Unfortunately, that concludes this week's episode. We've reached the end of another cosmic journey on Galaxies and Goddesses. Andrea: Don't worry, the adventure never really ends. There are always more stories to explore and let's be honest, more bookish tangents for us to go on. Elizabeth: But hey, that's part of the fun. If you loved today's episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share the magic. Andrea: Stay tuned for our next episode where we'll be chatting about the first book in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. Elizabeth: And in the meantime, keep your mind fueled by the magic of stories. Andrea: And never stop chasing the worlds waiting for you between the pages. Thanks everyone!