
The Wheel of Time
The Shadow Rising
The past stops being decoration and starts changing what the present means.
Read the reviewA FANTASY READING JOURNAL BY CORY LANE
Bookbound Realm
BEYOND THE LAST PAGE
Thieves worth trusting. Kings worth questioning.
Stories worth talking about long after the end.
FROM CORY’S JOURNAL
Inside Theft of Swords, the banter is only the beginning.

RIYRIA REVELATIONS · VOLUME I
Theft of Swords hooked me pretty quickly because Royce and Hadrian are just fun to follow.
From the review by Cory Lane
Read the full entryA FEW PAGES TO WANDER INTO

The Wheel of Time
The past stops being decoration and starts changing what the present means.
Read the review
The Faithful and the Fallen
Corban’s ordinary loyalties make the coming danger worth caring about.
Read the review
The Licanius Trilogy
The familiar beginning is a door, not a promise about where this story will go.
Read the review
Beyond the series
Maia’s kindness is not a lack of political intelligence. It is the beginning of one.
Read the reviewMAPS FOR THE LONGER JOURNEYS
Where to begin, what to expect,
and reviews to help you along the way.
The long journey
Fourteen main novels, a prequel, and a cast that grows from a village into a world.
Follow the reading guide →The intricate puzzle
A completed three-book story, designed to be read closely together.
Follow the reading guide →The unlikely friendship
A cynical thief, an idealistic swordsman, and a partnership that gives an expanding adventure its heart. Three omnibus volumes collect six novels.
Follow the reading guide →The hard-won hope
Loyalty, prophecy, and ordinary courage in the Banished Lands. Four increasingly intense volumes with a completed central story.
Follow the reading guide →FANTASY
Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle follows Kvothe’s life, music, magic, and growing reputation. Read The Name of the Wind, then The Wise Man’s Fear. Both reviews are available below; The Doors of Stone is not yet reviewed.
Follow the reading guide →DARK FANTASY
Read The Talisman, Black House, and Other Worlds Than These in order. All three books have reviews here, with a guide to Jack Sawyer’s story and its Dark Tower connections.
Follow the reading guide →EPIC FANTASY
The first five main novels in numbered reading order, with reviews of The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War, and Wind and Truth.
Follow the reading guide →DARK FANTASY
Stephen King’s The Dark Tower follows Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, on his journey toward the Tower. It brings together fantasy, Westerns, horror, and strange worlds. Start with The Gunslinger and follow the seven main novels in order. Reviews of all seven main novels and the companion novel are available below.
Follow the reading guide →EPIC FANTASY
James Islington’s Hierarchy follows Vis through an elite academy and a society where power flows from the many to the few. Start with The Will of the Many, then continue with The Strength of the Few.
Follow the reading guide →THE HOBBIT & THE LORD OF THE RINGS
Start with The Hobbit, then read The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. A spoiler-free starting point and reading order for J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, with reviews of all four books by Cory Lane.
Follow the reading guide →FANTASY
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter follows a young wizard through seven novels of magic, friendship, and growing danger. Start with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and read the seven main books in order. Reviews of all seven books are available below.
Follow the reading guide →DARK FANTASY
Jay Kristoff’s dark fantasy trilogy begins with Empire of the Vampire, followed by Empire of the Damned and Empire of the Dawn. Find the reading order and Cory Lane’s reviews below.
Follow the reading guide →THE COMMON ROOM
Bring the character you can’t forgive, the ending you’re still thinking about, or the next book you need help finding.
Pull up a chair →