Chonky Books I Still Want to Read

Chonk. Noun. Something that is adorably fat or large. In the bookish world, it’s the equivalent of saying, “I like big books and I cannot lie.” A book that has pages for days. While your parlance may vary, my personal slang is any book over 500 pages qualifies as chonky.

Since my genre of choice is fantasy, I’m certainly no stranger to books with high page counts. They kind of go with the territory. While I don’t read a ton of epic fantasy (and those tend to be the real chonkers), I’ve got plenty of large book still on my TBR. And big books deserve love, too!

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is about books with high book counts. I call these doorstops-in-training ‘chonky beasts,’ and I consider them adorable. So here are some books that I’m looking forward to reading, even if they’re a tad daunting.

I’m honestly coming off a pretty big reading slump, so I’ve been intentionally avoiding chonky books. I know, I know — that’s not very nice of me! But sometimes big books can be daunting, and I’m been afraid of slipping back into my slump, so I’m only recently getting back to them. If you’ve read any of these and loved them, please let me know so I can prioritize reading them!

The Forever King

Revenge loves company.

Mithrid Fenn wants nothing to do with magick. Magick is a curse word, banned by the vast Arka Empire and punishable by death. Its purging has finally brought peace to war-torn Emaneska. Only a stubborn rebellion, led by the warlord Outlaw King, raids and pillages the empire’s northern fringes.

To cliff-brat Mithrid, this is an age of tranquility and childhood games. That is until an illegal spellbook washes up on her shores, and she finds herself thrust into a war she never knew existed.

Now hunted by daemons and mages, she is dragged inexorably north to Scalussen and its rebels fighting doggedly to preserve a memory of freedom. Mithrid holds no such ideals. She fights for revenge and nothing nobler. If spilling blood means helping the Outlaw King, then so be it. Even if it means all-out war.

Ben Galley has been on my radar for years, but I haven’t found an opportunity to pick up his work. This is clearly an oversight I’d like to remedy at some point! At 664 pages, this book is quite chonky, and it’s the first of a chonky trilogy (whose covers get progressively more stunning as they go!). I’m a huge fan of revenge plots, outlawed/secret magic, and strong female characters, so I’m really looking forward to giving this one a try!

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The Ninth Rain

The great city of Ebora once glittered with gold. Now its streets are stalked by wolves. Tormalin the Oathless has no taste for sitting around waiting to die while the realm of his storied ancestors falls to pieces – talk about a guilt trip. Better to be amongst the living, where there are taverns full of women and wine.

When eccentric explorer, Lady Vincenza ‘Vintage’ de Grazon, offers him employment, he sees an easy way out. Even when they are joined by a fugitive witch with a tendency to set things on fire, the prospect of facing down monsters and retrieving ancient artefacts is preferable to the abomination he left behind.

But not everyone is willing to let the Eboran empire collapse, and the adventurers are quickly drawn into a tangled conspiracy of magic and war. For the Jure’lia are coming, and the Ninth Rain must fall…

Another chonky series whose covers get prettier as they go! I don’t remember now how this series fell into my lap, but at 544 pages, it just barely qualifies as a chonker. This squad sounds absolutely fun (and maybe a little bit unqualified), and I can’t wait to meet them. This also comes with ancient artefacts, conspiracy, and war, which means it promises to be a great time!

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The Art of Prophecy

It has been foretold: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom.

The hero: Jian, who has been raised since birth in luxury and splendor, celebrated before he has won a single battle.

But the prophecy was wrong.

Because when Taishi, the greatest war artist of her generation, arrives to evaluate the prophesied hero, she finds a spoiled brat unprepared to face his destiny.

But the only force more powerful than fate is Taishi herself. Possessed of an iron will, a sharp tongue—and an unexpectedly soft heart—Taishi will find a way to forge Jian into the weapon and leader he needs to be in order to fulfill his legend.

What follows is a journey more wondrous than any prophecy can foresee: a story of master and student, assassin and revolutionary, of fallen gods and broken prophecies, and of a war between kingdoms, and love and friendship between deadly rivals.

Wesley Chu is another author that’s been on my radar forever that I just haven’t gotten around to picking up yet, for whatever reason. My library just picked up this series, though, so it seems like as good a time as any to give him a try. The covers of these are so stunning, and I love the idea of blending martial arts with magic. I also love the twist that the prophesied hero is actually a spoiled brat who’s entirely unprepared to fulfill his destined role. So much yes!

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The Bright Sword

A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, only to find he’s too late. The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, leaving no heir, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table survive.

They aren’t the heroes of legend, like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Tables, from the edges of the stories, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. Together this ragtag fellowship will set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance.

But Arthur’s death has revealed Britain’s fault lines. God has abandoned it, and the fairies and monsters and old gods are returning, led by Arthur’s half-sister Morgan le Fay. Kingdoms are turning on each other, warlords are laying siege to Camelot, and rival factions are forming around the disgraced Lancelot and the fallen Queen Guinevere. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But before they can restore Camelot they’ll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell and lay to rest the ghosts of his troubled family and of Britain’s dark past.

I’ll be honest that I’m a little burned out with King Arthur retellings right now, which explains why I didn’t pick this one up sooner. Even though I have it on good authority from a coworker that it’s actually a fantastic read. But . . . ugh, King Arthur. I’ve read so many of these retellings lately. That being said, I do really like the premise of this book, where the focus are the characters on the fringes of the legend, so lesser known characters. So I’m absolutely willing to give this one a chance, probably sooner rather than later.

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King Sorrow

Arthur Oakes is a reader, a dreamer, and a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters, exceptional library, and beautiful buildings. But his idyll—and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot—is shattered when a local drug dealer and her partner corner him into one of the worst crimes he can imagine: stealing rare books from the college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for comfort and help. Together they dream up a wild, fantastical scheme to free Arthur from the cruel trap in which he finds himself. Wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren suggests using the unnerving Crane journal (bound in the skin of its author) to summon a dragon to do their bidding. The others—brave, beautiful Alison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen—don’t hesitate to join Colin in an effort to smash reality and bring a creature of the impossible into our world.

But there’s nothing simple about dealing with dragons, and their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying bargain in which the six must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow every year—or become his next meal.

Here’s your requisite one upcoming release on this list! Because I like to give y’all something to look forward to. 😉

Confession: I’ve never read a Joe Hill book! Phew, I’m really killing it with this list of books and popular authors I’ve somehow missed reading, aren’t I? Why yes, I do live in a cave. Thank you for asking. I’ve added so many Joe Hill books to my TBR, and most of them are on the chonky side, so eventually I will for sure pick one of them up. Probably this one. Because, oh my gosh, look at the dragon on that cover! I also really like the blend of fantasy and horror, and I’m excited to give this one a try.

Forging Hephaestus

Gifted with metahuman powers in a world full of capes and villains, Tori Rivas kept away from the limelight, preferring to work as a thief in the shadows. But when she’s captured trying to rob a vault that belongs to a secret guild of villains, she’s offered a hard choice: prove she has what it takes to join them or be eliminated.

Apprenticed to one of the world’s most powerful (and supposedly dead) villains, she is thrust into a strange world where the lines that divide superheroes and criminals are more complex than they seem. The education of a villain is not an easy one, and Tori will have to learn quickly if she wants to survive. On top of the peril she faces from her own teacher, there are also the capes and fellow apprentices to worry about, to say nothing of having to keep up a civilian cover.

Most dangerous of all, though, are those who loathe the guild’s very existence. Old grudges mean some are willing to go to any length to see the guild turned to ash, along with each one of its members. Even the lowly apprentices.

I’m an absolute sucker for superhero books! The more unique, the better. I love the idea of a thief forced to work with villains. The blurb doesn’t really give a whole lot to go off of, but I sometimes prefer it that way, because it gives me more to discover. I’m also a fan of older mythologies/religions, and Hephaestus isn’t a god that’s often mentioned front and center in books, so I’m super curious how him being a titular character comes into play!

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Wolf of Withervale

Lago was only a child when the shapeshifter entrusted the wolf-like mask to his care—an artifact so powerful that it could come to shape the entire world of Noss.

Now that he is coming of age, Lago is becoming ever more fearful of the ominous relic’s influence, of the empire who has scented its trail and is coming after it. Coming after him.

Aided by his best friend, an enigmatic scout, and his trusty dog, Lago seeks refuge in the vastness of the Heartpine Dome. The eighty-mile-wide structure had remained sealed for centuries, safeguarding more than mere secrets. Now that the dome’s entrails are stirring, the mysteries of the long-vanished Miscam tribes are coming to light, and the shapeshifting animal spirits are making their return.

Powers untold hide behind the blinkless eyeholes of the canid mask, powers that could tip the balance in the war. Lago is barely beginning to learn how to wield the dark visage, but he can already feel its potential.

… And he can feel a different change coming, deep in his marrow.

Riveting in scope and worldbuilding, and exquisitely illustrated by the author, this tale of transformation and self-discovery is filled with unabashed wonder and a lust for places unknown. A profoundly queer adventure that explores sexuality, our connections to other species, unconventional kinds of love, and the very nature of consciousness.

This book is described as “as epic as it is queer,” and I am 100% here for that. Shapeshifter works tend to be a little divisive for me: I either absolutely love them or loathe them. There’s really no in between. But I love to give them a chance, either way! I also love the idea of shapeshifting being tied to masks in some way. The blurb isn’t clear, but this sounds like a unique way to approach it, and I’m here for it!

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Soulkeeper

Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper, travelling through remote villages as a preacher and healer. But when a dragon awakens – the size of a mountain and leaving great chasms in its wake – the veil is torn, flooding the land with ancient magic and forgotten races. Now Devin must set aside his words of peace and accept his new role: slayer of monsters and protector of the human race.

But not all the creatures that have re-awakened mean humanity harm. And as Devin slowly befriends people of these new races, his discomfort in his role grows. But Soulkeepers must slay without mercy. And even sympathisers risk their wrath.

This is a series that, again, I’ve been meaning to read for a long time. (There kind of seems to be a theme here with this post!) Everything about this series sounds like just what I need. It’s got dragons, returned ancient magic, monsters, and reluctant heroes. The later books are also said to be perfect for readers who enjoy dungeon crawlers, which just piques my interest all the more, because I can’t wait to see how that comes into play.

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Empire of the Vampire

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.

Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.

Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:

The Holy Grail.

Y’all . . . I don’t even have any excuses for this one. I couldn’t tell you why I haven’t read it yet. I absolutely love Jay Kristoff’s work. The covers of this series are stunning. The blurb sounds amazing and like everything I’ve ever asked for in dark fantasy. So what exactly is my hang up?! I don’t even know. I will say that at 739 pages, this is pretty darn chonky, and all the books in the series are this way. The third (and I believe final?) book of this series comes out in November, so for now, I’m going to use the excuse that I was avoiding cliffhangers by waiting for the entire series to come out before I read it. Yeah, let’s go with that!

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Silverborn

In the magical city of Nevermoor, long-buried secrets are coming to light, and Morrigan Crow’s life is about to turn upside down.

When Morrigan is invited into Nevermoor’s wealthy Silver District, she discovers a world of extravagance and a family mystery she’s eager to unravel. She could never imagine where it will lead: a white wedding, a golden dragon and a red pool of blood.

Embroiled in suspicion and danger, Morrigan leaps head first into a murder investigation, while also grappling with her ever-growing Wundersmith powers. And although her friends are there to help, she fears that could change if they learn she’s keeping a terrible secret of her own.

As shadowy forces awaken in Nevermoor, can Morrigan find a killer and solve the mystery in her own past … before the clock strikes midnight?

This one just came out, so I have an excuse for not having read it yet! I actually love the Nevermoor series, but I’m still debating whether I’m going to wing it and hope I remember the first part of the series, or whether I really need to re-read the series before picking up the new book. I’m leaning toward the latter, which is why it’s been put on hold. Given that there was a five-year gap between the third book and this fourth book, and I can’t remember what I did three days ago, I probably need to restart the series. But if you haven’t read Nevermoor yet, I can’t recommend it enough!

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