The benefits of reading fantasy duologies in an oversaturated publishing world

Fantasy has always been my first fictional love; there’s just something about being transported to another world entirely, a world shaped by different rules, cultures, histories, and magic that makes the monotony of day-to-day life feel a little less monotonous.

Of course, reading fantasy is a double-edged sword. Often, you’re either reading a standalone book, and by the end of it, you’ll be begging to remain in that world a little longer (thankfully, fan fiction can sometimes remedy this issue), or you’re sucked into a lengthy fantasy trilogy or tempted by a 12+ book series that feels a bit too daunting to commit to. There’s very little in between—thankfully, though, there is the fantasy duology.

Due to the rise of BookTok, it seems there’s more fantasy on the shelves than ever before, with romantasy, especially, having grown in popularity in recent years. My Waterstones (the British version of Barnes & Noble, essentially) wishlist is currently 50 entries long and counting, and many of those books mark the beginning of a trilogy or a longer series. There’s something to be said for reading widely, too, however. The more epic, multi-book fantasy sagas you read, the less time you have to try out other stories. I want to explore as many different fantasy worlds as possible, and reading lengthy series, no matter how beautiful, lush, and transformative they may be, takes a lot of effort.

Then, of course, there’s the time it takes to publish an entire series. I’m no stranger to how long it takes to pen a full-length novel, and I understand why bringing a book from someone’s hard drive into actual bookshops takes at least a year if not more. Editing, proofreading, designing cover art, marketing, all of this has to happen before someone’s literary baby can make it onto the shelves for consumers to browse. But waiting for a year or more between books is just as excruciating as waiting a year or more for Netflix to finally release the next season of one of their few non-canceled Originals. Will you remember everything that happened? How much of what happened will be subtly recapped within the next novel’s pages? Will you re-read what came before? Do you even have the time for that? And what if some book series are never completed at all? (I’m looking at you, George R.R. Martin).

That’s the beauty of the fantasy duology. Normally made up of two full-length sequential novels, the fantasy duology gives authors enough room to explore their imagined world with more depth than a standalone novel can provide while maintaining a certain sense of pace and tension. The fantasy duology offers a little bit of everything; the time it takes to purchase the completed series is significantly shorter, characters can enjoy longer, more complex character arcs than in a standalone, more corners of the fantasy world can be explored, and reading these book duos won’t feel like a daunting commitment. Best of all, duologies give readers more time to explore other fantasy worlds, too.

I’ve been reading and collecting a lot of duologies lately: Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, Rebecca Ross’ Divine Rivals, Sue Lynn Tan’s Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Adalyn Grace’s All the Stars and Teeth, Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy and Immortality, Roseanne A. Brown’s A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, I could go on. What stood out to me was how I felt after completing each final second novel—at no point did I feel cheated, sad, or frustrated. Every duology made the most of its shorter, two-act structure and told a well-rounded complete story. I was satisfied and could immerse myself in another world soon after.

The book market is arguably oversaturated—so much gets published, whether traditionally or via self-publishing, there’s no chance you’ll ever be able to read everything. But if you want all the perks of the fantasy genre without the years-long commitment, and want to read as widely as possible, then the fantasy duology should become your new best friend.