What Stories Am I MOST Excited About This Year?
Last week, I reflected on the stories that I enjoyed the most in 2021. I was pleasantly surprised by two of the entries on there, including my number one favorite story in 2021, which I really went into with no expectations whatsoever. You’ll have to check out the post if you’re curious about what those favorite stories are, as this post isn’t about my favorites, it’s about my anticipated favorites. These are stories—be they books, movies, shows, or games—that I can’t wait to experience this year, in 2022. I think it’ll be interesting to put these thoughts out there and then reflect on this post once I’ve actually experienced these stories to see if I was let down or not.
So here, we go, these are the stories I’m most excited for in 2022!
By the way, the video below is an absolutely chaotic mess, but I am still really proud of it (weirdly enough). So much new information came out between the filming period and the editing and posting period that the video wound up being filled with weirdness and interjections to clarify mistakes made by Past T. L., so hopefully, you find it entertaining!
The Lord of Demons
Evan Winter’s The Burning Saga has absolutely enthralled me since I first read it, last year. The Fires of Vengeance was my favorite book that I read in 2021, so the fact that we’re supposed to be getting a sequel sometime this year is very exciting. I cannot wait to get my eyes on the pages of this third book in Evan Winter’s story, and I’ve got pretty high expectations for it. The story that was set up throughout the second book is sure to be exhilarating. I can’t imagine this being less than five stars. It might even break my scale since I already gave Fires of Vengeance five stars.
I’ve heard that Lord of Demons is supposed to be out this month, but at the time of this writing, I haven’t found a reliable source on that. Maybe it’ll be released by the time this post goes live, who knows! Either way, I’m reading it as soon as I possibly can. I’m so excited about this continuation of Tau’s story!
Note: while I was editing the video for this post, I learned that we will not, in fact, be getting The Lord of Demons in 2022. Evan Winter said on Twitter a few days before I finished the video that he would not be able to finish the book in time for release this year. Bummer!
The Northman
I shouldn’t have to reiterate this, but I’m going to: I love a good revenge story. It’s one of my favorite things when done well. This upcoming film, The Northman, looks like it’s going to be just that. I’ve also started to really enjoy Viking stories and lore, so this seems like a film that’s going to be right up my alley. I’m also interested to see how the director approaches this story; he’s the same person who directed The Lighthouse, which I did enjoy but seems quite different from this one, so I’m really curious to see how this film plays out. The Northman hits theaters in April, and if it’s interesting enough, I may go ahead and do a review of it after I’ve seen it!
Elden Ring
I have had this game pre-ordered for months, and I’ve been excited about it since the day it was announced. Dark Souls is one of my favorite series of games, and I have replayed the Souls games numerous times. I’m in the middle of my umpteenth Dark Souls III playthrough right now, as well as a Demon’s Souls playthrough, specifically the Playstation 5 Remake. I find them to be excellent sources of endless fun, so the fact that we are now getting everything offered by Dark Souls III and loads more is just astounding. I’ve actually taken some time off from work in February just so I can sit down and play this game without worrying about anything else, so saying I’m excited for it is a bit of an understatement.
Westworld Season 4
As far as I can tell, we haven’t gotten an official announcement for when this will be releasing, but there was a teaser for it in HBO’s latest sizzle reel, which leads me to believe we’ll be seeing it soon. So, this is a bit presumptuous of me, but I am certainly excited to see this new season if it does release in 2022. If not, then… I guess I’m still excited for it in 2022, I’m just gonna have to continue to be excited through to 2023. Season 3 was really entertaining, though I haven’t enjoyed any of the seasons as much as I enjoyed the first. However, I think that the third season set up a story with a lot of potential if it can be pulled off, so I’m pretty excited to see where this goes. There aren’t a lot of television shows that I get excited about beyond short-form comedies like Bob’s Burgers, lately, but I love the world of the Westworld series, so I can’t wait to revisit it. Hopefully, I’m not let down.
Note: After I wrote this post and filmed the video, we got a release date for The Boys Season 3 on Amazon Prime! I'm definitely more excited for that than Westworld's 4th season, but I'm sticking with the original post just for consistency. I clarified this in the video version, too. Super stoked for The Boys!
Conclusion
So there you have it, those are the stories coming out in 2022 that I’m most excited to see! It’s not a particularly long list, I know, but that’s mainly because I’m so focused on catching up with the stories I’ve been missing out on, like The Green Bone Saga and The Bloodsworn Trilogy. I’d say I’m excited about Hunger of the Gods, but I haven’t even read Shadow of the Gods, yet, so… that doesn’t really seem fair. I am excited to start reading that series, though, and will be starting here pretty soon. I imagine that if I do this sort of post again next year, I’ll have a lot more to be excited about with upcoming releases.
I’m certain that there are upcoming releases in 2022 that I missed, so if there’s something that I should be excited about that’s getting released, this year, let me know! I’d love to hear about it and possibly add it to my list of things to be stoked for. Yeah, I know, we’re getting a bunch of Marvel movies, but my excitement for those releases has really dwindled over the years. I’ll still see them and probably have a good time, but… I’m not exactly excited for all of them like I used to be. Let me know what you’re most stoked to read, play, or watch, this year!
If you want to check out my thoughts on these stories once I've gotten to experience them, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you can see my new videos when they come out. You can also follow me on social media; I'm @TLBainter on most platforms and there are links down below for my profiles!
Until next time, bye!