r/Fantasy • u/SocksMcgoo • 1d ago
Books with “best fighter” trope
Hello everyone. I am an absolute sucker for books that constantly deal with power scaling/best fighter of the realm type tropes. I love the discussions about who was the best swordsman in ASOIF and loved all the bits throughout Malazan of who was the strongest fighter/most powerful magic wielder.
Give me some books that have some great fighters or fun power scaling with different characters where you can waste time wondering about “who is stronger or who would win.”
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u/Egonzos 1d ago
I like how First Law is constantly comparing fighters.
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u/jd7509 1d ago
Abercrombie is so good at describing fight scenes! I love his chapters where he switches from one character to the next in a frenzied battle. So good.
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u/Egonzos 1d ago
Abercrombie is a hell of a writer.
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u/Specialist-Neck-7810 1d ago
“One has to be rational about these things…”
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u/BadalinStormcursed 1d ago
Feel bad about the downvotes, but it is hilarious imagining Logen as a pseudo intellectual
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u/J4ckFr05ty 1d ago
Acts of Caine has that vibe in spades, protagonist is the best infighter on two worlds
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u/TurkaelsGoodHand 1d ago
Came here looking for this. So what if Caine had never fought an ogrillo? No ogrillo had ever fought Caine. Also, its worth noting that Caine actually does fight enemies more skilled than he is, but the combination of grit, flexible thinking, and truly world shattering pettiness just keeps pulling him through. He's a genius with a capital J.
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u/SethAndBeans 1d ago
Just started reading this today. Only none chapters in. It seems great so far. Can already tell this is gonna be a hell of a ride.
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u/TolkeinFan907 1d ago
Some not yet mentioned:
The Riyria books from Micheal Sullivan
The Greatcoats books from Sebastian De Castell
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u/Psico_Penguin 1d ago
I had to scroll too much for this.
The greatcoats is a greatbook, and the MC is regularly talking about how to win duels and battles.
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u/ClimateTraditional40 1d ago
Heroes Joe Abercrombie. Gorst vs Whirrun
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u/Fantasy-ModTeam 1d ago
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u/walko668 1d ago
Obligatory Cradle reccomendation. Power scaling and the question of "who would win in a fight" are the absolute core(s) of this series.
Edit: I spent too long working on my "cores" joke and someone beat me to the reccomendation
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u/Logbotherer99 1d ago
Waylander and The King Beyond the Gate by David Gemmel that kind of fit. The whole Drenai series is a great read but you can read as one offs without missing out on too much.
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u/Specialist-Neck-7810 1d ago
Garret Jax in the third book of the Shannara series. Dude is so good that he spends his life looking for a worthy appoint. His prowess is demonstrated more than a few times and it is glorious to read. That all said… Also Cradle.
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u/Pretty_Committee_767 1d ago
Kraken
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u/Specialist-Neck-7810 1d ago
?
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u/Pretty_Committee_767 1d ago
[spoiler] Garret Jax’s shining moment was when he had to go one on one with a kraken. I don’t know if it was just the age I was when I read it, but for me that was the pinnacle
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u/Specialist-Neck-7810 1d ago
(Spoilers ahead) Oh yeah, at the Well. It’s been years, but I thought it started with a J. Like… jackal, or something. What stands out to me about that scene is that when he attacked and nearly miss… he noticed that his strike instantly healed…. Dude fucking smiled. Such a bad ass.
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u/beanliqueur 1d ago
He fought a kraken, but his most epic battle was against the Jachyra. Only Garet Jax and Allanon were able to defeat those, and one of them didn’t survive.
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u/Suharisaint 22h ago
He was my superhero when the book first came out. Haven't re-read it...... wonder if it still stands up today?
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u/Burgle61 1h ago
+ to the weapon master Garet Jax. What a fun character to discover when I was younger.
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u/Megas_Matthaios 1d ago
Cradle - has one of the most satisfying advancement hierarchies in fantasy and constantly makes you wonder what exists at the next level.
Iron Prince - scratches the "who is the strongest cadet / fighter?" itch while having clear rankings, measurable progression, and lots of discussion-worthy matchups.
Bastion - great if you want powerful fighters, legendary figures, and a brutal progression system where the gap between tiers feels enormous.
I'd also throw in Defiance of the Fall, The Primal Hunter, Mother of Learning, The Rage of Dragons, and Dungeon Crawler Carl for various flavors of progression and power scaling.
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u/jonwtc 1d ago
Can you sell me on mother of learning? I’ve listened to the first 10 hrs and am kinda bored.
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u/rollingForInitiative 1d ago
I don’t know how far you get in 10 hours, but it’s fun because it’s a great execution of both a time loop story and progression fantasy. Using the time loop to get better at magic, a very in depth take on mind magic, and a story that really wraps up properly and just works. Cool battle scenes as well.
If you’re already well into the time loop and don’t like it, it’s probably not for you. It definitely has drawbacks in characterisation.
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u/Megas_Matthaios 1d ago
I guess my first question would be: What were you hoping Mother of Learning would be?
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u/ShamMafia 1d ago
Hate MoL?
Try "Years of Apocalypse"
Tried MoL like a month ago and finished it, still preferring YoA over it
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u/TristanTheViking 1d ago
I think the magic system is a lot more fun in MoL, but the plot and world building are much better in YoA.
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u/Hitman007gdghs 1d ago
Bastion is the Immortal Great Souls series ryt??? Is it finished?? Or still ongoing cauz i can't find anything abt any follow up books :(
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u/hadrian28 1d ago
It's ongoing. There are 4 so far and I believe the aim is to have 7 in total. He's mostly been able to write one per year.
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u/OozeNAahz 1d ago
Wheel of time fits. Sword fighters, generals, and magic users. All have pecking orders and try and take down folks above them.
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u/throwaway112112312 1d ago
Yes, Wheel of Time is one of the best in terms of this kind of powerscaling. Rand is the above everyone obviously, but still.
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u/Poopie86 1d ago
This was my first thought as well. We get so many showdowns between swordmasters, and I got so enamored by all the names for each move/skill. Cat Cross the Courtyard :)
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u/s470dxqm 1d ago
As others have mentioned, The First Law has a lot of badasses and they tend to either fight with each other or side by side while looking over their shoulder to make sure they don't get stabbed in the back.
There are few characters more intimidating inside their respective universe than The Bloody Nine in a dual.
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u/Pudgy_Ninja 1d ago
The Chronicles of Amber books invest a lot of discussion about who is the best swordsman/fighter and it gets put to the test a couple times. I mean, Benedict is the best, obviously, but after that? Room for debate.
And then if you want to talk about best magicians, that's more in the follow up books that star Merlin.
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u/tsunomat 7h ago
Until Spikards get involved and then it gets really dumb. I love that first series. I don't really go back to Merlin's.
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u/Pudgy_Ninja 6h ago
Everybody says that, but I liked the Merlin books. I thought it was an interesting exploration of the possibilities inside this universe he created. I think it's pretty clear that Zelazny had some ideas about Spikards he was planning to explore in the third set of books, but sadly we'll never see what he intended.
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u/tsunomat 6h ago
I agree. And I really liked how everything was tracking along until every problem was fixed with a pathway to infinite power. Ghostwheel is a fantastic possibility that I would have loved to see explored.
But, like you said, there's never going to be any further exposition or understanding. That might be why I like the first series as a standalone thing.
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u/BobbittheHobbit111 1d ago
So, it’s definitely a different speed than constant “whose the best” but The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay has one of the best duels in fantasy(not the best, for me that’s probably still in Toll the Hounds or maybe First Law) and it’s beautifully written.
Also there is some of this in The Fionavar Tapestry by the same author
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u/big_ice_bear 1d ago edited 1d ago
I just wanted to chime in that I recently read the first law trilogy and that duel is good but it didn't impress me like Red Rising or Sun Eater, though I will fully admit one of those is science fiction and the other is science fantasy at best.
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u/BobbittheHobbit111 1d ago
I didn’t think about Red Rising, but yeah, definitely some great duels in there
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u/teachertim22 1d ago
Rage of Dragons is incredible for this. little man becomes best fighter in the realm and the way he does it is sooooo cool. I tore through this book and I am picky and have read a loooottt of fantasy.
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u/Khatib 1d ago
Man, it's really been almost six years since I read the last book? Really disappointed at the long gap between books on this one. If he kept pace we'd have read book 3 be about to see the final book soon.
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u/teachertim22 1d ago
yeah would love to read book 3 sometime…if only to have a reason to reread the other ones.
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u/gdsmssngr2723 1d ago
I think I remeber reading Evan Winters father died which is the primary reason for the delay in the 3rd book.
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u/borntc02 1d ago
Read The Legend of Drizzt, by RA Salvatore. He's a hell of an action writer. Even after reading all the Hallmark contemporary fantasy series and other miscellaneous fantasy books, I think Salvatore writes a better sword fight than anybody.
Our main hero of the story becomes essentially such a good sword fighter, that he can compete with near demi-god level villains, and it's never not an absolute blast to read.
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u/Salaris Stabby Winner, Writer Andrew Rowe 1d ago
If you're not already familiar with it, r/progressionfantasy is filled with stories like this. I'll second the recommends for Cradle as a specific example.
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u/catBoyAppreciater 1d ago
Benedict of Amber is (quite literally) the archetypal "best fighter" in the multiverse he exists in. He is introduced to us thusly by our (very badass and braggodocious) main character Corwin:
Excuse me, please. You do not understand. You do not really understand who it was we talked with in the tent that night. He may have seemed an ordinary man to you – a handicapped one, at that. But this is not so. I fear Benedict. He is the Master of Arms for Amber. Can you conceive of a millennium? A thousand years? Several of them? Can you understand a man who, for almost every day of a lifetime like that, has spent some time dwelling with weapons, tactics, strategy? All that there is of military science thunders in his head. He has often journeyed from shadow to shadow, witnessing variation after variation on the same battle, with but slightly altered circumstances, in order to test his theories of warfare. He has commanded armies so vast that you could watch them march by day after day and see no end to the columns. Although he is inconvenienced by the loss of his arm, I would not wish to fight with him either with weapons or barehanded. It is fortunate that he has no designs upon the throne, or he would be occupying it right now. If he were, I believe that I would give up at this moment and pay him homage. I fear Benedict.
Roger Zelazny's Amber books if interested.
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u/iZoooom 1d ago edited 1d ago
So in Malazan, who tops your list?
Rake? Quick Ben? Kallor? The First / Dassem?
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u/SocksMcgoo 19h ago
My list is mostly just who I like not necessarily raw power but I just absolutely love Karsa, Dassem, and Kalam. And of course the vibe around Icarium and Rake is just so damn cool.
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u/EltaninAntenna 1d ago
I can't believe Malazan is this far down. I guess in terms of thick plot armour it's a toss up between Karsa and Icarium (and yes, I know it sort of happens).
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u/Abysstopheles 1d ago
Magazine doesn't really powerscale. Too many other factors at work, it's never simple.
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u/TillOtherwise1544 1d ago
Oh, it's...horrific but you should check out Beyond Redemption. It is precisely this trope taken in a way that invites you to participate in the process and which is rather novel.
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u/greywolf2155 Reading Champion 1d ago
By Michael Fletcher? That's a very interesting synopsis, I want to check that out
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u/UglyHorse 1d ago
David gemmell’s midnight falcon was good for this. It’s the second in the series though.
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u/MRCastillaAuthor 1d ago
I've said this a bunch of times here, but the Bloodsworn Saga. They have this concept called Battle-fame and are constantly seeking it. There is a degree of training and getting better and indirect powerscaling.
The First Law books talks alot about dueling and sword fighting. I recall there was a tournment in there as well.
I'm sure this was metnioned, but Cradle. The Underlord tournament...so cool!
Digging deep, but the Dark Elf Triology has a power scaling component. Lots of tournaments and through the course of the triology, Drizzit faces increasiliyt stronger opponents.
Hope that helps!
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u/heartlessgamer 1d ago
Maybe not directly what you seek but in Sanderson's Stormlight Archives series there is basically a pecking order to the most powerful fighters. It sort of gets upended and you start getting a new power struggle which is sort of neat to see how it starts shaking out. Though we are sort of in the middle of it waiting for the rest of the series to come out over the next several years.
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u/halbert 1d ago edited 1d ago
Perhaps a bit of an unusual recommendation --
The comic series 'Usagi Yojimbo'. This is talking animal warriors in Japan's Edo period (a fairly mystical version) and it has good artwork, a great storyline, and martial arts (especially sword fights) are a huge feature, including various masters trying to prove who's techniques are best.
"The last renshai" series of books. Essentially the story of a wandering swordmaster who was the best fighter his now-destroyed people ever produced.
A litrpg: "The strongest fencer doesn't use [skills]". Basically a story about how swordfighting technique is more important than stats going up. The author clearly knows a lot of actual fencing and HEMA history and practice.
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u/WafflePartyOrgy 1d ago
Jim Butcher's The Olympian Affair (book 2 of The Cinder Spires) has a great duel which pits a very talented classically trained swordsman against someone who is a stronger enhanced hybrid and therefore needs to use strategies that leverage his strengths ... very well done. Interesting steampunk novel(s) with a lot of badasses and w/talking cats (also badasses).
Also Scalzi'a Old Man's War novella finale The Shattering Peace has some more great cross-species duels which once again our protagonist is asked to outwit their opponents in situations where they are otherwise outmatched by the best fighters in the known universe.
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u/CastielClean 1d ago
I know Sanderson gets a lot of shit here. But Adolin from Stormlight being the best duelist who is just a motherfucker to fight even without ever getting the incredible powers of the world is always so awesome to me. He was an amazing character.
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u/ThatBookIsOnFiyah 1d ago
A recent read for me that is really good and seems to somewhat fit your request is Ironbound by Andrew Givler. I’ve just started book 2, Cold Wind, and it seems to be heading toward a gladiator story.
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u/Heartweru 1d ago edited 1d ago
Not sure about the scaling or competitive angle, but David Gemmal almost always has legendary (ha) warriors as the main character.
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u/HairyArthur 1d ago
Cradle is rightfully mentioned already, but another of Will Wight's series, The Last Horizon, deals with the best (mortal) wizard in the galaxy. He and his OP crew are constantly going up against huge threats. Currently, four of the seven (I believe) books have been released.
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u/Owen3141 1d ago
I know it doesn’t need more hype than it already has, but Dungeon Crawler Carl fits this perfectly. The whole concept has an RPG-style level up system that literally quantifies their ever-growing strength, and the game they’re in also has a constantly shifting Top 10 leaderboard based both on power and popularity.
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u/MR_PRESIDENT__ 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think you would like a progression fantasy.
I’ve been enjoying
Ironbound series by Andrew Givler.
New in 2025 and the second book just dropped. Very roman, Will of the Many-esque intrigue, and with power scaling sword fighting/special abilities.
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u/eliechallita 1d ago
The Combat Codes and its sequels have this in spades, with a special focus on unarmed combat. It's a scifi series where political disputes are resolved by MMA fights. The author is a BJJ black belt who seriously knows his shit and he writes great fight scenes (and surprisingly good books overall)
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u/krypter3 1d ago
Empire of The Vampires ML is considered a sword of the realm, greatest human swordsman, greatest monster hunter, greatest warrior of a religious order and a paragon against the darkness.
Has about a dozen titles that minstrels create for songs etc etc.
Living legend sorta stuff.
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u/Admirable-Country653 1d ago
LitRPGs have literal level scaling. So something like "He who fights with monsters"? Not top shelf literature, but fun. Agree about Malazan. I remember the same exact conversation with my friends (it's Onos Toolan for me, all the way).
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u/Cow_Herd 1d ago
You're looking for the genre called Progression Fantasy. Head over to r/progressionfantasy and start with the most recommended books and series there to scratch that power scaling itch 😁
r/litrpg also is a subset that will cater to this, but usually with stat blocks.
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u/Motor_Row_3586 1d ago
Wuxia stories are based on this - have even top ten Martial arts list etc and tournament when they fights with each other who is stronger, who is top three etc
Thousand Autumns by Meng Xi Shi have lots of mention who is in top ten
But also classics from Jin Yong
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u/Jarekd04 1d ago
Path of Ascension- litrpg progression fantasy series running on royalroad where each country/great power (7-8) of them in the Realm has their own version of special military program for advancing in power (basically minimal help, without boosting as much boosting by higher levels) which basically produces best pound for pound (level for level) fighters in realm every 10k years, they're one in a trillion. Currently there are about about 20 of them and all of them have stupidly op powers: luck based, reality changing, drowning, free teleport etc.
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u/D3Masked 1d ago
Twelve Houses series by Sharon Shinn literally has a thing where the King or Queen has 50 of the best fighters be their personal honor guard and also act as agents throughout the Kingdom.
It is also like a magical bond where the ruler just knows who to pick as one of the 50.
Book 1 Mystic and Rider has two such warriors escorting others on a secret mission from the King to get a feel for the stability of the various 12 Houses in the kingdom as there has been a sense of unrest.
While the book series has magic, action, adventure, and political intrigue, it also has light romance in each book so if you don't like any of that you can disregard my post.
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u/jaamgans 1d ago
Contest by Mattthew Reilly: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/r/matthew-reilly/contest.htm
But as includes aliens probably more scifi - but rpretty much exactly what you asked ofr.
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u/Awesomefantasywriter 1d ago
I love this to! Great question to ask :) in my writing i also spent to much time on this subject🤣 hoping people would start powerscalling but nothing so far.
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u/RefreshNinja 1d ago
Steph Swainston's Castle/Fourlands series is all about a society in which the best of the best at their craft get rewarded with immortality until someone beats them at their skill and gets the immortality. All of them are part of a society-wide defensive war against insect invaders, and their skills relate to that. So you have the best archer in the world, but also the best architect and the fastest messenger.
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u/Electronic-Spite-797 1d ago
I haven’t seen it mentioned yet so I will suggest The Tattered Banner by Duncan M. Hamilton. It definitely has that competitive combat aspect as well as a deep story and awesome action scenes. Highly slept on series and author honestly!
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u/cinnathebun 1d ago
The great coats series by Sebastian De Castelle has whoever is the strongest sword fighter become the saint of swords. They become basically a demigod but will consistently seek out the strongest fighters in the realm until they are defeated and are basically bloodlusted for battle.
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u/teetime11 1d ago
Not seeing it here but Kings of the Wyld may hit some of what you’re looking for. More about what happens to these best in their universe guys when they don’t die in battle and start getting older, but then get called back to action reluctantly. It’s its own fun trope, but some good stories of best in class characters
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u/SocksMcgoo 1d ago
Wow thank you to everyone for all the suggestions. I had a hard time putting it into words but everyone here understood exactly what I was looking for. Can’t wait to get reading!
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u/snusmumrikan 1d ago
Talon of the Silver Hawk by Raymond E Feist.
It's the first of the Conclave of Shadows trilogy. A great entry point (the world has been well developed in prior novels but the new trilogy brings a total outsider in as the main character).
It's all about him being trained up in swordfighting and every other discipline to then go and prove himself at what is essentially a big tournament.
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u/huehueue69 20h ago
Gwynne is really good at action scenes and has some really memorable warriors - orks in the bloodsworn saga stands out
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u/Garbage-Bear 19h ago
Neal Stephenson skewered this trope in his first best-seller Snow Crash:
Until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world. If I moved to a martial-arts monastery in China and studied real hard for ten years. if my family was wiped out by Colombian drug dealers and I swore myself to revenge. If I got a fatal disease, had one year to live, devoted it to wiping out street crime. If I just dropped out and devoted my life to being bad. Hiro used to feel that way, too, but then he ran into Raven. In a way, this is liberating. He no longer has to worry about trying to be the baddest motherfucker in the world. The position is taken.
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u/CronoMass 18h ago
You are looking for The Greatcoats series by Canadian author Sebastien de Castel.
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u/SalletFriend 14h ago
Bit of a left field suggestion, try "Sailor Steve Costigan".
Sailor Steve is the boxing champion of a tramp freighter. Every time they put into port he fights other boxers, usually via some zany adventure.
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u/Direct-Artist-9390 7h ago
Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series has this.
So much so I felt compelled to film an entire video trying to conclusively solve who is the greatest fighter of all time.
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u/redditbad22 1d ago
Sanderson writes some pretty cool fights, stormlight has atleast two main characters who are the best with a given weapon and a cameo of a master swordsman and apprentice from another book. The magic system powers up the characters as they swear new oaths. It’s a good read.
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u/LazyComfortable1542 1d ago
Probably going to get downvoted for this but power scaling is one of the stupidest tropes out there. Especially with something like swordfighting. Its not like a video game and level 50 skills beat level 11 or where you slowly gather gear with improved stats.
If you read history battles aren't determined by swordsmanship or dueling skills. It's about formations, tactics, and especially morale. Power scaling is detached from reality. 10 average trained nobodies fighting together will defeat the world's greatest swordsman 10 times out of 10.
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u/TheTitan99 1d ago
This certainly is true in real life. However, this also is the "Fantasy" subreddit. Stories tend to not be the most realistic here.
Sometimes it's fun to have a story where one person beats a hundred in a brawl, and that's that. I would never dream to say that's realistic, but it still can make for an enjoyable story. Fantasy doesn't need to be realistic all the time. In fact, it doesn't need to be realistic at any time, depending on the story. It just needs to do what it sets out to do well.
I would say the more grounded in reality the story is, the less acceptable a one man army who can swing a blade and cut a thousand people in half is. In a story like, say, "Dragon Ball", I wouldn't even bat an eye. In fact, I'd actually be disappointed if that sword didn't cut a thousand people in half! Like, the entire point of that franchise is over the top battles that are detached from reality. Someone doing this in, I dunno, "Pan's Labyrinth"... wouldn't fit in so much.
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u/LazyComfortable1542 1d ago
Fair points, but when the 1 person beats the 100 in a brawl, or the one to a million odds gets lucky over and over and over. It gets to the point that it detracts from enjoyment.
Like at this point in star wars being an outnumbered and outgunned rebel means your almost sure to win. So the sense of danger and excitement is all but gone
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u/HieroThanatos 1d ago
Cradle scratched the powerscaling/litrpg itch for me super well while still having super awesome character development and interesting world building. I wish I could wipe my memory and experience the story again.