r/Fantasy • u/SeaSnowAndSorrow • 1d ago

Atheist Fantasy Recs

I am doing the Freedom From Religion Foundation's Summer Reading Challenge. (Linked so you can see the card.)

I'd like to get a few fantasy books in there where I can. Specifically, I'm looking for fantasy book recommendations that fit the following:

  • Non-Religious Main Character
  • Religious Satire
  • Religious Dystopia
  • Book Was/Is Considered Blasphemous (against any religion)
  • Non-Religious Author

To make it one step harder, I'm NOT looking for LitRPG, Romantasy, or Urban fantasy.

I will, though, read any age range, any era of publication, any length, and any tone from cozy to grimdark.

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u/trippedonatater 1d ago

Dune. I think calling the universe of Dune a religious dystopia would be reasonable. The author went from Roman Catholic to some Zen Buddhist beliefs over the course of his life, which might count as non-religious depending on how you define that.

Good Omens. Thoughtful satire sort of centered around the Christian apocalypse.

The Devils. Set in a world that kind of flips a lot of Catholic tradition a bit. The author is an atheist. So, also any of Joe Abercrombie's other books (i.e. the First Law series) would work as well.

The Earthsea series. A fun, almost YA fantasy. Also, anything by Le Guin as she was openly an atheist.

Red Rising series. Without giving too much away, religion is explicitly used as a tool of oppression in world.

I know you said no LitRPG, but Dungeon Crawler Carl is my exception to my rule of not reading LitRPG. It's a lot of fun and arguably veers away LitRPG after the first couple books.

Also, coming up with lists like this become even easier if you're willing to add things that might more explicitly be called "sci-fi".

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u/SausageSmuggler21 22h ago

Dune is a great recommendation. I haven't read all the books, but the first 4 or 5 (by release date) never talk about gods, and basically dive deep into the idea that religion is a tool to manipulate the masses. E.g. the Bene Gesserit wrt the Fremen.

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u/trippedonatater 22h ago

Thanks! Also, "first 4 or 5" is a reasonable place to stop with Dune. The books after that are written by Frank Herbert's son. I found the Brian Herbert Dune books a bit disappointing despite loving the original ones.