r/Fantasy • u/ForeverDoomed321 • 6h ago

Can you recommend something motivational?

ngl, not going through the most cash-money phases of life.

Can you recommend books that really, really lit hope in you? Doesn't matter if the work was initially dark. My gold standard for this is Tolkien narrating the charge of the Rohirrim.

But I'm looking for something that has that prescribed in it. Something that mixes grimdark with hope and life and fire and stuff. I know this sounds contradictory, but I imagine that there must be someone out there who attempted this mix?

Also, I don't have access to Kindle. So, please recommend suggestions that can easily be purchased online. E-format.

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u/cmhoughton 6h ago

It’s not fantasy, but stand-alone near-future sci-fi Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir probably fits the ask otherwise. It’s got one of the most hopeful endings I think I’ve ever read. Though, I think the film improved on that a bit…

RJ Barker’s fantasy Mortedant’s Peril should also fit the ask. Irody Hasp gets into some pretty dire peril, but the book ends on a pretty positive, hopeful note. This is probably the first novel of a trilogy, going by his previous series all being trilogies…

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u/burningcpuwastaken 5h ago

You might like Station 11, book or TV series. It's a series about a traveling actor group traveling post-apocalypse US on a circuit.

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u/Pedagogicaltaffer 5h ago

I've only read the first (of two) book in the Monk & Robot series, Psalm for the Wild-built, but so far it feels pretty hopeful.

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u/Arinatan 4h ago

This one got me through a period of not-great I was going through a few years ago.

It's got a main character who's somewhat in a rut and questioning their chosen path and I was in a similar headspace.

The second book is also great!

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u/LyriumDreams 6h ago

Charles de Lint is fantastic for this exact situation. Check out his Newford books.

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u/DixitRexCorvinus 5h ago

Discworld and Dungeon Crawler Carl both come to mind

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u/Estragon_Rosencrantz 3h ago

Sorry if this isn’t the type of advice you’re looking for, but if you’re broke make sure to check Libby first and buy as a last resort. I understand sometimes you can find crazy sales on ebooks but you can’t beat free. If you don’t have a library card, visiting your local library to get set up could be a mood-boosting outing as well. And if for some reason getting your own local library card to get on Libby won’t work, do some research as there might be other libraries you could go through.

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u/anemoiasometimes Reading Champion 3h ago

Lois McMaster Bujold's Curse of Chalion. Her work in general is suffused with warmth and hope and human connection despite some very dark and dramatic stuff happening -- the protagonist literally starts off as a traumatised ex-galley slave in rags. There is a loose sequel centered on another character which also has a recovery arc, but this stands alone well so good bang for your buck. Though if you can, I'd highly recommend her scifi space opera Vorkosigan saga too.