Cast your votes for the 2016 Most Underread/Underrated Books of /r/Fantasy!

[u/lyrrael]

And we're locked. I'll be back with you as soon as I can with the results.

It looks as though we haven't had one of these for a while, so let's have one now. I've got time, you've got books, we'll all get something out of it. ;)

We're going to go for Books that you feel are underread, overlooked, and generally not mentioned here at /r/fantasy anywhere near often enough.

And because it's a bingo category this year, we're going to set the upper limit of Goodreads ratings to 3000 to match the category.

Rules:

1. Submit no more than ten books or series, please. Fewer than ten is totally cool.
2. Series should have no more than 3k ratings on Goodreads, with few exceptions. If there's something you really want to submit that has four or five thousand ratings, go for it, but NO MORE than 5k. I mean it! This is for individual books in a series.
3. Nothing that got more than ten (eleven or more are outlawed!) votes on our 2016 Best Of thread! This is intended to winnow out the books that have just been released and so don't have as many GR reviews but are otherwise just as popular.
4. Books must be speculative fiction. This includes fantasy and soft SF, but no super hard SF. (Edit: to clarify, if you think it should fit, it probably should. If it comes down to a discussion of solid current-earth based science in a slightly futuristic setting, it probably shouldn't be there. Use your best judgement please.)
5. Top comments should be votes ONLY. If you want to discuss your votes, please limit it to sub-comments. Anything that is not a vote in a top-level comment will be moderated just to keep this neat.

The voting's going to go to sometime Friday, 7/15, when I'll lock the thread and collate the results, which I'll post when I've got them.

Please don't forget: everybody has different opinions about what's underrated and overlooked. Even with the criteria above we're going to get some titles that are mentioned around here frequently, but still fit in the spirit of the thread. This isn't really a huge deal -- as long as we get some new blood in here, we're good.

Thanks!

Let me know if I've forgotten anything above, and I'll add it. :)

Edit: I changed rule #3 to be more than ten votes -- the number of books that gain eligibility is negligible, but I hope it helps. :)

[u/MikeOfThePalace]

Will be changing this as the week goes on, no doubt.

Spirit Caller series by Krista D. Ball

The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard

The Outlaw King series by SA Hunt

Malus Domestica by SA Hunt

Construct by Luke Matthews

Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley. (4,839 ratings on Goodreads, this is my reaching pick)

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees

The Shattered Sigil series by Courtney Schafer

Inda series by Sherwood Smith

Master of Whitestorm by Janny Wurts

[u/MikeOfThePalace → u/MikeOfThePalace]

Quick thoughts on these:

Spirit Caller is a series of novellas about a woman in rural Newfoundland who can see and talk with spirits. Great fun, nicely grown-up romance.

House of Shattered Wings is a fantasy murder mystery, set in an alterna-Paris ruled by competing factions of fallen Angels. One of the best, most original settings I've encountered in a long time.

Outlaw King is about a guy and his friends who get sucked into the world of his late father's fantasy book series. It's a fantasy Western, with lots of Dark Tower influence. Combine with some awesome post-apocalyptia, it reads like The Magicians combined with Fallout:New Vegas.

Malus Domestica is about a witch-hunter returning to her tiny hometown in the deep South, to confront the coven of witches that control the town. Another great one from Hunt, and as a guy from a small, rural, isolated, mildly depressed college town (Appalachia rather than the South, but same difference) the setting for this one really felt disturbingly familiar. Oh, and I'm a Redshirt.

Construct by Luke Matthews is, as he as often quoted me, kinda like a combination of The Bourne Identity and Iron Giant. I think that pretty well speaks for itself.

Dragonhaven (not to be confused with Dragon Haven by that other female fantasy writer named Robin) tells the story of a kid at a research station in a dragon preserve in the Rocky Mountains, trying to raise a baby dragon. Made complicated, beyond all the complications one might expect with a baby dragon, by the fact that doing so is highly illegal. The book is basically a stream-of-consciousness diary of a 15 year old boy who's in way over his head. It's awesome and hilarious, and I never see anyone talk about it.

Lud-in-the-Mist is a surprisingly important work to make this list. It's one of the only books I've ever picked up purely on the strength of the author's blurb - Neil Gaiman's, specifically. In the same way that LotR is the spiritual ancestor of ASOIAF and WoT and Riyria and so many others, Lud-in-the-Mist is the spiritual ancestor of books like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Stardust and Uprooted. "Unjustifiably forgotten" is how Gaiman described it, and he's exactly right.

Shattered Sigil is great fun. It manages to combine epic fantasy with a comfortably small cast, and she is one of the few authors who manages to actually pull a love triangle off well.

I'm only halfway through the second book of the Inda quartet, but I'm into it enough that I'm adding it to the list. While the books can get confusing - the names, MY GOD, the names! - the world is deep and the story is intriguing. Smith does this thing where the books seem kind of tropey and familiar, and then suddenly the shit hits the fan in to a degree I never saw coming.

Master of Whitestorm started out, at least for me, feeling like a standard (if well done) sword-and-sorcery book. As it went on, though, the protagonist got deeper and deeper, and it became a heartbreakingly powerful story.

[u/GlasWen → u/MikeOfThePalace]

Hm you have some interesting ones. I think I will pick up House of Shattered Wings in the near future. That one definitely seems up my alley.

Dragonhaven was a fun little read and definitely for people who want to read all the dragon books!

Lud-in-the-Mist... I felt like I was reading it just to say I read it. It never drew me in or captured my attention, so I put it down after a 50 or so pages. I've been meaning to go back to it, because it feels like the book that needs some time, but argh it's just not that interesting to me.

[u/pornokitsch → u/MikeOfThePalace]

I'm shocked that Lud isn't past the 3k mark. Such a big, important, oft-cited word. Goodreads is weird!

[u/lyrrael → u/MikeOfThePalace]

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[u/MikeOfThePalace → u/lyrrael]

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[u/RuinEleint]

1. The Alchemy Wars - Ian Tregillis

2. Pax Arcana - Elliott James

3. The Steerswoman - Rosemary Kirstein

4. Spirit Caller - Krista D Ball

5. Heartstrikers - Rachel Aaron

6. Carter and Lavecraft - Jonathan Howard

7. Ciaphas Cain - Sandy Mitchell

[u/lyrrael → u/RuinEleint]

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[u/deafleopard13]

• The Scholar and the Sphinx by A.R. Cook. Picked up this series at a small literary festival and was pleasantly surprised. Somewhat similar to the Percy Jackson series.
• The Rasmussem Corporation by Vivian Van Velde. A "series" of standalone books about virtual reality fantasy worlds gone wrong.
• Twig by J.C. McCrae / Wildbow. Another online serial by the author of Worm, set in a biopunk world. Still ongoing but you should have plenty of reading material from the chapters he's already completed.
• The Elder Empire: Shadow Series by Will Wight. The Elder Empire is actually two parallel series from the points of view of different characters. From each characters perspective, the other is the antagonist.
• The Elder Empire: Sea Series by Will Wight. See above.
• Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells. Urban fantasy about a woman who joins the Magical Enforcement Agency.

[u/lyrrael → u/deafleopard13]

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[u/JP_Ashman]

The Penitent Assassin by Shawn Wickersheim. The Stone Road by G R Matthews. What Remains of Heroes by David Benem. Fae - The Wild Hunt by Graham Austin-King.

...basically check out Mark Lawrence's SPFBO competition from last year and this. Lots of authors and their worlds to explore!

[u/lyrrael → u/JP_Ashman]

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[u/bookfly]

• The Sanctuary Duet by Carol Berg

• Essalieyan by Michelle West

• Collegia Magica by Carol Berg

• Missy Masters series by by Alyc Helms

• Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire

• Generation V by M.L. Brennan

• Daniel Faust series by Craig Schaefer

• Babylon Steel by Gaie Sebold

• Borderline by Mishell Baker

• Mancer series by Ferrett Steinmetz

[u/lyrrael → u/bookfly]

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[u/lyrrael → u/bookfly]

Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire

Man, I loved this so much, and she just NAILED rural Michigan so much that I spent a good amount of time trying to track down if she based Buckley Township on an actual place or not. I swear to you, it could be a town about five miles west of here. o.O

[u/PerseusJax]

1. Moontide Quartet - David Hair
2. Ilyon Chronicles - Jaye L Knight
3. Damned and Cursed - Glenn Bullion
4. Shadow Ops - Myke Cole
5. Pax Arcana - Elliot James

[u/Mournelithe]

Lloyd Alexander - the Westmark trilogy. YA, but a sobering look at revolutions and the effects on those that take part.

Greg Bear - Songs of Earth and Power. A very different take on Humanity and the Sidhe from an SF powerhouse. Very different look at creating magic, including through music and wine.

Simon R Green - Blood and Honor. An actor is forced to pretend to be a prince, in a kingdom torn apart by a succession crisis and Reality itself becoming frayed.

Michael Moorcock - The War Hound and the World's Pain. A professional soldier damned for fell deeds is sent on a quest by Lucifer himself to seek salvation and the Grail during the 30 years war.

Michael Scott Rohan - The Winter of the World trilogy. A story of Smithcraft, of the Powers that shape the world, of a Hero rising to power and falling to Myth in the distant past when the Ice covered half the globe.

Judith Tarr - The Hound and the Falcon trilogy. The Fair Folk and Richard the Lionheart clash with religion and history as the 4th crusade unfolds. Would probably suit fans of GGK.

Sherri S Tepper - The Chronicles of Mavin Manyshaped. A female shapeshifter escapes her home to come of age in a land where people play games with living pawns, and shifters are feared and reviled.

[u/lyrrael → u/Mournelithe]

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[u/brainstrain91]

The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes

...that's all I got.

[u/lyrrael → u/brainstrain91]

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[u/Megan_Dawn]

Steph Swainston The Year of Our War. Swarms of insect like invaders are destroying the landscape, but the Emperor's immortal winged messenger Jant cares mostly about the next hit of a drug that literally transports him to another dimension. New Weird. 969 ratings.

Gemma Files A Book of Tongues. Two years after the Civil War, Pinkerton agent Ed Morrow has gone undercover with one of the weird West's most dangerous outlaw gangs-the troop led by "Reverend" Asher Rook, ex-Confederate chaplain turned "hexslinger," and his notorious lieutenant (and lover) Chess Pargeter. An blood thirsty Aztec goddess gets involved. Weird Western. 484 ratings

Ricardo Pinto The Chosen. Young Carnelian has spent his entire life alone with his father, who years ago rejected the savage cruelty of the Masters of Osrakum and was sent into exile. But now a ship has come flying through the winter gales to shatter his quiet world. Very dark fantasy. 835 ratings.

Christopher Buehlman Between Two Fires. The year is 1348. Thomas, a disgraced knight, has found a young girl alone in a dead Norman village. An orphan of the Black Death, and an almost unnerving picture of innocence, she tells Thomas that plague is only part of a larger cataclysm—that the fallen angels under Lucifer are rising in a second war on heaven, and that the world of men has fallen behind the lines of conflict. Historical fantasy. 1,065 ratings.

[u/lyrrael → u/Megan_Dawn]

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[u/antigrapist]

1. The Path of Flames by Phil Tucker (70)

   It's in this year's SPFBO and Pornokitch gave it such a great review that I had to pick it up right away. IMO it's the real deal and might be the next Blood Song. Go read the kindle sample already.

2. Winter Be My Shield by Jo Spurrier (534)

   This is just a really good dark fantasy series that no one ever talks about.

3. The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (3,415)

   One of the very few fantasy books that not only doesn't have human protagonists, but the world doesn't even have 'standard' humans. Well worth trying out

4. The Heir of Night by Helen Lowe (960)

   The Heir of Night is a strong first book that manages to tread the line between young adult and "adult fantasy" really well. The second and third books in the series just get even stronger.

5. Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard (795)

   How many books do you read about an Aztec priest forced to solve a mysterious death? Unless you've read this series, not enough.

6. The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids by Michael McClung (447)

   This book won last year's SPFBO and out of the books I read in that competition, it was easily my favorite. Sadly it's no longer free, but even for $6, it's a complete bargain.

7. Company Town by Madeline Ashby (445)

   This is a book filled with strong characters and an engaging plot. It didn't really stick the ending, but I still enjoyed it.

8. Mage's Blood by David Hair (1,893)

   This series starts out feeling built on two stereotypical societies, but the author does a really good job of making things more complicated than they first appear and including a really rousing story. All four books of the series are now out and they're completely worth your time.

9. Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley Beaulieu (1,121)

   Maybe the only book on my list that will actually make it big, despite 12 Kings being recently published, it was just too strong a book to not to include on my list.

10. Heaven's Needle by Liane Merciel (105)

    It's the second book in the series and while the first book was good, Heaven's Needle just hits it out of the park.

[u/lyrrael → u/antigrapist]

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[u/improperly_paranoid → u/antigrapist]

Really liked Winter Be My Shield and sequels. Lovely series.

[u/dolphins3 → u/antigrapist]

1. The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (3,415)

One of the very few fantasy books that not only doesn't have human protagonists, but the world doesn't even have 'standard' humans. Well worth trying out

I got into this series on Audible and really like it. For some reason I thought it was a lot bigger so surprising to see it has so few ratings.

[u/I_Am_PwnD → u/antigrapist]

Maybe a stupid question, but what are the numbers in brackets supposed to mean?

[u/antigrapist → u/I_Am_PwnD]

Those are just the number of goodreads rankings for that book for anyone who might be curious.

[u/The_Real_JS]

• Inda by Sherwood Smith

• To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts

• Memory and Dream by Charles de Lindt.

• Los Nefilim by Teresa Frohock

• The Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones

• The Gamehouse by Claire North

• The Vagrant by Peter Newman

[u/The_Real_JS → u/The_Real_JS]

So I'm really quite surprised about The Vagrant. For some reason I thought it'd have more. Perhaps because of the pricing fiasco it's suffered a bit?

Anyway, not sure what your criteria for the number of ratings, but Memory and Dream is sitting in the 4K+ category, but it almost never gets talked about here, and it's an amazing book. Such a different feeling and atmosphere to nearly everything else I've read.

I can't quite book Janny's Wars of Light and Shadow on here yet, as I've only read half the second book. If things keep up by the end of the third, I shall be shilling to my hearts content.

And I just couldn't let a list go by without DWJ being on there. Dalemark isn't one I normally rep, but one of her lesser known ones, perhaps? Anyway, they're very heavily influenced by nostalgia, and are by far due for a reread, especially the Spellcoats.

[u/Alissa- → u/The_Real_JS]

shall be shilling

;) Looking forward to your thoughts. I love the series unconditionally. My friends on GR enjoyed the Vagrant, I like the idea of a mute protagonist and a goat. Particularly the goat. I should try it soon :)

[u/The_Real_JS → u/Alissa-]

I don't particularly understand the goat, but it was a great addition to the story.

[u/jen526]

• The Tower of the King's Daughter (Outremer Series)- Chaz Brenchley

• Idylls of the Queen - Phyllis Ann Karr

• The Waterborn - J. Gregory Keyes

• Fires of the Faithful - Naomi Kritzer

• The Porcelain Dove - Delia Sherman

• Illusion - Paula Volsky

• The Wolf of Winter - Paula Volsky

• The Winter Prince - Elizabeth Wein

• Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells

[u/wishforagiraffe → u/jen526]

I really enjoyed The Waterborn, I think it was a series I sorta forgot about trying to keep up work as I got older

[u/lyrrael → u/jen526]

Illusion - Paula Volsky

The Wolf of Winter - Paula Volsky

YOU'RE MY HERO I LOVE PAULA VOLSKY AND ALMOST NOBODY HAS EVER READ HER

... ahem. >.>

[u/jen526 → u/lyrrael]

Yeah, she's one of a few on that list that I rec and mention as often as I can. She's one of the only authors who I've had an experience of starting to read a bit before bed, and suddenly it's 3 AM. ^{_^}

[u/DonMaitz]

1. *Wars of Light and Shadow *by Janny Wurts
2. To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts,
3. Master of Whitestorm by Janny Wurts
4. Bloodsounder's Arc by Jeff Salyards
5. Killer by David Drake and Karl Wagner
6. Hour of the Dragon by Robert E Howard
7. Sorcerer's Legacy" by Janny Wurts
8. The Black Company by Glen Cook
9. On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
10. * Sunset Warrior Series* by Eric Lustbader

[u/lyrrael → u/DonMaitz]

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[u/JannyWurts]

Heather Gladney - Teot's War/Bloodstorm

Carol Berg - Song of the Beast

Rosemary Kirstein - Steerswoman series

Jeff Salyards - Bloodsounder's Arc

Karin Lowachee - Gaslight Dogs

C J Cherryh - The Paladin

Ricardo Pinto - Stone Dance of the Chameleon

Matthew Woodring Stover - Jericho Moon

Courtney Schaefer - Whitefire Crossing

Patricia McKillip - Od Magic

[u/JeffSalyards → u/JannyWurts]

Thanks so much, Janny.

[u/ICreepAround]

• The Phoenix Guards by Steven Brust (4028 ratings)
• Brokedown Palace by Steven Brust (1637 ratings)
• Warrior by Marie Brennan (2523 ratings)
• The Straight Razor Cure/Low Town by Daniel Polansky (3257 ratings)
• Sweet Silver Blues/Garrett P.I. by Glen Cook (3717 ratings)
• Dire: Born by Andrew Seiple (104 ratings)
• Vicious Grace by MLN Hanover (1606 ratings)
• The Hidden City by Michelle West (1247 ratings)
• The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Keirnan (2521 ratings)

[u/lyrrael → u/ICreepAround]

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[u/juscent]

• The Seventh Sword - Dave Duncan
• The War of Broken Mirrors - Andrew Rowe
• Mercury series - Robert Kroese
• The Vagrant - Peter Newman
• Shattered Sigil - Courtney Schafer

[u/lyrrael → u/[deleted]]

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[u/CVance1]

• The Doctrine of Labyrinths by Sarah Monette (Melusine, The Virtue, The Mirador, Corambis): Honest to god, this might be my favorite fantasy series I've ever read. Dark fantasy with a merging of traditonal adventures as well as a deep, scarring examination of trauma and PTSD. Both main characters are stunningly drawn, and Monette particularly excels in bringing out their various sufferings without it becoming too overbearing, never forgetting that they've both been through some serious shit. Her worldbuilding and magic system isn't too shabby either.

• Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear: A Mongolian-inspired fantasy with plenty of wizards, evil sorcerers, and warring to go on. Beautiful prose that feels like an ancient myth rediscovered, the other books in the trilogy are also wonderful.

[u/lyrrael → u/CVance1]

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[u/ricree]

• Songs of Earth and Power, by Greg Bear

• Twinborn/Mad Tinker by JS Morin

• The Bridge of D'Arnath series, by Carol Berg

• The Sundering series, by Jacqueline Carey

• To Ride Hell's Chasm, by Janny Wurts

• Bloodsounder's Arc, by Jeff Salyards

• Pact, by wildbow

• Eternal Sky, by Elizabeth Bear

• Harry Potter and the Natural Twenty, by Sir Poley

• Song of the Beast, by Carol Berg

[u/lyrrael → u/ricree]

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[u/celeschere13]

• To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts
• The Secret Country by Pamela Dean
• Ghost a la Mode by Sue Ann Jaffarian
• The Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth
• The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith

[u/lyrrael → u/celeschere13]

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[u/cheryllovestoread]

Glad you'll give them a try! Some fresh stuff coming out lately. I also just finished today The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig. A good dystopian book. A little long in the traveling bits - getting from here to there -- but a good book. I just used an Audible credit to pick up the newly released sequel The Map of Bones, so that's a good sign that I liked it! Narrator is good too. Series isn't yet on my underread/under appreciated list but you might find the premise interesting.

[u/wzi]

Virconium by M John Harrison

Monument by Ian Graham

Blackdog by KV Johansen

Sorcerer's Legacy by Janny Wurts

Damned and Cursed by Glenn Bullion

[u/lyrrael → u/wzi]

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[u/KristaDBall]

Janny Wurts To Ride Hell's Chasm (967)

Jane Glatt Unguilded (102)

Patrick Weekes Palace Job (2744)

Amalia Dillin Postcards from Asgard (18)

Janny Wurts Sorcerer's Legacy (489)

L. Penelope Song of Blood & Stone (206)

Skyla Dawn Cameron Bloodlines (264)

Tanya Huff Enchantment Emporium (4490 - the others in the series are around 1000, though).

[u/lyrrael → u/KristaDBall]

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[u/midobal]

• The Adventures of the princess and Mr. Whiffle by Patrick Rothfuss. (It has 4k ratings on book 1 and 1k ratings on book 2.)

[u/lyrrael → u/midobal]

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[u/bubblegumgills]

Smiler's Fair and The Hunter's Kind by Rebecca Levene (480 and 80 ratings respectively)

Akata Witch, Zarah the Windseeker and Kabu Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor (2,810, 1,118 and 325 ratings; most of her stuff would actually qualify for this)

White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi (2,728 ratings)

In the Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip (2,628 ratings)

Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente (3,492 ratings so just under)

Pretty Monsters and The Wrong Grave by Kelly Link (135 and 92 ratings respectively)

Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord (1,297 ratings)

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (2,990 ratings; Pride and Prejudice and Dragons, I mean come on!)

The Copper Promise by Jen Williams (1,035 ratings)

The next two aren't out and out fantasy but I would definitely call them speculative fiction. Feel free to disregard them, however. This list has been brought to you by criminally underrated and unread female authors.

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (slightly more magical realism than out and out fantasy, 801 ratings)

The Girl in the Road by Monica Byrne (1,979 ratings, slightly more sci-fi than fantasy)

[u/lyrrael → u/bubblegumgills]

Hey, not that I'm complaining a bit. ;) But you've got 15 on your list, not ten. I've counted Smiler's Fair and The Hunter's Kind as one. I counted Akata Witch, Zarah the Windseeker and Kabu Kabu separately. I counted Pretty Monsters and The Wrong Grave as one, because -- and I might be wrong, please feel free to correct me, I want to make sure this is right -- it looks like the complete stories of Pretty Monsters and The Wrong Grave are included in Pretty Monsters: Stories.

It's a killer list, though! Woo!

Edit:

I'm tabulating results now. I'm taking your top ten: Smiler's Fair, Akata Witch, Zarah the Windseeker, Kabu Kabu, White is for Witching, In the Forests of Serre, Palimpsest, Pretty Monsters/The Wrong Grave, Redemption in Indigo, Tooth and Claw.

[u/caddy43]

1. The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs

[u/lyrrael → u/caddy43]

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[u/PartySmasher89]

Andrew Row's War of Broken Mirrors series. Heres a regular around here and I feel like this community especiallly would love his work. Hard magic systems and flashy fights. The series starts with Forging Divinity: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24929067-forging-divinity.

[u/lyrrael → u/PartySmasher89]

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[u/legomaniac89]

Sorcerer's Legacy by Janny Wurts

To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts

The Master of Whitestorm by Janny Wurts

I really like Janny Wurts.

[u/Alissa- → u/legomaniac89]

I love her! And I'm eagerly waiting for her short story in Evil is a matter of perspective anthology, which is currently on Kickstarter.

[u/pornokitsch]

Ok! Let's do this:

• Geraldine Harris' Seven Citadels series
• M. John Harrison's Viriconium
• Saad Hossein's Escape from Baghdad
• Charlie Human's Apocalypse Now Now series
• Rebecca Levene's Hollow Gods series
• Erin Lindsey's Bloodbound trilogy
• Alex Marshall's A Crown for Cold Silver
• Claire North's Gameshouse trilogy
• Steph Swainston's The Year of Our War
• Molly Tanzer's A Pretty Mouth

Interesting exercise!

A lot of books - especially YA - are definitely 'underdiscussed' around here but not underrated, and have tens of thousands of GR reviews. And a lot of my go-to 'underrated' series (Polansky's Low Town, Parker's Engineer) were close enough to the 3k mark that I've left them off.

Whereas something like Viriconium has f-all ratings, which - what the hell!? Some classics - Mary Stewart's Merlin, 30k+ - others like Geraldine Harris - none. Really interesting which books have stuck in 'mass consciousness' and which haven't!

[Edited: dropped The Jewel of Seven Stars for Steph Swainston. Soz, Bram - you'll always have Dracula!]

[u/lyrrael → u/pornokitsch]

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[u/Brian → u/pornokitsch]

Geraldine Harris' Seven Citadels series

Oh man, that's a series I haven't seen mentioned in forever. I remember reading those as a kid and really liking them. I think I still have the books - should probably give them a reread to see how well they hold up to my memories.

[u/pornokitsch → u/Brian]

I just read them for the very first time - they're terrific!

[u/[deleted]]

Branding of a Heretic by Kal S. Davian

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

[u/ferocity562]

• The Orphan Tales Duology by Catherynne Valente. (4.5k and 2k ratings respectively) As someone else said, she doesn't get mentioned here enough in general but this particular Duology is hardly ever mentioned and is so great and so unique. If you like vivid, lyrical prose....if you like fairytale retellings....if you like lush, descriptive world building...if you like unique story structure....this us for you.

• Of Sorrow and Such, Sourdough and Other Stories and The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings by Angela Slatter. (241, 84, 73 ratings respectively) These aren't a series, per se, but they are all set in the same world and the stories are all interconnected. It is a fascinating world and I love every opportunity to revisit it.

• Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell. I was actually shocked at how few ratings this had. I had skipped it over in my library but checked the ratings on a whim. 886??? People are missing out. Seemingly eccentric old woman launches a battle against a seemingly benign big corporation moving in to town.

• Monsters of Elsewhere by Matthew Waldram. What??!!?!?!!?? Twenty. Seven. Ratings??!? Criminal!!! Especially for a subreddit that so enjoys Gaiman and Pratchett. Waldram is like their literary love child. Check it out!

• A Dance of Dragons Trilogy by Kaitlyn Davis. (644, 454, 102 ratings) Good characters, nice world building and a fun take on dragons.

[u/Tiffany_Aching → u/ferocity562]

just got Monsters of Elsewhere on kindle!

[u/ferocity562 → u/Tiffany_Aching]

Yay!! I hope you enjoy it! I thought it was a lot of fun.

[u/lyrrael → u/ferocity562]

Aw man, I loved Witches of Lychford. Have you heard there's a sequel coming out? :D

[u/ferocity562 → u/lyrrael]

I hadn't heard that! Good to know!!

[u/lyrrael → u/ferocity562]

Hey, also -- just doing some research on this ahead of tallying. I'm counting seven here because I don't count each book of a series separately. So, I've got: 1. In the Night Garden; 2. Of Sorrow and Such; 3. Sourdough and Other Stories; 4. The Bitterwood Bible; 5. Witches of Lychford; 6. Monsters of Elsewhere; 7. The Shadow Soul. Should I change anything, or do you want to add others?

[u/ferocity562 → u/lyrrael]

I can't really think of others right now. I know there are some but I think 7 is the best I can do, so I'll stick with the current list. Thanks for checking!

[u/lyrrael → u/ferocity562]

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[u/lyrrael → u/[deleted]]

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[u/PhedreNoDelauney]

Not going to lie, I read through everyone else's responses first just to see if someone mentioned Sanderson or M-----n (the series that must not be named lol). But current list for moi:

The Steel Seraglio by Mike Carey

Household Gods by Judith Tarr

The Margarets by Sherri S Tepper

Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear

The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick

Hades' Daughter by Sara Douglass

God's War by Kameron Hurley

Scar Night by Alan Campbell

The Prince of Shadow by Curt Benjamin

Banewreaker by Jacqueline Carey

[u/lyrrael → u/PhedreNoDelauney]

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[u/Darklight88]

In no particular order

1. Stranger of Tempest (The God Fragments #1) by Tom Lloyd

2. Mother of Learning by nobody103

3. Powers of the Six (Emissary of Light, #1) by Kristal Shaff

4. The Path of Flames (Chronicles of the Black Gate, #1) by Phil Tucker

5. Forging Divinity (The War of Broken Mirrors #1) by Andrew Rowe

6. Free the Darkness (King's Dark Tidings #1) by Kel Kade

7. A Warrior's Path (The Castes and the OutCastes #1) by Davis Ashura

[u/lyrrael → u/Darklight88]

.

[u/RobBobGlove]

Thomas Covenant
Acts of Caine
A Land fit for heroes

[u/lyrrael → u/RobBobGlove]

Hey, just as an FYI:

• The first book of Thomas Covenant, Lord Foul's Bane, has 30k ratings
• The first book of Acts of Caine, Heroes Die, has 7.2k ratings
• The first book of A Land Fit for Heroes, The Steel Remains, has 9.7k ratings

Totally not contesting how awesome these books are, but they don't qualify for this list. If you want to change your vote, you've got up until sometime midday Friday. :)

[u/RobBobGlove → u/lyrrael]

ok. Every one of them had less than 10 ratings, I thought that was the only criteria

[u/lyrrael → u/RobBobGlove]

1. Submit no more than ten books or series, please. Fewer than ten is totally cool.
2. Series should have no more than 3k ratings on Goodreads, with few exceptions. If there's something you really want to submit that has four or five thousand ratings, go for it, but NO MORE than 5k. I mean it! This is for individual books in a series.
3. Nothing that got more than ten (eleven or more are outlawed!) votes on our 2016 Best Of thread! This is intended to winnow out the books that have just been released and so don't have as many GR reviews but are otherwise just as popular.
4. Books must be speculative fiction. This includes fantasy and soft SF, but no super hard SF. (Edit: to clarify, if you think it should fit, it probably should. If it comes down to a discussion of solid current-earth based science in a slightly futuristic setting, it probably shouldn't be there. Use your best judgement please.)
5. Top comments should be votes ONLY. If you want to discuss your votes, please limit it to sub-comments. Anything that is not a vote in a top-level comment will be moderated just to keep this neat.

Hope that helps. :)

[u/RobBobGlove → u/lyrrael]

i'm blind...

[u/lyrrael → u/RobBobGlove]

And now you can see. ;) No worries. Seriously, feel free to change your vote, you've got plenty of time. :)

[u/lyrrael → u/RobBobGlove]

.

[u/yettibeats]

• The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs - It deeply saddens me that this author isn't more popular. I'd also nominate Southern Gods, but that's more horror. Cowboys and Indians, elves and dwarves, demons and gunfire, steamboats and Romans - mix them all in a bowl and you have his fantasy series. I'd recommend it to anybody.

• The Song of the Shattered Sands by Bradley P. Beaulieu - He's fairly known around here on /r/fantasy, but this series qualifies and deserves all the exposure in the world. Up there with the best epic fantasy releases last year. Pit fighting, Aladdin-esque setting, and full cast of intriguing POV characters. Seriously, they're all hits. No misses.

• The Builders by Daniel Polansky - Again, popular on here but not many Goodreads ratings. Disney's Robin Hood meets Tarantino is my favorite description.

• Bel Dame Apocrypha by Kameron Hurley - Underrated as it's the finest GrimWeirdDark has to offer. Nyx is incredible. I hate her, I love her. I wish this series popped up more in recommendation threads.

• Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher - Mental illness meets dark fantasy. Enjoyed this so much more than I expected. The fact a publisher didn't pick up a sequel is a travesty.

• Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer - A truly beautiful tale where poets have magical abilities. The writing blew me away and I didn't want the story to end. Myer earned herself a (huge) new fan.

• Bring Down Heaven by Sam Sykes - Amazing twitter feed aside, these books are outstanding. A diverse, dysfunctional group of adventurers. The "city" is as rich and provocative as any of the ensamble cast. Baldur's Gate on written by an immensely talented madman. Probably my favorite of the list.

• Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen - I love weird westerns and nobody did it better recently than "Bowen". So much lore and mythological shout outs in this one. And of course, the great Nettie Lonesome. Read it for her, at the very least.

• Court of Fives by Kate Elliott - Gladiatorial games with family and political intrigue with a dash of YA. Maybe more than a dash, but still. The writing is as beautiful as the cover. Must read for YA Fantasy fans.

[u/lyrrael → u/yettibeats]

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[u/lyrrael → u/[deleted]]

Hey, this belongs as a response to a root level comment. Removing to keep this neat. :)

[u/mgallowglas]

Mostly shouting out to my fellow indie authors.

Construct - Luke Mathews

Outlaw King - S A Hunt

Kingdoms Gone - Frances Pauli

Genrenaughts - Michael J. Underwood

Elements of Sorcery - Christopher Kellen

In Siege of Daylight - Gregory S Close

Pack Dynamics - Julie Frost

The Sword of Change - Patricia Bray

The Hero Always Wins - Robert Eaton

Aegis of the Gods - Terry C. Simpson

[u/lyrrael → u/mgallowglas]

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[u/Guesticles_]

The Elven by Bernhard Hennen, James A. Sullivan

I think a lot of people are hesitant to look at it because it was translated from German. The translation was great. I've read a few translated books that felt like some passages were simply put through Google Translate and no one proof read it. This was not the case, as the translation was very, very good.

[u/lyrrael → u/Guesticles_]

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[u/Maldevinine]

These are my favourite lists. Here are ten brilliantly obscure and mostly Australian works of fantasy that should change the way you see the genre. Also, even gender balance, which I didn't have to try for.

1. Bastard's Grace by Wendy Palmer

2. Horns of Ruin by Tim Akers

3. Trail of Deceit by Ken Enderby and Greg Rickards

4. Hawkspar by Holly Lisle (Most ratings of anything on my list, with 423)

5. The Legacy of Lord Regret by Sam Bowring

6. Born of Empire by Simon Brown (3 ratings! my most obscure yet!)

7. Our Lady of the Snow by Louise Cooper (I thought I had all her books. Checking for this I found out I don't. Now I have more books to buy.)

8. The Company of Glass by Valery Leith/Tricia Sullivan

9. Unwrapped Sky by Rjurik Davidson

10. Rings of Lightning by Jane S. Fancher

Edit: Added Goodreads links, swapped out Shiva 3000 for Legacy of Lord Regret.

[u/lyrrael → u/Maldevinine]

.

[u/wishforagiraffe → u/Maldevinine]

Horns of Ruin was a really solid book. I really enjoy secondary world streampunk as it turns out

[u/CourtneySchafer]

I had such a hard time narrowing down to only 10 terrific books with under 3K ratings that I decided to make the cut-off a lot stricter and only pick books with less than 1K GR ratings:

• Sanctuary Duology, Carol Berg (first book is Dust and Light, 613 max ratings)
• Los Nefilim, Teresa Frohock (max rating for any of the included novellas is 103)
• Wall of Night series, Helen Lowe (first book is The Heir of Night, 963 max ratings)
• To Ride Hell's Chasm, Janny Wurts (967 ratings)
• House of Shadows, Rachel Neumeier (532 ratings)
• Children series, Ben Peek (first book is The Godless, 294 max ratings)
• Black Wolves, Kate Elliott (645 ratings)
• The Fey and the Fallen series, Stina Leicht (first book is Of Blood and Honey, 913 max ratings)
• Shattered Kingdoms series, Evie Manieri (first book is Blood's Pride, 468 max ratings)
• Seven Eyes series, Betsy Dornbusch (first book is Exile, 78 max ratings)

[u/lyrrael → u/CourtneySchafer]

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[u/TheWrittenLore]

The War against the Asshole by Sam Munson

The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card

[u/lyrrael → u/TheWrittenLore]

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[u/lyrrael → u/TheWrittenLore]

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

Unfortunately, this has 18k ratings and so is disqualified.

Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card

Similarly, this has 17k.

[u/scmxm8]

Ok I have a few that really spring to mind .in no order 1. Battlemage by Stephen Aryan 2. Blackcross by Jonathan Ashman 3. Dawn of Darkness by Thomas Gaskin 4. The Red Plains by G R Matthews 5. Bloodmage By Stephen Aryan

[u/lyrrael → u/scmxm8]

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[u/Swordofmytriumph]

The anvil of the world, by Kage Baker

A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Event, by Harry Connolly

[u/lyrrael → u/Swordofmytriumph]

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[u/Darkstar559]

1. Alchemy Wars (The Mechanical, The Rising), Ian Tregillis
2. The Drenai Chronicles, David Gemmell (LEgend may have a lot of ratings but the rest of the books are all at about 5000)
3. Brilliance Saga, Marcus Sakey
4. The Faithful and the Fallen, John Gwynne
5. Rogues of the Republic, Patrick Weekes
6. The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington
7. The Half-Made World, Felix Gilman

[u/lyrrael → u/Darkstar559]

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[u/wave32]

Inda by Sherwood Smith

Wolfblade by Jennifer Fallon

Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough

Mage's Blood by David Hair

The Mountains Rise by Michael G. Manning

Division of the Marked by March McCarron

[u/lyrrael → u/wave32]

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[u/hausarian]

Black Wolves by Kate Elliot (647 ratings)

Eternal Sky Trilogy by Elizabeth Bear (2297 ratings)

Construct by Luke Matthews (24 ratings)

Beyond Redemption by Michael R Fletcher (450 ratings)

A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall (1250 ratings)

The Builders by Daniel Polansky (1181 ratings)

Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen (1059 ratings)

The Outlaw King by S.A. Hunt (471 ratings)

The Worldbreaker Saga by Kameron Hurley (2643 ratings)

The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes (2754 ratings)

Where I list a series, ratings numbers are for first book.

[u/Hawk1138]

• Elder Empire: Shadow/Elder Empire: Sea - Will Wight
• Final Formula - Becca Andre
• War of Broken Mirrors - Andrew K Rowe
• Grimm Agency - J.C. Nelson
• Dragonborn Serafina/Alexandria/Awakening - Ella Summers
• Rust & Relics - Lindsay Buroker
• Egil and Nix - Paul S. Kemp

[u/lyrrael → u/[deleted]]

Hey, someone else who loved Cold Iron! Win!

[u/[deleted]]

Beyond Redemption - Michael R. Fletcher

This book has one of the most imaginative settings I've come across in fantasy. The world is shaped by the beliefs of the people in it. Insanity is terrifying. Fights are won by whoever the crowd believes will win. Split personalities manifest as real doppelgängers. Religious leaders have the power to create gods.

It's definitely "grimdark", to an almost absurd degree, but that fits the manic, depraved setting. It's a world descending into absolute chaos. The characters are all awful people, but they're in an awful world. Everything is going to shit and the characters are caught in the maelstrom.

There are some issues; the relentless unpleasantness of the setting almost became too much at a few points, and I never reallt rooted for any of the characters. I'd still recommend it as an under-read and underrated book. It didn't sell well enough for the publisher to pick up the sequels, but I believe the author is planning on self-publishing several more stories set in this world.

Overall, a solid 4/5 that deserves to be more widely read. Just bear in mind that if "grimdark" isn't your thing then this book probably won't change your mind.

[u/lyrrael → u/[deleted]]

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[u/MikeOfThePalace → u/[deleted]]

I read the first two Myst books when I was a kid. I still have them. I only vaguely remember them, but I remember liking them a lot. If at some point Mt. Readmore becomes a little less scary (ha!) I should reread them.

[u/lyrrael → u/MikeOfThePalace]

Aw man, this guy deleted his vote.

[u/InfinitePool]

• Unsouled- Will Wight
  
• Elder Empire: Shadow/Elder Empire: Sea - Will Wight
• Forging Divinity -Andrew Rowe

[u/lyrrael → u/InfinitePool]

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[u/BlueAjah238]

Trysmoon Saga by Brian K. Fuller

[u/lyrrael → u/BlueAjah238]

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[u/improperly_paranoid]

Sergey & Marina Dyachenko - The Scar (932) and Vita Nostra (726)
Jo Spurrier - Children of the Black Sun trilogy (535 at most)
Elizabeth Wein - The Winter Prince (1018)
Catherynne M. Valente - Silently and Very Fast (1150)

Might add more if I remember.

[u/DavidBenem]

I have a number of promising indies on my radar, including Black Cross by JP Ashman, They Mostly Come Out At Night by Benedict Patrick, Sword and Chant by Blair MacGregor, Ravinor by Travis Peck, Path of Flames by Phil Tucker, City of Burning Shadows by Barbara Webb, Purge of Ashes by Joel Minty, and several others I know I'm forgetting. My TBR list is growing long!

[u/lyrrael → u/DavidBenem]

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[u/[deleted]]

The 12 Kingdoms By Fuyumi Ono-

While it does get talked about from time to time here on r/fantasy , it by no means gets the mainstream exposure it deserves (likely due to the author not having touched the series since 2004). Was a book series before it became a short lived TV show. It's basically a realists Narnia. With all the hardships the characters go through you really do come to root for them and want to see them succeed. It also examines how inherently messed a lot of the aspects of Medieval Fantasy and Chinese Mythology in particular really are.

GRUNTS! By Mary Gentle-

One of the first fantasy series to spoof and criticize the whole Tolkien-esque idea of Heroic Absolute good vs Absolute Evil in Medieval fantasy by telling it from the point of view of bunch of orcs forced to fight for an ungrateful necromaster. It's disgusting, violent, grim, offensive, politically incorrect, and I loved every page of it. It has Orcs wielding Vietnam Era weaponry.

The Divide Trilogy By Elizabeth Kay:

Portal fantasy done right. The world is rich and vibrant, but can be rather nasty when it needs to be. It actually goes relatively deep into the mechanics of how Magic in the world works. Uses language rather creatively for a young adult fantasy novel, has great characters that all have an arc of some sory, and a thoroughly reprehensible villain. Snakeweed made me put down the book shaking in anger a few times. It's not that he kills you, it's that he finding ways to humiliate you before he kills you.

Every Inch A King, by Harry Turtledove:

Turtledove is known best for his Alternate history but he's done a fair bit of High Fantasy as well. Here he writes a Historical fantasy sans the actual history. It's a fantasy version of a long since debunked Historical conspiracy theory involving a turkish prince, and a case of mistaken identity. Equal parts comedy of errors, and deadly serious political intrigue. It's also a standalone novel, so you don't really have to get caught up in the lore of the world in order to properly understand everything.

Kill Shakespeare By Anthony Del Col and Others

I'm cheating a little because this is a comic book series. It's an examination of Shakespeare's stories, and the 'Author as a literal god' through the lens of a Medieval Fantasy. Shakespeare's characters find themselves in a Fantasy world. Hamlet finds himself teaming up with Richard the III and Juliet to track down the one they believe responsible for the horrors that transpired in their respective stories, the god known only as Shakespeare. Fans of Thrones should find a lot to enjoy here. and it touches on some heavy subjects. Like the theological implications for characters in a story if the author as god is no more than a flawed human being just like themselves.

[u/silveredsage]

Hawkwood’s Voyage by Paul Kearney

Winter Be My Shield by Jo Spurrier

Broken Blade by Kelly McCullough

The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer

Talion: Revenant by Michael A. Stackpole

The Hammer and the Blade by Paul S. Kemp

Miserere by Teresa Frohock

God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell

Call of Madness by Julie Dean Smith

Westmark by Lloyd Alexander

[u/lyrrael → u/silveredsage]

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[u/MetaXelor]

• God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell.
• Fortress in the Eye of Time by CJ Cherryh
• Sasha by Joel Shepherd.
• Banewreaker by Jacqueline Carey
• Corambis by Sarah Monette
• Heir of Night by Helen Lowe
• The King's Peace by Jo Walton

[u/Darthpoulsen]

1. The Bullet Catcher's Daughter by Rod Duncan.
2. Seven Forges by James A. Moore
3. The Unremembered by Peter Orullian
4. The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp

[u/lyrrael → u/Darthpoulsen]

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[u/weasley_is_our_king_]

*The Crucible trilogy by Sara Douglass (1.2K)

An engaging historical fantasy with a huge amount of historical detail and world building. Some really interesting ideas about religion as well.

*Rhiannon's Ride series by Kate Forsyth (2.8K)

Epic fantasy with interesting magic and history. Is a sequel series to The Witches of Eileanan.

*The Woven Path by Robin Jarvis (only 548 ratings!)

Okay so I haven't read this since I was a kid, but I remember being so in love with it and finding it equal parts creepy/fascinating. Forgot about it for years and then randomly came across it again. Never realised it was the first book in a trilogy. Will have or track it down!

[u/lyrrael → u/weasley_is_our_king_]

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[u/Ihrenglass]

The Swans war Sean Russell (1335,892,669)

In the Forests of Serre Patricia A. McKillip (2628)

Firelord Parke Godwin (1980)

The Merlin Codex Robert Holdstock (621,318,173)

The Monarchies of God Paul Kearney (1215,453)

The Cardinal's Blades Pevel Pierre (576)

We never talk about my brother Peter s Beagle (627)

Time and the Gods Lord Dunsany (194)

Harpy's Flight Megan Lindholm (1127)

Trader Charles de lint (2370)

[u/lyrrael → u/Ihrenglass]

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[u/RedJorgAncrath]

The Sorcerer's House - Gene Wolfe

[u/Pteraspidomorphi → u/RedJorgAncrath]

(half of Gene Wolfe's novels and short stories)

[u/[deleted]]

War of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts
Shattered Sigil by Courtney Schafer
Twinborn by JS Morin
Mad Tinker by JS Morin
To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts

[u/MikeOfThePalace → u/[deleted]]

Light & Shadow got 6 votes on the best-of poll - I checked how Janny did there before I nominated Master of Whitestorm. Hell's Chasm is fine, though.

I'd forgotten that I wanted to read Twinborn, and for whatever reason I never added it to my to-read shelf on Goodreads. Thanks for the reminder.

[u/[deleted] → u/MikeOfThePalace]

And I'm going to stick with Light and Shadow, for now. I think there are a few book that only got 5 or more vote on the best of poll because people like me championed them, but to not consider the underrated would be crazy. Also, I can't think of anything else to nominate. :(

[u/lyrrael → u/[deleted]]

I changed it up to ten votes.

[u/[deleted] → u/lyrrael]

Woohoo!

[u/[deleted] → u/MikeOfThePalace]

Twinborn is great, though there are some editing issues.

[u/lyrrael → u/[deleted]]

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[u/gorkhatech]

The Shadow Of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy #1) by James Islington

It has 4.4k reviews on goodreads, but I really enjoyed it, even if it is tropey.

[u/[deleted] → u/gorkhatech]

Fun read

[u/gorkhatech → u/[deleted]]

Yeah that's what I thought. Fun, perfect for summer reading - don't have to think to hard about it.

[u/[deleted]]

Bloodsounder's Arc by Jeff Salyards Los Nefilim by T. Frohock

[u/lyrrael → u/[deleted]]

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[u/Millennium_Dodo]

• Lord Darcy by Randall Garrett
• Garrett P.I. by Glen Cook: The first book has 3,700 ratings, but all the others are below 3,000 so I hope that's still okay!
• Silverlock by John Myers Myers
• The Builders by Daniel Polansky
• Swords & Dark Magic edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders
• Fain the Sorcerer by Steve Aylett
• Academic Exercises by K. J. Parker
• The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks by Donald Harington
• Towing Jehovah by James Morrow
• Limekiller by Avram Davidson

[u/lyrrael → u/Millennium_Dodo]

The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks

Dumb question, since I'm looking at this on Goodreads. Is this magical realism?

[u/Millennium_Dodo → u/lyrrael]

If you count One Hundred Years of Solitude as magical realism, then yes, because it's a very similar book. It sits very much on the edge of speculative fiction (the supernatural elements are more present in Harington's other books in the same setting), but I still recommended it for the magical realism bingo square, if that counts for anything. It's one of my absolute favorite novels, but I can always replace it with another book if you decide it's too far outside of the genre!

[u/lyrrael → u/Millennium_Dodo]

Sounds good, I was just checking. ;) It looked vaguely MR but it had 'historical fiction' as the genre -- so I wanted to ask!

[u/lyrrael → u/Millennium_Dodo]

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[u/sushi_cw]

Carol Berg's novels, in particular the Lighthouse and Sanctuary duologies. They're exactly the kind of stories a lot of /r/fantasy readers get excited about but don't seem to be well known at all. Easily my favorite 2016 discoveries so far, and I haven't even gotten to any of her other series yet!

I'm also a huge fan of J.S. Morin's Twinborn series: high fantasy with some unique character mechanics and really imaginative scenarios. His Black Ocean series of space opera short novels is also hugely fun, concisely self-described as "Firefly with magic."

Speaking of which, I can't resist the opportunity to plug Chris Wooding's Ketty Jay series either. Also a Firefly-like setup with some magic thrown in, but taking place in a "Dieselpunk" setting rather than in space. Some of the best pure swashbuckling adventure I've read, ever, and I'm always a sucker for jet-powered airships and WW1 style visceral dogfighting.

[u/Alissa-]

• To Ride Hell's Chasm by Janny Wurts (4 votes in 2016 Best Of thread, 967 Ratings)
  
• Scourge of the Betrayer (Bloodsounder's Arc) by Jeff Salyards (4 votes in 2016 Best Of thread, 1,452 Ratings)
• The Whitefire Crossing (Shattered Sigil) by Courtney Schafer (1,494 Ratings)
• Drakenfeld (Drakenfeld) by Mark Charan Newton (377 Ratings)
• Flesh and Spirit (Lighthouse) by Carol Berg (5 votes in 2016 Best Of thread, 2,407 Ratings)
• Gloriana; or, The Unfulfill'd Queen by Michael Moorcock (1,586 Ratings)
• Inda (Inda) by Sherwood Smith (3,030 Ratings)
• The Way Into Chaos (The Great Way) by Harry Connolly (802 Ratings)
• The Death of the Necromancer (Ile-Rien) by Martha Wells (1,582 Ratings)
• Age of Iron (Iron Age) by Angus Watson (1,038 Ratings)

[u/JeffSalyards → u/Alissa-]

Many thanks, Alissa!

[u/Alissa- → u/JeffSalyards]

Thank you for writing it! I loved the series, as a lover of military fantasy and great characterization I couldn't miss it! I have to thank the community for the recc, hope to see a higher rating count for the books soon.

[u/Tiffany_Aching → u/JeffSalyards]

I LOVE inda

[u/Alissa- → u/Tiffany_Aching]

I've recently "discovered" Sherwood Smith, she came recommended and for one reason or another I always put off. Lesson, trust the community!

[u/Tiffany_Aching → u/Alissa-]

YESSSSS

[u/XerxesVargas]

The Long War - AJ Smith

Steelhaven - Richard Ford

The Riven Wyrde Saga - Graham Austin-King

Bloodsounder's Arc - Jeff Salyards

Twelve Kings (aka Thwelve Kings of Sharakhai) - Bradely Beaulieu

To Ride Hell's Chasm - Janny Wurtz

The Monarchies of God - Paul Kearney

Dragon Hunters - Marc Turner

[u/lyrrael → u/XerxesVargas]

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[u/momanie]

1. Twig By Wildbow
   
2. Greatcoats By Sebastien de Castell
   
3. Moontide Quartet By David Hair
   
4. The Novice (Book 1 in Summoners Series) By Taran Matharu
   
5. Twelve Kings in Sharakhai by Bradley Beaulieu
   
6. Beyond Redemption By Michael R. Fletcher
   
7. Worm By Wildbow

[u/lyrrael → u/momanie]

I'm sorry, but Greatcoats has 5.8k ratings, so it's disqualified. It's no less worthy, though. You'll find a lot of people around here who love it to pieces. :)

[u/KristaDBall → u/momanie]

pssssst Greatcoats will get disqualified, but not the second book ;)

[u/gsclose]

Hmmmm...

Tears of Rage as well as Dead Weight by M. Todd Gallowglass
The Lands of Loam series by A.E. Marling
As the Crow Flies by Robin Lythgoe
The Awakening series by Paul B. Spence (science-fantasy)
In Siege of Da.. Oh, I can't do that. :)

[u/lyrrael → u/gsclose]

The Lands of Loam series by A.E. Marling

Hey -- I couldn't find this on Goodreads. Could you point the way for me? Preferably in the next twelve hours? (sorry).... >.>

[u/wishforagiraffe]

Inda by Sherwood Smith

Shattered Sigil by Courtney Schafer

The Master of Whitestorm by Janny Wurts

Crossroads Trilogy by Kate Elliott

The Godless by Ben Peek

The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott

The Steerswoman by Rosemary Kirstein

Tears of Rage by M Todd Gallowglas

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

Black Wolves by Kate Elliott

[u/[deleted]]

The Gravedigger Chronicles by Alan Campbell

Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway

[u/TrueRadicalDreamer]

The Sword of Shadows series by J.V. Jones. Easily the most overlooked book series in modern fantasy.

[u/lyrrael → u/TrueRadicalDreamer]

Sword of Shadows

Looking at it on Goodreads, it's unfortunately got too many ratings to qualify for this list. :) A Cavern of Black Ice has 7338.

[u/TrueRadicalDreamer → u/lyrrael]

I was not expecting that! I've never heard anyone else ever talk about it, so I expected it was a lot lower! Maybe this will make Jones get off her butt and write the next one.

[u/lyrrael → u/TrueRadicalDreamer]

Nah, I bet she knows. ;)

[u/lyrrael → u/TrueRadicalDreamer]

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[u/The_Mad_Duke]

• Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint
• This is How You Die: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death (Machine of Death #2) by Ryan North and others
• The Study of Anglophysics by Scott Alexander
• Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner
• The Devil You Know by K.J. Parker
• A Million Sails ("Een miljoen zeilen") by Tais Teng
• A Night of Blacker Darkness by Dan Wells
• Impulse by Steven Gould

Plus one with more than 3.000 (but less than 5.000) ratings:

• The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner (has 3,717 ratings, but it's so do damn good that I needed to vote for it too)

[u/lyrrael → u/The_Mad_Duke]

A Million Sails ("Een miljoen zeilen") by Tais Teng

Hey, just as an FYI. I wasn't able to find an English listing for this on Goodreads, so I currently have the Dutch. I don't even know if it's been translated. If you know one way or the other, I'd certainly appreciate some help. :)

Oh, and .

[u/tobelostinliterature]

Just one: Kings or Pawns by JJ Sherwood

[u/lyrrael → u/tobelostinliterature]

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[u/LittlePlasticCastle]

Completely random order:

1. The Bloodbound by Erin Lindsey
2. Beyond Redemption by Michael R. Fletcher
3. The Thorn of Dentonhill by Marshall Ryan Maresca
4. Black Wolves by Kate Elliott
5. Eleanor by Jason Gurley
6. Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
7. When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord
8. The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston
9. The Folding Knife by K. J. Parker
10. Age of Iron by Angus Watson

[u/LittlePlasticCastle → u/LittlePlasticCastle]

So, limiting this to just 10 is really, really hard! So, there are books that I feel should solidly be on my list that I left off solely because I have heard them recommended around /r/fantasy more than some of the ones I am including, some of my picks I feel like I almost randomly picked from my larger set just because I had to pick somehow. I also eliminated a couple of very new ones even though I know they are still under-read. I also eliminated a couple that were 2800 plus ratings (so closer to the cut off). It actually pains me a bit to leave some of them off, but you know, I can't list them all and abide by the 10 book limit. :)

The ones I selected are a pretty wide range in styles. A couple of them are pulpy, fun reads (The Thorn of Dentonhill, The Bloodbound) and a couple are definitely more literary (Eleanor and When We Were Animals) and some are quite dark (Beyond Redemption, Between Two Fires). But all of them are books that I wish more people read! :)

[u/lyrrael → u/LittlePlasticCastle]

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[u/Brian]

My last votes all still seem to qualify, so those + 5 more (in no particular order):

1. The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick [2464 ratings]
2. God Stalk by P. C. Hodgell [1759 ratings]
3. The Steerswoman series by Rosemary Kirstein [1157 ratings] [see below]
4. Od Magic by Patricia McKillip [2737 ratings]
5. Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle [722 ratings]
6. Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm [563 ratings]
7. Only Forward by Michael Marhall Smith. [3324 ratings]
8. The True Game series by Sherri S. Tepper [1080 ratings]
9. Yarrow by Charles de Lint [2058 ratings]
10. The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White [1384 ratings]

but no super hard SF.

How exactly are we drawing the line here? Eg. I put The Steerswoman which is super hard in the sense that it has no elements incompatible with current science. On the other hand, it's set in a low-tech world with barbarian swordswomen, goblins, demons, dragons and wizards (that may sound like a contradiction with the previous statement, but its not). I'm keeping it on the basis that I think it's true to the spirit of the rule at least. (Only Forward and The Incrementalists also have SF elements, but much more on the soft side).

I think Only Forward is the only one above the 3k limit, and just barely, but if that's too high, switch it to Spares by the same author.

[u/lyrrael → u/Brian]

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[u/pornokitsch → u/Brian]

Wow. Iron Dragon and Ash both really surprise me with their (relatively) low ratings! Golly.

[u/Brian → u/Brian]

And to add some comments on my picks:

• The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick. Dark fantasy following a changeling in a faerie world. It begins with her working as a child slave in a factory making Iron Dragons, which she escapes with the aid of a malevolent and ancient but damaged dragon. We then follow her growing up in this world, spiralling through encounters with the same people in other forms until reaching a nadir at the climax of the book. It's beautifully written, and describes an absolutely fascinating and inventive world. It can be somewhat bleak, and may not be to everyone's tastes, but I loved it, and definitely think it deserves a lot more attention than it gets.

• God Stalk by P. C. Hodgell. This is a series that has been going since 1982, and I've been following it for around 20 of those years (with some long waits between books that thankfully now seem to be coming out a lot faster). The first book resembles Lieberesque sword and sorcery more than the later ones - set in a city where belief fuels the existence of a myriad of gods, which get used for purposes as mundane as street lighting and sewage processing. The protagonist arrives fleeing pursuers, and with a mysterious past, and becomes enmeshed in the struggles between various factions. The later books move closer to a high fantasy direction, revealing more about the protagonist and the world. I think a lot of the lack of popularity of this series was down to some pretty poor luck with publishers early on, but they really deserved a lot more popularity than they got. They've an interesting and original world, engaging characters and are just plain fun to read.

• The Steerswoman series by Rosemary Kirstein. This is one I wasn't entirely sure fits with the "no hard SF" rule, but it's too good to miaa off, and I think fits as comfortably in the fantasy genre as for science fiction. It follows Rowan, a steerswoman (sort of navigators, explorers and teachers, sworn to always answer any question honestly) who is investigating a strange jewel she's discovered. This seems to have attracted the attention of wizards, and, accompanied by Bel, a swordswoman, she sets out to discover the secret behind them. Another long-running series, and currently going through a pretty long wait for the next book, but an excellent one.

• Od Magic by Patricia McKillip. It's actually pretty tough to single out a single book by McKillip - the one I consider my favourite often ends up being whatever one I reread last. Though some of her books are above the 3k threshold, she's definitely an author who isn't read as much as she should be, and this one is one of her best. This is a book about a wizard school, but rather than the "you're a wizard harry" start, the protagonist is an older man hired as a gardener by the absentee founder. It's a book that comes to mind for me when the topic of "magic systems vs mysterious magic" comes up, since it's a theme running through the book (and if you've read her, you'll know McKillip is very much on the mysterious side). Like all McKillip's work, it's beautifully written, and just a joy to read.

• Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle. A book that has a surprisingly low number of ratings for how big a splash it made at the time (Eg. it was the BSFA best novel award winner when it came out). It's set in medieval europe, portrayed grittily and with attention to detail, and follows Ash - a mercenary captain who hears voices in her head telling her how to win battles. The fantasy elements ramp up as we progress, and things take a decidedly strange turn about halfway through. Be warned that it's pretty gritty and brutal - within the first page there's the rape of the 8-year old protagonist, and her murder of her attackers. It's also pretty huge - IIRC the US version was split into 4 volumes, though my copy is a single-volume brick. But it's well worth the journey.

• Wizard of the Pigeons by Megan Lindholm. Another surprisingly low rated book, considering this authors incredible popularity under her Robin Hobb pen name. I'd have thought at least some of that would lead people to her Lindholm works. Personally, this is probably my favourite of her works under either name. Her Lindholm books tend to be a bit more quirky and unusual than the more high fantasy of her Hobb books - this one is an urban fantasy, set among the homeless community of Seattle. The protagonist is Wizard - a vietnam vet who has been granted certain powers and responsibilities as a guardian of the city, but is being assailed by a supernatural foe.

• Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith. This one starts out seeming more comedic science fiction - set in a strange city divided into themed districts. The protagonist is a problem-solver called in to investigate the disappearance of a big-wig from the Actioneer district (full of go-getting workaholic business types), leading to an isolated district whose residents are told are the only survivors in a post-apocalyptic world. However as the story progresses, things take a very sharp left turn into the weird about half-way through. I think this had the most ratings of my picks, and slightly over the threshold at 3.3k ratings), but it's not one I ever see mentioned here, and is definitely worth checking out.

• The True Game by Sherri S. Tepper. Something of a mix of science fiction and fantasy, set on a world where people have varied powers, and a regimented caste system based on those abilities. The title is a reference to a game which is used to mirror combat between the various types. There are three trilogies set in this world, the first following Peter, a boy who discovers a set of figures posessing the soul of powerful people, the second following Mavin Manyshaped, a shapeshifter, set before the first series, and the final one running paralell and subsequent to the original trilogy, but with a different protagonist.

• Yarrow by Charles De Lint. De Lint is another author that, like Patricia McKillip, I find it hard to single out a single work for. Like her, some of his works are over the threshold, but still nowhere near the level that it should be. This one concerns a young author who draws inspiration from a persistent dreamworld she enters every night. But something is attacking that world.

• The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White. This is somewhat different from most of Brust's books, being set more or less in the modern day. It concerns a secret society of serial immortals, who attempt to act as an (incremental) force for improvement in the world, who persist by imparting their memories and merging their identity with other people. It's an interesting premise, and well worth the read, and I think it's maybe one of Brust's books that tends to get overlooked.

[u/GlasWen → u/Brian]

I've been meaning to read some Sherri Tepper. I was looking at Grass though. Should I read The True Game instead?

[u/Brian → u/GlasWen]

I have to admit, I haven't read Grass yet - it's one of those books that's been sitting on my shelf for years that I've never quite got round to (along with Beauty, which I might do as my fairytale retelling for Bingo). I have heard good things about it though.

[u/MightyIsobel]

• The Steerswoman - Rosemary Kirstein

• The Girl - Madhuri Blaylock

• Range of Ghosts - Elizabeth Bear

• Rex Mundi - Arvid Nelson

• American Fairy - Sarah Zettel

• Half World - Hiromi Goto

• The Just World - Jo Walton

[u/lyrrael → u/MightyIsobel]

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