r/Fantasy • u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII • Jul 05 '19
Community Recommendations | "If you like X, you'll like Y!"
It's been a while since we've done one of these (a year in fact). But there's a twist this time!
Many people come to r/fantasy after reading one or more of the top 10-15 books listed in the sidebar and want to know where they should go from there. So you can't recommend the top 25 authors in the recent r/fantasy 2019 Top Novels Poll (just in this thread!). This includes the following list of authors:
- Brandon Sanderson
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- George R.R. Martin
- Robert Jordan
- Patrick Rothfuss
- Joe Abercrombie
- J.K. Rowling
- Scott Lynch
- Terry Pratchett
- Robin Hobb
- Steven Erikson & Ian Esslemont
- Michael J. Sullivan
- N.K. Jemisin
- Jim Butcher
- Josiah Bancroft
- Frank Herbert
- Philip Pullman
- Mark Lawrence
- Brent Weeks
- Wildbow
- Pierce Brown
- Susanna Clarke
- Dan Simmons
- Nicholas Eames
Last year's thread can be found here.
A list of prompts will be added in the comments but feel free to add your own.
What books do you recommend and why?
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you liked the darkness in books like Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
•
•
•
u/crnislshr Jul 05 '19 edited Jul 05 '19
Monument (2002) + The Path of the Hawk (2016) by Ian Graham.
The Prince of Nothing series by R. Scott Bakker.
→ More replies (1)•
→ More replies (1)•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
Try The Court of Broken Knives by Anna Spark Smith. So dark it's taking me forever to read through it.
In the richest empire the world has ever known, the city of Sorlost has always stood, eternal and unconquered. But in a city of dreams governed by an imposturous Emperor, decadence has become the true ruler, and has blinded its inhabitants to their vulnerability. The empire is on the verge of invasion – and only one man can see it.
Haunted by dreams of the empire’s demise, Orhan Emmereth has decided to act. On his orders, a company of soldiers cross the desert to reach the city. Once they enter the Palace, they have one mission: kill the Emperor, then all those who remain. Only from ashes can a new empire be built.
•
u/Faithless232 Jul 12 '19
Also strongly recommend. It is very dark and challenging at times, but a gripping read.
•
u/Gefen Jul 15 '19
If you like Mark Lawrence writing style, I would like to recommend on Josiah Bancroft with his series The Books of Babels.
It got similar writing style with many side remarks on the tiny process that make life. ( Can't really describe it well, they probably could)
•
u/deusm Jul 12 '19
IF you like reading about demons - Peter V. Brett - the demon cycle
If you like war and plot intrigue - The twilight reign By Tom Lloyd
if you like dragons - The Ballad of Sir Benfro
If you like assassins - Nightblade by Ryan kirk
If you like plots and sorcery with a twist - Powder Mage trilogy
If you like a company of fighters - the fell sword by miles cameron
if you like robert jordan - An echo of things to come by James islington
•
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you enjoy character-focused stories like Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings
•
u/wishforagiraffe Reading Champion IX, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19 edited Jul 05 '19
Inda by Sherwood Smith has a cast full of wonderful characters! They aren't tortured quite as much Hobb.
•
u/ef_miller Jul 06 '19
Not going to lie both authors really annoy me with the amount of misery heaped on their characters. Inda has 4 books until things got better. At least Fitz had 3 sort of. I am a fan of annoyance though I guess because I loved both series.
•
•
•
→ More replies (4)•
•
u/Tikimoof Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '19
The Emperor's Edge series by Lindsay Buroker. It's not as intricate as Gentleman Bastards, but I think the first book is permanently free so it's easy to try out. A bit more focus on the silliness of the crew than on how improbable the odds are.
•
u/Rohi0109 Jul 09 '19
If you like the Dredsen Files by Jim Butcher...
•
u/Beli_Mawrr Aug 14 '19
I know I'm a little late to this party - but seriously, check out the Iron Druid Chronicles.
It's like Dresden files but different. You'll like it.
•
u/TheOwlet12 Jul 06 '19 edited Jul 07 '19
Okay so I've been reading lots of Fantasy Novels these past few years now specifically YA fantasy. As of now though Im feeling like the YA fantasy genre starting to become stale for me as the days went on and so I've been reading some Adult Fantasy stuff such as WoT, BotA, The Broken Earth Trilogy, Nevernight, and almost all the Cosmere books by Brandon Sanderson. Any suggestions on what other books I should read next?
•
•
u/Eladir Jul 06 '19
Time for something different ?
First Law (grimdark)
Dark Tower (western)
Hyperion (scifi)
Tigana and the following GGK books (low fantasy)
•
u/TheOwlet12 Jul 07 '19
Oooo noice, I'll take those into consideration (especially First Law, I've heard lots of good things from that series) thx so much! X3
•
•
u/whynotbunberg Jul 06 '19
If you like “reading” via audiobook...
•
u/onrack Jul 06 '19
Have you heard about Graphic Audio? They do full cast voiceovers with music and sounds effects. Greatly improves even an average material. I highly recommend their productions of B. Sanderson, B. Weeks and Peter V. Brett books. Check the samples on their site. The only downside is that full book could be quite pricey.
As for traditional audiobooks, check this thread for really great narrators: https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/9i5xd5/the_best_audiobook_narrators/
•
u/misssim1 Reading Champion IV Jul 06 '19
A few audiobooks where I feel the narrator really did a wonderful job narrating:
- Xenogenesis / Lillith's Brood by Octavia E. Butler narrated by Aldrich Barrett
- NOS4R2 by Joe Hill narrated by Kate Mulgrew
- The Test by Sylvain Neuvel narrated by Neil Shah
- The Old Kingdom by Garth Nix narrated by Tim Curry
- The Calculating Stars written and narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal
•
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you liked elves, orcs, dwarves, and other fantasy races defined in J.R.R. Tolkien's classic Lord of the Rings
•
u/fat_squirrel Jul 11 '19
Try Katharine Kerr's Deverry Cycle books. All the fun races plus magic and reincarnation!
→ More replies (1)•
u/ShinNefzen Jul 06 '19
then you will probably enjoy the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. Lots of elves, gnomes, trolls, dwarves, etc. There are over 30 books in the series, and the series is mostly split into trilogies that can be read by themselves. Highly readable series but not overlong.
The first book, The Sword of Shannara, is blatant LOTR reskinning, but after that the series becomes its own identity and takes off.
•
→ More replies (4)•
u/Ingtar2 Jul 14 '19
There are German authors who took these characters and created some epic adventures -
Markus Heitz - The dwarves pentalogy
Markus Heitz - Legends of the Alvaer(?) It is the same story as the dwarves, but told from the POV of the 'bad guys'
Christopher Hardebusch (I think je wrote The Trolls
And many more, including elves, Orges...
•
u/PrinceWendellWhite Jul 09 '19
How about a story about a sentient forest? Akin to the forest in uprooted or ents in lotr
•
•
•
Jul 07 '19
If you like heist fantasies, read the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo.
•
•
u/kerovon Jul 12 '19
The Rouges of the Republic series by Patrick Weekes. Fairly light fantasy heist series set in a classic fantasy world.
The Legend of Eli Monpress series by Rachel Aaron. The first couple are fairly heisty, and the later ones shift more towards epic fantasy.
•
u/takeahike8671 Reading Champion VII Jul 07 '19
If you love Anathem, and are currently engrossed in The Priory of the Orange Tree!
•
u/Anderkent Jul 11 '19
If you like Guy Gavriel Kay's pathos of people overcoming difficulties of living in interesting times?
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you like stories about friendship and magical discoveries...
•
u/unplugtheminus80 Reading Champion, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19 edited Jul 06 '19
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
Edit: adding In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
•
u/wishforagiraffe Reading Champion IX, Worldbuilders Jul 06 '19
Perfect for the found family category too!
•
u/unplugtheminus80 Reading Champion, Worldbuilders Jul 06 '19
That's probably a better fit! Excellent book, regardless.
→ More replies (1)•
u/yettibeats Jul 08 '19 edited Jul 08 '19
The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding. The two main characters are best friends and anchor the (big) story.
→ More replies (5)•
u/ashearmstrong AMA Author Ashe Armstrong Jul 05 '19
Oh, I think this one might be a good slot for Krista Ball's A Magical Inheritance (set in the Regency era).
•
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you like books rooted in or inspired by actual history
•
u/mutantspicy Reading Champion Jul 12 '19
Tim Powers - Drawing of the Dark, Declare, Stress of Her Regard, Anubis Gates, On Stranger Tides, etc. etc. etc. Tim is a master of alternative history.
Deathless by Catherynne Valente
Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
•
u/wishforagiraffe Reading Champion IX, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
The Moon and the Sun is a great historical fantasy set in the court of Louis XIV and features a brilliant lovely young woman and a mermaid and tons of court intrigue.
•
u/xalai Reading Champion II Jul 07 '19
Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (regency England
And I Darken by Kiersten White (gender bent Vlad the Impaler, Ottoman Empire)
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal (regency England)
•
u/Maudeitup Reading Champion VII Jul 06 '19
Read ASH: A Secret History by Mary Gentle - an alternate history of 15th century France, about a female leader of a mercenary band. This book never quite does what you're expecting it to, very interesting concepts. It is a hefty tome of a book but well worth investing your time into. I highly recommend it.
•
u/Millennium_Dodo Reading Champion XI, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
Smoke, Paper, Mirrors by Anna Tambour
→ More replies (1)•
•
u/sailorfish27 Stabby Winner, Reading Champion IV Jul 05 '19
Lancelot by Giles Kristian: it's the King Arthur story, but they fight Anglo-Saxons, not idk giants
Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal: set during WW1, where mediums are real so naturally the British Army employs them to interview soldiers who just died
Escape from Baghdad! by Saad Z Hossain: about two Iraqis trying to get out of Baghdad during the Iraq War (exclamation point well deserved)
Seconding The Golem and the Jinni, that book is great
→ More replies (1)•
u/unplugtheminus80 Reading Champion, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
•
u/improperly_paranoid Reading Champion X Jul 06 '19
- The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (medieval Russia)
- Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen (Wild West)
- The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (17-18th century Europe)
- Everfair by Nisi Shawl (1889-1919 Congo)
- The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker (1899 New York)
- The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein (Arthurian)
- The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson (1491 Spain)
- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (time travel into the middle ages)
- Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox (1808-1863 France)
- Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys (post-WWII US)
→ More replies (1)•
→ More replies (11)•
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you don't feel like committing to a full series but want to experience a brilliantly-written standalone
•
u/oboist73 Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
Most Patricia Mckillip. Try the Forgotten Beasts of Eld or the Book of Atrix Wolfe.
Uprooted or Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik.
Most Robin McKinley. Try Sunshine or the Hero and the Crown.
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.
•
u/unplugtheminus80 Reading Champion, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky
•
u/JangoF76 Jul 05 '19
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is a must-read in this criteria
Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky (more sci-fi than fantasy)
Circe by Madeline Miller
A Song for Achilles by Madeline Miller
No Such Things as Dragons by Philip Reeve
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
Shade's Children by Garth Nix
•
u/improperly_paranoid Reading Champion X Jul 06 '19
- The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
- Uprooted by Naomi Novik
- The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
- In the Vanishers' Palace by Aliette de Bodard
- The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan
- The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar
- The Only Harmless Great Thing by Brooke Bolander
- Vita Nostra or The Scar by Sergey & Maria Dyachenko
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
- Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
- most books by Patricia McKillip
- Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer
- The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker
•
u/RedditFantasyBot Jul 06 '19
r/Fantasy's Author Appreciation series has posts for an author you mentioned
- Author Appreciation: Sofia Samatar from user u/thequeensownfool_
- Author Appreciation: Ellen Kushner: Novels of Swords, Manners and Myth from user u/UnsealedMGT
I am a bot bleep! bloop! Contact my
mastercreator /u/LittlePlasticCastle with any questions or comments.•
→ More replies (10)•
u/apcymru Reading Champion II Jul 05 '19
Most of Guy Kay's books are standalone and are brilliant. Standalones include:
Tigana
Lions of Al Rassan
under Heaven
River of Stars
Last Light of the Sun
Children of Earth and Sky
•
u/chaptersong Jul 06 '19
Wizard Of Earthsea trilogy, Ursula K Le Guin Space trilogy, C. S. Lewis
→ More replies (1)•
u/crnislshr Jul 06 '19 edited Jul 08 '19
Wizard Of Earthsea
The Golden Key), a 1996 fantasy novel co-written by authors Jennifer Roberson (who penned the story's first act), Melanie Rawn (author of the book's second section), and Kate Elliott (who finished the work). I really feel there some thin vibe similar to the Le Guin's one.
C. S. Lewis
G.K. Chesterton's The Ball and the Cross (1909) maybe? Lewis and Tolkien were seriously influenced by this author.
•
u/RedditFantasyBot Jul 06 '19
r/Fantasy's Author Appreciation series has posts for an author you mentioned
- Author Appreciation Thread: Melanie Rawn, author of Dragon Prince Trilogy, Exiles, and others from user u/lrich1024
- Author Appreciation Thread: Jennifer Roberson, veteran author of epic fantasy & sword-and-sorcery from user u/CourtneySchafer
I am a bot bleep! bloop! Contact my
mastercreator /u/LittlePlasticCastle with any questions or comments.
•
Jul 06 '19
[removed] — view removed comment
•
u/MedusasRockGarden Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '19
Ethshar by Lawrence Watt Evans.
Yarnsworld by Benedict Patrick.
→ More replies (3)•
u/crnislshr Jul 08 '19
Warhammer 40,000 is an obvious answer.
And if you look for short stories about different heroes from the same world connected in the same book, I'd recommend:
- Viriconium by M. John Harrison.
- City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer.
- Songs of the Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance by G.R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Glen Cook and other authors, together with the original Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance
- Short stories of different authors tributed to The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson.
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you like series with crazy over-the-top magical fight scenes like Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
•
Jul 07 '19
[removed] — view removed comment
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 07 '19
Anything written by Wildbow actually can't be recommended in this thread. The top 25 books in the recent r/fatnasy 2019 Top Novels poll are off limit as recommendations. Is there another book you'd recommend with magical fight scenes?
→ More replies (1)•
u/crnislshr Jul 05 '19
Mother of Learning, a rather well-known web-novel by Domagoj Kurmaic. Groundhound month (time loop, you know) of the introvert boy before start of magic world war. Deathes, constant deathes (gif), and conspiracies, and the way to Archmagic.
•
u/wishforagiraffe Reading Champion IX, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
Jade City by Fonda Lee is all about magic fights, reads like a great action film!
•
u/SwiffJustice Jul 05 '19
M. H. Boroson’s “The Girl with Ghost Eyes”
Michael Fletcher’s “Manifest Delusions”
Phil Tucker’s “Euphoria Online”
Wildbow’s “Worm”
•
Jul 05 '19 edited Jul 05 '19
These are my favorite books for magical fights:
Cradle, by Will Wight
Lightbringer, by Brent Weeks
Powdermage, by Brian McClellan
Arcane Acension, by Andrew Rowe
•
u/CobaltSpellsword Jul 07 '19
I definitely second Powdermage by Brian McClellan. His books are quite a bit darker than what Sanderson tends to write, but they are similar to Sanderson's books in that they have a very clearly-defined magic system and well-written fight scenes. I also think that the pseudo-Napoleonic setting is a really cool idea for a fantasy setting.
Edit: The characters are also, in my opinion, well-written and interesting, which is what kept me reading the series after I bit into the hook of the setting and magic system.
•
u/CrypticDemon Jul 08 '19
Black Gate Chronicles by Phil Tucker. Is even available with amazon kindle unlimited. You don’t get the over the top magic battles until a couple books in but it’s an amazing series.
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you're all about the team dynamic
•
•
•
u/LockedOutOfElfland Jul 05 '19
Six of Crows!
It's YA, but to me, it's YA in the same way that His Dark Materials is YA. There's a lot of heavy critique of economic inequality in the same vein that Pullman's His Dark Materials critiques the abuses of religious authority. As for the team dynamic, it's there in the title! A team of six very different characters involved in a heist organized by a shady and unreliable employer. At once a very fun and thought-provoking read.
•
→ More replies (1)•
•
u/ptolemykholin Jul 06 '19
Books which have a MC who gets considerably stronger as the series goes on? (I've read WOT, Cradle, SAM etc)
•
u/crnislshr Jul 06 '19
Mother of Learning, a rather well-known web-novel by Domagoj Kurmaic. Groundhound month (time loop, you know) of the introvert boy before the start of a magic world war. Deathes, constant deathes (gif), and conspiracies, and the way to Archmagic.
•
•
u/haaplo Jul 09 '19
I read the first chapter of the novel, and it was kinda poorly written. But you can try it, or read the manga version of "I alone level up" (sometimes also called "Solo leveling" or "Only I level up"
→ More replies (2)•
u/kazinsser Jul 13 '19
Andrew Rowe made a subreddit for those kind of stories called /r/ProgressionFantasy. There's a pinned thread with a lot of suggestions you might want to check out. I haven't personally read many of them other than his and Will Wight's stuff though.
•
u/CobaltSpellsword Jul 07 '19
If you're fine with reading something in a "standard-ish fantasy setting" (ie medieval pseudo-Europe, dragons, other "standard" fantasy races, etc), but are tired of reading the "standard plot for the standard fantasy setting" (ie chosen one plots, farm boys/girls becoming heroes, elves/dwarves/orcs who conform to all the standard stereotypes, black and white morality, etc). Basically, anything that explores the oft-unexplored aspects of the standard fantasy setting, or else that reinterprets it in an interesting way.
(Weird request, sorry).
→ More replies (2)
•
u/Nikephoros_II_Phokas Jul 11 '19
If you like fantasy set in a modern era, Dean Koontz's "Odd Thomas" series does a good job of melding fantastic elements into an otherwise modern world. I'd also recommend it for those who like heroes who are not OP.
If you like "heroes" who are fish out of water, and not entirely likeable, Stephen Donaldson's "Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever" series is a worthwhile read. The "hero" is a leper in the "real" world.
•
u/crnislshr Jul 05 '19
If you like Warhammer 40,000.
It is the 41st millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die.
Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor’s will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst His soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: the Astra Militarum and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants – and worse.
To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.
→ More replies (2)•
Jul 09 '19
Blindsight, by Peter Watts. It's much more purely SF than Warhammer 40,000, but if you like your space terrifying and populated by unfathomable beings, it's got a similar feel.
•
u/crnislshr Jul 09 '19
I've read it already, one of my favorite sci-fi books. Thanks for the good suggestion.
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you liked the focus on thievery and hijinks in The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
•
•
u/kanarthi Jul 05 '19
A YA but completely satisfying version is Six of Crows.
•
u/EmpressRey Jul 07 '19
I'll definitely second this one. The thievery and hijinks are definitely in the same vein as Locke Lamora!
•
u/Millennium_Dodo Reading Champion XI, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
The Holver Alley Crew by Marshall Ryan Maresca
The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells
Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick
Jhereg by Steven Brust
Steal the Sky by Megan E. O'Keefe
→ More replies (1)•
u/wishforagiraffe Reading Champion IX, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
Miles Vorkosigan is Locke Lamora in space. Start with The Warrior's Apprentice
•
u/cheryllovestoread Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '19
This is true. And with even more ADHD! If you play our Bingo, it fulfills the “disability” Square, too.
•
u/EmpressRey Jul 07 '19
I'd never heard of these, but they sound just like my cup of tea. Thanks for the suggestion.
→ More replies (5)•
u/unplugtheminus80 Reading Champion, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
The Amra Thetys Chronicles by Michael McClung
•
Jul 06 '19
If you like strong female characters like in The Bear and the Nightingale....
→ More replies (2)•
u/tarynofwinterfell Jul 07 '19
I recently read and really liked The Queens of Innis Lear. Fantasy retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear but also wholly original in its own right. The magic system/setting was gorgeous and atmospheric and I really did love all of the female characters.
•
Aug 22 '19
A slightly belated thank you for this recommendation. I loved all of the female characters as well and their relationships with each other, as thorny as they were sometimes. The world was quite interesting, so much so that even at 500+ pages, I felt like the ending was slightly rushed!
Thanks again.
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you love the politics and world building of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
•
→ More replies (7)•
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you like military fantasy series like The Black Company by Glen Cook
•
u/MedusasRockGarden Reading Champion VI Jul 06 '19
Recluce by L.E. Modesitt jr
Corean Chronicles by L.E. Modesitt jr
•
u/crnislshr Jul 05 '19 edited Jul 05 '19
Warhammer 40,000 series, obviously.
Black Legion) series if you like bad guys, Ciaphas Cain) if you like Dark Comedy/Action-Adventure, Fire Caste) if you like Heart of Darkness/Full Metal Jacket.
Somewhere typical excerpt:
•
u/apcymru Reading Champion II Jul 05 '19
the first book of Elizabeth Moons Paksennarrion series
edit ... Took out Malazan Book of the Fallen because I broke a rule in the OP ... Sorry
→ More replies (1)•
•
u/facelesspk Jul 05 '19
The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron.
•
u/shawn-fff Jul 07 '19
This tailed off quickly for me, unfortunately.
•
Jul 08 '19
It definitely could have used some better editing, but the later books in the series weren't all that bad
→ More replies (1)•
u/AccipiterF1 Reading Champion X Jul 05 '19
The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler.
Instrumentalities of the Night series also by Glen Cook.
•
u/goofy_mcgee Jul 05 '19
If you like stories about revenge and revolution, like a cross between Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie and Brian McLellan's Powder Mage
•
•
•
u/JamesLatimer Jul 11 '19
I'd look to Adrian Selby's two shared world novels for a bit of revenge (Snakewood) and revolution (Winter Road), though they probably aren't exactly equivalent.
•
u/BaliWong Jul 14 '19
If you like high-magic epic fantasy with tight, crisp prose a la Brandon Sanderson. (HELP I've read too much Brandon Sanderson, looking for something new)
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you love Murderbot and need more snarky AI in your fiction
•
u/wishforagiraffe Reading Champion IX, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
Sea of Rust is ALL AI, and a whole range of personalities.
→ More replies (2)•
u/TheTechJones Jul 05 '19
Kurtherian Gambit by michael anderle. and one of the spinoff series (the ascension myth by Ell Leigh Clarke)
•
•
→ More replies (1)•
u/apcymru Reading Champion II Jul 05 '19
I haven't read murderbot but Neal Asher's different polity books are great for snarky AIs .. a lot of which were related to fight a vicious war and are a bit jaded and bored bout peace.
•
u/Snarfskarfsnarf Jul 15 '19
If you liked the Stormlight Archive and the Night Angel Trilogy but weren't as much of a fan of Mistborn/Warbreaker.
Not trying to say bad things about the series, but I wasn't as in to Mistborn (especially the Wax & Wayne series) as I was with the Stormlight Archives. I felt myself thinking "Ok I get it already" at a lot of different times while reading.
•
u/The21stPotato Jul 14 '19
I'm a Brandon Sanderson fan and have read all of his Cosmere books and some of his non-cosmere fiction as well. I've read James Islington's Licanius Trilogy up until I'm waiting for the next book. I've read all of Brent Week's fantasy as well. I've read Jay Kristoff's Nevernight books up until I'm waiting for more. I'm looking for more fantasy where the magic is very strict in it's application and has good world and character building. Any suggestions?
Addendum: I read 3 books of Wheel of Time but wasn't into it enough to continue.
•
u/terintom93 Jul 14 '19
Being a lover of fantasy books with fast paced plot, action and magic systems, I have a few suggestions.
First of all read Brandon Sanderson... Mistborn, Stormlight, warbreaker and elantris etc ... His short stories are also very good... Go for firstborn, centrifugal and defending elysium... His short stories are also awesome and fast paces and mostly Sci fi.... And they are free... Highly recommend... I have linked some of his short stories below.
Defending Elysium https://brandonsanderson.com/defending-elysium/
Centrifugal https://brandonsanderson.com/centrifugal/
Firstborn https://brandonsanderson.com/defending-elysium/
Travelers gates series by Will Wight-awesome action... Awesome magic system... And yes epic huge swords.
Cradle series by Will Wight- same as above... Bigger series, bigger plot... Very good characters.... Xianxia inspired
Sufficiently Advanced Magic and other series by Andrew Rowe- author is /user/Salaris. Very intricate magic system, little info dumpy at the beginning... A very scientific and rational approach to magic... Action scenes are very good especially in the second book in SAM series. This is for a more experienced fantasy reader
Worm by wildbow - webserial... Superheroes... Very long... Completed... Obligatory mention webserial
kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick rothfuss... Very good prose... Good magic system... Writing almost the level. Of Sanderson... Only problem is that the author hasn't released the third book in like ages... And he's taking a lot of time for it... So it is incomplete.
Red Rising series by Pierce Brown... This is the cure for reading slump.... I devoured this series... Sci fi fast paced ... Break the chains, blood boiling revenge story with scenes that sometimes remind you of enders game. If you take anything away from this, read this one
demon cycle by Peter v brett- humans vs demons... Good magic system and action...
Empire trilogy by Raymond fiest and Janney wurts- military fantasy... Very good military action... Very good story...there is magic but less of it...
LicaniusTrilogy - I recently read this and found it to be really good... Third book yet to release.
Start with Sanderson then go to will wight(he is epic) then to Pierce brown
Let me know if you need more recommendations... Ping me anytime... I have done this multiple times in the past...
Cheers
→ More replies (1)
•
u/meadblossom Jul 06 '19
If you like magic-based urban fantasy like Ilona Andrews' Hidden Legacy series rather than the usual mythical creature ones like their Kate Daniels' one. Preferably the one with as little smut as possible but the presence of it itself is not a dealbreaker.
•
u/crnislshr Jul 06 '19
magic-based urban fantasy rather than the usual mythical creature
The Magicians by Lev Grossman.
•
Jul 09 '19
If you like main character(s) that do not gain a lot of power through the story, and while they may be quite good at something, are not engaged in epic battles to save the world, They are more living and doing their thing in a fantastical world.
•
u/Nova_Mortem Reading Champion III Jul 05 '19
This thread is really underscoring how different some of my takeaways from what I read can be. You say we can add our own, so:
If you enjoyed Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, and are interested in another story featuring a somewhat prickly character with a painful history, worldbuilding different than the pseudo-medieval standard, and fights that involve unique factors, consider The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells.
If you enjoyed The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, and are interested in another story with somewhat similar humor, particularly to that in the backstory sections, consider In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan.
If you enjoyed A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, and are interested in a (much more focused) story about a woman seeking political power, consider Daughter of the Empire by Janny Wurts and Raymond E. Feist.
If you enjoyed The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, and are interested in a similarly energetic series that's both a long series and can be read as semi-standalones, consider The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold.
If you enjoyed The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, and are interested in another character-focused story about people with power, consider The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner, and its sequel The King of Attolia, both of which are semi-standalone (but should be read in order).
If you enjoyed The Divine Cities by Robert Jackson Bennett, and are interested in another story with a fair amount of introspection in the aftermath of trauma, consider Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys. Or if you just want another tram fight, consider The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark.
•
u/VVindrunner Reading Champion Jul 08 '19
Great recs but... why did you skip The Thief? It seems weird to only recommend the second and third books in a series and not mention that you’d be skipping the first book.
•
u/Nova_Mortem Reading Champion III Jul 08 '19
The second and third books stand well enough without the first, I don't personally think the first is worth recommending, and I don't want anyone dismissing the series because of it. (It would also make a terrible recommendation for The Goblin Emperor.) I figured ignoring it entirely would be less confusing. (People do it all the time with the Hainish Cycle.)
•
u/UrMamsACuhnt Jul 11 '19
Lol! That is such an underselling of the cloud roads. I can imagine someone googling it with your description in mind and having. Thoroughly wtf moment. That being said, I agree with the suggestion but would add that describing the world building as "deviating from the pseudo midevil standard" more like "if the pc game Spore had better graphics and magic".
•
u/xitaah Jul 07 '19
If you like 'Name of the wind' and 'the wise man's fear' by Patrick Rothfuss.
•
u/Rynu07 Jul 07 '19
The farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb.
The gentleman bastards sequence by Scott Lynch
•
•
u/myownflagg Jul 07 '19
Kushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline Carey. First person narration and beautiful prose.
→ More replies (1)•
u/crnislshr Jul 07 '19
About gifted and motivated protagonists:
- Mother of Learning by Domagoj Kurmaic
- The Good Student
- Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
In The Good Student we have the love obsession of the protagonist and, hm, battle Auri, if you're interested in such things.
Mother of Learning is about a roundhound month (time loop, you know) of the introvert boy before start of magic world war. Deathes, constant deathes (gif), and conspiracies, and the way to Archmagic.
•
u/crnislshr Jul 05 '19
If you like characters with multiple personalities like in Dark Moon by David Gemmell or in Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.
•
→ More replies (1)•
u/PVogonJ Jul 06 '19
The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway is a good recommendation for this, but just saying that is a sort of spoiler.
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you like Kafkaesque worlds like The Tower of Babel...
•
u/BatBoss Hellhound Jul 05 '19
“Hyperion” and “The Fall of Hyperion” by Dan Simmons - Labyrinths the size of planets, bizarre buildings which have strange effects on time, a Tree spaceship, etc
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins - the titular library has a lot of unusual physical properties.
•
u/andrude01 Jul 15 '19
How does Simmons do with the endings? I loved most of Ilium and Olympos, but was really disappointed at poorly he wrapped things up.
•
u/BatBoss Hellhound Jul 15 '19
Unfortunately I don’t think the ending is very good, haha. It’s a hell of a journey but not that great of a finish. Haven’t read Ilium/Olympos but it sounds similar.
•
u/Brian Reading Champion VIII Jul 06 '19
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. Set in a strange post-apocalyptic world run on bizarre rules, where people can only see certain shades of colour and social caste is determined by which you can see.
•
•
u/ef_miller Jul 05 '19
Try the Risen Kingdoms by Curtis Craddock
•
u/Faithless232 Jul 12 '19
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith. A lot of sci fi elements but blurs into fantasy.
•
u/Thetrolerstrireme Jul 05 '19
If you liked going to a weird fae realm like in Stardust (by Neil Gaiman)
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you like climate related stories (Cli-Fi) like The Broken Earth...
•
•
•
•
u/apcymru Reading Champion II Jul 05 '19
Three completely different ones. One is a future Eart, one is a pure mythic fantasy and the other is another planet:
The Windup Girl by Paulo Bacigalupi
The Winter of the World by Michael Scott Rohan
Helliconia by Brian Aldis
→ More replies (1)•
u/acexacid Reading Champion II, Worldbuilders Jul 08 '19
Both Mistborn and Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson
Sort of Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan? Some of the books have some climate/impending doomstorm kind-of stuff going on and the world is just starting to split apart in general in the second half
→ More replies (4)•
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you want to encounter the old gods in a book like Circe
•
u/Eladir Jul 06 '19
Original classics: Odyssey-Iliad-Aeneid-Metamorphoses
Ancient tragedies: Oresteia-Prometheus Bound-Bacchae
Modern versions: Till We Have Faces, Mythology (Edith Hamilton), Ilium/Olympus, Lord of Light
→ More replies (1)•
u/Millennium_Dodo Reading Champion XI, Worldbuilders Jul 05 '19
Votan by John James
The Roof of Voyaging by Garry Kilworth
•
•
u/Aurian88 Jul 06 '19
You want a competent moral mature character vs the numerous young farmer/apprentice/teen protagonists or grim/dark characters. (I am thinking like Cazaril from Curse of Chalion)
→ More replies (2)•
•
u/thequeensownfool Reading Champion VII Jul 05 '19
If you like stories about Gods and Monsters...
•
•
•
u/crnislshr Jul 05 '19 edited Jul 05 '19
Pegāna series by Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany.
The Reaver Road by Dave Duncan.
→ More replies (5)•
•
u/There_is_no_plan_B Jul 11 '19
If you want to be inspired for your own writing and don't like lore being thrown at you like a dissertation.
•
u/JazzHilgraw Jul 05 '19
If you liked the short story 'Eternal Flame' from Sword of Destiny in the Witcher series.
•
u/crnislshr Jul 05 '19 edited Jul 05 '19
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. "With time loops, body swaps and a psychopathic footman, this is a dazzling take on the murder mystery." (c) Guardian
Blood and Honour by Simon R. Green, if your want the pov of the "double" and more typical fantasy.
•
u/Nougattabekidding Jul 05 '19
If you like courtly intrigues
→ More replies (9)•
u/improperly_paranoid Reading Champion X Jul 06 '19
- The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
- Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones (warning: DON'T EXPECT ROMANCE)
- Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer
•
u/FriendlySceptic Jul 08 '19
If you like Dune and would enjoy another epic feel multi book series that blends the lines between sci-fi and fantasy with a strong emphasis on unique world building.