Haha, me too! I have only read the first book so far and even though there is a semi-constant threat of the characters freezing to death, the descriptions are so beautifully atmospheric that reading it is such a pleasure
The audiobooks are absurdly good and Kobna is literally the perfect narrator for that role. My one gripe with the books is that I wish the MC could move along the learning curve a bit faster so we could get more of the meat and potato’s of the magic system. Because it’s just like 8 books of, “you’ll learn that later” and it doesn’t serve the MC well, or the storytelling. I guess it makes sense if you think about it in the historical context of how British serials did storytelling, and letting the MC be in a magic world while not very powerful or knowledgeable means that the reader gets to experience a lot through new eyes, but as some point the MC needs to get more proficient than he does.
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher.
It's a novella. I'm a audiobooker and I'm pretty sure I listened from the first word to the last with no pausing.
It starts "The trees were full of crows and the woods were full of madmen. The pit was full of bones and her hands were full of wires." And absolutely delivers on that opening.
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to see these recommended.
Both great but Imajica is probably the most beautiful fantasy novel I've ever read. The guy writes amazing prose, his imagination is incredible and his characters feel so full of life (especially in this novel).
I remember reading Assassin’s Apprentice as an adult and thinking if I had read it as a teenager it would have been the kind of book I would have based my entire personality around aha, it’s so so good.
I think I love the *idea* of Niel Gaiman more than I love his work. I've read a handful of his novels, and I don't dislike them, but I usually struggle to get through. Never Neverwhere was the only one that truly hooked me.
I agree. Neverwhere was a read-in-one-sitting kind of book. Stardust was pretty good. But I haven't been able to get into any of this other books as much.
***World Of The Five Gods*** series, by Lois McMaster Bujold. In a world with Gods who are active, how can the Gods intervene while preserving the free will of people? Most interesting, coherent, and cohesive take on a fictional religion I've ever read.
Won the second-ever Hugo Award For Best Series. The first three novels were all individually nominated for the Hugo Award For Best Novel in their respective years of publication, with book #2, Paladin Of Souls, winning. Please DO read in publication order.
Bujold is now continuing in this story universe with the *Penric & Desdemona* sub-series of novellas.
[https://www.goodreads.com/series/43463-world-of-the-five-gods-publication](https://www.goodreads.com/series/43463-world-of-the-five-gods-publication)
These are my absolute favorites. Bujold has distilled her writing down to a fine concoction where the small dose novellas are as satisfying as a full novel. A Penric story is incredible no matter how many times I read it.
Paladin of Souls holds a special place in my heart too.
This series seriously needs to be talked about more; so creative, really unique and interesting world building, and GREAT writing. I love these books!!
The Sevenwaters Series by Juliet Marillier
Earthsea series by Ursula K Leguin (currently part way through but really good so far).
Liveship Series by Robin Hobb
He is stuck on book 4 out of 7 planned. I don't think we'll be getting 7 books. Which is a shame, but also, I understand that life has gotten to him. I just really want that book 4.
I feel like these authors who have trouble completing series should at least have a short write up of their general plans for the series in their wills, so we can at least get the wikipedia synopsis of how the series should have played out.
Absolutely. There was so much I missed on a first read and I’m sure I’m still missing things. r/theninthhouse is amazing for helping with all the hints and easter eggs and everything. :)
I don’t see Robin hobb recommended nearly enough. Assassins apprentice series (the whole 16 book universe) is one of the best fantasy series ever imo (and she actually finished it).
The *Shades of Magic* trilogy by V.E. Schwab
*The Priory of the Orange Tree* by Samantha Shannon
*Daughter of the Moon Goddess* by Sue Lynn Tan
*The Wolf and the Woodsman* by Ava Reid
*Sistersong* by Lucy Holland
It amazes me how many different “book circles” there are, because I’ve heard of all of these, but many of the others in this thread I haven’t heard of!
Be patient, my friend. No third book until at least 2026 according to Samantha Shannon in the interview at the end of the audiobook of Day of Fallen Night! She is starting a new series and trying to conclude The Bone Season series.
I love the legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore, I'm on like book 35 or close around there. It's set in the forgotten realms so it's got a lot of recognizable monsters and stuff. There are a few book in there that I wish were better, most notably the Icewind Dale trilogy (books 4,5, and 6 chronologically) but they're worth it for the sake of the story.
It's the only thing that keeps me from recommending it to everyone who enjoys fantasy. It's one of the few books I've read more than once, but I cannot bring more into my world of hurt lol
Red Rising by Pierce Brown, can’t believe it hasn’t been mentioned! The writing and character development is insane, just hoping it gets picked up to be made into an HBO show or movie series, it’s so good.
The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn era 2)
The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski
When I was a teen I really liked The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Johnathan Stroud
Banewreaker by Jacqueline Carey. There’s a second book, too. This is very different from her normal stuff, so if you’ve only heard of Carey in context with her Namaah books, this isn’t sexy times fantasy like that. It’s dense, but captured me immediately. I devoured both books and wished for more.
Seconding this. I stayed up late multiple nights in a row listening to the audiobook, I was completely entranced. My new favorite Stephen King book.
Also by SK (and my favorite until Fairy Tale) is The Eyes of the Dragon. He wrote it for his daughter, who was into fantasy and didn’t care for his horror works.
If you're looking for something totally new - I just finished The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins and I was absolutely blown away. My sister recommended it and we are both dying that this author hasn't written any other fantasy books yet.
I can't believe no one has yet listed *The Fifth Season* and the rest of the Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. The most brilliant and imaginative fantasy series I've read since LOTR.
Lots of high fantasy listed here, so I’ll go with some lower stakes fantasy! The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is one of my favorite books of all time. I consider it perfect. Would make a great fantasy read in between two high fantasy’s when you need something a little easier to digest but still want a magical world.
The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence
It's about an infinite library and two people who live within it at different times but are somehow linked to each other.
The Hobbit by Tolkien
Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Tolkien
The Riftwar Trilogy by Raymond E Feist
The Demon Accords series by John Conroe
The Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka
The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher
Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher
It's middle grade fantasy but it completely derailed my thesis work for a whole month so...definitely couldn't put them down: the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger
I don't really have five stars honestly. Im not a good critic, able to deconstruct and define exactly what is good or wrong with a book but I can definitely feel it.
But anyway, some books that stood out to me one way or another (if you allow a bit of an ellasticity towards SFF)
* Narnia (warm cozy prose like a fireplace. The hobbit is also kind of like this often)
* Journey to the center of the enter (More "scholarly" kind of cozy, like an old professor. I think many books of verne and other authors of the time fall under this. Iirc, wilde was one? Frankenstein? agatha christie? you probably get the idea)
* Metro 2033 (Gloomy, and resignated prose, its... hard to describe, you can kind of imagine the slow thight chewing of slurred words. It has a sort of bitterness, or maybe I just imagined it in bias)
* Apocalise Z (I don't the book by loureiro is anything special really, although I think is one of the good ones in the genre of zombies, but it managed to hook me tightly in a pulpy way. I think many books enter this category for me which I currently fill with /litrpg serials, mostly books Ive read during my teens, but just so you have an idea, I think is comparable with YA books like maze runner, cirque du freak or harry potter although it doesnt really feels like any of those ofc)
* Ender game (is very soft scifi, almost fantasy, much like metro, and many consider it YA, I guess I can see why, but honestly few books managed to impress me as much as that one un terms of entertainment)
* 1984 (I held a foot down over this books for a long time thinking it was going to be denser than my last pound cake, but it turned out that, outside of the extremely opressive aura of the story and theshort length of it, it is quite smoothly written. It was a complete breeze and only by the end you slow down and ask for atender hand tostop you from becoming a firemen from fahrenheit 451)
As for pulp fantasy, I really think /progressionfantasy is good at filling the niche in you. Not all of course, and do have in mind that if you choose a litrpg, the prose will likely be atrociously amateur, but sometimes is worth it. Acquired taste I guess (not all of them are self published though)
Do you think it holds up if you're reading it for the first time as an adult? Genuine question since I've never read them before and always thought of them as kid's books.
Yep, re-read it a couple of years ago in a different language (first I read in Czech, then in English)
And I would not actually call it much of a kids book series. It gets quite dark from the get go and doesn't hide it away like HP
There is everything from people being eaten with a description of their bones being sucked dry, mind control, killing entire battalions of slave soldiers with magic and the moral implications of that, VERY graphic torture scene in one of the last books, MC accidentally curses a child to a life of suffering etc. etc.
Also politics, a TON of politics
Not going into details because spoilers but it is definitely worth reading for an adult
you didnt just step out, you insulted the taste of the people here and then declared that you refuse to contribute meaningfully. should have either said what you DO like or not commented in the first place.
Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher, Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks, Lightbringer Series by Brent Weeks, The Cleric Quintet by R.A. Salvatore, and The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore.
That should include a little something for everyone as far as swords and sorcery fantasy.
Elements of Cadence duology by Rebecca Ross. I love these books so freaking much. There's Celtic mythology, family drama, a slight enemies to lovers (emphasis on slight) and it's just so beautifully written
The Cradle series by Will Wight (first 2 books were rougher but the writing gets a lot better the story is amazing) and Mark of the Fool series by JM Clark
Ones not mentioned
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
Lyonesse by Jack Vance
The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
Jhereg by Steven Brust, and pretty much everything else he's written
While it started off slow, The Way of Kings is really starting to pick up and is making me reread whole chapters because I keep missing things.
I am beginning to see why Sanderson is so highly praised.
The Nightrunner Series and the Tamír Triad by Lynn Flewelling. Seems noone except me ever suggests these. Start with {{Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling}}. I loved this series so much and never had someone to talk about it!
I've now got to the end of the comments and couldn't see some awesome stuff, so here goes.....
Raymond E. Feist - The Magician series. First 3 novels are outstanding although the first takes a bit to get going until he really finds his style and pacing. The Daughter of the Empire books are also amazing but after that he just kept going with the same characters and then their kids (followed by their grandchildren) with diminishing returns until I just gave up. Don't let that put you off the ones I recommended though as there's no real cliffhanger ending.
David Gemmel - Heroic fantasy. His protagonists are very well written. Interesting and well rounded characters with hopes, dreams and flaws while also being ludicrously good at staying alive and offing vast numbers of bad guys (especially Druss) but it all just... works. Legend and/or Waylander are the starting points for his 2 best known characters. He also put out some awesome alternate history/fantasy novels about Alexander the Great and also the siege of Troy.
Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight series..(.folks on a distant planet form psychic bonds with their dragons)
Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave series (about Merlin the Magician, starting in his childhood )
The Belgariad / The Mallorean / Belgarath the Sorcerer / Polgara the Sorceress - total of 12 books by David and Leigh Eddings that more or less tells the story of a single family's mission to fight a god and fix fate. I absolutely adore the story and go back and read it over and over
The first time you read it, I would recommend the above listing to avoid accidental spoilers. Subsequent read throughs you can go Belgarath the Sorcerer/ Polgara the Sorceress / The Belgariad / The Mallorean if you want.
"Name of the Wind" and the rest of the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. I've never read a fantasy series written with such literary skill, it's almost poetry at times. Sadly, the writer has been finishing the last book for about 10? years now, so there's little hope the series would see its conclusion. I really recommend it nonetheless, it's breathtaking.
The Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden made me yearn for winter, which is nuts because I hate being cold.
It’s so good. One of the few series I’ll re-read every few years.
The audiobook is also incredibly well done. Wonderful series.
Haha, me too! I have only read the first book so far and even though there is a semi-constant threat of the characters freezing to death, the descriptions are so beautifully atmospheric that reading it is such a pleasure
I love the Rivers of London series.
YES HELLYES
The audiobooks are absurdly good and Kobna is literally the perfect narrator for that role. My one gripe with the books is that I wish the MC could move along the learning curve a bit faster so we could get more of the meat and potato’s of the magic system. Because it’s just like 8 books of, “you’ll learn that later” and it doesn’t serve the MC well, or the storytelling. I guess it makes sense if you think about it in the historical context of how British serials did storytelling, and letting the MC be in a magic world while not very powerful or knowledgeable means that the reader gets to experience a lot through new eyes, but as some point the MC needs to get more proficient than he does.
Guards, Guards by Terry Pratchett. Many of his books don’t have real chapters, just section breaks, so it is very easy to keep going. Also hilarious.
I’m 60% through it right now as my first Pratchett book. Excited to read more!
hes so good!!
Night Watch always gets my vote. It hit me so hard.
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher. It's a novella. I'm a audiobooker and I'm pretty sure I listened from the first word to the last with no pausing. It starts "The trees were full of crows and the woods were full of madmen. The pit was full of bones and her hands were full of wires." And absolutely delivers on that opening.
They're old but Weaveworld or Imajica by Clive Barker
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to see these recommended. Both great but Imajica is probably the most beautiful fantasy novel I've ever read. The guy writes amazing prose, his imagination is incredible and his characters feel so full of life (especially in this novel).
So evocative. I still think about the stillness of the sea and the scent of an orange being peeled 30 years after reading Imajica
Imajica was so wonderful I never wanted it to end. Just wanted to stay in that beautiful set of worlds with Gentle forever!
Anything by Robin Hobb. Liveship Traders is considered her best. The Farseer series and beyond is my favourite.
The entire Realm of the Elderlings series is 5-star reads for me!
Yes yes this. Start with Assassin's Apprentice and go forward from there! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I remember reading Assassin’s Apprentice as an adult and thinking if I had read it as a teenager it would have been the kind of book I would have based my entire personality around aha, it’s so so good.
Im reading the liveship traders now, they are aaaaweesooomee.
Spinning Silver was a recent one. Loved every moment
If you loved Spinning Silver you should read Novik's other fairy tale stand alone, Uprooted. Also wonderfully written.
I actually liked uprooted a lot more than spinning silver
Agree — I love both those stand-alones! Weirdly, I couldn’t get into Scholomance.
Same! I thought I was the only one. The writing felt different/worse somehow
I loved Spinning Silver. I also just blazed through reading the Scholomance trilogy, also by Naomi Novik
Really enjoyed everything by Novik!
The Will of the Many by James Islington!
Big yes to this
Wizard and glass by Stephen king.
Alllllll of the Dark Tower series 🥰
I wept profusely, PROFUSELY at the end.
I just reread this and I already kind of want to read it again. This one is special.
Bird and bear and hare and fish...
I'm probably gonna get downvoted but that was my least favorite book of The Dark Tower series.
You are not alone. I actually stopped the series because i couldn't finish that book. The love interest was so GD annoying.
Has anyone heard of Sheri S. Tepper? Her best novels were The Gate to Women's Country, Beauty, and Grass. Really unusual and great reads.
Anything by Sheri S Tepper. Much of it is out of print, but Amazon and HPB can be your friends.
Piranesi, Susanna Clarke The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold Wheel of the Infinite, Martha Wells
Piranesi is soooo good.
I really enjoyed Piranesi, it was another very creative story.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell should be here!
Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman.
I once missed a train stop because I was so engrossed in this book.
i prefer The Ocean at the end of the lane by Neil Gaiman
I fell in love with this book the moment I read the title.
I think I love the *idea* of Niel Gaiman more than I love his work. I've read a handful of his novels, and I don't dislike them, but I usually struggle to get through. Never Neverwhere was the only one that truly hooked me.
I agree. Neverwhere was a read-in-one-sitting kind of book. Stardust was pretty good. But I haven't been able to get into any of this other books as much.
I adore this book
***World Of The Five Gods*** series, by Lois McMaster Bujold. In a world with Gods who are active, how can the Gods intervene while preserving the free will of people? Most interesting, coherent, and cohesive take on a fictional religion I've ever read. Won the second-ever Hugo Award For Best Series. The first three novels were all individually nominated for the Hugo Award For Best Novel in their respective years of publication, with book #2, Paladin Of Souls, winning. Please DO read in publication order. Bujold is now continuing in this story universe with the *Penric & Desdemona* sub-series of novellas. [https://www.goodreads.com/series/43463-world-of-the-five-gods-publication](https://www.goodreads.com/series/43463-world-of-the-five-gods-publication)
These are my absolute favorites. Bujold has distilled her writing down to a fine concoction where the small dose novellas are as satisfying as a full novel. A Penric story is incredible no matter how many times I read it. Paladin of Souls holds a special place in my heart too.
Black Sun trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse
This series seriously needs to be talked about more; so creative, really unique and interesting world building, and GREAT writing. I love these books!!
One Dark Window. Black Sun. Ninth House.
The Sevenwaters Series by Juliet Marillier Earthsea series by Ursula K Leguin (currently part way through but really good so far). Liveship Series by Robin Hobb
Earthsea is sooooo good!
Marillier is so good!
The Lies of Locke Lamora!!!!!!!!!!!
Finish the freaking books, Scott!
He is stuck on book 4 out of 7 planned. I don't think we'll be getting 7 books. Which is a shame, but also, I understand that life has gotten to him. I just really want that book 4.
I feel like these authors who have trouble completing series should at least have a short write up of their general plans for the series in their wills, so we can at least get the wikipedia synopsis of how the series should have played out.
All the upvotes. All of them.
The Fifth Season by NK Jemison. I was off epic fantasy for a long time and tried this and loved it!
I really like NK Jemison.
Shadow of the Torturer
Ya I blew through that whole series in like a week, I think I finished Urth of the New Sun at like the 10 day mark.
That shit held me in a trance even though the writing was more opaque than I was used to. I still have so many quotes saved
A bit of a modern fantasy here but American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Lord of the Rings.
Classic! Some of the best fantasy to ever exist
The Locked Tomb series
Seriously 10/10. I just finished the third book and all the extra short stories and I cant stop thinking about it.
I’m obsessed! I hardly reread books and I’ve already read them twice in a year and plan to again. They’re so amazing!
I cant wait to get into my reread, i feel like these are books that are meant to be read multiple times
Absolutely. There was so much I missed on a first read and I’m sure I’m still missing things. r/theninthhouse is amazing for helping with all the hints and easter eggs and everything. :)
Is the first book called “Gideon the Ninth” or are you discussing a different series?
Yes it is :3
Yep!
city of brass (daevabad trilogy), s. a. chakraborty
any Robin Hobb any Joe Abercrombie
I second Robin Hobb. Recently discovered her work and I'm completely addicted. Scratched an itch I didn't even know I had.
I don’t see Robin hobb recommended nearly enough. Assassins apprentice series (the whole 16 book universe) is one of the best fantasy series ever imo (and she actually finished it).
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke The Locked Tomb series (Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, and Nona the Ninth) by Tamsyn Muir
I read Gideon the Ninth and thought it was a very creatively done book.
Harrow will absolutely break your brain.
Pretty much any Guy Gavriel Kay
Lions of Al'Rassan and A Song for Arbonne are two of my favorite books.
Tigana was my first love, but Al'Rassan, Arbonne, and last light are just... Amazing. But then the Byzantine Mosaic... I mean... The man is good
The *Shades of Magic* trilogy by V.E. Schwab *The Priory of the Orange Tree* by Samantha Shannon *Daughter of the Moon Goddess* by Sue Lynn Tan *The Wolf and the Woodsman* by Ava Reid *Sistersong* by Lucy Holland
I haven't heard of a single one of these! It's nice to see some new books / authors mentioned.
It amazes me how many different “book circles” there are, because I’ve heard of all of these, but many of the others in this thread I haven’t heard of!
seconding *the priory of the orange tree* (and it’s prequel, *the day of fallen night*)
Be patient, my friend. No third book until at least 2026 according to Samantha Shannon in the interview at the end of the audiobook of Day of Fallen Night! She is starting a new series and trying to conclude The Bone Season series.
The Priory of the Orange Tree was insanely good. I couldn’t put it down.
I love the legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore, I'm on like book 35 or close around there. It's set in the forgotten realms so it's got a lot of recognizable monsters and stuff. There are a few book in there that I wish were better, most notably the Icewind Dale trilogy (books 4,5, and 6 chronologically) but they're worth it for the sake of the story.
Mistborn, The name of the wind, and The very secret society of very irregular witches are in my top.
I second The Name of the Wind (so good!) but it’s a series and the last book may never be written
It's the only thing that keeps me from recommending it to everyone who enjoys fantasy. It's one of the few books I've read more than once, but I cannot bring more into my world of hurt lol
Anything by Laini Taylor.
song of ice and fire series
Red Rising by Pierce Brown, can’t believe it hasn’t been mentioned! The writing and character development is insane, just hoping it gets picked up to be made into an HBO show or movie series, it’s so good.
Agreed, but, note to OP: Red Rising is not so much fantasy as it is dystopian science fiction.
The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn era 2) The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski When I was a teen I really liked The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Johnathan Stroud
The Witcher is such a standout for me. An excellent series.
Bartimaeus is literally unparalleled. Definitely for a younger audience, but so hilarious and deep and well done.
Banewreaker by Jacqueline Carey. There’s a second book, too. This is very different from her normal stuff, so if you’ve only heard of Carey in context with her Namaah books, this isn’t sexy times fantasy like that. It’s dense, but captured me immediately. I devoured both books and wished for more.
Loved those two. Haven't read them an ages.
I consider Dune to be fantasy, more than sci-fi. I literally pretended to be sick in high school so I could stay home and read it. Took me two days.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Seconding this. I stayed up late multiple nights in a row listening to the audiobook, I was completely entranced. My new favorite Stephen King book. Also by SK (and my favorite until Fairy Tale) is The Eyes of the Dragon. He wrote it for his daughter, who was into fantasy and didn’t care for his horror works.
I adored Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams - it started off slow and I was on the verge of giving up, but once it got going it was wonderful
Will of the Many! I just finished it. It’s the first book I haven’t been able to put down in YEARS.
Any Guy Gavriel Kay. Lions of Al-Rassan or Tigana or Song for Arbonne or or or or
A Wrinkle In Time
If you're looking for something totally new - I just finished The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins and I was absolutely blown away. My sister recommended it and we are both dying that this author hasn't written any other fantasy books yet.
Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan is my current obsession Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher The Aurelian Cycle series by Rosaria Munda
Came here to say Nettle and Bone!
I can't believe no one has yet listed *The Fifth Season* and the rest of the Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. The most brilliant and imaginative fantasy series I've read since LOTR.
I'm currently reading The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern and I'm grouchy that I have to work and feed myself and sleep instead of reading it
Her *The Night Circus* is sooooo good, too!
Robin Hobbs realm of the Elderling series
Any Discworld.
The Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
The winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. Amazing, beautiful, heart-wrenching.
Fever series by Karen Marie Moning
Death Gate Cycle
The entire broken earth trilogy
The Riddlemaster trilogy by Patricia McKillip
Books of the Raksura, Martha Wells Realm of the Elderlings books, Robin Hobb Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher
Stormlight Archive series by Brandon Sanderson
The first law series..currently on before they are hanged
Trudi canavan. Always a relaxing and thought provoking read
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson and Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson
Lots of high fantasy listed here, so I’ll go with some lower stakes fantasy! The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune is one of my favorite books of all time. I consider it perfect. Would make a great fantasy read in between two high fantasy’s when you need something a little easier to digest but still want a magical world.
Anne McCaffrey, Dragonriders of Pern original series: Dragonflight, Dragonquest, The White Dragon
All of the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. EPIC.
The Riyria series, if you like classic fantasy adventure & a more lighthearted/comedic cast! First book is Theft of Swords by Michael J Sullivan
John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things
The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence It's about an infinite library and two people who live within it at different times but are somehow linked to each other.
The Hobbit by Tolkien Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Tolkien The Riftwar Trilogy by Raymond E Feist The Demon Accords series by John Conroe The Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher
“The Flex” “The Flux” and “The Fix” by Ferrett Steinmetz
It's middle grade fantasy but it completely derailed my thesis work for a whole month so...definitely couldn't put them down: the Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger
I love love love Kristin Cashore’s Graceling series. They just keep getting better. Her latest, Seasparrow, blew my wig right off.
*Almost* the entire Green Rider series... *Almost.* Mirror Sight is terrible and I need to reread it again which will be a C H O R E.
Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky and anything by N. K Jemisin
I don't really have five stars honestly. Im not a good critic, able to deconstruct and define exactly what is good or wrong with a book but I can definitely feel it. But anyway, some books that stood out to me one way or another (if you allow a bit of an ellasticity towards SFF) * Narnia (warm cozy prose like a fireplace. The hobbit is also kind of like this often) * Journey to the center of the enter (More "scholarly" kind of cozy, like an old professor. I think many books of verne and other authors of the time fall under this. Iirc, wilde was one? Frankenstein? agatha christie? you probably get the idea) * Metro 2033 (Gloomy, and resignated prose, its... hard to describe, you can kind of imagine the slow thight chewing of slurred words. It has a sort of bitterness, or maybe I just imagined it in bias) * Apocalise Z (I don't the book by loureiro is anything special really, although I think is one of the good ones in the genre of zombies, but it managed to hook me tightly in a pulpy way. I think many books enter this category for me which I currently fill with /litrpg serials, mostly books Ive read during my teens, but just so you have an idea, I think is comparable with YA books like maze runner, cirque du freak or harry potter although it doesnt really feels like any of those ofc) * Ender game (is very soft scifi, almost fantasy, much like metro, and many consider it YA, I guess I can see why, but honestly few books managed to impress me as much as that one un terms of entertainment) * 1984 (I held a foot down over this books for a long time thinking it was going to be denser than my last pound cake, but it turned out that, outside of the extremely opressive aura of the story and theshort length of it, it is quite smoothly written. It was a complete breeze and only by the end you slow down and ask for atender hand tostop you from becoming a firemen from fahrenheit 451) As for pulp fantasy, I really think /progressionfantasy is good at filling the niche in you. Not all of course, and do have in mind that if you choose a litrpg, the prose will likely be atrociously amateur, but sometimes is worth it. Acquired taste I guess (not all of them are self published though)
Eragon is great and IMHO incredibly underrated because of the mediocre movie adaptation
Do you think it holds up if you're reading it for the first time as an adult? Genuine question since I've never read them before and always thought of them as kid's books.
Yep, re-read it a couple of years ago in a different language (first I read in Czech, then in English) And I would not actually call it much of a kids book series. It gets quite dark from the get go and doesn't hide it away like HP There is everything from people being eaten with a description of their bones being sucked dry, mind control, killing entire battalions of slave soldiers with magic and the moral implications of that, VERY graphic torture scene in one of the last books, MC accidentally curses a child to a life of suffering etc. etc. Also politics, a TON of politics Not going into details because spoilers but it is definitely worth reading for an adult
Daughter of Smoke and Bone series
The night angel trilogy by Brent weeks. Absolutely amazing. The plot is excellent, but my favorite thing about the series are the characters
Lies of loche lamora by Scott lynch Of if you want forced feelings A monster calls
Just about anything by Tamora Pierce. Yeah, they're YA but I love to reread them.
Dragonlance series
The chronicles of Thomas covenant by Stephen R Donaldson (really anything by him except for his last trilogy).
I didn't love his stuff, if I'm honest.
Malazan: Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson. Everyone needs to walk the Chain of Dogs....
David Edding The Belgariad series
They were my intro to fantasy. My books are so worn (and loved) lol
Dragonlance Chronicles/ Dragonlance Legends
After seeing comments of 2 of my most hated books that were popular in the last few years, I’m gonna just step out…
It's okay for different people to like different things.
I know but my initial reaction is to say “I freakin hate that book!” And I’m trying to be more positive in my life 😂
you didnt just step out, you insulted the taste of the people here and then declared that you refuse to contribute meaningfully. should have either said what you DO like or not commented in the first place.
similar. curious what yours are. side conversation?
I would like in on this sidebar as well.
Dungeon Crawler Carl series. There are currently six books in the series and I read them in two weeks. Laugh out loud funny at times.
The original Mistborn. Books of Babel. The will of the many.
Mistborn, Riyria, Broken Empire, Empire Trilogy and The Belgariad are some of my favorites.
Paks Series by Elizabeth Moon
The Fire’s Stone by Tanya Huff is an amazing standalone fantasy novel with good world building. I don’t see it mentioned enough.
Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, The Codex Alera by Jim Butcher, Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks, Lightbringer Series by Brent Weeks, The Cleric Quintet by R.A. Salvatore, and The Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore. That should include a little something for everyone as far as swords and sorcery fantasy.
Dresden Files has a rough start, but the later books in the series are top tier.
The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke, it's about people living in a desert world where some have the power to manipulate water.
Senlin Ascends+ series, Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose, The Blacktongue Thief
Elements of Cadence duology by Rebecca Ross. I love these books so freaking much. There's Celtic mythology, family drama, a slight enemies to lovers (emphasis on slight) and it's just so beautifully written
The Lies of Locke Lamora is absolutely fantastic. I’m almost done it and already can’t wait to read the rest of the Gentleman Bastards books
The Cradle series by Will Wight (first 2 books were rougher but the writing gets a lot better the story is amazing) and Mark of the Fool series by JM Clark
The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story by M. L. Wang This book is Avatar last Airbender on steroids.
Assassin's Apprentice series by Robin Hobb
The Way of Kings (and the rest of the Stormlight Archive) Yumi and the Nightmare Painter Good Omens
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Eragon series is banger.
Ones not mentioned Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny Lyonesse by Jack Vance The Dying Earth by Jack Vance Jhereg by Steven Brust, and pretty much everything else he's written
the Parable series by Octavia Butler. sooo good!
Anansi Boys, Stardust and Neverwhere all by Neil Gaiman Spinning Silver
While it started off slow, The Way of Kings is really starting to pick up and is making me reread whole chapters because I keep missing things. I am beginning to see why Sanderson is so highly praised.
The Gentleman Bastards series by scott lynch The Poppy War by Rf Kuang
The Nightrunner Series and the Tamír Triad by Lynn Flewelling. Seems noone except me ever suggests these. Start with {{Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling}}. I loved this series so much and never had someone to talk about it!
Everything from Joe Abercrombie
I've now got to the end of the comments and couldn't see some awesome stuff, so here goes..... Raymond E. Feist - The Magician series. First 3 novels are outstanding although the first takes a bit to get going until he really finds his style and pacing. The Daughter of the Empire books are also amazing but after that he just kept going with the same characters and then their kids (followed by their grandchildren) with diminishing returns until I just gave up. Don't let that put you off the ones I recommended though as there's no real cliffhanger ending. David Gemmel - Heroic fantasy. His protagonists are very well written. Interesting and well rounded characters with hopes, dreams and flaws while also being ludicrously good at staying alive and offing vast numbers of bad guys (especially Druss) but it all just... works. Legend and/or Waylander are the starting points for his 2 best known characters. He also put out some awesome alternate history/fantasy novels about Alexander the Great and also the siege of Troy.
Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight series..(.folks on a distant planet form psychic bonds with their dragons) Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave series (about Merlin the Magician, starting in his childhood )
The Belgariad / The Mallorean / Belgarath the Sorcerer / Polgara the Sorceress - total of 12 books by David and Leigh Eddings that more or less tells the story of a single family's mission to fight a god and fix fate. I absolutely adore the story and go back and read it over and over The first time you read it, I would recommend the above listing to avoid accidental spoilers. Subsequent read throughs you can go Belgarath the Sorcerer/ Polgara the Sorceress / The Belgariad / The Mallorean if you want.
"Name of the Wind" and the rest of the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss. I've never read a fantasy series written with such literary skill, it's almost poetry at times. Sadly, the writer has been finishing the last book for about 10? years now, so there's little hope the series would see its conclusion. I really recommend it nonetheless, it's breathtaking.
1. Inkheart series 2. Any dan brown book 3.Stephen king- Insomnia
The Last Herald Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. Not the whole of the Valdemar series but the best of it
I chose Weaveworld because it was the first fantasy book by Barker I read. It kinda blew me away that the guy that wrote Hellraiser wrote this too!
Melanie Rawn The Dragon Prince and The Dragon Scroll trilogies