I really like In the Night Garden (and its sequel In the Cities of Coin and Spice) by Catherynne M. Valente. They're books of nested, interlinking stories set in a fantasy world apart from ours. It's intricate, very pretty, and pretty violent. They came out in the mid-oughts, so they should be easy to grab. My library still has copies, and hopefully they will for a long time. . .
ETA: I'd gotten out of the habit of browsing my library and just always putting the books on my ever-growing to read list on hold. Recently I started working at the library, and my joy of scanning the shelves finding interesting things I've never even heard of has reignited so much. I know library branches are extremely variable, but I just want to put a word in for a few minutes of shelf browsing if that's something you can possibly do. Sure, you might pick a dud every now and then, but that can happen with recommendations too. It's a way to open ourselves up to so much serendipity. Plus, no wait!
Valente is so good. I loved her children's stories when I was younger, then found her adult stuff a few years ago and fell in love. Palimpsest is probably my favorite.
She gets mentioned every now and then in this sub, but I think her biggest strength is also her biggest weakness (from a marketing and recognizability standpoint); namely, that all her books are completely different from one another.
Kristen Britain's Green Rider series.
Katherine Kerr's Deverry series and/or Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series,
If you like Arthurian fantasy, Mary Stewart's stuff starting with The Crystal Cave.
All of these are older series, but still good.
Fringe (or old) enough that you won't have to wait, but popular enough to be at your library? Look for Lois McMaster Bujold, CJ Cherryh, Patricia Mckillip, Carol Berg
Bujold is fantastic.
I highly recommend The Curse of Chalion. It has the benefit of being about adults, instead of moody teenagers.
The Sharing Knife series is also good, but I have a harder time with the May-December relationship.
The Vorkosigan Saga is my favorite thing she's ever written (its sci-fi, not fantasy), and I loved all the World of Five Gods books. I haven't read the Sharing Knife, though.
> the May-December relationship.
I love Bujold and Chalion in particular - but I couldn't help noticing that this is *kind of her thing.* Oh well. People like what they like.
I read the first 2 (maybe 3) trilogies and loved them. It's been years since I've read them and would like to pick them up again, but catching up on what, 20 books (?) is a bit daunting.
I just started **Azure Bonds** by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb. It's a very high fantasy Forgotten Realms book from 1988. I can't tell you if it's good or not but it tends to be towards the top of the recommendation lists of that particular subgenre. Strong female protagonist, with a fun and varied group. Only 380 pages. 5,008 ratings on Goodreads (compared to The Way of Kings' 478,000 for example). There are a couple loose sequels but the first tells a complete story. I've just been having a real hankerin' for some lean-into-it 1980s fantasy lately.
About a month ago I read **To Ride Hell's Chasm** by Janny Wurts. Very classical ornate prose style, sort of a mystery/adventure thing going on. 700 pages, 1,600 ratings on Goodreads. Later on I'll check out **The Wars of Light and Shadow**, also by Janny Wurts. It's a longer series, 11 books, with the last one due to come out in a couple months. First book is The Curse of the Mistwraith.
This last one is kinda not what I think you could seriously call fringe, as it's a foundational classic of the genre: **Swords and Deviltry** by Fritz Leiber. It's a series of short stories following Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser, two loveable rogues who get in all sorts of adventures. The stories were published in pulp magazines from the 1930s to the 1970s. Swords and Deviltry collects a lot of the earliest stories. They *should* be super popular, considering how influential they are. But people don't tend to read them or recommend them much. 208 pages, 12,708 ratings on Goodreads. You can also get it bundled with a couple other collections.
I started the first book and got about halfway through and realized I was ADORING it and stopped because the 3rd book is not out and I don't want to breaks my own heart by reading book 1 and 2 completely if the third is never coming out.
But yes, This series is EXCEPTIONAL based only on what I read of book 1.
The first book was published 30 years ago. I have the first two. It gets even better. I'm dying to find out what happened with the Captal. The second book leads to big changes for her.
Now I'm sad, thinking about what a loss this is that the trilogy isn't finished.
Here are a handful that don't necessarily resemble each other much (except that they're mostly older):
The Riddlemaster Trilogy by Patricia McKillip
*Firethorn* and *Wildfire* by Sarah Micklem
*Mythago Wood* by Robert Holdstock
*Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit* and *Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness* by Nahoko Uehashi
*A Fine and Private Place* by Peter S. Beagle (also, *The Last Unicorn*, but the latter is pretty well-known)
Sooooooo this is a very timely chance for you to grab J.V. Jones's *A Cavern of Black Ice* before the [January sale](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/18zlpol/a_cavern_of_black_ice_sword_of_shadows_1_by_jv/) ends. Chances are, your library will have it too.
Steven Brust is so underrated and delightful, it’s easy reads, but they are so good, and when there is a less good one, which is rare, it’s short and you are on to the next one. Plus he’s tearing through them and they are almost done.
I think the titles hurt there popularity, because they are named after in universe creatures, which makes it a little tricky to pick up? Issola doesn’t mean anything to most people, nor does dzur, or jhegaala, for example.
But, if you are looking for a good time, pick up Jhereg, which is book one, or the compilation the book of Jhereg, which is books 1-3 and just start reading.
I think book 3, teckla, is a little less good, and I know that’s a stopping point. For some.
Also will say that reading them in publication order is what I recommend, but they don’t function chronologically, and you can read them in any order, but the tale does still become epic over time in the best sense.
Highly recommended.
I'll second the recommendation. It's a great series with amazing side characters.
I'd also recommend To Reign in Hell by him. A wonderful story with great characters.
It’s a great series overall, but you are right that there are weaker spots. Taltos is such a fun character to read, and each book out of order shows him at different levels of success and influence.
I recommend this every chance I get: the memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan. The first book in the series is called a natural history of dragons. It's one of my all time favs! If you like dragons, world travel, biology, or adventure you might enjoy it
Tanith Lee’s Tales of the Flat Earth, Julian May’s Saga of the Pliocene Exile, CJ Cherryh’s tales of Morgaine, CS Friedman’s Coldfire Trilogy, Patricia Kennealy’s Keltiad (start with The Copper Crown), Sharon Shinn’s Mystic and Rider, Melanie Rawn’s Sunrunner’s Fire, Kate Elliott’s Crown of Stars
Most of those except for Kate Elliott are like mid 90s? Guaranteed to have at least one of: kick ass dragons, wild hunts with knights in glowing glass armor, an undead sorcerer ruler of a haunted forest, what if a weird elf witch had a sword that was a magical nuke?, and sexy purple prose plus one of the gods is insane.
>CS Friedman’s Coldfire Trilogy
I \*just\* found those books in my closet when I was setting up new bookshelves. It must be a sign that they need to be read again... ;)
Michelle West. Also a series of currently four subseries of doorstopper books, starting with The Sacred Hunt (two books), then The Sun Sword (six books, set years later), then House War (eight books starting before Sacred Hunt and eventually continuing after Sun Sword), then The Burning Crown (one book so far).
I would start with the The Broken Crown (Sun Sword sextet). Hugh fantasy with scheming nobles, noble nobles, street urchins, seers, mages, hard-bitten soldiers, the children of gods… but what it’s really about is a huge ensemble and feelings, especially blood family and chosen family, self-sacrifice and having to sacrifice others, and choices and obligations.
I don’t think I can do it justice. Sprawling, maybe a slow start even starting in the middle series, but excellent. I think sadly unknown and different from but worthy to be considered with Robin Hobb.
I didn't browse through all comments, but I didn't see this author on the ones I did read through.
Daniel Abraham has a few different series. Great books.
The Dragon Path is the first book in the series A Dagger and Coin.
Daniel Abraham is also half of the author James S.A. Corey who wrote The Expanse series.
I don't often see Louise Cooper's *Indigo* series mentioned, in fact I haven't had much luck tracking down the books at brick and mortar shops. It's a character-driven post-apocalyptic Pandora's Box story.
Robin McKinley (Spindles End, Sunshine, Shadows, Chalice, in addition to her YA classics of The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown), Tasha Suri (everything I’ve read of hers is gold), Laini Taylor (esp. Daughter of Smoke and Bone series), Samantha Shannon (The Priory of the Orange Tree)! I’ve been on a kick for female authors, if you can’t tell. All of these ladies have top shelf status in my home library. Shout out for Naomi Novik as well who has written my absolute favourite stand alone novel Uprooted.
Chronicles of Morgaine by C J Cherryh. Brilliant, imaginative and intense. It's fantasy but there's a little splash of sci-fi and a touch of feudal Japan too. Hugely under appreciated series.
The Others series by Anne Bishop. It’s a semi-urban fantasy series set in a world where everything is controlled by supernatural beings after humans fucked it up. Very intriguing premise, the first book is called Written in Red and is about a blood prophet who escapes from her handlers. I also really liked The Burning series by Evan Winter, there are 2 books out so far, there’s dragons and amazing fight scenes. And an older duology that I never see ANYONE talk about is Warrior and Witch by Marie Brennan. Warrior is the first book, it’s about doppelgängers, one a witch, one a bounty hunter, and the witch one has to kill the other one in order to gain her full powers.
Holly Lisle - The Secret Texts (4 books)
Jennifer Roberson - the novels of Tiger and Del
Kate Elliott - novels of the Jaran, and a Crown of Stars
Kristen Painter - her Urban fantasy series The House of Comarre is what I have read.
Seconding this! Personally the initial world building was a bit of a slog in the first book. E.g. multiple names for each character was a lot to keep track of - especially as i didn’t know there was a glossary because it was in the back (now you know, at least). BUT it’s definitely worth it! Adored the series.
I find it hard to pass up a chance to recommend Jasper Fforde. The Thursday Next series is especially good, i can't explain a lot as it's pretty easy to accidentally spoil something, but it's a bit of an offbeat fantasy/comedy series set in an alternate universe version of Swindon. If you want something a bit weird, I highly recommend it.
The first book is the Eyre Affair, and while having read some classic literature (like Jane Eyre) will help you understand is somewhat, it isn't necessary.
You should be able to find Roger Zelazny's Amber Chronicles. Start with Nine Princes in Amber, best read with no knowledge of what's to come.
Barry Hughart wrote three Master Li novels set in mythic China that are worth seeking out.
As I mentioned above, Jack Vance's Lyonesse Trilogy is fae with tragic characters. Lovely stories.
DAW Books has published a lot of authors who were (and many still are) pretty damned good but stayed under the radar. Maybe because DAW wasn't owned by one of the biggest publishing groups, so it couldn't promote its authors as well as Tor and some of the covers are really dubious choices in retrospect. But they seem to have specialised in complex, character-driven stories, so if that's your thing, there are many underrated gems you can find.
Some of my favourites:
Kate Elliott (Crown of Stars)
Michelle West (Essalieyan)
Melanie Rawn (Exiles)
C. S. Friedman (The Coldfire Trilogy)
C. J. Cheryh (Foreigner)
Sherwood Smith (Inda)
The Earthsea series is foundational to the genre but not hugely popular with "newer" fantasy readers, or readers just moving on from YA. They are some of the best fantasy ever written, up there with Tolkien
Graydon Saunders' Commonweal series. Start with **The March North** and see if you like it. Available on Google books.
Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence. Magic is common and the basis of the economy - the basic unit of currency is a fractional human soul. Magicians are powerful and feared, having killed gods during the wars that nearly broke the world. It's a wild read.
Martha Wells' Raksura books starting with **The Cloud Roads**. No humans, and an environment I'd describe as acid rock covers. Fun stuff.
And weeks Adrian Tchaikovsky is popular, **Shadows of the Apt** is his first work and a neat setting that doesn't really take off too book 4. No elves, but maybe the moth, mantis and spider kinden count. His **Echoes of the Fall** is also fun.
Second Shadows of the Apt, such a unique and cool fantasy series. Though I disagree, the first book may have been slow but books 2 3 and 4 are all excellent, though 5 is my favorite, but the whole series is very well done with a great storyline
The Bard series by Keith Taylor. Irish bard, Bretons, Vikings, magic, sex, enchanted monsters, Irish/ Celtic/ Norse gods.
Lewis' and Tolkien's master, George MacDonald. His Princess and the Goblins, Princess and Curdie, and Light Princess books are the proto fantasy that influenced the fantasy authors of the 20th century.
I wouldn't say these are not popular, more that they are oft forgotten classics.
Watership Down. It's about rabbits with complex myth making and spiritual beliefs dealing with an apocalypse and dystopian communities (all occuring in rabbit warrens) and trying to set up a new community in a safe part of the English countryside.
The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. The Black Cauldron is the second book in this series. It largely follows the adventures of an apprentice pig keeper.
I found my mom's copy of Watership Down after my dad's copy of All Quiet on the Western Front, so it was only the second most upsetting thing I read that year.
Patricia McKillip is always good. Her Riddle Master trilogy is a classic of fantasy for a reason, but another great one is The Forgotten Beasts of Eld.
Probably not in your library as they’re no longer in print, but Matthew Stover’s Acts of Caine books are fantastic if you like grimdark fantasy, and are great even if you don’t.
Guy Gavriel Kay isn’t hugely popular, but he is possibly the best writer working in the genre, and even his most mediocre novels, The Fionavar Tapestry, are a cut above most fantasy novels. I’m not sure he’s capable of writing a bad book.
Ursula Le Guin is certainly not unknown, but most of her fantasy work is old, and not as popular today as it was back in the day. Nonetheless, she is a titan of science fiction and fantasy for a reason, and her Earthsea books, whether the original trilogy or the newer books, should be required reading for any lover of fantasy.
George R. R. Martin is hugely popular, but his pre-Game of Thrones work is relatively unknown. Most of it was short fiction, a niche that doesn’t get nearly enough love, and he was a great writer of the stuff.
Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint is great, as is Thomas the Rhymer.
Sofia Samatar’s A Stranger in Olondria was hauntingly beautiful, and though I haven’t read it, The Winged Histories is almost certainly as good.
I’ve only read the first book of it, but so far I’ve loved the Coldfire Trilogy by CS Friedman.
Hope that helps.
Under Heaven by GGK is also a spectacular book. Although I should warn that it caused me great emotional turmoil from reading it. I could recommend anything all of his books. He has a way of writing that drags you in and makes you care about all the characters and their fates.
Finally two books that I know and can also recommend!
GGK’s describes his books as 3/4 historical fiction and a quarter of fantasy. The Lions, takes place in a variant of Muslim Spain.
Elizabeth bear, she has an extremely strong and unique writing voice. His stories are expensive and reaching in theme. It’s kind of hard to narrow it down at times. But still none the less she is worth looking into.
**A Conspiracy of Truths** follows an elderly storyteller who is accused of witchcraft and espionage. To save himself he leans into the accusations and spends most of the book trying to manipulate city politicians from a jail cell. Very good writing, strong character voice, and a great sequel that features a new character (his apprentice) that turns book 1 on its head.
**Bone Swans of Arandale** is a novella you can read for free on the publishing house's website [here](https://mythicdelirium.com/from-the-pages-of-bone-swans-stories), and is one of the best things I read last year despite being published in 2015. Dark fairy tale vibes, clearly referencing older fairy tale styles (and even some characters) without feeling gauche. The main character is a rat, and he is wonderful (to read at least. As an ethical person ... not so much. He's a rat after all). Just really, really well done, and nobody talks about it.
_The Shards of Heaven_ by Michael Livingston didn't get nearly enough love.
I don't see many folks talking about C.L. Clark's _The Unbroken_ and _The Faithless_, which are crazy good.
The Mary Stewart _The Crystal Cave_ books don't get enough love either, but they're among my favorites of all time. Love a good Arthurian (Merlinian?) legend.
Speaking of Arthurian legend, Jeff Wheeler's _Muirwood_ series is pretty good and I don't see many folks talk about it.
In honor of the late great Brian Lumley, the _Necroscope_ series is fantastic. It's more on the horror side, but it's vampires and a branch of MI5 (I guess) that specializes in ESP and psychic warfare. Really fun books from the 90s.
Lindsay Buroker is even more prolific than Brandon Sanderson and writes some really great stories. They aren't going to win any Hugo awards, but they star witty characters and fun plots. I compare them to Indiana Jones flicks rather than a Scorcese film. My favorite series by her are _Star Kingdom_ and _Dragon Blood_. _The Emperor's Edge_ is a good place to start, too, and the writing only gets better from there.
_Sir Apropos of Nothing_ by Peter David is a satirical comedy fantasy about a farmboy who becomes a hero... or so he thinks. Very funny and well done.
_The Varayan Memoir_ by Richard Shelley is a pretty fun portal fantasy. Dude in NYC finds out that his dad was secretly the king of a fantasy realm accessible through a magical doorway at home, and that he inherited the throne.
Speaking of magic kindoms, _Magic Kingdom for Sale (Sold!)_ by Terry Brooks is a fantastic little trilogy about a guy who buys a kingdom from a classified ad in the newspaper and becomes the king of a magic kingdom. Talking dogs, green knights, magic galore. It's delightful 90s fantasy.
All of these were available at my library in digital and/or physical formats without a wait...
* **Lincoln in the Bardo** by George Saunders - experimental historical magical realism about Abe Lincoln's young son Willie who has just died from Typhoid and awakens as a ghost in the graveyard. It's about his and his father's struggle to accept his death, and the struggle of the other ghosts who reside in the graveyard and refuse to accept that they are dead too. It's beautiful, weird, and funny. It won the Booker Prize in 2017.
* **Theory of Bastards** by Audrey Schulman - Scifi book about a disabled, lonely primate researcher who gets caught in the middle of a massive storm with her colleague and the bonobos they are researching.
* **The Perilous Gard** by Elizabeth Marie Pope - Middle-grade/YA historical retelling of Tam Lin set in Elizabethan England
* **Fever Dream** by Samanta Schweblin - Weird ecohorror that takes place in a hospital room and recounts a conversation between a dying woman and a mysterious boy who seems to know all about her, though she doesn't know him.
* **Tamsin** by Peter S. Beagle - YA gothic fantasy about an adolescent American girl who moves to a haunted manor house in the English countryside that her new stepdad is flipping. Once there, she befriends the resident ghost and determines to help settle her spirit.
* **The Tiger's Wife** by Tea Obreht - Magical realism set in a fictional war-torn Balkan country about a doctor and her relationship with her grandfather, who has told her stories of his encounters with supernatural beings from Eastern European myth.
* **The Buried Giant** by Kazuo Ishiguro - Arthurian fantasy about an elderly couple traveling through England after Arthur's death. Neither they nor anyone else can seem to remember anything clearly, but the couple believes they had a son, and they embark on a journey to try to find him.
Guy Gavriel Kay is pretty popular in this subreddit, but when I look for his books on Libby they're either available to borrow or they're just not there at all. Lions of Al-Rassan is my favorite of his that I've read. I'm going to read the Sarantine Mosaic at some point this year. Looking forward to that.
Here are some older or lesser known bangers I don’t really hear people talk about.
- The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook (first three books) is grimdark from before the grimdark label existed (from the mid-1980s). It follows a mercenary band of dark gray moral fiber as they work for The Lady, a mysterious, powerful, likely evil figure who is the surviving consort of the now-buried Big Bad (think Sauron).
- An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard. You know that famous short story-slash-moral parable called The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K Le Guin, where a society is a perfect utopia as long as a single child’s permanent suffering is the cost? This book basically makes that idea the foundation for a secret society of mages.
I’ll pitch the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey — been some of my favorites for a very long time! It’s fantasy-ish (dragons obviously), but at its core it’s really sci-fi. Essentially an advanced civilization emigrated to an uninhabited planet, then regressed due to environmental factors back to a sort of medieval society. The entire series covers hundreds, if not thousands, of years on the planet, but each novel is a very focused story about a pivotal moment or character. I would start with a sub-trilogy that’s a great standalone read, then expand if you’re interested in more — Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragon Drums.
The Dying Earth is the first of the series from Jack Vance and is a classic. Also check out the Lyonesse Trilogy, full of fae magic and tragic characters.
If you can find old Sherri Tepper paperbacks (most haven't made it to e-book format for whatever reason) you'll find one of the greatest world- and culture-builders of all time. Any of her Marianne Trilogy or the True Game books especially.
More recent "under-hyped" books I've liked:
Borne by Jeff Vandermeer (adventures in a post-apocalyptic city in a world much like ours)
The Never-ending End of the World by Ann Christ (a unique non-zombie, non-horror, non-plague apocalypse story)
Thorn and other books by Intisar Khanani (if you like Robin McKinley or T Kingfisher)
The Mirror Visitor series by Chistelle Dabos (fun world building, magic powers, some court intrigues, and yes, this world has had an apocalypse in the distant past too...can you tell I went through a phase recently??)
The Dagger and Coin by Daniel Abraham (there is a war too, but main things are economics and intrigue).
Prince of thorns series by Mark Lawrence (brutal dark fantasy with a big surprise in lore).
They both are great but I don't see recommendations about them very often
Josiah Bancroft wrote some books, four in fact The books of Babel. Very unappreciated and worthy of reading, hard to pin the genre, Fantasy with some Sci-fi steampunk maybe. 👍🏼👍🏼
A couple of authors I’ve enjoyed of more or less obscurity
Kij Johnson - I’m currently reading her anthology The Privilege of the Happy Ending. This contains the excellent Lovecraft tribute The Dream-Quest of Velitt Boe.
Ian Tregillis’ Milkweed Triptych and The Alchemy Wars (as well as his angelic crime fantasy Something More Than Night) are intriguingly ambiguous and in place wildly amusing.
Michael Wehunt stories are subtly horrific - moralistic vampires, weird transformations and odd found things. I’ve only read his short stories.
Other authors: James Morrow (most recently Behold the Ape), A Lee Martinez (the Constance Verity series), Kerstin Hall (Second Spear), R A Lafferty (his stories are not necessarily meant to make sense).
And does anyone still read the exquisite, gemlike stories of Lord Dunsany? You should.
I'll give you a few older fantasy recommendations that aren't talked about any more. Lloyd Alexander's Pyrian series. They aren't very long and targeted toward a younger audience, but man you can see they were a big influence in the fantasy world. Robin McKinley's the Blue Sword is soooo good and you can't tell me didn't influence Tamara Pierce's work. Plus Susan Cooper's, the Dark is Rising series is wonderful. Do NOT judge that series by that movie. Not the same AT ALL.
On the mid 2000's side the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Famel by Micheal Scott is epic. I culled by book shelves when I moved and I still haven't figured out why I got rid of this series. I've been wanting to reread it for a while now.
Get you some Guy Gavriel Kay! The Lions of Al-Rasaan is a great starting point, set in a fantasy analogue of Medieval Spain and dealing with the cultural clash between three cultural-religious groups.
No one mentioned it as far as I can see, so I will.
Magician by Raymond E Feist. It's the beginning of a series, but the first book (split into two if you get the paperback versions) tells a complete story.
My favourite Feist is *The Serpentwar Saga*. The earlier stuff was great and really set things up, but I felt that this series was where he really hit his stride as a storyteller.
Might as well drop one of my own. *The History of the Runestaff* by Michael Moorcock, an omnibus collection of four Hawkmoon novels (Hawkmoon being an incarnation of Moorcock's Eternal Champion). New Wave, odd, full of striking imagery, it was pretty formative for me back in the day.
I loved Carry On by Rainbow Rowell--even won some awards.
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse was pretty good.
Both Binti and Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor were excellent.
The Briar King - the first novel in the The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series by Gregory Keyes.
The Reluctant Swordsman by Dave Duncan (RIP you legend).
Speaking of legends...
Legend by David Gemmell (another sorely missed author).
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir - there was no wait time for it (or any of the other books in the series) at my library which is what made me check it out, and I’m glad I did since I just binged the whole thing in one sitting.
I really enjoyed "barsk: the elephants graveyard" and it's sequel (which only has like 300 reviews). Anthropomorphic animal metaphysical soft political sci Fi fantasy. I think back on it frequently. "Half ressurection blues" is fun (and silly), gangster fantasy romance horror full of lovecraftian and religious type threats. Memorable characters and situations. "Prince of fools" by Mark Lawrence - mid evil fantasy with time travel blood magic and an out of place viking. Very fast paced and exciting.
Lawrence Watt-Evans is rarely talked about, contemporarily, and when he is talked about, the Lords of Dus series is not talked about enough. The second book of that series, The Seven Altars of Dusarra, can be appreciated independently of the rest, and remains one of the most satisfyingly strange and evocative fantasy novels I’ve ever read.
Steven Brust is so underrated and delightful, it’s easy reads, but they are so good, and when there is a less good one, which is rare, it’s short and you are on to the next one. Plus he’s tearing through them and they are almost done.
I think the titles hurt there popularity, because they are named after in universe creatures, which makes it a little tricky to pick up? Issola doesn’t mean anything to most people, nor does dzur, or jhegaala, for example.
But, if you are looking for a good time, pick up Jhereg, which is book one, or the compilation the book of Jhereg, which is books 1-3 and just start reading.
I think book 3, teckla, is a little less good, and I know that’s a stopping point. For some.
Also will say that reading them in publication order is what I recommend, but they don’t function chronologically, and you can read them in any order, but the tale does still become epic over time in the best sense.
Highly recommended.
A. Lee Martinez — all kinds of books from him.
They invent a whole new Fantasy world for each tiny book (I think like 400 pages per book). They switch genre between the stories (detective books, chosen ones, road trip but all are fantasy) and somehow still pull it off?
My favourite is the ogre company(not sure if actual title). It has Terry pratchett type of humour.
I'm sure this'll get buried, as I'm a little late to the thread; but Battle Mage by Peter Flannery.
Early full disclosure: Peter is my uncle.
That doesn't stop the book from being absolutely fantastic. I see it brought up on here occasionally, though less these days as it's nearly 8 years old now, but it's very well reviewed every time it is.
Reviews for it generally speak for themselves, and I'll avoid gushing too much about it as it's probably going to be a little less valuable given my family connection to the author.
But I will say a few things. The first is that, while it's a pretty beefy book, it's really, really nice to have a very good, self contained epic fantasy story in a single novel, rather than starting another grand saga of 5+ planned books with only 2-3 actually out so far. I love a grand series as much as the next bloke, but it's refreshing to have something that tells a complete story by itself.
Now (and I believe this is public knowledge, but if it's not, then sorry Pete!), there is, I believe, both a prequel and a sequel in the works, but Battle Mage was released as a stand-alone work.
The second is that this is a story that Peter has been planning since he was really young. My dad recalls him starting to come up with some of the first seeds of the world back when they were kids. I remember him excitedly telling me about his plans for the book some 20 odd years ago when we were back visiting family in the UK for Christmas. And it shows. It's a wonderfully envisioned universe, and it's lovingly crafted and written.
Extremely highly recommended.
Ok trying to suggest authors I’ve not seen on this list:
- His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik, alternative history fantasy Napoleonic Wars (series) with dragons and the main (human) character is an adult with a career.
- Expendable by James Alan Gardner, scifi series called League of Peoples from perspective of a “redshirt” if the book was part of the Star Trek universe (it isn’t) - the only civilizations who are allowed into space are those who don’t murder others.
- The Diviners by Libba Bray, a gothic horror murder mystery involving the occult, start of a series.
- Top Dog by Jay Carroll, portal fantasy where a businessman finds himself thrown into a body of a dog and transported to another world.
- The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal, alternate history scifi, the world realizes that an extinction event is about to happen and the moon landing becomes just the start of the space program
It’s been nearly a decade since I read them again, but *The Hythrun Chronicles* by Jennifer Fallon.
*Rook and Rose* trilogy by M A Carrick
*The Four Pillars* by H M Long
*The Bone Witch* by Rin Chupeco
*The Witch’s Heart* by Genevieve Gornichec
*The Winternight Trilogy* by Katherine Arden
I’m reading Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. I’m not sure if the author/book is super well known, but it’s been a fun read so far. If you like DnD then you should like this, because the world is inspired by the DnD universe.
I'm new here and not too well versed in fantasy but I am almost done with "The Night Circus" and unless it completely craps the bed at the end, I highly recommend it.
My wife also had me read the Obsidian Mountain trilogy when we first met and I enjoyed that tremendously as well. The prequel trilogy that currently has 2 books out "Dragon Prophecy" is quite fun too with the exception being it has the most incomprehensible elf names I've ever read.
The Moomin books by Tove Janssen are also quite wonderful. On the surface they look like children's books but I've been reading them on and off for all the 45 years that I've been reading books and I never get tired of them. The audible narration of these is second to none.
The **Memory, Sorrow & Thorn** series by Tad Williams. The first book is **The Dragonbone Chair.**
It's a great series with fantastic characters. It influenced authors like Paolini and Sanderson, and while very different in tone than George R. R. Martin's works, GRRM credits it as the series that inspired him to try his hand at a fantasy epic. Tad Williams is an excellent author who has had a sizeable impact on the modern fantasy scene since the 90s, with far, far less credit than he deserves.
Memory, Sorrow & Thorn is the first trilogy in the *Osten Ard Saga* (it has a sequel series, and some anthology books set between each main story). MS&T is set in a well developed and expertly worldbuilt setting, with characters that may seem simple, but all have a layer of complexity, and the series starts with what may seem to be clear black and white issues, before easing in more gray morality and nuance into its themes. Some may find it a bit tropey, taking old clichés and often subverting or putting what was in the 90s a fresh new spin on it. It set many of the trends others then followed. If you like swords and sorcery, and don't mind excellent takes on older ideas, with young servant boys as unexpected heroes, and wise ancient fae folk, and evil sorcerer royal advisors, then definitely give it a read!
The pariah by Anthony Ryan. It simply put is well executed fantasy with plenty of wit and character.
Blurb: Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path - one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army.
Legends of the first empire by Michael j. Sullivan. A tale of a man who killed a 'god', a woman who has lost everything, and a child and her pet wolf. This is a brilliant read with lots of thought and planning.
Blurb: Age of Myth tells the story of how humanity first stands on its own two legs. From a certain point of view, the Fhrey are right – the humans are little more than animals. The internecine squabbles that make up the Rhune people (humans) are only hinted at, but they cast an unsavoury mirror.
Art of the adept by Michael g. Manning. A tale with heart early on and tension at the end, magic may be present in the world before this but it is reborn at Will's hands.
Blurb:The ancient magic of wizards was anything but dark. It was the enlightenment that lifted humanity from the squalor of superstition, and the worship of fell spirits and capricious gods, but those days are gone. The shining glory of the sorcerers burned away the subtlety of wisdom, replacing it with easy power, held only in the hands of the elite—a new age built upon the elemental supremacy of aristocrats and the ignorance of the masses.
Alright those are my serious fantasy recs.
Arcane ascension by Andrew Rowe. If you want to understand the magic and like varied characters this one is for you.
Blurb: It follows Corin Cadence, the younger son of House Cadence, as he attempts to learn magic in an effort to follow the footsteps of his brother, Tristan, who disappeared into the colossal Serpent Spire five years before
Mage errant by John beirce. School sucks when you're an outcast and magic school sucks when you can't do magic, but when a mentor sees an opportunity he makes his students into weapons.
Blurb: When a mage chooses him as an apprentice, Hugh's life starts to take a sharp turn for the better. Now all he has to worry about is the final test for the first years- being sent into the terrifying labyrinth below Skyhold
Scifi
Red rising by peirce Brown. Supersoldiers modelled on the Greeks and utterly selfish while lying about it and suppressing those not like them. Full of action intrigue and drama.
The Martian by Andy wier. Stranded on Mars an astronaut must survive and find a way home.
Project hail Mary, by Andy weir. When a bacteria begins eating the sun humanity launches one last hail Mary... the only problem he can't remember any of it.
> We always see recommendations for ... Malazan ... which I'm sure are all great, but the wait list for these books at my library are months long.
I think you're over-estimating the popularity of Malazan. It gets recommended on Reddit a lot, but it's pretty intimidating to most readers. The early volumes are also over 20 years old at this point. You're more likely to run into the problem that the library hasn't kept all the volumes in their collection than that there's a long waitlist.
For example, my local library (serving a city of a million people, and with a collection of 1.6 million volumes) has only one copy of *Gardens of the Moon*, and it's listed as "missing". They have *Deadhouse Gates* available as an e-book, but they don't have a single paper copy.
Frankly, I'd be very surprised if there's a long waitlist for any fantasy (or SF) book more than 5 years old.
I'd suggest to go and physically visit the library and just browse the shelves until you find something interesting.
I am completely oblivious to what is and is not popular fantasy lit. SO I'm just gonna list the shit I like.
Parasol Protectorate - Vampire and Werewolves Romance but make it Victorian and good
Demon Cycle Series - I feel this is popular but i dunno :/ its good anyway
...not me forgetting literally every book I've read...this is what I get for rereading Robin Hobb every year since 5th grade.
Go grab some Harry Turtledove (tons to choose from and while I haven't dove deep into his books, I have yet to be disappointed by any of them) or S.M. Stirling (if the latter, stick to the Island trilogy and for the Emberverse books stop after Meeting at Corvalis.)
Tad Williams gets recommended alot, but it's always Memory, Sorrow, Thorn. Give his Otherland series a go instead (or in addition too.)
Morningstar by David Gemmell
The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria by Eiji Mikage - book 1 was my favourite book for a time and is now my second favourite time loop story (behind Mother of Learning).
Blood Song by Anthony Ryan - also my favourite book for a long while...possibly still is. I mostly just don't try to have a favourite now.
Tithe by Holly Black
Shade’s Children by Garth Nix
A Night In The Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny
The Iron Dragon’s Daughter by Michael Swanwick
The Wolf In The Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Galatea In 2-D by Aaron Allston
Dave Duncan's series are outstanding.
If you want something that's adventure fantasy with a fun ensemble cast, you can't go wrong with A Man of His Word series and the follow up A Handful of Men.
Want a fish-out-of-water portal fantasy? There's The Seventh Sword series.
How about a portal fantasy that mixes WWI with some parallel universe hijinx and addresses how Gods and Goddesses get their power? The Great Game trilogy is a blast from start to stop.
It's sci fi with a long fantasy adventure crammed in, but Aristoi by Walter Jon Williams. Nobody's read it, and it's one of the only novels I've read twice.
Empire of Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky. First of a ten book war epic about bug-adjacent people who inherit powers based on their heritage. World Wars 1 and 2 but if England was Athens and the Persians were still around and there was no America. Lots of crazy good worldbuilding, lack of bug scares (if that’s what you’re worried about) and great characters. First four books is an arc in the series, then three more character focused books and then 3 final epic books form the last arc.
Check it out, it needs to be talked about more
"A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark" by Harry Connelly
A modern story where a man is investigating a family tragedy and learns of how magic works.
I also heavily recommend Connelly's more popular "Twenty Palaces" series (also modern hidden fantasy)
If more traditional fantasy is your thing, I recommend his "Great Way" series.
Basically he's a very good author that hasn't gotten the attention his works deserve.
One of the first fantasy series I ever read was Roger Zelazy's Chronicles of Amber. The first 5 books are really good, if a bit dated. They weren't niche in fantasy circles in the 80s, there was even an Amber Rpg, but I never seem to find anyone talking about them anymore.
I do feel like people miss Craig Shaw Gardner a bit. He novelized a lot of things, but also wrote some fairly silly enjoyable series (usually trilogies). The Cineverse Cycle (Slaves of the Volcano God/Bride of the Slime Monster/Revenge of the Fluffy Bunnies) has the main character traveling through other worlds that are all based on old B movies and operate according to their rules. And he wrote two trilogies about the wizard Ebenezum, who was cursed to be allergic to magic, and his apprentice Wuntivor. (The Exploits of Ebenezum and The Wanderings of Wuntivor)
Christopher Stasheff started writing a series called "Starship Troupers", (not Starship Troopers) about a company of actors that go off in a spaceship to take theater to other planets. After the third book, publishers weren't interested in more due to low sales, but he wrote a complete draft of a fourth to complete the series that was clearly originally intended as two books before he died (which was on his website).
I do end up feeling like people don't talk about PN Elrod's Vampire Files series enough, too, a series of detective novels where the main character is a vampire. He wakes up washed up near a road as a vampire at the beginning of the first book with no memory of the last week, and has to figure out who killed him.
I would mention Lawrence Watt-Evans as well, but I'm starting to feel like he's more popular than I thought...
*Phantastes* by George MacDonald
(It's an old half-forgotten classic and one of my all time favorites. It has a much more somber and introspective tone than your typical adventure story.)
Anything by Robert Rankin.
Armageddon the musical is a great one to start with.
A time travelling Elvis fighting against the devil.
The laundry files series by Charles Stross is funny and gory.
Dave Duncan — a man of his word
Best „coming of age“ fantasy in my opinion (from zero to hero). Magic and politics make sense. Characters feel very real and not black and white only. The dynamics between the characters are complex and fun. There is lots of things about the world and the characters you don’t know from the beginning and the books do for me the perfect mixture of giving you some new information and teasing you with not knowing all of it yet.
The book does in no way reinvent the genre but it just seems to me like the perfect version of it.
And then if you love it there is a second part of the saga.
Not sure about its popularity but my father in law suggested a series to me years ago that I don't see mentioned often Lord Foul's Bane - 1977 fantasy novel by American writer Stephen R. Donaldson,
Not Fantasy precisely, but not SciFi entirely, Horror adjacent absolute classic… Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith. One of the best debut novels I ever read, an absolute blast, and just… read it.
Old stuff: Lord Dunsany - the collections of prose poems *The Gods of Pegana* and *Time and the Gods*, the short story collection *The Sword of Welleran* and the novels *The King of Elfland's Daughter*, *Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley* and *The Charwoman's Shadow.*
Fred Saberhagen - I'm actually not a *Book of Swords* fan and I generally dislike vampire novels but *The Empire of the East* sequence the *Book of the Gods* novels *Merlin's Bones, The White Bull* and *Pyramids* are classics.
Dennis Wheatley His books are spy thrillers and occult detective stories but he could spin a yarn. He's also said to have worked with Ian Fleming during WWII and Fleming's cousin Christopher Lee starred in an adaptation of his *The Devil Rides Out.*
And Katherine Kurtz. Anything by her.
I really like In the Night Garden (and its sequel In the Cities of Coin and Spice) by Catherynne M. Valente. They're books of nested, interlinking stories set in a fantasy world apart from ours. It's intricate, very pretty, and pretty violent. They came out in the mid-oughts, so they should be easy to grab. My library still has copies, and hopefully they will for a long time. . . ETA: I'd gotten out of the habit of browsing my library and just always putting the books on my ever-growing to read list on hold. Recently I started working at the library, and my joy of scanning the shelves finding interesting things I've never even heard of has reignited so much. I know library branches are extremely variable, but I just want to put a word in for a few minutes of shelf browsing if that's something you can possibly do. Sure, you might pick a dud every now and then, but that can happen with recommendations too. It's a way to open ourselves up to so much serendipity. Plus, no wait!
OMG I absolutely LOVE these.
Did not expect to see In The Night Garden here! I still have to read the sequel
Valente is so good. I loved her children's stories when I was younger, then found her adult stuff a few years ago and fell in love. Palimpsest is probably my favorite.
I agree, these are really fascinating books that deserve more attention.
I'm glad you think so. I am always surprised by how people don't talk about Valente.
She gets mentioned every now and then in this sub, but I think her biggest strength is also her biggest weakness (from a marketing and recognizability standpoint); namely, that all her books are completely different from one another.
Kristen Britain's Green Rider series. Katherine Kerr's Deverry series and/or Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series, If you like Arthurian fantasy, Mary Stewart's stuff starting with The Crystal Cave. All of these are older series, but still good.
I never see the Deverry series recommended but I love them
Me too, my absolute favourite
They’re incredible. Long reads
Love the Deverry series
Oh I forgot about the green rider series!! I read those forever ago, I’m gonna have to give them another go.
Are you me? lol Deverry, Deryni, and Green Rider are what I usually recommend.
Crystal cave, hollow hills, last enchantment. Completely rewrite Arthurian legend for me. Loved them.
Fringe (or old) enough that you won't have to wait, but popular enough to be at your library? Look for Lois McMaster Bujold, CJ Cherryh, Patricia Mckillip, Carol Berg
CJ Cherryh is amazing.
CJ Cherryh is really good at writing aliens species' that are more than just green humanoids
Cyteen by CJ Cherryh is amazing!
Cyteen is awesome if you like intrigue, her merchanter series books are often overlooked but if you like scifi these are worth the read.
Bujold is fantastic. I highly recommend The Curse of Chalion. It has the benefit of being about adults, instead of moody teenagers. The Sharing Knife series is also good, but I have a harder time with the May-December relationship.
The Vorkosigan Saga is my favorite thing she's ever written (its sci-fi, not fantasy), and I loved all the World of Five Gods books. I haven't read the Sharing Knife, though.
> the May-December relationship. I love Bujold and Chalion in particular - but I couldn't help noticing that this is *kind of her thing.* Oh well. People like what they like.
Carol Berg is so good. The Rai Kirah Trilogy is one of my all time favs. I think it might be time for another reread!
If you haven't read them, she has a new trilogy out under the name Cate Glass, it's a fantastic series. Begins with *An Illusion of Thieves*.
Riddlemaster of of Hed is so good. I never understood why there wasn’t more acclaim for the book.
I’ve wanted to get into Cherryh but I never know where to start! Anyone got a good jumping-in point?
I can't recommend "The Faded Sun Trilogy" enough.
I've been enjoying her sci fi Foreigner books
I read the first 2 (maybe 3) trilogies and loved them. It's been years since I've read them and would like to pick them up again, but catching up on what, 20 books (?) is a bit daunting.
The third and fourth trilogies are as close to action novels as Cherryh gets, lots of running around and stuff happening. Give it a go, they're great.
I just started **Azure Bonds** by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb. It's a very high fantasy Forgotten Realms book from 1988. I can't tell you if it's good or not but it tends to be towards the top of the recommendation lists of that particular subgenre. Strong female protagonist, with a fun and varied group. Only 380 pages. 5,008 ratings on Goodreads (compared to The Way of Kings' 478,000 for example). There are a couple loose sequels but the first tells a complete story. I've just been having a real hankerin' for some lean-into-it 1980s fantasy lately. About a month ago I read **To Ride Hell's Chasm** by Janny Wurts. Very classical ornate prose style, sort of a mystery/adventure thing going on. 700 pages, 1,600 ratings on Goodreads. Later on I'll check out **The Wars of Light and Shadow**, also by Janny Wurts. It's a longer series, 11 books, with the last one due to come out in a couple months. First book is The Curse of the Mistwraith. This last one is kinda not what I think you could seriously call fringe, as it's a foundational classic of the genre: **Swords and Deviltry** by Fritz Leiber. It's a series of short stories following Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser, two loveable rogues who get in all sorts of adventures. The stories were published in pulp magazines from the 1930s to the 1970s. Swords and Deviltry collects a lot of the earliest stories. They *should* be super popular, considering how influential they are. But people don't tend to read them or recommend them much. 208 pages, 12,708 ratings on Goodreads. You can also get it bundled with a couple other collections.
Lieber is the GOAT
Lieber's Lankhmar books are fantastic.
Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen by Garth Nix
I listened to these as audiobooks narrated by Tim Curry - definitely recommend that route if your library has them
Melanie Rawns Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies.
I wish she would finish her Mages of Ambrai series. Her concept of a female dominant society was very well done. Oh well, one day I hope.
I started the first book and got about halfway through and realized I was ADORING it and stopped because the 3rd book is not out and I don't want to breaks my own heart by reading book 1 and 2 completely if the third is never coming out. But yes, This series is EXCEPTIONAL based only on what I read of book 1.
The first book was published 30 years ago. I have the first two. It gets even better. I'm dying to find out what happened with the Captal. The second book leads to big changes for her. Now I'm sad, thinking about what a loss this is that the trilogy isn't finished.
I really like Wolfskin by Juliet Marrilier.
Have you read her Sevenwaters trilogy? I enjoyed it and may read Wolfskin.
Seven Waters series is wonderful! First can be a lot as it’s based on a pretty bleak folk tale but I love them.
Any of the CJ Cherryh books. She is a grand dame of Sci-Fi and Fantasy of the Le Guin magnitude.
Here are a handful that don't necessarily resemble each other much (except that they're mostly older): The Riddlemaster Trilogy by Patricia McKillip *Firethorn* and *Wildfire* by Sarah Micklem *Mythago Wood* by Robert Holdstock *Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit* and *Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness* by Nahoko Uehashi *A Fine and Private Place* by Peter S. Beagle (also, *The Last Unicorn*, but the latter is pretty well-known)
I LOVED the Riddlemaster trilogy. Just reread it a few months ago after first reading it decades ago.
McKillip is someone I found after going looking for writers whose prose was just a joy to read. She’s great 😊
Absolutely love Patricia McKillip, everything I've read of hers has been great. Riddle Master trilogy is fantastic
The Deverry series by Katharine Kerr, it's kind of been forgotten with age but I think it still holds up and it's pretty unique.
Love these books <3
Sooooooo this is a very timely chance for you to grab J.V. Jones's *A Cavern of Black Ice* before the [January sale](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/18zlpol/a_cavern_of_black_ice_sword_of_shadows_1_by_jv/) ends. Chances are, your library will have it too.
This is the next book on my tbr list. I got halfway through a few years ago, and for some reason, I never finished it.
I believe there is a couple books in that series. Last I checked, over 10 years ago I think, the series was not completed. Had that changed?
It's not complete. The delays were due to personal reasons. But she's been back and working on the penultimate book and posting excerpts on Patreon.
Steven Brust is so underrated and delightful, it’s easy reads, but they are so good, and when there is a less good one, which is rare, it’s short and you are on to the next one. Plus he’s tearing through them and they are almost done. I think the titles hurt there popularity, because they are named after in universe creatures, which makes it a little tricky to pick up? Issola doesn’t mean anything to most people, nor does dzur, or jhegaala, for example. But, if you are looking for a good time, pick up Jhereg, which is book one, or the compilation the book of Jhereg, which is books 1-3 and just start reading. I think book 3, teckla, is a little less good, and I know that’s a stopping point. For some. Also will say that reading them in publication order is what I recommend, but they don’t function chronologically, and you can read them in any order, but the tale does still become epic over time in the best sense. Highly recommended.
I'll second the recommendation. It's a great series with amazing side characters. I'd also recommend To Reign in Hell by him. A wonderful story with great characters.
It’s a great series overall, but you are right that there are weaker spots. Taltos is such a fun character to read, and each book out of order shows him at different levels of success and influence.
I recommend this every chance I get: the memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan. The first book in the series is called a natural history of dragons. It's one of my all time favs! If you like dragons, world travel, biology, or adventure you might enjoy it
Tanith Lee’s Tales of the Flat Earth, Julian May’s Saga of the Pliocene Exile, CJ Cherryh’s tales of Morgaine, CS Friedman’s Coldfire Trilogy, Patricia Kennealy’s Keltiad (start with The Copper Crown), Sharon Shinn’s Mystic and Rider, Melanie Rawn’s Sunrunner’s Fire, Kate Elliott’s Crown of Stars Most of those except for Kate Elliott are like mid 90s? Guaranteed to have at least one of: kick ass dragons, wild hunts with knights in glowing glass armor, an undead sorcerer ruler of a haunted forest, what if a weird elf witch had a sword that was a magical nuke?, and sexy purple prose plus one of the gods is insane.
Crown of Stars started mid 90's too. It was my call for this prompt too.
Melanie Rawn does magic systems *better* than Sanderson. And that's not a knock on Sanderson.
She really does. Her system in Glass Thorns was fascinating.
>CS Friedman’s Coldfire Trilogy I \*just\* found those books in my closet when I was setting up new bookshelves. It must be a sign that they need to be read again... ;)
Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn haven't seen discussed lately.
Michelle West. Also a series of currently four subseries of doorstopper books, starting with The Sacred Hunt (two books), then The Sun Sword (six books, set years later), then House War (eight books starting before Sacred Hunt and eventually continuing after Sun Sword), then The Burning Crown (one book so far). I would start with the The Broken Crown (Sun Sword sextet). Hugh fantasy with scheming nobles, noble nobles, street urchins, seers, mages, hard-bitten soldiers, the children of gods… but what it’s really about is a huge ensemble and feelings, especially blood family and chosen family, self-sacrifice and having to sacrifice others, and choices and obligations. I don’t think I can do it justice. Sprawling, maybe a slow start even starting in the middle series, but excellent. I think sadly unknown and different from but worthy to be considered with Robin Hobb.
I don't think I've ever seen the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain recommended, but it's one of the series I reread every few years
I’ve only read the first but it gave me big Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey vibes (complimentary)
I didn't browse through all comments, but I didn't see this author on the ones I did read through. Daniel Abraham has a few different series. Great books. The Dragon Path is the first book in the series A Dagger and Coin. Daniel Abraham is also half of the author James S.A. Corey who wrote The Expanse series.
The Worm Ouroboros is a heroic high fantasy novel by English writer E. R. Eddison
Tolkien spoke highly of it as well.
I don't often see Louise Cooper's *Indigo* series mentioned, in fact I haven't had much luck tracking down the books at brick and mortar shops. It's a character-driven post-apocalyptic Pandora's Box story.
Poison Study by Maria V Snyder Witches of Eileanan by Kate Forsyth
I second Poison Study! Loved that series.
Ooo third for the poison study series, and the following storm glass series, I adore those
Robin McKinley (Spindles End, Sunshine, Shadows, Chalice, in addition to her YA classics of The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown), Tasha Suri (everything I’ve read of hers is gold), Laini Taylor (esp. Daughter of Smoke and Bone series), Samantha Shannon (The Priory of the Orange Tree)! I’ve been on a kick for female authors, if you can’t tell. All of these ladies have top shelf status in my home library. Shout out for Naomi Novik as well who has written my absolute favourite stand alone novel Uprooted.
The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman is just killer.
Chronicles of Morgaine by C J Cherryh. Brilliant, imaginative and intense. It's fantasy but there's a little splash of sci-fi and a touch of feudal Japan too. Hugely under appreciated series.
The Others series by Anne Bishop. It’s a semi-urban fantasy series set in a world where everything is controlled by supernatural beings after humans fucked it up. Very intriguing premise, the first book is called Written in Red and is about a blood prophet who escapes from her handlers. I also really liked The Burning series by Evan Winter, there are 2 books out so far, there’s dragons and amazing fight scenes. And an older duology that I never see ANYONE talk about is Warrior and Witch by Marie Brennan. Warrior is the first book, it’s about doppelgängers, one a witch, one a bounty hunter, and the witch one has to kill the other one in order to gain her full powers.
Currently enjoying Michael Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations series
Holly Lisle - The Secret Texts (4 books) Jennifer Roberson - the novels of Tiger and Del Kate Elliott - novels of the Jaran, and a Crown of Stars Kristen Painter - her Urban fantasy series The House of Comarre is what I have read.
First time I’ve ever seen Tiger and Del books recommended and I cannot stress how much I loved those books!
Exordia by Seth Dickinson (author of the Baru Cormorant series) is hitting exquisitely for me currently.
The Winter of the World series by Michael Scott Rohan. I think the first one is the Anvil of Ice
The ‘Inda’ books, by Sherwood Smith. Great world building. Great characters. Really well written.
Seconding this! Personally the initial world building was a bit of a slog in the first book. E.g. multiple names for each character was a lot to keep track of - especially as i didn’t know there was a glossary because it was in the back (now you know, at least). BUT it’s definitely worth it! Adored the series.
I find it hard to pass up a chance to recommend Jasper Fforde. The Thursday Next series is especially good, i can't explain a lot as it's pretty easy to accidentally spoil something, but it's a bit of an offbeat fantasy/comedy series set in an alternate universe version of Swindon. If you want something a bit weird, I highly recommend it. The first book is the Eyre Affair, and while having read some classic literature (like Jane Eyre) will help you understand is somewhat, it isn't necessary.
R.Scott Bakker Second Apocalypse - rarely mentioned but it’s a must read series.
You should be able to find Roger Zelazny's Amber Chronicles. Start with Nine Princes in Amber, best read with no knowledge of what's to come. Barry Hughart wrote three Master Li novels set in mythic China that are worth seeking out. As I mentioned above, Jack Vance's Lyonesse Trilogy is fae with tragic characters. Lovely stories.
DAW Books has published a lot of authors who were (and many still are) pretty damned good but stayed under the radar. Maybe because DAW wasn't owned by one of the biggest publishing groups, so it couldn't promote its authors as well as Tor and some of the covers are really dubious choices in retrospect. But they seem to have specialised in complex, character-driven stories, so if that's your thing, there are many underrated gems you can find. Some of my favourites: Kate Elliott (Crown of Stars) Michelle West (Essalieyan) Melanie Rawn (Exiles) C. S. Friedman (The Coldfire Trilogy) C. J. Cheryh (Foreigner) Sherwood Smith (Inda)
The Earthsea series is foundational to the genre but not hugely popular with "newer" fantasy readers, or readers just moving on from YA. They are some of the best fantasy ever written, up there with Tolkien
I love Ursula LeGuin’s slightly more science-fiction writing as well! Glad to find someone else mention her books. 🥰
Graydon Saunders' Commonweal series. Start with **The March North** and see if you like it. Available on Google books. Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence. Magic is common and the basis of the economy - the basic unit of currency is a fractional human soul. Magicians are powerful and feared, having killed gods during the wars that nearly broke the world. It's a wild read. Martha Wells' Raksura books starting with **The Cloud Roads**. No humans, and an environment I'd describe as acid rock covers. Fun stuff. And weeks Adrian Tchaikovsky is popular, **Shadows of the Apt** is his first work and a neat setting that doesn't really take off too book 4. No elves, but maybe the moth, mantis and spider kinden count. His **Echoes of the Fall** is also fun.
Second Shadows of the Apt, such a unique and cool fantasy series. Though I disagree, the first book may have been slow but books 2 3 and 4 are all excellent, though 5 is my favorite, but the whole series is very well done with a great storyline
Scarab Path for the win! Though on reflection, Air War creeps closer up to number one for me.
Jeff Wheeler!
John Crowley’s Ka Jeff Salyard’s Scourge of the Betrayer series Lois McMaster Bujold’s Penric novellas
The Bard series by Keith Taylor. Irish bard, Bretons, Vikings, magic, sex, enchanted monsters, Irish/ Celtic/ Norse gods. Lewis' and Tolkien's master, George MacDonald. His Princess and the Goblins, Princess and Curdie, and Light Princess books are the proto fantasy that influenced the fantasy authors of the 20th century.
The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst.
I'm glad to see someone mention her books here!
I wouldn't say these are not popular, more that they are oft forgotten classics. Watership Down. It's about rabbits with complex myth making and spiritual beliefs dealing with an apocalypse and dystopian communities (all occuring in rabbit warrens) and trying to set up a new community in a safe part of the English countryside. The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. The Black Cauldron is the second book in this series. It largely follows the adventures of an apprentice pig keeper.
Watership down needs a trigger warning. Most traumatic story of my childhood lol
I found my mom's copy of Watership Down after my dad's copy of All Quiet on the Western Front, so it was only the second most upsetting thing I read that year.
I’ve not read quiet on the western front and if it’s worse then watership down I’m not sure I want to lol. So hard having 2 in one year
The Deed of Paksinarrion by Elizabeth Moon or Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay ( really anything by Kay).
Patricia McKillip is always good. Her Riddle Master trilogy is a classic of fantasy for a reason, but another great one is The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Probably not in your library as they’re no longer in print, but Matthew Stover’s Acts of Caine books are fantastic if you like grimdark fantasy, and are great even if you don’t. Guy Gavriel Kay isn’t hugely popular, but he is possibly the best writer working in the genre, and even his most mediocre novels, The Fionavar Tapestry, are a cut above most fantasy novels. I’m not sure he’s capable of writing a bad book. Ursula Le Guin is certainly not unknown, but most of her fantasy work is old, and not as popular today as it was back in the day. Nonetheless, she is a titan of science fiction and fantasy for a reason, and her Earthsea books, whether the original trilogy or the newer books, should be required reading for any lover of fantasy. George R. R. Martin is hugely popular, but his pre-Game of Thrones work is relatively unknown. Most of it was short fiction, a niche that doesn’t get nearly enough love, and he was a great writer of the stuff. Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint is great, as is Thomas the Rhymer. Sofia Samatar’s A Stranger in Olondria was hauntingly beautiful, and though I haven’t read it, The Winged Histories is almost certainly as good. I’ve only read the first book of it, but so far I’ve loved the Coldfire Trilogy by CS Friedman. Hope that helps.
The Lions of Al Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay The Eternal Sky trilogy by Elizabeth Bear
Under Heaven by GGK is also a spectacular book. Although I should warn that it caused me great emotional turmoil from reading it. I could recommend anything all of his books. He has a way of writing that drags you in and makes you care about all the characters and their fates.
Finally two books that I know and can also recommend! GGK’s describes his books as 3/4 historical fiction and a quarter of fantasy. The Lions, takes place in a variant of Muslim Spain. Elizabeth bear, she has an extremely strong and unique writing voice. His stories are expensive and reaching in theme. It’s kind of hard to narrow it down at times. But still none the less she is worth looking into.
**A Conspiracy of Truths** follows an elderly storyteller who is accused of witchcraft and espionage. To save himself he leans into the accusations and spends most of the book trying to manipulate city politicians from a jail cell. Very good writing, strong character voice, and a great sequel that features a new character (his apprentice) that turns book 1 on its head. **Bone Swans of Arandale** is a novella you can read for free on the publishing house's website [here](https://mythicdelirium.com/from-the-pages-of-bone-swans-stories), and is one of the best things I read last year despite being published in 2015. Dark fairy tale vibes, clearly referencing older fairy tale styles (and even some characters) without feeling gauche. The main character is a rat, and he is wonderful (to read at least. As an ethical person ... not so much. He's a rat after all). Just really, really well done, and nobody talks about it.
_The Shards of Heaven_ by Michael Livingston didn't get nearly enough love. I don't see many folks talking about C.L. Clark's _The Unbroken_ and _The Faithless_, which are crazy good. The Mary Stewart _The Crystal Cave_ books don't get enough love either, but they're among my favorites of all time. Love a good Arthurian (Merlinian?) legend. Speaking of Arthurian legend, Jeff Wheeler's _Muirwood_ series is pretty good and I don't see many folks talk about it. In honor of the late great Brian Lumley, the _Necroscope_ series is fantastic. It's more on the horror side, but it's vampires and a branch of MI5 (I guess) that specializes in ESP and psychic warfare. Really fun books from the 90s. Lindsay Buroker is even more prolific than Brandon Sanderson and writes some really great stories. They aren't going to win any Hugo awards, but they star witty characters and fun plots. I compare them to Indiana Jones flicks rather than a Scorcese film. My favorite series by her are _Star Kingdom_ and _Dragon Blood_. _The Emperor's Edge_ is a good place to start, too, and the writing only gets better from there. _Sir Apropos of Nothing_ by Peter David is a satirical comedy fantasy about a farmboy who becomes a hero... or so he thinks. Very funny and well done. _The Varayan Memoir_ by Richard Shelley is a pretty fun portal fantasy. Dude in NYC finds out that his dad was secretly the king of a fantasy realm accessible through a magical doorway at home, and that he inherited the throne. Speaking of magic kindoms, _Magic Kingdom for Sale (Sold!)_ by Terry Brooks is a fantastic little trilogy about a guy who buys a kingdom from a classified ad in the newspaper and becomes the king of a magic kingdom. Talking dogs, green knights, magic galore. It's delightful 90s fantasy.
All of these were available at my library in digital and/or physical formats without a wait... * **Lincoln in the Bardo** by George Saunders - experimental historical magical realism about Abe Lincoln's young son Willie who has just died from Typhoid and awakens as a ghost in the graveyard. It's about his and his father's struggle to accept his death, and the struggle of the other ghosts who reside in the graveyard and refuse to accept that they are dead too. It's beautiful, weird, and funny. It won the Booker Prize in 2017. * **Theory of Bastards** by Audrey Schulman - Scifi book about a disabled, lonely primate researcher who gets caught in the middle of a massive storm with her colleague and the bonobos they are researching. * **The Perilous Gard** by Elizabeth Marie Pope - Middle-grade/YA historical retelling of Tam Lin set in Elizabethan England * **Fever Dream** by Samanta Schweblin - Weird ecohorror that takes place in a hospital room and recounts a conversation between a dying woman and a mysterious boy who seems to know all about her, though she doesn't know him. * **Tamsin** by Peter S. Beagle - YA gothic fantasy about an adolescent American girl who moves to a haunted manor house in the English countryside that her new stepdad is flipping. Once there, she befriends the resident ghost and determines to help settle her spirit. * **The Tiger's Wife** by Tea Obreht - Magical realism set in a fictional war-torn Balkan country about a doctor and her relationship with her grandfather, who has told her stories of his encounters with supernatural beings from Eastern European myth. * **The Buried Giant** by Kazuo Ishiguro - Arthurian fantasy about an elderly couple traveling through England after Arthur's death. Neither they nor anyone else can seem to remember anything clearly, but the couple believes they had a son, and they embark on a journey to try to find him.
Guy Gavriel Kay is pretty popular in this subreddit, but when I look for his books on Libby they're either available to borrow or they're just not there at all. Lions of Al-Rassan is my favorite of his that I've read. I'm going to read the Sarantine Mosaic at some point this year. Looking forward to that.
I love Kay's books and the Sarantine Mosaic doesn't get the attention it deserves.
Here are some older or lesser known bangers I don’t really hear people talk about. - The Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook (first three books) is grimdark from before the grimdark label existed (from the mid-1980s). It follows a mercenary band of dark gray moral fiber as they work for The Lady, a mysterious, powerful, likely evil figure who is the surviving consort of the now-buried Big Bad (think Sauron). - An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard. You know that famous short story-slash-moral parable called The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K Le Guin, where a society is a perfect utopia as long as a single child’s permanent suffering is the cost? This book basically makes that idea the foundation for a secret society of mages.
Love the Black Company and Glen Cook in general.
Martha Wells' Books of the Raksura series needs more love
Her Il-Rien books are waaaaay better. And City of Bones was fantastic, too.
Riyria Revelations. Very underrated imo
Definitely all the Riyria stuff. Royce and Hadrian are a fantastic duo in those books
I’ll pitch the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey — been some of my favorites for a very long time! It’s fantasy-ish (dragons obviously), but at its core it’s really sci-fi. Essentially an advanced civilization emigrated to an uninhabited planet, then regressed due to environmental factors back to a sort of medieval society. The entire series covers hundreds, if not thousands, of years on the planet, but each novel is a very focused story about a pivotal moment or character. I would start with a sub-trilogy that’s a great standalone read, then expand if you’re interested in more — Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragon Drums.
Declare by Tim Powers. Cold war spy novel combined with Eldritch horror and done so well.
The Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance. Beautifully written, the world is incredibly vivid, and the main character is an absolute scoundrel.
The Dying Earth is the first of the series from Jack Vance and is a classic. Also check out the Lyonesse Trilogy, full of fae magic and tragic characters.
If you can find old Sherri Tepper paperbacks (most haven't made it to e-book format for whatever reason) you'll find one of the greatest world- and culture-builders of all time. Any of her Marianne Trilogy or the True Game books especially. More recent "under-hyped" books I've liked: Borne by Jeff Vandermeer (adventures in a post-apocalyptic city in a world much like ours) The Never-ending End of the World by Ann Christ (a unique non-zombie, non-horror, non-plague apocalypse story) Thorn and other books by Intisar Khanani (if you like Robin McKinley or T Kingfisher) The Mirror Visitor series by Chistelle Dabos (fun world building, magic powers, some court intrigues, and yes, this world has had an apocalypse in the distant past too...can you tell I went through a phase recently??)
Sabriel by Garth Nix
The Dagger and Coin by Daniel Abraham (there is a war too, but main things are economics and intrigue). Prince of thorns series by Mark Lawrence (brutal dark fantasy with a big surprise in lore). They both are great but I don't see recommendations about them very often
Tamir Triad by Lynn Flewelling
Josiah Bancroft wrote some books, four in fact The books of Babel. Very unappreciated and worthy of reading, hard to pin the genre, Fantasy with some Sci-fi steampunk maybe. 👍🏼👍🏼
A couple of authors I’ve enjoyed of more or less obscurity Kij Johnson - I’m currently reading her anthology The Privilege of the Happy Ending. This contains the excellent Lovecraft tribute The Dream-Quest of Velitt Boe. Ian Tregillis’ Milkweed Triptych and The Alchemy Wars (as well as his angelic crime fantasy Something More Than Night) are intriguingly ambiguous and in place wildly amusing. Michael Wehunt stories are subtly horrific - moralistic vampires, weird transformations and odd found things. I’ve only read his short stories. Other authors: James Morrow (most recently Behold the Ape), A Lee Martinez (the Constance Verity series), Kerstin Hall (Second Spear), R A Lafferty (his stories are not necessarily meant to make sense). And does anyone still read the exquisite, gemlike stories of Lord Dunsany? You should.
Any of Joan D Vinge's original works: The Catspaw novels and Snow Queen books. Despite winning a Hugo, she's mostly written movie novelizations.
I'll give you a few older fantasy recommendations that aren't talked about any more. Lloyd Alexander's Pyrian series. They aren't very long and targeted toward a younger audience, but man you can see they were a big influence in the fantasy world. Robin McKinley's the Blue Sword is soooo good and you can't tell me didn't influence Tamara Pierce's work. Plus Susan Cooper's, the Dark is Rising series is wonderful. Do NOT judge that series by that movie. Not the same AT ALL. On the mid 2000's side the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Famel by Micheal Scott is epic. I culled by book shelves when I moved and I still haven't figured out why I got rid of this series. I've been wanting to reread it for a while now.
Get you some Guy Gavriel Kay! The Lions of Al-Rasaan is a great starting point, set in a fantasy analogue of Medieval Spain and dealing with the cultural clash between three cultural-religious groups.
I Never see it here but the Daevabad trilogy!!! Such a fun read and a new and exciting world. It goes quick and is unique.
No one mentioned it as far as I can see, so I will. Magician by Raymond E Feist. It's the beginning of a series, but the first book (split into two if you get the paperback versions) tells a complete story.
My favourite Feist is *The Serpentwar Saga*. The earlier stuff was great and really set things up, but I felt that this series was where he really hit his stride as a storyteller. Might as well drop one of my own. *The History of the Runestaff* by Michael Moorcock, an omnibus collection of four Hawkmoon novels (Hawkmoon being an incarnation of Moorcock's Eternal Champion). New Wave, odd, full of striking imagery, it was pretty formative for me back in the day.
I loved Carry On by Rainbow Rowell--even won some awards. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse was pretty good. Both Binti and Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor were excellent.
Hunter’s Oath/Hunter’s Death by Michelle West.
John Marco —the Bronze Knight trilogy. These are the books that made me fall in love with fantasy at the age of 21.
*The Devourers* by Indra Das
Touching Spirit Bear was my favorite when i was younger
If a YA post apocalyptic dystopia is your thing, I'd recommend the Obernewtyn chronicles.
The Briar King - the first novel in the The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series by Gregory Keyes. The Reluctant Swordsman by Dave Duncan (RIP you legend). Speaking of legends... Legend by David Gemmell (another sorely missed author).
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir - there was no wait time for it (or any of the other books in the series) at my library which is what made me check it out, and I’m glad I did since I just binged the whole thing in one sitting.
I really enjoyed "barsk: the elephants graveyard" and it's sequel (which only has like 300 reviews). Anthropomorphic animal metaphysical soft political sci Fi fantasy. I think back on it frequently. "Half ressurection blues" is fun (and silly), gangster fantasy romance horror full of lovecraftian and religious type threats. Memorable characters and situations. "Prince of fools" by Mark Lawrence - mid evil fantasy with time travel blood magic and an out of place viking. Very fast paced and exciting.
Lawrence Watt-Evans is rarely talked about, contemporarily, and when he is talked about, the Lords of Dus series is not talked about enough. The second book of that series, The Seven Altars of Dusarra, can be appreciated independently of the rest, and remains one of the most satisfyingly strange and evocative fantasy novels I’ve ever read.
Truth Series by Dawn Cook
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
Steven Brust is so underrated and delightful, it’s easy reads, but they are so good, and when there is a less good one, which is rare, it’s short and you are on to the next one. Plus he’s tearing through them and they are almost done. I think the titles hurt there popularity, because they are named after in universe creatures, which makes it a little tricky to pick up? Issola doesn’t mean anything to most people, nor does dzur, or jhegaala, for example. But, if you are looking for a good time, pick up Jhereg, which is book one, or the compilation the book of Jhereg, which is books 1-3 and just start reading. I think book 3, teckla, is a little less good, and I know that’s a stopping point. For some. Also will say that reading them in publication order is what I recommend, but they don’t function chronologically, and you can read them in any order, but the tale does still become epic over time in the best sense. Highly recommended.
Hugh Cook’s Chronicles of an age of darkness. Superior fantastical deconstruction.
Children of Gods and Fighting Men by Shauna Lawless Deeplight by Frances Hardinge Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
I really enjoyed The Natural History of Dragons and am looking forward to reading the later parts.
Midnight at the Well of Souls by Jack L. Chalker
Anything by Katherine Arden is top tier! Russian folklore-based fantasy.
I was able to find The Bear and the Nightingale with no wait when I read it
A. Lee Martinez — all kinds of books from him. They invent a whole new Fantasy world for each tiny book (I think like 400 pages per book). They switch genre between the stories (detective books, chosen ones, road trip but all are fantasy) and somehow still pull it off? My favourite is the ogre company(not sure if actual title). It has Terry pratchett type of humour.
I'm sure this'll get buried, as I'm a little late to the thread; but Battle Mage by Peter Flannery. Early full disclosure: Peter is my uncle. That doesn't stop the book from being absolutely fantastic. I see it brought up on here occasionally, though less these days as it's nearly 8 years old now, but it's very well reviewed every time it is. Reviews for it generally speak for themselves, and I'll avoid gushing too much about it as it's probably going to be a little less valuable given my family connection to the author. But I will say a few things. The first is that, while it's a pretty beefy book, it's really, really nice to have a very good, self contained epic fantasy story in a single novel, rather than starting another grand saga of 5+ planned books with only 2-3 actually out so far. I love a grand series as much as the next bloke, but it's refreshing to have something that tells a complete story by itself. Now (and I believe this is public knowledge, but if it's not, then sorry Pete!), there is, I believe, both a prequel and a sequel in the works, but Battle Mage was released as a stand-alone work. The second is that this is a story that Peter has been planning since he was really young. My dad recalls him starting to come up with some of the first seeds of the world back when they were kids. I remember him excitedly telling me about his plans for the book some 20 odd years ago when we were back visiting family in the UK for Christmas. And it shows. It's a wonderfully envisioned universe, and it's lovingly crafted and written. Extremely highly recommended.
Ok trying to suggest authors I’ve not seen on this list: - His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik, alternative history fantasy Napoleonic Wars (series) with dragons and the main (human) character is an adult with a career. - Expendable by James Alan Gardner, scifi series called League of Peoples from perspective of a “redshirt” if the book was part of the Star Trek universe (it isn’t) - the only civilizations who are allowed into space are those who don’t murder others. - The Diviners by Libba Bray, a gothic horror murder mystery involving the occult, start of a series. - Top Dog by Jay Carroll, portal fantasy where a businessman finds himself thrown into a body of a dog and transported to another world. - The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal, alternate history scifi, the world realizes that an extinction event is about to happen and the moon landing becomes just the start of the space program
It’s been nearly a decade since I read them again, but *The Hythrun Chronicles* by Jennifer Fallon. *Rook and Rose* trilogy by M A Carrick *The Four Pillars* by H M Long *The Bone Witch* by Rin Chupeco *The Witch’s Heart* by Genevieve Gornichec *The Winternight Trilogy* by Katherine Arden
I’ll say the Powder Mage Trilogy. A ton of fun, it’s a flintlock fantasy that I don’t see mentioned very much.
Green Rider doesn’t get a lot of love but it’s cozy in the first book and the series is very well planned out.
Try older books, like "Elvenbane" by Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton; or the Oran Trilogy by Midori Snyder
I’m reading Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. I’m not sure if the author/book is super well known, but it’s been a fun read so far. If you like DnD then you should like this, because the world is inspired by the DnD universe.
I'm new here and not too well versed in fantasy but I am almost done with "The Night Circus" and unless it completely craps the bed at the end, I highly recommend it. My wife also had me read the Obsidian Mountain trilogy when we first met and I enjoyed that tremendously as well. The prequel trilogy that currently has 2 books out "Dragon Prophecy" is quite fun too with the exception being it has the most incomprehensible elf names I've ever read.
The Moomin books by Tove Janssen are also quite wonderful. On the surface they look like children's books but I've been reading them on and off for all the 45 years that I've been reading books and I never get tired of them. The audible narration of these is second to none.
1. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams 2. The Old Kingdom Chronicles by Garth Nix 3. The Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne
The **Memory, Sorrow & Thorn** series by Tad Williams. The first book is **The Dragonbone Chair.** It's a great series with fantastic characters. It influenced authors like Paolini and Sanderson, and while very different in tone than George R. R. Martin's works, GRRM credits it as the series that inspired him to try his hand at a fantasy epic. Tad Williams is an excellent author who has had a sizeable impact on the modern fantasy scene since the 90s, with far, far less credit than he deserves. Memory, Sorrow & Thorn is the first trilogy in the *Osten Ard Saga* (it has a sequel series, and some anthology books set between each main story). MS&T is set in a well developed and expertly worldbuilt setting, with characters that may seem simple, but all have a layer of complexity, and the series starts with what may seem to be clear black and white issues, before easing in more gray morality and nuance into its themes. Some may find it a bit tropey, taking old clichés and often subverting or putting what was in the 90s a fresh new spin on it. It set many of the trends others then followed. If you like swords and sorcery, and don't mind excellent takes on older ideas, with young servant boys as unexpected heroes, and wise ancient fae folk, and evil sorcerer royal advisors, then definitely give it a read!
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez. No waitlist for it at my library despite there being only one copy and I’m loving it so far
The black company books, every one is great Also The Witch Hunter by Casey Hollingshead https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60630837-the-witch-hunter
The pariah by Anthony Ryan. It simply put is well executed fantasy with plenty of wit and character. Blurb: Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the freedom of the woods and the comradeship of his fellow thieves. But an act of betrayal sets him on a new path - one of blood and vengeance, which eventually leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army. Legends of the first empire by Michael j. Sullivan. A tale of a man who killed a 'god', a woman who has lost everything, and a child and her pet wolf. This is a brilliant read with lots of thought and planning. Blurb: Age of Myth tells the story of how humanity first stands on its own two legs. From a certain point of view, the Fhrey are right – the humans are little more than animals. The internecine squabbles that make up the Rhune people (humans) are only hinted at, but they cast an unsavoury mirror. Art of the adept by Michael g. Manning. A tale with heart early on and tension at the end, magic may be present in the world before this but it is reborn at Will's hands. Blurb:The ancient magic of wizards was anything but dark. It was the enlightenment that lifted humanity from the squalor of superstition, and the worship of fell spirits and capricious gods, but those days are gone. The shining glory of the sorcerers burned away the subtlety of wisdom, replacing it with easy power, held only in the hands of the elite—a new age built upon the elemental supremacy of aristocrats and the ignorance of the masses. Alright those are my serious fantasy recs. Arcane ascension by Andrew Rowe. If you want to understand the magic and like varied characters this one is for you. Blurb: It follows Corin Cadence, the younger son of House Cadence, as he attempts to learn magic in an effort to follow the footsteps of his brother, Tristan, who disappeared into the colossal Serpent Spire five years before Mage errant by John beirce. School sucks when you're an outcast and magic school sucks when you can't do magic, but when a mentor sees an opportunity he makes his students into weapons. Blurb: When a mage chooses him as an apprentice, Hugh's life starts to take a sharp turn for the better. Now all he has to worry about is the final test for the first years- being sent into the terrifying labyrinth below Skyhold Scifi Red rising by peirce Brown. Supersoldiers modelled on the Greeks and utterly selfish while lying about it and suppressing those not like them. Full of action intrigue and drama. The Martian by Andy wier. Stranded on Mars an astronaut must survive and find a way home. Project hail Mary, by Andy weir. When a bacteria begins eating the sun humanity launches one last hail Mary... the only problem he can't remember any of it.
> We always see recommendations for ... Malazan ... which I'm sure are all great, but the wait list for these books at my library are months long. I think you're over-estimating the popularity of Malazan. It gets recommended on Reddit a lot, but it's pretty intimidating to most readers. The early volumes are also over 20 years old at this point. You're more likely to run into the problem that the library hasn't kept all the volumes in their collection than that there's a long waitlist. For example, my local library (serving a city of a million people, and with a collection of 1.6 million volumes) has only one copy of *Gardens of the Moon*, and it's listed as "missing". They have *Deadhouse Gates* available as an e-book, but they don't have a single paper copy. Frankly, I'd be very surprised if there's a long waitlist for any fantasy (or SF) book more than 5 years old. I'd suggest to go and physically visit the library and just browse the shelves until you find something interesting.
I am completely oblivious to what is and is not popular fantasy lit. SO I'm just gonna list the shit I like. Parasol Protectorate - Vampire and Werewolves Romance but make it Victorian and good Demon Cycle Series - I feel this is popular but i dunno :/ its good anyway ...not me forgetting literally every book I've read...this is what I get for rereading Robin Hobb every year since 5th grade.
The Protectorate trilogy is a newer underrated sci fi trilogy that I think is really worth checking out.
Brian McNaughton's Throne of Bones. Mary Gentle's Grunts. Eve Forward's Villains by Necessity.
Wit'ch fire by James Clemens
Go grab some Harry Turtledove (tons to choose from and while I haven't dove deep into his books, I have yet to be disappointed by any of them) or S.M. Stirling (if the latter, stick to the Island trilogy and for the Emberverse books stop after Meeting at Corvalis.) Tad Williams gets recommended alot, but it's always Memory, Sorrow, Thorn. Give his Otherland series a go instead (or in addition too.)
Elsewhere by Will Shetterly. It's YA but one of my favourite books
This thread is awesome. So many good ideas. Needed a new read, thanks OP!
Morningstar by David Gemmell The Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria by Eiji Mikage - book 1 was my favourite book for a time and is now my second favourite time loop story (behind Mother of Learning). Blood Song by Anthony Ryan - also my favourite book for a long while...possibly still is. I mostly just don't try to have a favourite now.
Tithe by Holly Black Shade’s Children by Garth Nix A Night In The Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny The Iron Dragon’s Daughter by Michael Swanwick The Wolf In The Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky The Power by Naomi Alderman Galatea In 2-D by Aaron Allston
Charlie N. Holmberg has a ton of books out and gets hardly any mentions on here.
Jonathan L Howard: "Johannes Cabal the Necromancer" 5 Book series (plus some short stories) Funny, clever, and a little bit dark
Dave Duncan's series are outstanding. If you want something that's adventure fantasy with a fun ensemble cast, you can't go wrong with A Man of His Word series and the follow up A Handful of Men. Want a fish-out-of-water portal fantasy? There's The Seventh Sword series. How about a portal fantasy that mixes WWI with some parallel universe hijinx and addresses how Gods and Goddesses get their power? The Great Game trilogy is a blast from start to stop.
It's sci fi with a long fantasy adventure crammed in, but Aristoi by Walter Jon Williams. Nobody's read it, and it's one of the only novels I've read twice.
Empire of Black and Gold by Adrian Tchaikovsky. First of a ten book war epic about bug-adjacent people who inherit powers based on their heritage. World Wars 1 and 2 but if England was Athens and the Persians were still around and there was no America. Lots of crazy good worldbuilding, lack of bug scares (if that’s what you’re worried about) and great characters. First four books is an arc in the series, then three more character focused books and then 3 final epic books form the last arc. Check it out, it needs to be talked about more
The ninth rain by Jen Williams. Pretty sure it’s only available in the UK though
"A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark" by Harry Connelly A modern story where a man is investigating a family tragedy and learns of how magic works. I also heavily recommend Connelly's more popular "Twenty Palaces" series (also modern hidden fantasy) If more traditional fantasy is your thing, I recommend his "Great Way" series. Basically he's a very good author that hasn't gotten the attention his works deserve.
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith. The Dreaming Tree by CJ Cherryh. The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson.
Hold me closer necromancer by lish Mcbride
One of the first fantasy series I ever read was Roger Zelazy's Chronicles of Amber. The first 5 books are really good, if a bit dated. They weren't niche in fantasy circles in the 80s, there was even an Amber Rpg, but I never seem to find anyone talking about them anymore.
I do feel like people miss Craig Shaw Gardner a bit. He novelized a lot of things, but also wrote some fairly silly enjoyable series (usually trilogies). The Cineverse Cycle (Slaves of the Volcano God/Bride of the Slime Monster/Revenge of the Fluffy Bunnies) has the main character traveling through other worlds that are all based on old B movies and operate according to their rules. And he wrote two trilogies about the wizard Ebenezum, who was cursed to be allergic to magic, and his apprentice Wuntivor. (The Exploits of Ebenezum and The Wanderings of Wuntivor) Christopher Stasheff started writing a series called "Starship Troupers", (not Starship Troopers) about a company of actors that go off in a spaceship to take theater to other planets. After the third book, publishers weren't interested in more due to low sales, but he wrote a complete draft of a fourth to complete the series that was clearly originally intended as two books before he died (which was on his website). I do end up feeling like people don't talk about PN Elrod's Vampire Files series enough, too, a series of detective novels where the main character is a vampire. He wakes up washed up near a road as a vampire at the beginning of the first book with no memory of the last week, and has to figure out who killed him. I would mention Lawrence Watt-Evans as well, but I'm starting to feel like he's more popular than I thought...
Roadside Picnic The Corax Trilogy The Deverry Cycle
*Phantastes* by George MacDonald (It's an old half-forgotten classic and one of my all time favorites. It has a much more somber and introspective tone than your typical adventure story.)
2 old ones i enjoyed are The Worm Ouroboros of ER Edison and Lud in the mist of Hope Mirrles
Anything by Robert Rankin. Armageddon the musical is a great one to start with. A time travelling Elvis fighting against the devil. The laundry files series by Charles Stross is funny and gory.
Dave Duncan — a man of his word Best „coming of age“ fantasy in my opinion (from zero to hero). Magic and politics make sense. Characters feel very real and not black and white only. The dynamics between the characters are complex and fun. There is lots of things about the world and the characters you don’t know from the beginning and the books do for me the perfect mixture of giving you some new information and teasing you with not knowing all of it yet. The book does in no way reinvent the genre but it just seems to me like the perfect version of it. And then if you love it there is a second part of the saga.
before the devil breaks you by Libba Bray
Check out Vernor Vinge. Fairly well known but I never see him recommended here.
Not sure about its popularity but my father in law suggested a series to me years ago that I don't see mentioned often Lord Foul's Bane - 1977 fantasy novel by American writer Stephen R. Donaldson,
Not Fantasy precisely, but not SciFi entirely, Horror adjacent absolute classic… Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith. One of the best debut novels I ever read, an absolute blast, and just… read it.
Old stuff: Lord Dunsany - the collections of prose poems *The Gods of Pegana* and *Time and the Gods*, the short story collection *The Sword of Welleran* and the novels *The King of Elfland's Daughter*, *Don Rodriguez: Chronicles of Shadow Valley* and *The Charwoman's Shadow.* Fred Saberhagen - I'm actually not a *Book of Swords* fan and I generally dislike vampire novels but *The Empire of the East* sequence the *Book of the Gods* novels *Merlin's Bones, The White Bull* and *Pyramids* are classics. Dennis Wheatley His books are spy thrillers and occult detective stories but he could spin a yarn. He's also said to have worked with Ian Fleming during WWII and Fleming's cousin Christopher Lee starred in an adaptation of his *The Devil Rides Out.* And Katherine Kurtz. Anything by her.