What are some lesser known or just smaller series or books that you loved? I constantly see the big dogs recommended on here like Stormlight Archives or KingKiller Chronicles or ASOIAF but what are those little books that you picked up and powered through? I have a little list of the random books I read in between the big releases and would love to add some new ones to the pile!
Posted Nov 28, 2023, 4:44 AM UTC
Kristen Britain’s Green Rider series
Some of my favorite epic fantasy are little 2-4 book series that never got broader popularity.
The Long Price Quartet
by Daniel Abraham is some of the best I've seen at giving perspective from both sides of a conflict, as well as exploring long-term consequences.
I read these books this year and they blew away just about everything else I read this year. They are seriously under-rated. The character work really impressed me and the 'magic system' was truly unique without feeling like jargon was being thrown at me every ten minutes. I understood the magic and it still remained fantastical. I hope more people give this series a chance.
H. M. Long's Pillars Quartet that finishes in January is a lovely Nordic inspired fantasy series. Plus she just started a new series this year!
Otherwise the Lady Trent Memoirs by Marie Brennan is a wonderful low fantasy series inspired by the Victorian era memoirs by explorers/naturalists that were thing at the time. They follow a Dragon Naturalist.
Came here for The Memoirs of Lady Trent. An absolute delight. It couldn't be more different to my two favourite series of all times (ASOIAF and The First Law), yet it somehow manages to fight head to head with those beasts for the top spots in my ranking. Recommended 100%, particularly in audio format — Kate Reading outdoes herself there.
Villains' Code series by Drew Hayes and pretty much everything else he's written.
I like the premise of Villains Code and the general sense of grey - it isn't the black and white good guys vs bad guys typical story I've seen with "comic book rules" kind of settings.
The villains aren't always stupid, heartless or evil; the good guys can be selfish, they can be unsure, they can create a sex robot that is self aware and sues for emancipation; and when an immortal interdimensional voyeur decides to interfere for their own entertainment, just run.
This is my answer too! I loved that series.
The Queen's Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Raven's Mark trilogy by Ed McDonald. Blackwing, Ravencry, and Crowfall.
Matchlock and magic fantasy that's grim but still hopeful.
The Legend of Eli Monpress, by Rachel Aaraon. Follows a magical thief trying to earn the world's largest bounty.
A Practical Guide to Sorcery by Azalea Ellis. Girl sneaks in to magical school, accidentally makes herself an urban legend, indebts herself to revolutionary gangster, and has to juggle all three.
Super Powereds by Drew Hayes. Superheroes go to college, with an epic generation-spanning, sins-of-the fathers meta-plot.
Art of the Adept by Michael Manning. Boy learns the true magic from irascible mentor, then has to navigate a world where all other magic is controlled by the nobility. Finished, but sequel series ongoing.
Arcane Casebook by Dan Willis. Small fry wizard detective in alternate-history, open-magic interwar period, where the big fish (sorcerers) are immensely more powerful than he. Ongoing.
The Grimnoire Chronicle by Larry Correia. Action-packed alternate-history open-magic interwar urban fantasy, fighting against Japanese magical samurai, who take centre-stage for a nascent WW2 after Hitler is unceremoniously shanked off-screen.
Bobiverse by Dennis Taylor. Bob dies, is cryogenically frozen, and is defrosted as a space probe; semi-tongue-in-cheek post-humanist galactic exploration. Still ongoing.
Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury. YA open-magic magical school, but magic is done through performing music. Especially good in audiobook form, where they have an orchestra performing the "spells". Ongoing
Coldfire Trilogy by Celia Friedman. Dark fantasy with a prominent anti-hero, basically fighting against alien magic that manifests based on humanity's unconscious fears and desires.
Threshold by Peter Clines. Cthulu-esque supernatural thriller, with people investigating unknown phenomena.
Tales of the Ketty Jay, by Chris Wooding. Firefly if Serenity was a steampunk airship.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Fantasy heist, set in the same world as her more well-known Shadow and Bone series, but the better of her two series IMO. Complete, and stands alone.
Coldfire is amazing. Cannot recommend it enough.
Seconding Threshold, Clines is so so good.
Love the Bobiverse. Highly recommended.
Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda was a young reader fantasy series. They were exactly what I was wanting out of fantasy back when I was in grade school, and really raised my standards. Surprisingly dark, too.
They’re not great books, but they really spoke to my love of worldbuilding and adventure despite having fairly one-dimensional characters. Plus, lots of fun puzzles and riddles throughout!
Dude I loved Deltora Quest!!!
Deltora Quest was such a great part of my childhood, all the kids talked about it and it was exciting to keep up haha
Absolutely loved Deltora's Quest when I was a kid and it was a big reason I got into fantasy in the first place.
Age of assassins by RJ Barker! Truly a fantastic series featuring fantastic characters
His Tide Child trilogy is also phenomenal.
The Riddle Master Trilogy by Patricia McKillip is one of my all time faves and I never see it talked about. It seems like I it’s faded from the community since the 90s.
The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee
The Banshee's Curse duology by A K M Beach
Loved “Kings of the Wyld”. Went in with zero expectations and was sucked in. Orconomics was another pleasant surprise!
The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams. Fantasy stand alone.
World of the Lupi by Eileen Wilks. Urban fantasy series.
The Wayfarer Redemption aka The Axis Trilogy by Sara Douglass. Military fantasy.
I wouldn't really call Axis military fantasy - it's pretty straight-up epic fantasy. Despite Axis being the leader of a military organisation, he doesn't spend much time actually doing it.
Enjoyed it, although the sequel series gets a bit abstract for me.
Fair enough. I just found them to be really old school swords and magic fantasy and I wasn’t really sure how to categorise that - so I said military fantasy. I haven’t read the sequel series yet but am excited to see where it goes.
Loved Sara Douglass’s books!
The Shades of Magic series by VE Schwab.
The Lords of Dûs series by Lawrence Watt-Evans (first book: The Lure of the Basilisk)
Villain's Code by Drew Hayes (book 1 is Forging Hephaestus) is my all-time favorite superhero/supervillain story. It's so good.
The Obsidian Path series by Michael Fletcher was a unique, dark, fun ride. An absolute blast for me.
The Lot Lands Trilogy by Johnathan French comes across as one way, then just keeps shifting directions in how it develops. Its also dark, but wholesome and entertaining.
Mordant's Need - Stephen Donaldson
Chronicles of the Cheysuli - Jennifer Roberson
Seconding Jennifer Roberson, along with her Tiger and Del series.
Monster Blood Tattoo by DM Cornish (trilogy) is one of the few series where I have purchased both the hard copy and audiobooks of the whole thing. Fantastic storytelling and world building
Has it aged well now?
I think so. I just let a friend borrow my copy of volume 1 (Foundling) and he really enjoyed it
Came here to say just this. I loved just reading the glossary.
Yes! the level of detail he includes is amazing. And the artwork!