I’m looking for recommendations for a book or series that’s on the level of excellence of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George RR Martin.

I’m almost done finishing the first book in the series and bought the second. I love his writing. He’s so excellent with plot and descriptions and intrigue and surprises and relationships and communities. He has an incredible imagination. The problem is I’ve seen most of the series on television and I’ve seen a lot of clips online, so I recognize almost everything happening and know the outcome. This takes some of the enjoyment out of the reading.

Are there other books or series you think are in the same league? I like fantasy, but not if it goes too far. I don’t like lots of magic and flying around and talking horses and whirlwinds and things appeared out of nowhere, if you know what I mean. I don’t like supermen with unique powers. I don’t like Marvel movies— just not my thing. My favorite genre is hard sci-fi, but now I’d like to explore more fantasy. Maybe semi-hard fantasy, if there is such a thing. What I like about Martin is he has elements of fantasy, but doesn’t take them too far, but just enough— dragons, wight walkers, a 700 foot wall of ice, direwolves, etc. The people come first and foremost. Nobody gets off easy.

Yes, I’ve read Lord of the Rings and other books by Tolkien. Just as excellent. Would love to dive into somebody else similarly good. Any recommendations? Thanks.

We're currently reading A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab for October's book of the month, and this discussion will be on the book's second half.

This discussion includes the entire book, so if you haven't finished it yet, please avoid this topic. The comments below will contain spoilers.

I'll post some questions to go along with the reading but feel free to comment about anything else or start your own comment thread on anything you found interesting or any questions that you had.

• How did you feel about the final battle sequence and the ending with the black magic stone?
• What do you think of Lila's contributions to the story and interactions with Kell? Did you expect them to stay together at the end? What about her potential magic abilities?
• What do you think happened to Holland in the end, is he really dead?
• How would you rate this book? Would you recommend it to others? Do you think that you'll read the rest of the series?

I've recently gotten back in to reading after reading when the moon hatched, I then read forth wing and iron flame, then the spell shop and I've just finished of by the orchid and the owl.

And now I'm struggling on what to read next. I can be picky/particular

I'm looking for something that has nature/forest/mushroom themes or fae/folklore

Does not need to be a romance although I know that is all I've read so far.

I tried the north wind and I couldn't finish it 😅

Bonus points if its on kindle unlimited ot is a completed series!

The November 2024 book will be The Spear That Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

Nomination and Voting: See here

Goodreads Link: See here

Storygraph Link: See here

Two warriors shepherd an ancient god across a broken land to end the tyrannical reign of a royal family in this epic fantasy from the author of The Vanished Birds.

The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.

But that god cannot be contained forever.

With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom—and a way to end the Moon Throne forever. The journey ahead will be more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

Bookfinder Link: See here

Thriftbooks Link: See here

The first discussion for this book will be posted on November 15th covering the first half of the book. The final discussion will be posted on November 30th covering the entire book.

I can’t remember a lot about this book but please help me remember the name! I do remember that anyone who looks at the tapestry also goes insane, and the King who was responsible became a beggar. Any help remembering would be helpful!!

Has anyone read this series before?! I am starting the second book in the series called “War”, I don’t want to spoil too much, so I don’t wanna say too much.

My opinion: The books were not what I expected , but I really enjoyed book 1. I couldn’t put it down. So I’m hoping the rest are the same way. I also like how the author has 4 separate stories combined into one story! They don’t coincide but they do make sense.

Edited for clarity.

Hi, I need good, solid recommendations for epic fantasy. I have read Tolkien, Sanderson, Eddings, Cook, Abercrombie, Erickson, Rothfuss, Briggs, LeGuinn, Pratchett, Gamaine, Brooks, McCaffrey, Bardugo, Wurts, McGuire, Lackey, Feist, Martin, Okorafor, Hobb, Williams, Wexler, Weis, Hickman, Salvatore, and Maas (about half bc bored, tho she's a bit too romantasy/ya for me), etc.

Recently, I've read: Song, Linde, Buehlman (great!), Kristoff, Dinniman (all). I've read Baldree, and such, too.

What I don't want is YA, and romantasy masquerading as epic fantasy. I am tired of searching Libby, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc and getting fed books that end up being disappointing bc they are marketed as something they are not. I am not seeking a romance set in a fantastical setting, nor am I seeking a formulatic ya book.

Complexity, well written, fleshed out & character driven, with good world building, is more along the lines of what I am looking for.

Please, HELP!

Someone gave me a rec of Mistborn Trilogy and im about to read it. While searching up about it, one of those google questions said "do u have to read it in order?". Do you?

Someone told me if I want recs to join a book club and here I am. Im constantly seeing people talking about random books and I don't know if they're good or not. Thnx for the help.

A long time ago I stopped reading books with a female main character, just due to the fact that there’s always some type of touchy-feely love interest that the author always winds up going on a tangent about. Think about the whole, hunger games situation with Peter and Gail. That entire part of the story was completely unnecessary imo. anyway, I was wondering if there is any stand outs that I’ve missed out on due to my decision. I would hate to miss out on a book like the black prism or the way of Kings because of something like this.

We're currently reading A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab for October's book of the month, and this discussion will be on the first half of the book.

Please only discuss the first half of the book. This will be everything up to the end of Chapter 8 (An Arranagement), which is page 210 in the hardcover edition. Please try to avoid talking about anything in Chapter 9 or beyond.

Anything in the second half of the book will be considered spoilers and must be tagged as such.

Remember that even saying something like "you'll find that out soon enough" is considered a spoiler, so if you aren't sure if it's a spoiler - use spoiler tags to be safe!

I'll post some questions to go along with the reading but feel free to comment about anything else or start your own comment thread on anything you found interesting or any questions that you had.

• What do you think of three (four?) London's and the way they interact or don't interact with each other?
• What are your thoughts on the magic system so far?
• Any opinions on the Danes and White London? What about Holland?
• How do you think Lila will tie into the story going forward and do you think she'll continue on with Kell?
• Do you like the book so far? Do you plan on finishing it?

Please use the comments to nominate books for November's book of the month. You can then upvote any of the book(s) that you would like to read. The comment with the most upvotes will be the selected book. The post will start in contest mode so that submitted entries are randomized and the upvotes are hidden.

You can make your nomination using the following format in top-level comments:

Book by Author

A short explanation explaining why the book is being nominated and why it is worth reading.

A link to Goodreads, Storygraph, LibraryThing, or the author's website with a description of the book can also be helpful but is not mandatory to nominate a book.

Voting will be closed on the 20th of the month to allow everyone a chance to get the book.

Nominations are open to anything, as we seem to be getting a good mix of different books, styles, and authors. Also if you are nominating a book in a series, please stick to only the first book in the series (maybe in the future we will do a series read though). Thanks!

Edit: It also seems that I forgot to turn on contest mode again when I scheduled this post, so please ignore post order and current upvotes to the best of your ability - just vote for your favorites!

I’m about to start this book. Anyone have a link to a good series recap before jumping in? I finished Oath bringer so long ago I feel like I need a refresher.

Hi everyone. I am in dire need of a book similar to nettle & bone, T. Kingfisher & And I Darken, Kiersten White. I am not much of a reader so I don’t know much ahaha but I want to get someone dear to me a gift.

Also, any tips on how to annotate such books?? Planning to annotate one just to make it more special aha. Really need some help aha. Cheers!

I'm still reading the book now and I had to take a breather because I was getting too exited with all the "epicness"!!

Here's Copilot's mildly spoiler free depiction of the action on just on of the pages 🤩

Stories without a grand epic conflict, and more about characters building a life. I've really liked the parts in The Saga of Recluce, where characters come to a rown, and slowly work their way into that town's society, and the part in Raymond E. Feist's Magician before the Riftwar began. Are there any full books like that?

The Fifth Season OR Anathema ?!

I need a new fantasy book to read where:

• the MFC and MMC don’t all of a sudden find out some horrible secret or that the other was lying to them and now all of a sudden don’t trust them

• one of them doesn’t become kidnapped for most of the book

I can’t emotionally handle another series where the couple is separated for most of the series

BUT

I do love me some shadow daddy’s and slow burn!

We're currently reading The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune for September's book of the month and this topic is for the final discussion.

In this discussion, anything from the book is fair game as we are discussing the entire book. Please be aware that there will be spoilers in the comments below if you haven't finished the book!

I'll post some questions to go along with the book but feel free to add in your own top level comments or questions.

​

• Did you have a favorite child at the house? Were there any that you disliked?
• This book approaches the topics of acceptance/prejudice and also on dystopian/institutional corruption, how do you think it handled these themes?
• What did you think of the reveal of Arthur? Did you see it coming?
• How did you feel about the evolution of Linus as he gained more of a voice and also was able to get in touch with his emotions and actual needs?
• How would your rate this book? Would you recommend it to others?

Specifically, until the Hobbits reach Bree. It’s my favourite part of the books and in my opinion it oozes with atmosphere. The feeling of the unknown dark stranger following them at all times, the uncertainty and inexperience of the party, the mystery of the lands they travel which are foreign to them and most importantly (I think) the lack of a mentor figure to guide them. A journey with people that are much too uncomfortable with what they are doing, but do it anyway because they must. Doesn’t have to be specifically like the above, but something that gives off the same vibe. A heavy emphasis on the unknown.

Waiting for the navigator 's children and would like something new. Here are some authors I've read. Sanderson,Jordan,salvatore, Williams,,Lawrence, Weiss and many more but would love a new world to conqueror and explore. Thank you for your time.

The October 2024 book will be A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Nomination and Voting: See here

Goodreads Link: See here

Storygraph Link: See here

Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Bookfinder Link: See here

Thriftbooks Link: See here

The first discussion for this book will be posted on October 15th covering the first half of the book. The final discussion will be posted on October 31st covering the entire book.

A while back I listened to an interview with a (British?)author who specifically named Bakker as inspiration for his books but drew on his background in political theory. I don’t think there was a kindle edition so I didn’t buy it. Any idea who I’m taking about? I can’t find that interview.

Hey ya’ll I’m new to this page and very new to Reddit in general so bear with me. I’m looking for romantasy book recommendations! I haven’t been reading long, but so far I’ve really enjoyed ya fantasy’s but would also like to explore more complex stories as well.

Here’s some books that I’ve read and enjoyed: A Court of Thorns and Roses Crescent City Fourth Wing Of Blood and Ash

Pretty much the typical young adult hype selection. I’ve read a bunch of other books as well just can’t think of the titles at the moment. Like I said, I’m ready to read more complex fantasy but just don’t know where to start. I’d greatly appreciate anyone who recommends something! Im in a book slump…

I am looking to recommend these books to readers and get recommendations on other books I might like based on my interests in these books. I’m pretty much only into fantasy right now. I like high fantasy, dark fantasy, dragons, good magic systems, plots with a lot of depth, and I am not afraid of a long series. Wheel of Time is probably my favorite series.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin

Dragon riders of Pern by Anne Mcathrey

The Obsidian Chronicles by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (finished by Brandon Sanderson)

Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini

The Last Dragon Lord by Joanne Bertin

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

I listed this as nsfw because of the blood mention.

So I hope I have enough of a description for someone to recognize this, I apologize if not, I unfortunately l lost the ad and am going off memory. The FMC was wrongly imprisoned and placed next to the most dangerous inmate(I think). She was hurt badly and found by I think the MMC who was possibly the lycan king and her mate. He rescues her and keeps promising to never let her get hurt again. I specifically remember a part where it says she reaches her hand down and her hand is covered in blood and she screams? I wish I new more but I followed the ad and didn't realize the webnovel it led me to wasn't the right one until it was to late and the ad was gone. If no one knows which one it is I totally understand, I know I dln't have a whole lot of information here and if I shouldn't ask questions like this I am so sorry. Thank you. :)

We're currently reading The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune for September's book of the month, and this discussion will be on the first half of the book.

Please only discuss the first half of the book. This will be everything up to the end of Chapter 10, which is page 198 in the hardcover edition. Please try to avoid any discussion of Chapter 11 and beyond.

Anything in the second half of the book will be considered spoilers and must be tagged as such.

Remember that even saying something like "you'll find that out soon enough" is considered a spoiler, so if you aren't sure if it's a spoiler - use spoiler tags to be safe!

I'll post some questions to go along with the reading but feel free to comment about anything else or start your own comment thread on anything you found interesting or any questions that you had.

• What are your thoughts on Linus Baker so far? Do you like him? Dislike him?
• How do you feel about the world that TJ Klune has crafted, especially the dynamic between magical and non-magical people and DICOMY?
• Do you have any predictions or thoughts on how the evaluation of the orphanage will go?
• What do you think about the relationship between Arthur and Linus?
• How do you like the book so far, do you plan on finishing reading?

Please use the comments to nominate books for October's book of the month. You can then upvote any of the book(s) that you would like to read. The comment with the most upvotes will be the selected book. The post will start in contest mode so that submitted entries are randomized and the upvotes are hidden.

You can make your nomination using the following format in top-level comments:

Book by Author

A short explanation explaining why the book is being nominated and why it is worth reading.

A link to Goodreads, Storygraph, LibraryThing, or the author's website with a description of the book can also be helpful but is not mandatory to nominate a book.

Voting will be closed on the 20th of the month to allow everyone a chance to get the book.

Nominations are open to anything, but if you nominate a book this month feel free to add a theme suggestion for next month. Also if you are nominating a book in a series, please stick to only the first book in the series (maybe in the future we will do a series read though). Thanks!