After reading a lot of young adult fantasy growing up, I’m just now beginning to rediscover the fantasy genre as an adult. There seems to be more potential for complexity and the ability for stories to be much darker in the adult genre. I’d love to hear your recommendations!
by juliagraceless
5 Comments
Obviously you’ve got the classic answer of A Song Of Ice And Fire. But it’s unfinished, and that really irked me.
The Witcher series is very good, but don’t be expecting anywhere near as much action as the games and show would lead you to believe.
Malazan Book Of The Fallen is good, but incredibly complex
The Dagger And The Coin series, by Daniel Abraham (ASOIAF ghost writer, The Expanse co-writer). Full disclosure, I’m only halfway through the first book currently, but I am thoroughly enjoying it
I’d also potentially recommend The Faithful And The Fallen series by John Gwynne. Not *quite* as good as the others, but it definitely had a lot of love put into it and is enjoyable.
The Wheel of Time. Long well done series, with a deep world, good characters, and the ending was really well done. So you aren’t going to read 14 thick tomes and at the end go “really? All that for this?!”
Love me some Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Tyler Bardot.
I love that these stories take place in the real world and are grounded in real world logic. There’s humor, the characters feel real. So if there’s magic in our world, I want to read about it. Especially if it’s written well.
*Six Of Crows* by Leigh Bardugo is the first of a popular duology that features a ragtag band of thugs who aim to complete the next big heist. Some good cinematic adventure moments and reliable writing, currently part of a new Netflix show called Shadow and Bone.
*Gideon The Ninth* is a fantasy/sci fi blend that has a wild setting and a “ten little indians” mystery to it. This one is a much denser read, but I think this series has a satisfyingly unique world with deep lore, especially in the sequels *Harrow The Ninth* and *Nona The Ninth.* Some biting humor, cool magic system, and little details in the story that you almost need to read twice to appreciate fully.
*Red Rising* is a bit like the Hunger Games if written from a more “Action figure” viewpoint. First book starts out fairly cookie cutter action/adventure/dystopia but the series becomes a much more interesting read as you go along.
*Black Sun* by Rebecca Roanhorse is a thrilling adventure book featuring a multi-cultural inspired dark and brutal fantasy world. One of the main characters is a young man who is believed to be a reincarnation of a god and needs to travel to a far away festival to reveal himself. Some excellent characters which all have dark secrets.
Cliche but The Lord of the Rings. I just love the world, the language, the story, the characters, and the friendship between Gimli and Legolas is one of the best things I’ve ever vicariously experienced.