The Riddlemaster of Hed books by Patricia McKillip.
thisisausergayme on
The Heartstriker Series (starting with Nice Dragons Finish Last) by Rachel Aaron, kind of cyberpunk fantasy with some of the best use of seers I’ve ever seen in fiction. Also has a great audiobook narrator
Witch King by Martha Wells, a novel that follows through after the evil empire has been overthrown. Creative magic system
Books of the Raskura by Martha Wells, a deeply magical and fantastical world filled with many different beings, but not humans.
The Clocktaur duology by T Kingfisher, romantic fantasy with strange and fascinating worldbuilding, some spice
The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls by Louis McMaster Bujold, a medieval world that feels real with an interesting magic system based on the blessings, miracles, and curses based on the five gods of the world
The Goblin Emperor and The Cemeteries of Amalo series by Katherine Addison, novels that explore a world full of elves and goblins that’s going through an Industrial Revolution and social shifts
Winterblade1980 on
Sci-fi Dark Fantasy okay? If not Shadow Side by April Kuper
Asphodel_Burrows on
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
port_okali on
*The City We Became* by N. K. Jemisin
SnooBunnies1811 on
*Viriconium* by M. John Harrison is beautifully written and highly imaginative.
Griffen_07 on
Wizard of Earthsea by Le Guin. Le Guin is a master of the literary end of fantasy.
Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard. You just don’t often see settings based on Pacific Islands where the main conflict is cultural acceptance.
Guy Gravel Kay has a gift stories that are maybe a step or two away from history. Start with Sailing to Sarantium, or Song for Arbonne, or Lions of Al-Roshan.
freerangelibrarian on
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock.
I’ve read a few more of his books and I couldn’t get into them , but this one is amazing.
charactergallery on
A Wizard of Earthsea (and the rest of the series) by Ursula K Le Guin is definitely imaginative, but is technically YA as it is for a younger demographic and the first three novels are coming of age stories. Though the first book was published in 1968 so it avoids the more modern YA fantasy trappings. I would still give it a shot.
I believe Gaiman was influenced by the series in his own work!
Taste_the__Rainbow on
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin.
darth-skeletor on
Shadow of the Torturer
ExoticReplacement163 on
There are lots of books by Jack Vance, Emphyrio is like a lovely fable and affected me greatly, Cugels Saga is basically the story of a well spoken and smart scoundrel. Planet of Adventure is fun and has one book hilariously named ‘Servants of the Wankh’ (not what it sounds like)
The Book of The New Sun by Gene Wolf is a beautifully written series.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenent (Stephen Donaldson) is beautifully imagined and bleak.
The Saga of the Exiles by Julian May mixes sci-fi and fantasy better than most.
I liked Hiero’s Journey by Sterling E. Lanier
A favourite is Mordew by Alex Pheby
quik_lives on
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki gets lots of comparisons to Good Omens by Gaiman & Pratchett, and for good reason. It starts out pretty upsetting, but rapidly becomes a gorgeous warm-hearted story with plenty of humor. It’s sort of both fantasy & sci-fi.
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire is far and away my most commonly recommended book on these subs, & it fits the request here. It’s sort of “what if reality except there’s a secret cabal of alchemists who are fucking things up & their creations have to figure it out & turn on them to save the world” but with the kind of craftsmanship that you expect from those intricate wooden puzzles boxes. Seanan even said that she had the idea for this book in her head for years, waiting until she felt she was a good enough writer to do it justice.
13 Comments
*Swordheart* by T. Kingfisher.
The Riddlemaster of Hed books by Patricia McKillip.
The Heartstriker Series (starting with Nice Dragons Finish Last) by Rachel Aaron, kind of cyberpunk fantasy with some of the best use of seers I’ve ever seen in fiction. Also has a great audiobook narrator
Witch King by Martha Wells, a novel that follows through after the evil empire has been overthrown. Creative magic system
Books of the Raskura by Martha Wells, a deeply magical and fantastical world filled with many different beings, but not humans.
The Clocktaur duology by T Kingfisher, romantic fantasy with strange and fascinating worldbuilding, some spice
The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls by Louis McMaster Bujold, a medieval world that feels real with an interesting magic system based on the blessings, miracles, and curses based on the five gods of the world
The Goblin Emperor and The Cemeteries of Amalo series by Katherine Addison, novels that explore a world full of elves and goblins that’s going through an Industrial Revolution and social shifts
Sci-fi Dark Fantasy okay? If not Shadow Side by April Kuper
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
*The City We Became* by N. K. Jemisin
*Viriconium* by M. John Harrison is beautifully written and highly imaginative.
Wizard of Earthsea by Le Guin. Le Guin is a master of the literary end of fantasy.
Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard. You just don’t often see settings based on Pacific Islands where the main conflict is cultural acceptance.
Guy Gravel Kay has a gift stories that are maybe a step or two away from history. Start with Sailing to Sarantium, or Song for Arbonne, or Lions of Al-Roshan.
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock.
I’ve read a few more of his books and I couldn’t get into them , but this one is amazing.
A Wizard of Earthsea (and the rest of the series) by Ursula K Le Guin is definitely imaginative, but is technically YA as it is for a younger demographic and the first three novels are coming of age stories. Though the first book was published in 1968 so it avoids the more modern YA fantasy trappings. I would still give it a shot.
I believe Gaiman was influenced by the series in his own work!
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin.
Shadow of the Torturer
There are lots of books by Jack Vance, Emphyrio is like a lovely fable and affected me greatly, Cugels Saga is basically the story of a well spoken and smart scoundrel. Planet of Adventure is fun and has one book hilariously named ‘Servants of the Wankh’ (not what it sounds like)
The Book of The New Sun by Gene Wolf is a beautifully written series.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenent (Stephen Donaldson) is beautifully imagined and bleak.
The Saga of the Exiles by Julian May mixes sci-fi and fantasy better than most.
I liked Hiero’s Journey by Sterling E. Lanier
A favourite is Mordew by Alex Pheby
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki gets lots of comparisons to Good Omens by Gaiman & Pratchett, and for good reason. It starts out pretty upsetting, but rapidly becomes a gorgeous warm-hearted story with plenty of humor. It’s sort of both fantasy & sci-fi.
Middlegame by Seanan McGuire is far and away my most commonly recommended book on these subs, & it fits the request here. It’s sort of “what if reality except there’s a secret cabal of alchemists who are fucking things up & their creations have to figure it out & turn on them to save the world” but with the kind of craftsmanship that you expect from those intricate wooden puzzles boxes. Seanan even said that she had the idea for this book in her head for years, waiting until she felt she was a good enough writer to do it justice.