I didn’t like:
– Going Postal by Terry Pratchett (I was bored and I didn’t think it was very funny)
– American Gods by Neil Gaiman (the most boring book I’ve ever finished. However, I did like The Ocean At The End of the Lane, and I’m excited to read Good Omens.)
– Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (I didn’t like the writing,)
– A Court of Thrones and Roses (I thought the main character was boring and I didn’t like the writing)
– The Magicians by Lev Grossman (well written, but I didn’t like the characters and I was bored when they went to Narnia)
– The Gunslinger by Stephen King (too scary, I don’t like horror)
– The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin (the world building felt too complicated)
– Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (I didn’t like the writing)
– I dislike Brandon Sanderson on principle because we’re both from Utah lol. I tried to read Mistborn, but I didn’t like the first few pages. I’m open to giving him a chance!
I liked:
– Circe by Madeline Miller
– The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
– Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and Twilight when I was a teen
by mceleanor
13 Comments
Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend
Game of Thrones. Someone described it as ‘Historical fiction freed from the need to be historically accurate.’ Thinking of it like that helped me get over the hump of dragons and bullshit
Sabriel by Garth Nix
I liked The World of Five Gods series, The Wheel of Time series, and The Liveship Traders.
I dont think Piranesi is “fantasy” but it kinda has the feel
Macunaima by Mario de Andrade, a Brazilian classic featuring Amazonian gods and monsters
Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb (the whole [The Realm of the Elderlings series](https://www.goodreads.com/series/54099-the-realm-of-the-elderlings), really)
The Radiant Emperor Duology by Shelley Parker-Chan. Basically just alternate history with just a smidge of magic
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho. Very grounded in the real world and the plot focuses mostly on themes of family and identity, with the supernatural bullshit just being a fun added layer
Guy Gavriel Kay as an author, many of his books are heavily based on history with a few fantastical elements added in
The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings
I feel like Brandon Sanderson books vary quite a bit (at least the ones I’ve read lol) so you may like some of his other books. He has several standalones that to me feel way different from his series. It’s also completely okay if you just don’t like fantasy! I like some types of fantasy but not others 😂
Brandon Sanderson: I’ve only read his mistborn books (completed the first series and the second series I’m reading the last book now) I did not like the first Mistborn book for a few chapters but I’m really glad I stuck to it.
Not sure if it counts as fantasy, but Birthmarked by Caragh M O’Brien is a dystopian book (the first of a trilogy) if you’re a fan of the Hunger Games you might like it.
If you liked Ocean at the End of the Lane, you should try Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
I’d also suggest Piranesi and The Goblin Emperor.
{{The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss}}
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec (has similar style to Circe and also looks at a female character in mythology set as somewhat villainous)
Deerskin by Robin McKinley – has some fantasy-esque elements to it, a grim retelling of the French fairytale of the same name. Content warning for sexual assault by parent and miscarriage.
Thorn by Intisar Khanani
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust – I really enjoyed how the relationship between Snow White and the evil queen is explored differently in this one and how the malevolence between them has an outside root.
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes is similar to the Percy Jackson books, but takes on Aztec myth & folklore instead, and is a pretty solid YA adventure.
The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky I usually think of as an adult version of the Percy Jackson books, though there’s more of a mythological murder mystery thing going on.
It’s not full on fantasy, but if magical realism is fantasy enough, then The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey might be something for you, as it’s about an older couple in the 1920’s homesteaders Alaska who adopts this mysterious wild child that only comes to them in winter.
Kinda based on the books you mentioned you like retellings might be your thing. American Gods does take basis on mythology and solidly sets them in modern America, but maybe less meandering and/or modernized deities?