Hello there 👋🏼 so I am addicted to books, can’t have a day without reading. I typically read novels, dystopians, sci-fi, horror and thrillers. But I want to get into fantasy too. The genre never attracted me, whether it comes to books, movies etc. Fantasy just never appealed to me. But, I wanna give it a try. Just because I’m not drawn to it, doesn’t mean it’s not good. I’ve never tried it you know?
So my question is to you fellow readers. Which books would you suggest to someone who’s completely new to this genre? I feel like I’m missing out on so many good books.
Thank you for taking the time to read and reply 🙏🏼
by Simalien_
21 Comments
I really enjoy the Harry Potter Series, can’t go wrong with the Percy Jackson series either.
My first question would be what you like about other books that you enjoy? But off the top of my head, I’d recommend the Discworld series with the caveat that the earlier books tend to assume you’re familiar with the fantasy tropes that they’re parodying but that falls away over time. A particularly good standalone is Small Gods or Going Postal.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.
I’m sure many ppl here may not agree for a new fantasy reader, but I gotta suggest Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn and Stormlight series. The first is a bit shorter and more concise, the second is 4 really huge books with a super cool/intricate world and deep and evolving characters.
I’d say check out Mistborn and see if you like his style enough before jumping into the Stormlight series. He writes action scenes so well IMO!
I used to read fantasy all the time as tween, but have barely picked one up since. I did however read Priory of the Orange Tree recently and it was very good – it got me right back in!
What things that may appear in fantasy do appeal to you? What things in the genres you do enjoy may have some crossover with fantasy?
Ex: you like dystopians, is strong worldbuilding like society or political elements important to you?
What things that show up in horror may have some crossover with fantasy? Do you like creature features or the supernatural? (imo, there is a lot of crossover between horror and fantasy, and people might have horror fantasy based reccs for you depending on what you are into, I know I’ve seen people ask about it before.)
What kind of thrillers do you like? Spy and political thrillers? Ones about serial killers? Do you just enjoy the mystery element in general, or more of a psychological aspect?
I feel like scifi and fantasy can be very deeply entwined, and there are even some fantasy books that still have scifi elements. But again, what draws you in about scifi? Like, if you enjoy space operas, you might be interested in epic fantasy due to the scope of it.
Edited for clarity.
Any Tad Williams series is a great start.
Great Fantasy is the Arkenstone. You have to claw your way through a lot of stinky orcs, dwarves, and dragons to find one.
Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, starting with The Gunslinger (keeping in mind that the first book was originally 5 short stories that were cobbled together for this volume). It’s a mixture of horror, fantasy, dystopia, scifi, thriller, Western…it’s got all the genres, lol. But it is a fantasy story.
I’d suggest reading the source material for something you already liked as a film or show. You won’t feel intimidated as you’ll know the general plot and you be pleasantly surprised at the depth.
Penguin also has some excellent short story collections so perhaps survey a variety of writers through a quality compilation might point you in the right direction.
The Name of the Wind is my favorite fantasy book series by a long mile and I think shows how good the writing, world building, and characters can get. Except there’s only 2 of the 3 book series and fans are really worried we may never get the 3rd. I’ve consider rereading them for a 3rd time and I never re-read books.
Whole un-deniably important I don’t really recommend lord of the rings as a way into fantasy. The overall story is great but you are probably very familiar with it, and I find the writing a little tedious. This is purely personal opinion tho!
I would maybe try the night watch series within the disc World Series. They do have a lot of comedy elements and it doesn’t sound like you’ve normally gone for that, but the writing is so charming and fun, and the plotting is much more akin to a page turner.
The Name of the Wind is my favorite fantasy book series by a long mile and I think shows how good the writing, world building, and characters can get. Except there’s only 2 of the 3 book series and fans are really worried we may never get the 3rd. I’ve consider rereading them for a 3rd time and I never re-read books.
While un-deniably important I don’t really recommend lord of the rings as a way into fantasy. The overall story is great but you are probably very familiar with it, and I find the writing a little tedious. This is purely personal opinion tho!
I would maybe try the night watch series within the disc World Series. They do have a lot of comedy elements and it doesn’t sound like you’ve normally gone for that, but the writing is so charming and fun, and the plotting is much more akin to a page turner.
Anything David Gemmell.
Ugh, just pick one.
Neil Gaimen will never fail to get you hooked on fantasy! If you are a romance type try Neverwhere otherwise go for American Gods
I don’t generally read fantasy, but I heard Sarah Maas is a good fantasy author.
Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake, Barbed Coil by J.V. Jones, and anything by Terry Pratchett. They have a fantastical setting without overly complex “non-earth” worldbuilding. So the people are generally human and the environment is relatable generally. Enjoy!
Fantasy comes in so many different forms. Lord of the Rings is completely different to Harry Potter which is completely different to Discworld or the Dark Tower series. It is my favourite genre though, so I would say if you start with something like Lord of the Rings and don’t like it, switch gears and try something more modern and vice versa. Don’t decide fantasy isn’t for you without really shopping around the different subgenres.
The Dragonlance books by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman.
The First Law trilogy by Abercrombie.
I also can’t get into fantasy either. I prefer Sci fi, action and horror. However, the best fantasy I have read and genuinely did like, was The Hobbit. It’s fairly fast paced and is a fun journey. I didn’t really enjoy lord of the rings much, as it gets a bit too indepth with the lore, and I prefer fast paced books. But, definitely give the Hobbit a go.