My top Fantasy books
Today, I’m giving you a small book recommendation list. :) I am starting this serie of blog articles with my favorite genre: fantasy! Here is a non exhaustive list of my favorite fantasy books.
The 5th Season by N. K. Jemisin
The 5th Season is the first book of a trilogy. In a post apocalyptic world where some people have the powers to control some natural elements, the “seasons” (end of the world years) happen more frequently. The most destructive seasons are the ones where the orogenes (people with these powers) lose control over their powers and caused great destruction in their world. With time, people have learned to prepare themselves for a season so humanity can survive when it happens. In this trilogy, we follow 3 point of vues: 1 written at the 2nd person, who wish to find her husband suspected of killing your son and kidnapping your daughter; 1 from an orogene hired from the government to prevent another season from happening; and the last one follows a young child with powers being discovered and brought in the capital so the government can train her properly.
I only read the first book so far, but I highly recommend this trilogy. The writing from this author is extraordinary, the characters are endearing. You might find it a bit hard to get used to the point of vue written in 2nd person, but I adapted pretty quickly to this writing style. The structure of the plot is brilliant and there is a lot of twists and turns that awaits the reader.
The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
Again, this is the first book of a trilogy. This universe is highly inspired by the 2nd Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945) in the first book and the Chinese Civil War in the last 2 books (1927-1949). Opium (that comes from the poppy flower) having played a big part in the eastern asian wars, also play a great part in this unique fantasy universe. In this very dark and grim trilogy, we follow Rin, a war orphan with very few ressources, succeeds against all odds to enter an elite military school, Sinegard. Once in school, she tries to learn military strategies, combat technique and shamanism for which she shows great potential. Before she has time to actually graduate from Sinegard, war erupts. Ready or not, she is forced to go to the front lines.
In this trilogy, there are no good or evil characters. They are all morally grey characters, which makes them very authentic and complex. Since war is never black and white, it just makes sens that the reality of living in a country in war is a very grey area. I easily got attached to these characters even if they make very bad decisions. Throughout this adventure, the author succeeds to keep the reader invested in these characteurs et depicts pretty accurately (in my opinion) the reality of the atermath of war. I am currently trying to finish the last book of this trilogy and I am not ready for this story to be over. As a reader, this was a very emotional ride.
**If you are interested in this trilogy, I would strongly recommend to checkout content warnings before picking this one up but I still recommend it.
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
In this serie, we enter a world (our world) where children who do not feel like themselves in their homes are offered to go thrive in another universe by way of a door. Once the door opens and these children go through it, they usually thrive in those fairytale based universes. But sometimes for some reasons, these children and teens lose their way from their doors and come back. This is when they meet Eleonor, founder of a school for these lost children. She welcomes them and helps them either transition back into living in this world or give them hope that their door will appear again and they will be able to go back. Eleonor knows very well what these kids are going through, having gone through it herself.
It is a series of novellas (short books under 250 pages each). The series is not finished yet. As of today, I think 7 or 8 books have been published so far and the author said she wanted to publish around 10 books. Personally, I read 5 of those books so far and cannot get enough of them. Usually, books with odd numbers (books 1, 3, 5) take place in Eleonor’s school, and books with even numbers (books 2, 4) take place in a specific universe/door with characters we’ve learned about in other books.
I highly recommend this serie. They read very fast, they are short and are easy to get through. They are also very diverse (LGBTQ+ and cultural diversity). The characters are very interesting and they will certainly find a way to touch your hearts in some way or another.
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
This book is the first of a duology. In this whimsical universe, we follow a librarian called Lazlo Strange who deeply wishes he could uncover the mysteries surrounding this mythical city called “Weep” (city people have forgotten the name of). Most people believe it does not exist except in urban legends but Lazlo knows that it’s out there. He fortunately gets the opportunity to prove everyone wrong when some soldiers show up to his city asking for help for the city of Weep. He then starts a journey toward this forgotten city, excited to discover what secrets it has.
This book is very dear to my heart (I would actually love to reread them soon!) because Lazlo is basically teenage me! I see myself so much in his character and I really wish this book existed when I was a teen. I am certain it would’ve really impacted my life in a positive way. I strongly recommend this duology, but I don’t think it is for everyone. The autre has a very flowery and poetic writing style that not every reader enjoy. It does have a slower pacing, but the beauty of the writing, the world building and the great characters is totally worth it in my opinion. I you’re a dreamer too, this one is for you! ;)
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
You must’ve heard about the Shadow and Bone (The Grishaverse) TV serie. It is based on the trilogy of the same name. In this universe, the Grishaverse, there are 3 sets of books. The first set is the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the second set is the Six of Crows duology and the third and last set is the King of Scars duology. Each set follows different cast of characters and are in chronological order. I have only read the Six of Crows duolog myself and I’m waiting to read the Shadow and Bone trilogy before I get into the TV serie. Even if you did not read the Shadow and Bone trilogy, you can still read the Six of Crows duology, whichi I strongly recommend.
In this duology we follow Kaz, a one of a kind thief with a reputation that preceeds him, who is gathering 5 more trusted people for a mission: succeed to get away with an impossible magical heist. Lots of politics, bad deals, magic an more awaits these characters, but the reward is of great value. Will they succeed at their mission? Will their flawless plan actually be flawless? If you like fantasy worlds with just a touch of magic (but not too much of it), planned heists by professional thiefs, this book is definitely for you!
This duology is written with 6 different POVs. The characters are far from perfect but you get quickly attached to them and their relationships are very complex and interesting. I loved to follow them throughout their adventures. Plotwise, some twists are predictable, but I was still invested in the mission with them nonetheless. I wish I could follow these characters for more adventures. The second book is, in my opinion, less predictable than the first one.
Master of Djinn by P. Djélì Clark
You like Steampunk art? You like detective tropes, Egypt and historical fiction? In this book, you travel to a Steampunk version of 1920 Egypt. In this book, you follow Fatma, a young thriving and successful detective. Little does she know what awaits her in this adventure. She usually works solo, but she will have to put her ego aside to work with a team for this one.
Master of Djinn is the first novel of this serie but is not the first book that was published. There are in fact two very short novellas that came first and are prequels to the adventure in Master of Djinn. The first one is A Dead Djinn in Cairo (available online only on tor.com) and The Haunting of Tramcar 015. They read very fast and really sets up the world and the characters for the full length novel. These books are not very hyped but they would really deserve to be. It is a beautiful universe that will immerse you in History, culture and magic.
The Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Are you a fan of the TV serie? If so, I’m sure you will enjoy the books. The first season of this serie is very true to the first book. If you enjoy medieval stories, complex political intrigues, alliances and betrayal, multiple POVs, etc, this serie is for you.
Of course, it is a risky move to start these books because the author has not yet finished writing and publishing them and he is not know for writing his books quickly… For my part, I read the first book only so far but I really enjoyed reading it. I cannot wait to get to the 2nd book of the serie which will probably only be next year because these books are huge!
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
This well know trilogy follows Frodo who inherits a magical (evil) ring and must carry the burden to destroy it in the very fires it was created. His adventure will change the fate of all Middle Earth. He must travel by foot to the other end of Middle Earth with some companions to help along the way before its owner finds the ring and destroy their world as they know it.
Even if these books are considered masterpieces from the epic fantasy community, I still don’t think these books are for everyone. Tolkien has a very specific writing style that is not for everyone. His world building is very complex and the writing style is very descriptive. Yes there are a lot of action throughout the book, but the pacing is still very slow and it takes quite a while before the adventure actually begins. If you are already fan of the movies and you do not mind descriptive writing, I strongly recommend. But my advice is to take your time with it. I myself enjoy them a lot, but I do need to take my time with them or else I get overwhelmed. It took me a full year to finish the first book by reading it here and there (mind you I do read 6 books at a time!). I plan to get to the second book in 2023.
Have you read any of these books? Which ones? Let me know what you think about them! What other books would you add to this list?
