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45 Recent Standalone Fantasy Books for When You Just Can't Commit to a Series
One of the infamous hazards of the fantasy genre is that it can be a giant time sink. Fantasy stories tend to come in big multi-book series, so committing to one title can mean signing up for 3 or 5 or (gulp!) 40 individual books.
In an effort to provide you with some literary counter-programming, we’ve collected here 45 standalone fantasy books for those times when you just can’t commit to a series. The titles here are all relatively recent—published in 2021 or later—and wander through pretty much all of the relevant subgenres: dark fantasy, weird fiction, magical realism, urban fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, grimdark, and so forth.
The authors gathered here have provided a wide range of destinations. Some for instances: GennaRose Nethercott rethinks Eastern European folklore in Thistlefoot. Vaishnavi Patel updates the Sanskrit epic Ramayana in Kaikeyi. And Nghi Vo writes of ancient magic in 1930s Hollywood with Siren Queen.
If you’re in the market for something even shorter, we’ve even separated out fantasy novellas—each under 200 pages—at the bottom of the list. And best of all, you can safely read any of these books without worrying about the heartache of unfinished series. Kidding-not-kidding, Patrick! George!
Click around and see what you like, and add anything interesting to your Want to Read shelf.
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Short Standalone Fantasy Books (Under 200 Pages)
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Do you prefer fantasy series or standalones? Let us know your favorites in either category in the comments below!
Comments Showing 1-14 of 14 (14 new)
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Maybe I'm a bit greedy but I like series and stand alones. My favourite series is Robert Jordans Wheel of Time.
Stand alone has to be George Orwell's Animal Farm, brilliant on many levels. If you haven't read it and you're a bolshie socialist like me, I can't recommend it enough. Even if you aren't like me it's still a thumping good read🙂
Thank Goodness, that's a List I can live with!I dislike Book Series most of the time. It feels with some as if they're just dragging on for the money.
PinkPanthress wrote: "It feels with some as if they're just dragging on for the money."Agreed!
But some continue stories of interesting characters!
So many of these on my tbr, just having the time to get round to them!
I unsub, I am tired of getting woke stuff promoted
It is not page or series quantity. An author's style and empathy, writing charaters' FEELINGS instead of actions, can click with you and sweep you away.Unless we click, time investment derives from needing to learn a fabricated world and situation. We slow down and pay attention to what there is to know. We might grit our teeth through negative situations. I avoid battle types of fantasy and love the magical, mystery, discovery types.
Why is it that kids’ fantasty series (Prydain, HP, Unfortunate Events) get better as they go, while adult series (Broken Earth, Dark Tower, Nantucket, Last Policeman) never quite live up to their awesome first (or second) entries? Is it that phenomenon where the characters become more adult-like as the series gœs on? I know Lemony Snicket, at least, was pretty explicit about that.
Is there a way to make these lists more user friendly to read? One page and you get a short blurb on each without clicking in and expanding? Ps- I loved Babel and it can be read as a stand-alone but it does have a whole series.
Define woke. Or are you just using that word for a catch-all for things you don’t like?
C wrote: "Is there a way to make these lists more user friendly to read? One page and you get a short blurb on each without clicking in and expanding? Ps- I loved Babel and it can be read as a stand-alone bu..."That ist exactly what it is... dont click, just hover and you can read without leaving the page
YESSSSSSSSSSSS FOR BONE ORCHARD LOVE 🙏🏻🥳
PinkPanthress wrote: "Thank Goodness, that's a List I can live with!I dislike Book Series most of the time. It feels with some as if they're just dragging on for the money."
Ernest Cline did that with his sequel "Ready Player Two". Horrible read. Not worth the hardback book price I paid for it.
Surprisingly, one of the best fantasy novels I've read this year was Galaxy of Thorns: Rise of the Empress and I thought I would hate it at first.
Although in this case I do hope it becomes a series and not just a standalone.