Looking for a good fantasy book that isn't on the most popular recommendations lists.

[Sachi]

I've read a lot of the big names in fantasy and I'm struggling to find something new to read. The books I have enjoyed the most are Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss, The Red Sister - Mark Lawrence, The Binding - Bridget Collins and The Rithmatist - Brandon Sanderson.

Preferably involving magic but I'm open to any suggestions :)

[Tomas]

You want unknown stuff, here I come. Since I don't know much of the popular stuff, I don't really know what your tastes are but I'll suggest two of my favorite random finds.
One pleasant surprise for me was Battle Mage. Self-pub fantasy but on the longer end (650-ish page standalone). It has a decent rating (4,5 by 4200 people here on GR)

Another one I enjoyed is a trilogy starting with Ordination (3x ca. 650 pages so a longer one). If you want a story of a land torn apart by war and greed, it might be up to your taste.

[Paul]

There's some older stuff that is less well known, but very good. Susan Dexter wrote some excellent fantasy including the trilogy beginning with The Ring of Allaire.



Rats and Gargoyles by Mary Gentle is an underappreciated masterpiece, almost as good as her book Ash: A Secret History, although the latter isn't really fantasy.



K.J. Parker has written some wonderful trilogies, the Scavenger books Shadow probably best fits the bill as it contains some magic.



The White Hart and other books in the same series by Nancy Springer is good fairy-tale magic stuff, although perhaps a bit YA.



Recently, I was blown away by The Bear and the Nightingale, the first part of Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy.

[Sarah]

I'm going to start by saying I don't know that any of these authors are not "big name" (they're all pretty recognizable I think) I'm just listing the handful of books I've read that have magic and you hadn't marked as read.


Arcadia by Iain Pears
The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (it's MG but very enjoyable)
Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell (again, YA but so much fun)
Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (trigger warnings)
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
The Gutter Prayer by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan (disclaimer - I didn't like this one, but it's got magic and I think it was going for a Mark Lawrence vibe. Also- lots of people disagreed with my opinion. lol)
The Thousand Names by Django Wexler
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

Of the above my favorites are probably The Last Wish, Spellslinger, and Welcome to Lovecraft.

[Rosina]

Sarah wrote: "I'm going to start by saying I don't know that any of these authors are not "big name" (they're all pretty recognizable I think) I'm just listing the handful of books I've read that have magic and ..."

I think magic is one of the only things that Arcadia doesn't have! But a favourite book of mine.

[Sarah]

Rosina wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I'm going to start by saying I don't know that any of these authors are not "big name" (they're all pretty recognizable I think) I'm just listing the handful of books I've read that h..."

Really?! I could have sworn there was magic in the (view spoiler)[fantasy land/alternate world part. Then again- I pretty much consider anything that can't happen in real life magic. So there's that. lol (hide spoiler)]

[Trike]

The Deryni novels by Katherine Kurtz might interest you. Start with Camber of Culdi.

For more humorous deconstruction of Fantasy, try Jack Chalker’s The River of Dancing Gods.

Peter V. Brett’s The Warded Man (aka The Painted Man) has tons of magic baked into the world. The characters literally can’t survive without it. It also is exciting, just on the edge of grimdark but not quite.

The Apocalypse Door by James D. Macdonald is a modern action Fantasyfeaturing a gun-slinging Templar and an assassin nun.

[MadProfessah]

I think Brian Staveley’s CHRONICLES OF THE UNHEEN THRONE series is brilliant. It’s epic fantasy not on many lists. Has elephant sized birds (Rocs) that fly.

[jamako]

Of the ones you have listed I have only read The Name of the Wind but I assume The Red Sister to be somewhat similar to Lawrence's Broken Empire trilogy?!

If you're into a piratey twist to the whole grimdark shebang, I can recommend Rob J. Hayes' Where Loyalties Lie. He actually won Mark Lawrence's latest Blog-Off contest with this book.

For Rothfuss, it is a bit harder to find something similar. By no means an unknown author but also the one whose meticulous prose is closest to Rothfuss is Guy Gavriel Kay -- The Name of the Wind sometimes reminded me of his A Song for Arbonne. The story is set in a world with strong influences from the troubadour culture of southern France during the Middle Ages.

[Sachi]

Thank you so much for your suggestions everyone! I had no idea there was so much out there that I hadn't heard of. I don't know how to reply to people individually but I appreciate all the responses :)

[Tomas]

I'm quite sure the Kindle store has tens of thousands (at least) of books in both SF and Fantasy. It's safe to say there are way more unknown books than known books. The trouble is finding the hidden jewels fitting your tastes. After Amazon got some idea of my tastes, I've been getting decent recommendations in the weekly (or so) e-mails.

What you can also try is to go to Amazon's page of a book you liked and look at the "people who read this also bought" bar. See if you can find something that catches your interest.

[Kateb]

I find db tells you about lots of different authors, also fict fact , I often browse through the ones they say are popular and I find many aren't mentioned on these pages.

I like magic but have moved from stories in the past to ones about modern days. OR alternate planets

old books like Raymond Feist , lots of magic. Sara Douglas, Jane Ludlum, John Conroe,

[Jeremy]

Jannik already recommended Guy Gavriel Kay, but only mentioned one of his titles. I highly recommend The Fionavar Tapestry series (3 books: The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, and The Darkest Road).
Sorry, I can't provide links. I'm using the app rather than the website.

[Pixiegirl105]

C.S. Freidman's Coldfire Trilogy is really good. Black Sun Rising
Otherwise, I definitely recommend Sheri S. Tepper.

[Kateb]

some of the older authors are great and rarely get mentioned. eg Raymond Feist, Jane Lidcomb, sara Douglas, Kate Elliott, C.J Cherryh, L .E Modesitt jr, Lisanne Norman , JOhn Wyndham, A.E Van Vogt

of the more modern authors never mentioned I suggest John Conroe, Joel Shepherd, C.T Adams

these and other suggestions should keep you going for a while

[Christine]

The Fionaver Tapestry, Guy Gavriel Kay, his earliest writing. Already mentioned, but EXCELLENT.

: ) ANYthing by Guy Gavriel Kay, he's a fantastic fantasy writer:

A Song for Arbonne
Tigana
The Lions of al-Rassan
Sailing to Sarantium (duology)

Due out in May 2019: A Brightness Long Ago

[Bicky]

Kateb wrote: "some of the older authors are great and rarely get mentioned. eg Raymond Feist, Jane Lidcomb, sara Douglas, Kate Elliott, C.J Cherryh, L .E Modesitt jr, Lisanne Norman , JOhn Wyndham, A.E Van Vogt
..."

Jane Lidcomb???

[jamako]

Now that I think about it, when you mention Mark Lawrence and having read most of the big names in the business, you surely have read Joe Abercrombie?! If not, his First Law Trilogy (The Blade Itself) should get a high spot on your to-read list.

I'm currently devouring Ed McDonald's Raven's Mark Trilogy (starting with Blackwing).

I have also heard a lot of good things about The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter - but I haven't read it yet.

[Eva]

You can also try branching out into the literary fiction genre with the big Pulitzer or Man Booker prize winners, which cleverly hides many great fantasy/magical realism novels that are simply not marketed as fantasy:

- Salman Rushdie: Midnight's Children
1,001 children born at midnight on the day of India's independence develop magical powers, which prove to be both privilege and curse...

- Haruki Murakami: A Wild Sheep Chase
A mixture of detective story, fantasy quest, and love story - utterly weird and magical and moving. Takes a little bit of time for the fantastic elements to intrude upon the protagonists life more and more.
(Kafka on the Shore, Killing Commendatore and Wind-Up Bird Chronicle are fantasy, too; 1Q84 and Wonderland are straight up Science Fiction.)

- The Master and Margarita
Satan visits the Soviet Union, accompanied by a beautiful and naked witch, and a magical cat with a fondness for chess and vodka. This is the favorite novel of most Russians I know.

- David Mitchell: Slade House
This one is fantasy /time-loop science fiction playing with the old-fashioned haunted house trope (but with a spin).
All of Mitchell's novels have SF or fantasy elements.

- Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
About magicians, set in Victorian London - might be right up your alley if you also like writers like Dickens, or Jane Austen.

- Karen Russell: Swamplandia!
About an alligator-wrestling, weird alternate reality in Florida

- Bram Stoker: Dracula
Old Victorian fantasy novel, but still good and legendary.

Virginia Woolf: Orlando
Yup, even Virginia Woolf wrote fantasy novels.

- Marlon James: Black Leopard, Red Wolf
Is a straight-up fantasy novel set in Africa and making use of African myths - warning: VERY adult, grimdark content.

Finally, there's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
... which has won pretty much every literary award ever, has strong fantastical elements, and is (lovingly) about geeks and nerds who love comics, science fiction and fantasy.

[Bruce]

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

[Jacqueline]

Did you finish Mark’s Book of the Ancestor series? After Red Sister you have Grey Sister and Holy Sister. There’s a short story called Bound between those two as well. He’s bringing a new series out early next year as well. It’s set in the same world on the ice.