I finally got back into reading this year after a long time away. My favorites this last year were: Between Two Fires, The Library at Mount Char, The Blacktongue Thief (and the prequel), and The First Law series. The things they all have in common that I loved were horror elements (less so in Abercrombie’s stuff), complex characters, avoidance of world building glut, a dash of humor, and really solid writing. I’m struggling to find my next read. I’ve avoided overly long series (First Law is 2 trilogies and standalone stuff), and I think I’d like to stick to stand-alone, duologies , and trilogies. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Note: I started The Lies of Locke Lamora and The Black Company. I could not finish either. I also didn’t care for Abercrombie’s The Devils. It just didn’t have the same depth of characters, and I hate vampires.
by flanneryoshitlord
3 Comments
Uprooted – Naomi Novik
The Border – Robert McCammon, great read!!
You might enjoy The Dark Tower by Stephen King, especially starting with book 2, The Drawing of the Three. I enjoy the first book as well, The Gunslinger, but it was written awhile before the rest and is a bit more ‘serious’, anyway some people bounce off that one. You can treat it like a skippable prologue, come back to it later if you want, and start with book 2. Weird, dark fantasy, with lots of humor and interesting characters.
It’s hard to scratch that First Law itch (or Library at Mount Char, for that matter), something I’ve been struggling to do for years now. That being said, you *might* enjoy Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan, starting with Theft of Swords (The Crown Conspiracy/Avempartha). It starts off a fair bit lighter/lower stakes than some others, but has a great cast of characters with fun banter, rich background world building, lots of adventure, and a story that grows to become quite epic and satisfying by the end of the trilogy.
It follows a ‘rogues-for-hire’ duo in a classic-feeling fantasy world, who are set up on a simple job and pulled into something far bigger than they were expecting. Not as snarky or cynical as Abercrombie or Locke Lamora, just a low-key great series.