I’ve always said I don’t like fantasy books, but in reality I’ve never really tried. I love romance, lit fics, and thrillers.
I’m currently reading Jade City by Fonda Lee and really enjoy it, but I find sometimes it can be too heavy/requires too much brain power for me to read after a work day. Maybe that’s just be the genre as a whole though?
What are some gateway fantasy books that are good for easing into the genre?
by reddit0249
7 Comments
Have you tried urban fantasy? There are a lot of romance forward and thrillers in that space which might open you up to more fantastical stuff
The Poppy War by R. F Kuang
I’m the opposite, never done romance but enjoy fantasy and a friend recommended Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy. It has a slow burn romance but an interesting magic world built, so maybe having a little familiarity will let you see if you enjoy the fantasy.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett—a Sherlockian mystery and a heck of a lot of fun
you might find an easier entry with urban fantasy or fairytale retellings! For the latter I recommend Robin McKinley’s Beauty first of all
Dungeon Crawler Carl. It’s the one I recommend to propld who like fantasy, people who like action thrillers, people who’ve only tried sword-and-sorcery high fantasy and didn’t like it. It’s a new idea of what popular fantasy can look like. Part LitRPG dungeon crawl, part epic fantasy saga, part apocalyptic portal fantasy, 100% fantastic.
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle