Looking for something in the epic fantasy space that is similar to the Stormlight Archives as far as the scope and vastness of the universe goes.
Also want it to have the same hopeful undertones. With how grimdark reality is, I prefer not to read grimdark.
by AwesomePanz
1 Comment
1. First of all the list is huge u nned to give some context on what u enjoyed about these books
2. First of all read Brandon Sanderson… Mistborn, Stormlight, warbreaker and elantris etc … His short stories are also very good… Go for firstborn, centrifugal and defending elysium… They are all awesome and fast paced and mostly Sci fi…. And they are free… Highly recommend…
3. Battle Mage by Peter Flannery. One of the rare stand-alone fantasy novels that holds up.
4. The Dark Tower by Stephen King. It’s more sci-fi than fantasy, but is epic in every sense. The characters are brilliant and the storytelling is as good as it gets, esp the first 5 books (7 book series).
5. The Wheel of Time probably the closest spiritual cousin to Stormlight. Huge world, ancient prophecies, cultures upon cultures, character growth over many books, and ultimately a fundamentally hopeful core. Sanderson even finished the series after Jordan passed away, which is why many Stormlight fans feel at home here.
6. Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn slower and more classic in style, but deeply immersive and surprisingly emotional. It has that “ordinary people becoming something greater” feeling Stormlight nails so well.
7. The Licanius Trilogy if you enjoy Sanderson-style plotting, mysteries, reveals, layered magic systems, and giant converging payoffs, this scratches that itch extremely well. Reddit readers constantly pair it with Stormlight recommendations.
8. Realm of the Elderlings
9. family, honorable heroes, and a very strong “light against darkness” tone. It’s more straightforward than Stormlight but carries that same uplifting momentum.
10. The Bound and the Broken modern epic fantasy clearly inspired by both Sanderson and Jordan.
11. The Riyria Revelations less cosmic in scale initially, but incredibly warm-hearted. One of the best antidotes to grimdark fatigue because the characters genuinely care about each other.
12. Sun Eater technically science fantasy
13. Travelers gates series by Will Wight-awesome action… Awesome magic system… And yes epic huge swords.
14. Cradle series by Will Wight- same as above… Bigger series, bigger plot… Very good characters…. Xianxia inspired
15. kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick rothfuss… Very good prose… Good magic system… Writing almost the level. Of Sanderson… Only problem is that the author hasn’t released the third book in like ages… And he’s taking a lot of time for it…
16. RED Rising series by Pierce Brown… This is the cure for reading slump…. I devoured this series… Sci fi fast paced … Break the chains, blood boiling revenge story with scenes that sometimes remind you of Ender’s Game. If you take anything away from this, read this one
17. demon cycle by Peter v brett- humans vs demons… Good magic system and action…
18. Empire trilogy by Raymond fiest and Janney wurts- military fantasy… Very good military action… Very good story…there is magic but less of it…
# THE LIST JUST GOES ON AND ON MAN