I apologise if this is a frequent ask.
I’m looking for a good, not-so-obscure fantasy series (2+ books) thats more mature and preferrably NOT narrated in first person. I notice I thoroughly dislike most first person books and usually gets me extremely annoyed with the main character. However I’m open to 1st POV if it’s really good.
With the risk of sounding like an old hag, I fell into many tiktok hype traps only to be dissapointed with the writing or overused romance tropes. It’s always “very stubborn very unique main character, hates extremely attractive male character, and there’s a bit of plot too”. Most “mature” fantasy recs I’ve gotten were more mature simply because they had some form of spice and a bit of gore.
I loved Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games series for the deeply flawed characters that just felt human. Disliked the Grisha and Of Blood and Ash series for the aggravating female main characters. I’m looking for something similar. Something with the fantasy aspect as an accesory.
The reason I say non-obscure is because the books available in my country are usually limited to more popular releases. Anything lesser known is very hard to get, expensive or unavailable.
What I’ve been considering: Furyborn, Dune, The Lies of Locke Lamora.
by berrywaffl
3 Comments
Ada Palmer’s Quadrology that begins with Too Like The Lightning (Terra Ignota) is excellent. Deep, complex, the voice is actually closer too second person so takes some adjustment but is totally worth it.
Edit because I see you specifically asked for fantasy and this is Sci Fi but I stand by the rec.
I loved Fireborne by Rosaria Munda. It is written in first person but it’s really excellent. It’s YA but reads as way more mature than most of the Romantasy books with lots of spice that are so popular in TikTok these days. And it doesn’t rely on the tropes that are so common in those books. It’s fantastic but like GOT is fantasy where no one really has magic but there are dragons.
It’s a three book series and all the books are out already.
For something different, try **The Scar** or **Perdido Street Station** by China Mieville.