I'm new to the fantasy genre. I have dune in my tbr but I really don't want to get into a 6 novel series rn. I saw mixed reviews about the Will of the Many and tera ignota series. Although both book premises intrigued me, I'm confused about whether I should pick them up or not. So suggest me some fantasy books no more than 4 novels long, with a good protagonist, not too complex world building, and an intriguing writing style, well-paced and interesting power system.
P.S. Do not recommend the "romantasy" books. For reference, I liked Poppy War.
by Gullible__Sun
1 Comment
You might enjoy **The Name of the Wind** by Patrick Rothfuss and its sequel. The series is famously unfinished, but still worth reading imo. Complex characters, rich world building, interesting magics, lots of mystery and cool lore, all written beautifully and easy to follow. A legendary fantasy hero in hiding tells his life story — starting as a sort of child prodigy raised by traveling musicians/performers — and how it all went wrong.
**Warbreaker** by Brandon Sanderson is a fun, fast-paced, twisty standalone fantasy novel, a great intro to his massive bibliography without having to commit to a big series. Interesting characters, creative and unique world building, cool magic, and a compelling story filled with mystery, told from multiple characters’ viewpoints.
**The Tainted Cup** by Robert Jackson Bennett is a sort of Sherlock Holmes/Watson murder mystery set in a strange and interesting fantasy world. It’s a lot of fun, and the sequel is great too!
**Assassin’s Apprentice** by Robin Hobb is the first book in her trilogy The Farseer, a beautifully-written, compelling, melancholy, epic fantasy series. Rich world building, complex characters, strange magics, and a great story. It follows Fitz, the bastard son of a dead prince, who is raised by others in the royal court to become the King’s assassin.
**The Blade Itself** by Joe Abercrombie is a dark, gritty, funny, character-driven fantasy novel, the first book in The First Law trilogy. Endlessly quotable, featuring a cast of highly-flawed bastards you’ll come to love. Violent, with lots of dark humor/cynical wit, great dialogue, and commentary on the human condition. The audiobooks are ridiculously good too, if you’re into that, narrated by Steven Pacey.
Or check out his latest novel, **The Devils**, a standalone unrelated to The First Law. It leans a bit more into the comedy side of things, but still features all the great, complex, morally gray characters you’d expect from Abercrombie, as well as tons of great banter, action/violence, and a fun story. In an alternate history medieval fantasy Europe, the ‘child Pope’ assembles a team of supernatural baddies for a top secret mission to the legendary city of Troy.
**Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell** by Susanna Clarke is an epic standalone fantasy novel you might enjoy. A beautifully-written story about rival ‘magicians’ in 19th-Century England. Her other novel, **Piranesi**, is also excellent. A short, surreal, little fantasy novel with unique world building and interesting characters, a compelling story that will stick with you.
Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan is a great, underrated fantasy series, starting with **Theft of Swords (The Crown Conspiracy/Avempartha)**. It follows a ‘rogues-for-hire’ duo in a classic-feeling fantasy world, who take on a job and are pulled into an adventure bigger than they were expecting. A great cast of characters, rich world building, fun banter/dialogue, adventure, and a lot of twists and ‘revelations’ along the way. It starts fairly light/low stakes, but soon becomes quite epic, and if you enjoy it there are a number of excellent prequel series set in the same world that you can check out after Revelations (Legends of the First Empire, Riyria Chronicles, etc.).
**Mistborn** by Brandon Sanderson is an epic, original, fantasy trilogy with cool magic, interesting world building, and a great cast of characters. In a desolate, feudalistic world where ash rains from the sky, a team of super-powered thieves plan an impossible heist.
Also, when I say “rich world building”, I just mean that it’s original, creative, and well-thought-out. All of these books are easy to follow while still being highly entertaining/compelling.