I'm a member of a book club where we rotate themes, and the current theme is "fantasy". However, nobody in the book club wants to commit to reading a series at this point.
I'm looking for recommendations for books I can read & suggest with the following caveats:
- Either a stand-alone book, or a series where you don't need to continue past book #1
- Fantasy, preferably not urban fantasy
- Romance not being the main plot point. It can be in the story, but not the 'purpose' of the story
Examples and books we've already read include The Last Unicorn, When Women Were Dragons, and The Hobbit.
by harmonyseraphim
23 Comments
h{{The Last Unicorn}}
The Cursed, Dave Duncan
*Tress of the Emerald Sea* by Brandon Sanderson is a sweet little fantasy adventure with found family and a journey to rescue a loved one.
h{{Tigana}}
“Blood Over Bright Haven” by M.L. Wang
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Kennedy. A fantasy novel that involves a mystery.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke.
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.
Many of Guy Gabriel Kay’s books are excellent standalone, tho they are more “historical fantasy” than the typical fantasy novels.
To elaborate, many of his books are set in fictional worlds and settings that are heavily inspired by our real life historical locations and events, with a dash of fantastical element.
Most notable of the standalone:
Tigana
A Song for Arbone
The Lions of Al-Rassan
Under Heaven
A Brightness from Long Ago
Another book I’d like to recommend is [City of Bones] by Martha Well
(Not by Cassandra Clare).
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold (can easily be read as standalone)
Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
The Spirit Ring by Lois Macmaster Bujold. Standalone fantasy.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
The Everlasting – Alix E Farrow
The Works of Vermin – Hiron Ennis
The Devils – Joe Abercrombie
A Master Of Djinn – P. Djeli Clark
Piranesi – Susana Clarke
All standalone fantasies under 550 pages that I rated 4-5 stars last year 🙂
Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Faerie Tale by Raymond E Feist
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Legend by David Gemmell.
Piranesi is a great standalone pick — short, imaginative, and easy to discuss in a club.
Also worth a look: The Goblin Emperor (works as a complete arc on its own).
Magic kingdom for sale by terry brooks. Fun easy read.
Naomi Novik, Uprooted and Spinning Silver are both standalone, based on eastern European folklore.
Robin McKinley has a quite a few standalone retellings of fairy tales. Sunshine might qualify as urban fantasy and maybe too much romance for your club but it is really very good.
T Kingfisher also has a lot of standalone retellings of fairy tales, would recommend Nettle&Bone or A Sorceress Comes to Call.
*Babel, or the Necessity of Violence* by R.F. Kuang.
Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher! A really funny and creative standalone high fantasy story.
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson, inspired by The Princess Bride. Tress must navigate dangerous, colorful spore oceans as a stowaway, encountering pirates and sea creatures to reach the sorceress who has taken her beloved. Suspense, light hearted fantasy with memorable characters
Shardik
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is a series, but you can pick up any book from it and read it independently.
Reaper Man is one of my favorites. So is Going Postal.
No backstory needed. No cliffhangers. Easy reads.