Back in 2011 I read A Game of Thrones. I then immediately read A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. Then I read the Dunk & Egg novellas, The Ice Dragon, the Princess & the Queen, A World of Ice & Fire, Fire & Blood, you get the point.
What hooked me wasn’t so much the world building or the prose or the dialogue, but the feeling that no one in this series is truly safe. The big death in book 1 and the deaths later on kept me wanting more. It’s devastating and I love it.
But I hate that so many other books in the genre don’t make me feel like that. I’ve yet to experience a sense of genuine dread when one chapter comes to a close.
I’ve given other fantasy books a chance, and few have captured that for me. Oddly enough, the closest I’ve come to that rush was in Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology.
So, Reddit, I ask: What is a good book with an ensemble cast that isn’t afraid to kill the darlings? I don’t necessarily need a sweeping epic or a long series. Hell, Guy Gavriel Kay’s books are among my favorite, too, and they’re all standalone low-fantasy.
There are no wrong answers! Thank you!
by LanaDelRhaenyra