TTT (19) - Top Ten Recommendations Fantasy

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Follow the link to know more about the meme and join up, it's a great way to find out more about the book blogging community.

This week the theme is Top Ten Recommendations and this week's post by The Broke and the Bookish is a list of graphic novels and can be found here.

I love fantasy... ever since I discovered Lord of the Rings when I was fourteen years old and sometimes I lose myself in Classics, YA or mysteries but I ultimately always come back to fantasy. Let me recommend a few of my favourites that aren't the usual LOTR, GOT and Wheel of Time.

Fantasy Recommendations!

 

Both Theft of Swords and Senlin Ascends were self-published novels that got picked up by a traditional publisher because of their success.

Pick Theft of Swords if you don't like complicated fantasy and would prefer instead to follow a hilarious duo of thieves through various adventures. The writing is simple but very funny and the world building is straightforward. It's basically a fun fantasy romp.

Pick Senlin Ascends if you want to follow an introvert and scholar who lost his wife on their honeymoon... poor guy has to come out of his shell and survive adventures to find his beloved. A bit of steampunk and very poetic, a slow start but a marvellous adventure.

 

Pick The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August if you want an original spin on time travelling and a book that is otherwise set in our world.
Pick The Lions of Al-Rassan or any other book by Guy Gavriel Kay if magic isn't your thing but you love historical novels. All his stories are alternative history and this book is about medieval Spain and the clash of faiths. Wonderful and poetic language without wizards and spells.

 

Pick The Fifth Season if you want a WOC author and strong female characters in a world that could be ours but way down the future where a group of people have the power to move the ground and create earthquakes. This one was a five star read for me.

Pick Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy which starts with Assassin's Apprentice, continues with Royal Assassin and then ends with Assassin's Quest if you want a universe with 16 books and dragons. The first trilogy is told in first person. The protagonist is Fitz and he's a bit annoying every now and then but I love, love, love this series. This trilogy stands on its own but all 16 books are connected. 

 

Pick Red Sister by Mark Lawrence if you want a new spin on the magic school. This book is what I imagine Arya Stark's story would be like if she was the main character. The protagonist is a girl who joins a nun convent... but not just any nun convent, one where the girls are taught deadly skills. Wonderful world building, wonderful prose and not too dark, at least in my opinion.

Pick Moroda by L.L. McNeil if you want to support an indie author that self-published this year. The book is filled with female characters that kick ass (it has a female sky pirate) and dragons!

 

Pick The Ocean at the End of the Lane if you want a fairy tale for adults that is creepy, yet beautiful. It's Neil Gaiman at his best and made me cry.

Pick anything by Brandon Sanderson if you want intricate magic systems and wonderful stories that are meticulously plotted.

 

Bonus: Pick Malazan if you like complicated and epic and a 100 characters (I am not kidding) and names and places and wars and history and novels that make no sense because you have no idea what is happening because you're being thrown straight into the action and only around book 3-4 will things start to fall into place. (It's almost too complicated for me, and I'm struggling, but I'm trying! Currently on book 2!) According to many fantasy fans, this is the ultimate series.

Looking forward to seeing all of your lists! Happy reading!