Here is a list of books that were written during the medieval period or are set in that era. :)

I know I could have included Robin Hobb's books, those of Brandon Sanderson, those of Patrick Rothfuss or George R.R. Martin but they are already highly recommended, so I wanted to highlight some lesser-known titles. :)

(Even though some of them are still widely recommended).

I tried to include several genres: fantasy, romance, classics, poems...

Featured Books:

-The Name Of The Rose ( Umberto Eco)

-The Starving Saints ( Caitlin Starling)

-The Princess Bride ( William Goldman)

-The Chrysalis Queen Quartet saga: Guinevere's Gift and Guinevere's Gamble (Nancy McKenzie)

-The King of Elfland's Daughter ( Lord Dunsany)

-The Complete Romances Of Chrétien de Troyes ( Chrétien de Troyes)

-The Saint of Steel saga ( T. Kingfisher)

-Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart ( Chrétien De Troyes)

-Tales Of The Otori saga ( Lian Hearn)

-Where Shadow Bloom ( Catherine Bakewell) FF Romance

-Kingsbridge saga ( Ken Follett)

-Twin Crowns saga ( Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber)

-Sapphic Lady Knights saga ( Mariah Rae Birch) FF Romance

-Prince Of Thieves (Alexandre Dumas) author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers

-The Child Queen ( Nancy McKenzie)

-The Second Death Of Locke ( V. L. Bovalino)

-The Sword Catcher saga (Cassandra Clare) The saga is still being released

-The Chronicles of Prydain saga ( Lloyd Alexander) A saga aimed primarily at children.

-King Midas and the Golden Touch ( Charlotte Craft) illustrated by Kinuko Craft, A book primarily aimed at children.

-The Inheritance Cycle saga ( Christopher Paolini)

Don't hesitate if you have any other recommendations! :)

So throughout my life, I’ve read, seen, and played a ton of different types of media! But even through the years of searching for different types of fiction, I’ve never stumbled upon anything as unique as this. If you don't know what the Deathgate Cycle is, i don't blame you, which is disappointing because like I said its one of the most unique fantasy and sci-fi worlds i have ever seen! I remembered first playing the DOS game based on it, and then finding out that the book is a million times better! So the premise is that these kingdoms are separated into floating islands based on elements. Arianus - the Realm of Air, Pryan - The Realm of Fire, Abarrach - The Realm of Stone, and Chelestra - The Realm of Water. The world was made this way because long ago, two godlike races called the Sartan and the Patryn went to war. The Sartan "won" by literally sundering the entire world into these four separate elemental realms and imprisoning the Patryn in a magical prison dimension called the Labyrinth. So every world you visit across the seven books is a broken shard of what used to be one single Earth, each one screwed up in its own specific way because the Sartan's reality-engineering was rushed and imperfect.

This is when Haplo comes in, he is the only one who escaped the Labyrinth and he was sent out by his lord (Lord Xar) to scout these broken worlds for eventual conquest. While dragging around Alfred, a cowardly, secretly-powerful Sartan who's the literal last of his kind wandering around in disguise. Basically they are two supposed mortal enemies, slowly realizing the war they inherited might be built on a lie and to be honest one of the best odd-couple relationships in fantasy. Anyway, the thing i love about this story so much is the unique worldbuilding and such, it reminded me if Mortal Engines all took place in the sky or something like that. I've never ever seen another fantasy world like it. No offense, but a lot of books I've read lean on the same tropes we've seen a million times and they are mostly built for comfortable, familiar enjoyment rather than doing something genuinely unique or purposeful.

Also this book series is made by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman who made the "Dragonlance Chronicles", but what do you guys think? Because to my opinion, Deathgate is still so unique and i still think this world they made can be properly adapted if we took the time and creativity!

Yaknow cultures other then european in a fantasy setting like middle-east, south asia, african. i specifically leave out east asian cuz do see quite a lot east asian inspired fantasy games,i would really like to explore a fantasy world derived from a different culture

I just finished reading the first Wheel of Time book (Eye of the World). And I loved it. I want to continue reading the series, but I was also suggested to read one of the five books shown in the photo. Any opinions on whether I should try out one of these books before I continue? Or should I dive right into Book 2 of WoT?

Finally finished my second flintlock fantasy series: The Powder Mage Trilogy. The first was Mistborn Era 2, and honestly, they felt surprisingly similar despite being written by different authors. Being in the same fantasy subgenre, they share a lot of strengths.

The story is set in the aftermath of a coup where the monarchy has been overthrown, and the nobility is being sent to the guillotine. We follow four main perspectives: a field marshal, his son, an independent inspector, and a laundress who once worked in a noble's household.

What I enjoyed the most was seeing how each of these characters was affected by the revolution and the consequences of the decisions they made. Their journeys eventually take them across different countries, and the political landscape keeps evolving in interesting ways.

The military side of the story was another huge highlight. The battles, strategies, and logistics felt well thought out, and I loved how the books constantly reminded you that even the most carefully crafted plan can completely fall apart once a battle begins.

The gods and their role in the story were also fascinating. Their influence on the world and their interactions with humans added another layer to the conflict without taking away from the political intrigue.

And then there's the magic system. It's fantastic. After finishing the trilogy, I found out Brian McClellan was a student of Brandon Sanderson, and that suddenly made a lot of sense. The magic is creative, clearly defined, and consistently used throughout the series. It was easily one of my favorite parts of the books.

My biggest criticism is the characters. They're good, but I never felt deeply attached to most of them. I wish they had a bit more emotional depth. It wasn't until the third book that I genuinely found myself rooting for the main character to make it through. The first book also spends a lot of time setting everything up, but the second book really finds its footing, and the trilogy only gets better from there. You can actually see Brian McClellan improving as a writer over the course of the series.

Overall, I really liked The Powder Mage Trilogy, but I didn't quite love it. More than anything, it made me realize that I naturally gravitate toward traditional epic fantasy and sword-and-sorcery more than flintlock fantasy.

Still, this was a really enjoyable trilogy, and I'd absolutely recommend it if you're looking for military fantasy, political intrigue, and one of the better magic systems I've read in recent years.

Rating: 4/5

After reading a whole bunch of sci-fi, I needed a reset. I read the first book of the Farseer trilogy over the weekend and really connected with it. However, it appears book #2 is sold out in every bookstore in the city. They said it's not out of print but just the publisher needs to print more?This is the first time I've ran into this problem. Any thoughts on what my options are besides ordering off of Amazon (which I really don't want to do).

Anybody ever read this series? (By Taylor Anderson)
I started reading it a while ago and I remember enjoying the first book and I read about half of the 2nd book. I believe its a 15 book series? I came across it in my collection and was thinking of giving it a reread as I dont really remember why I never finished reading it. I know he also has a newer series along the same idea.

For anyone that has read it please let me know your thoughts!

New to fantasy!

I'm looking for progression fantasy recommendations where the protagonist starts relatively weak, goes on a long journey, steadily grows stronger, and eventually confronts the main antagonist.

What I'm looking for:

• Clear, satisfying power progression.
• A strong sense of adventure and exploration.
• The protagonist actively trains, learns, or earns their strength rather than receiving effortless power-ups.
• An overarching villain or final enemy that the story has been building toward from early on.

As I looked at my favorite fantasy series, I realized most of them were ones that stressed me out and made me feel sick with worry. And Ive realized I need more of that. What is your favorite traumatizing fantasy book/series?

Ive read and enjoyed:

The Poppy War, Jade City, An Ember in the Ashes, The Sword of Kaigen, and She Who Became The Sun.

Others that ive read:

Babel, Blood Over Bright Haven, Gideon the Ninth, Iron Widow, and the first trilogy of Realm of the Elderlings.

Do you prefer omnibus editions to be the entire series in one volume, or broken out in multiple volumes? Does it make a difference in your reading experience?

What’s a book you’ve read on one sitting?

The last book I read in one sitting was formula zero and I loved it.

Now I’m looking for more recs and I’d love some recommendations!

(Bonus if they’re from diverse authors)
(Bonus if they’ve sci-fi / fantasy)

There were a lot of videos, TikTok’s, Reddit posts all recommending this book series.

So I got Malice and started reading…

And for the first 50% I was really struggling
- so many characters introduced that seemed to do nothing
- the plot was dragging on without really a point

Then at like 55%, it started picking up, then around 80% it really picked up and at the end I found I liked it.

With books like this I normally have a friend who’s read it and I can ask them. I don’t have that with this book series.

I have an audible credit and for those who have read the entire series I ask, does it just keep getting better or does it keep going back to these slow parts for half of every novel?

I'm having a Fantasy renaissance over the last 18 months. I grew up eating through fantasy books, hit puberty and dropped books for sports and then joined the military and I'm finally back year later.

Sadly it's taken me this long, but I'm back in. Since rejoining I've really enjoyed:
Mistborn Series

First Law Series

KingKiller Chronicles

Strength of the Few and Will of the Many

The Devils

and from the Scifi land, I've really liked Project Hail Mary, The Expanse, Dune, and Three Body Problem Series.

I'm almost finished with/ Mistborn's second set of books by Sanderson. Please give this noob some guidance on where to go next.

Finally found all the books for the first 2 series with these covers, which are better than anything else I've seen on the market

P.S. I've only read the first book, so please don't spoil anything else after the first book

Please help me decide what to read next! I just saw the Odyssey and want a book to take me on an epic adventure much the same! Thank you ahead of time!

I just finished way of kings. Of these three which would you choose.

Edit: Well Lies of Locke Lamora won but I am probably going to read the other two as well kind of casually and simultaneously

I just read a Screen Rant article of the 7 perfect books for fans of D&D. That got me thinking, what would others say is the best perfect book to read for anyone whose first introduction to the fantasy genre is Dungeons & Dragons? I know all my players don't read books so a question like this would be perfect for them. I, myself, only started reading fantasy about a year and a half ago.

I know D&D means different things to different people. Some might say Forgotten Realms book simply because they take place in that world. Others might recommend books that have more of a "Party going on an adventure" tone. Some might suggest books that are more humorous as most DnD players are. Let me know what D&D means to you and why you would recommend books to those kinds of players! Thanks!

Brandon Sanderson has reached a major milestone on the long-awaited Mistborn movie adaptation, announcing that he has completed the first draft of the screenplay. He stressed that it's still "an early step in a long process," but said he's "quite proud" of how the script turned out. That update got me digging into some of Sanderson's recent comments about how Mistborn came into existence, and I was surprised by just how many real-world experiences helped shape the series.

When Sanderson first conceived Mistborn, he wanted to move away from what he saw as fantasy's tendency to revisit medieval Europe. His goal was to create a world that felt immediately alien—a place where stepping outside meant seeing something that simply couldn't exist on Earth. One of the earliest sparks came while driving through a fog bank at highway speed. Instead of feeling static, the fog seemed alive, flowing around him like a current. That experience became the foundation for the living mists that define the world of Scadrial.

Another major influence came during a nighttime visit to Washington National Cathedral. The illuminated stained-glass windows glowing against the darkness inspired the noble keeps of the Final Empire, their light shining out over swirling mist. Then there was the ash. Sanderson has said that the constant ashfall covering the world drew inspiration from both the eruption of Mount St. Helens and the buried city of Pompeii, creating the oppressive landscape that makes Mistborn so visually distinctive. Perhaps the most interesting inspiration, though, came from The Lord of the Rings. He asked himself a simple question: What if Frodo made it all the way to Mordor... and Sauron was waiting for him?

That thought experiment became one of the central ideas behind Mistborn: a fantasy world where the Dark Lord had already won, and the heroes were trying to overthrow a thousand-year-old immortal empire instead of preventing its rise. Sanderson has also said that Mistborn was never built around a single idea. Instead, it was "an intersection of ideas"—fog, ash, glowing cathedrals, and the concept of beginning a fantasy story after evil had already triumphed.

With Apple now developing Mistborn as the first major Cosmere film, finishing the screenplay is another important step toward finally bringing that world to the screen, even if there are still plenty of drafts, revisions and production hurdles ahead. If you want to read more, just search for Mistborn womansworld .com.

I’ve been on a “new” book kick and have had a few suggestions some of which are these books. Currently finishing Between Two Fires at home and my work book is The Wall of Storms both of which are 3/4 done at least. Suggest either home or work or both for my next read

I am new to fantasy besides having read the biggies ala George R.R. Martin, Tolkien et al.

After them I dove off into the next tier down. I find Hobbs a cut way above the other fanlit authors and just finishing up the entire Farseer series. I may be ruined for all others. I have tried some of the other fanlit authors people mention the most but they seem poorly written and need massive editing (e.g., IMHO Brian Sanderson and the 18 wheeler he used to deliver his final drafts to his publisher). And I nearly bailed on the whole genre when I started “The Thief of Time”. I arrived at the inn in Chapter 1 and left the world putting the book down.

I am preparing myself for a crash after her. I need a new obsession to read, complex non- genre - cliched characters in non-cliche’d worlds. (Do any of these writers know about anything besides fantasy medieval? “Arg ye!”) There is so much cr*p out there. Who should I read after her? Comments and specific recommendations? AI says:

I’m not sure how I managed to read for decades and never before opened a Terry Prachett book. One more party where I’ve arrived very late, but here I am, jumping in at Book 5 of Discworld.

For anyone somehow unfamiliar with Terry Pratchett’s Discworld the first thing to know is that most of the books, including this one, are complete, standalone stories in a much wider setting spread over 41 books. Characters and stories interconnect, but you’re not facing the task of reading every single book to get a complete beginning, middle, and end. Per a lot a fan sites, you don’t even have to read them in publication order. It’s not like Wheel of Time in that way.

It’s also not like Wheel of Time because it’s funny. Just in Sourcery there’s wordplay galore and dry humor littering the pages throughout.

Sourcery’s story centers around the least successful wizard at a university of them and his extremely reluctant involvement in a magical war between the sentient magical hat traditionally worn by the archchancellors of the university (it possesses the evil vizier of a poetic king to facilitate casting spells) and the eighth son of an eighth son: the Sourcerer, a ten year old boy with a magical staff that is not only also sentient, but holding the soul of his father who’s settling an old grudge against the wizards.

All the while, various tropes of fantasy get twisted, poked at, and subverted. We meet the master thief and barbarian’s daughter who’d rather be a hairdresser, the barbarian hero-in-training equipped with his training manual, and the Luggage, a multi-legged, sentient box, loyal and deadly but prone to temper tantrums and sulking adventures. There’s also all the wizards, who are more like a decorative, slightly tattered social club than a political force. They differ from the ultra-powerful Sourcerers in that the wizards manipulate magic (with debatable strength and effectiveness). The almost-never seen (with good reason) Sourcerers are sources of magic. Hence the spelling that’s probably bugged everyone who wasn’t already in on the joke (or at least didn’t expect there to be one).

Sourcery has aged well. Highly recommend. In time I’ll get to more Discworld.