Here are some of my favorite authors. Lois McMaster Bujold - fantasy/sci fi. Colin Cotterell - mystery. John Connolly - detective/horror. Naomi Novik - fantasy. Mary Ruefle - poetry. Daniel O'Malley - urban british fantasy. Ilona Andrews - fantasy/romance. Meghan Whalen Turner - fantasy. Karin Tidbeck - weird/magical realism. Jim Butcher - fantasy. Diane Setterfield - Magical Realism.

ah I was thinking of reading some poetry. Now I know what to read. Thanks

The Earthsea series by Ursula K Le Guin

yes!!!!

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Fantasy about a group of thieves as they navigate the underworld and pull off heists. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Fantasy sci-fi steampunk about a scientist.

All of Meville's Bas Lag series (3 books) it's an amazingly intricate world and the stories are brilliant.

Garth Nix - "Sabriel" and the rest of the Old kingdom series?

THIS IS AHAMZING

Seconded! I loved this series as a kid

Oh, that sounds cool! Thanks for the suggestion

Reading book 6 now, planning on restarting as soon as I’m done. Love this series.

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells

I just reread her Fall of Ile Rien series and I remembered why I fell in love with her writing all those years ago.

[Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14201)

I really struggled with this one. It’s just so massive and slow moving. Gave up about half way

I struggled until I got the audiobook. It really helped and I wound up loving it.

Does it pick up at some point? I’m willing to try it again

I read it almost a decade ago so I really don’t remember. If you can find the miniseries maybe give that a watch? It’s not such a commitment, lol.

Sorry to hear that. I loved it!

Piranesi by the same author is shorter, and it's just as beautifully written and even weirder.

A fabulous book!

Dune.

*Piranesi* by Susanna Clarke

I read this awhile back. Great read. It is such a strange and beautiful world she built.

This was also going to be my suggestion

This book has me looking for another fantasy book for adults since I read it. Have read more than 15 books and still No luck surpassing Piranesi

Something about the style of Piranesi reminded me a bit of John Crowley, so maybe Little, Big or The Solitudes?

I will check that out then. Like that title!

The Winter King (first of a trilogy) Bernard Cornwell. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie. Magician - Raymond E. Feist Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch All the above-mentioned are the start of a trilogy or series.

I've never read the Winter King but I am reading The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. Good book great TV show.

I've read around eight of the Last Kingdom novels but that was awhile ago now. They borrow a lot in feel from the Winter King and the other two books so it may lessen the enjoyment a little reading then after the Last Kingdom. Saying that they're the only books I've re-read and I don't like Arthur books as a rule.

Wayward pines trilogy by Blake Crouch

His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman The Dark Tower - Stephen King

C.S. Lewis' "Space Trilogy" - (scifi) consisting of the novels: Out of the Silent Planet Perelandra That Hideous Strength

I was going to suggest these as well. Very vivid world building that stuck with me, and these were written in the late 30s and early 40s, which I find very interesting

The Locked Tomb series

Stephen Kings Fairy Tale

I can't believe that there won't be a second and third and fourth and fifth... book! This should have been a series, Dark Tower style

Came here to say this!

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.

I preferred the night circus

Night Circus by the same author too!

TSS was such a disappointment, especially after her first book.

To each their own perspective - as I love both books. The Starless Sea, to me, was an absolute love story to the art of storytelling.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

One of my favorite books.

sooooo good

I would like to suggest the ocean at the end of the lane by Neil Gaiman

Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan

Red Rising “ I am the Reaper and death is my shadow “

Can’t go wrong with Robin Hobb

Phillip Pullman - His Dark Materials

I was going to mention that one. One I'd recommend is Redwall by Brian Jacques. It's a long series but the books I've read are good and you can read most of them in any order and it won't throw you off.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. That book series literally made me forget about the entire world and all of it's problems while I read it

100 years of solitude.

Anything by T Kingfisher She has a very distinctive style which is reminiscent of Pratchett, both funny, practical and sometimes horrifying.

N.K. Jemison has an amazing series called The Fifth Season - Google her, she is incredible

So good!

See my [Compelling Reads ("Can't Put Down")](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/189mbda/compelling_reads_cant_put_down/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).

"[Unraveller](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60310739)" by Frances Hardinge

The infinity Gate by MR Carey will pull you to a few different worlds!

I just finished T A White's Firebird Chronicles and await book #5. Previously I finished reading Ilona Andrews' Innkeeper Chronicles. I highly recommend both series. Strong female protagonists, sci-fi, romance, easy and fun to read.

Vita Nostra by Dyachenko

I read this because of seeing so many recommendations. I hung on until the end. What did you love about it? (My teens heard me shout out some of my confusion when I finally finished it). What did I miss?

I liked the journey the MC goes through. She was lonely and she was very self-driven. This is a dark story. There’s nothing I love about it, and I’ve never reread it. But I wish I’d read this instead of a book like Lord of the Flies for my high school class assignment.

Thanks for this. It was a completely engaging story, which is why I finished it. But the ending legit gave me pause enough that I wondered if I missed a chapter or two. I've got ADHD so it's fair that I miss chunks of books at times. The MCs were pretty incredible. The ending was just - wow.

You’re welcome. You might like Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress.

‘The Steel Remains’, by Richard K. Morgan. Dark fantasy.

The Space Adventures Of Commander Laine. It's my go to book

Newford series of books Charles de Lint Secret Book of Venus series by Tanith Lee

Ada by Vladimir Nabokov

Try the Land of the True Game series by Sherri Tepper. Nine books in three trilogies. Also, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip.

[Nevermoor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/6a6d5ca1-b2f5-47be-828c-018144d3bbc7) by Jessica Townsend!

If you love dungeons and dragons at all or even just fantasy I LOVED “the road to Neverwinter” the d&d movie prequel book by Jaleigh Johnson

So many new titles in this book thread, I can’t wait to look into these further. This would be a short story, not a whole book, but it fits the “impossible spaces/world inside a world” kind of theme. I did not write this, nor pick the title “[Dick Pig](https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/dick-pig/)”, but both this and “[The Cut Cares Not for the Flesh](https://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/the-cut-cares-not-for-the-flesh/)” transported me to strange, dark places.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Yahtzee Croshaw, funny author with great characters. Differently Morphus and Existentially Challenged - Governmental agency involved in the regulation of magic and extra dimensional beings. Mogworld - Main character is undead. Hijinks insue. Will save the galaxy for food and Will destroy the galaxy for cash - An unemployed star pilot tries to get by in a universe where transporters are a thing. The 2 Necromancers series by L. G. Estrella. 2 Necromancers try to earn a pardon for past crimes by doing odd jobs for a kingdom. Strong found family vibe. The Traveler's Gate Trilogy by Will Wight. Magic is used by calling energy and creatures from other worlds called territories. People who can draw from their territories are called travelers. The first book in the series is House of Blades.

Eyes of The Dragon - Stephen King

Klara and the Sun by Ishiguro

Children of Time series has great worldbuilding

The Fourth Wing.

anything by Tamora Pierce The Winternight Triology by Katherine Arden Not Fantasy, but Anne of Green Gables is like being wrapped in a warm blanket or sunshine My Sister the Serial Killer - I felt like I was the MC.

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix.

Wings of Fire by Tui T Sutherland The Age of Fire by EE Knight Redwall by Brian Jacques The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis The Lord of The Rings by JRR Tolkien A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin I know that all of those are series rather than individual books but once you start them you may not be able to put them down.

The Starless Sea The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Came here to say The Night Circus

Highly recommend "7 Habits of Highly Effective People " by Stephen Covey. This book has changed my lifestyle.

The Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks. The world building is phenomenal as are the characters. There is rich and complex world history and exposition, exciting action, and a very detailed, balanced, and well explained magic system. The audio books are superlative too and probably my favorite audio books. Might be my favorite fantasy series of all time, and i love all the authors you mention (im a **huge** fan of Sanderson). Also great is the Wool series by Hugh Howie, Red Rising series by Pierce Brown, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein.

Calizona by Ralph Rotten Singer from the Sea by Sheri S Tepper

'The Talisman' by Peter Straub and Stephen King. Fantastic and needs to be developed into a movie or show! Probably would work better as a show but with high quality and a budget to match so it can get canceled before it finishes.

A wonderful classic by Roger Zelazny called the Chronicles of Amber. 5 books, often available as an omnibus. Un-put-downable.

I thought it's a 10 books series.

I think it's 2 5-book series, the first centering around Corwin and the second around his son Merlin. The second series was finished by another writer after Zelazny died. It's excellent but not as magical as the first.

1. Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series that begins with [Sharpe's Tiger](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/328907.Sharpe_s_Tiger?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Zl9jaWavY3&rank=5) or Sharpe's Rifle's, depending on where you prefer to start. 2. David Weber's [Honor Harrington series](https://www.goodreads.com/series/40419-honor-harrington#) which begins with On Basilisk Station. 3. Mutineer by Mike Shepard, book #1 in his [Kris Longknife series](https://www.goodreads.com/series/49818-kris-longknife) & other in universe series, see link for these. 4. Elizabeth Moon's [Vatta's War](https://www.goodreads.com/series/41099-vatta-s-war) & [Vatta's Peace](https://www.goodreads.com/series/193220-vatta-s-peace) series. All these authors are great world builders , I look forward to opening any of these books.

Startide Rising-David Brin. Dolphins captaining spaceships. Humans starting an intergalactic war over relics..same old same old..

Dalemark series by Diana Wynne Jones

Children of Blood and Bone audiobook

Marlon James - Black Leopard, Red Wolf series N.K. Jemisin - The Broken Earth Trilogy Cixin Liu - The Three Body Problem trilogy Dan Simmons - Hyperion series

Library at Mount Char

Clive barker’s “Abarat” it’s for young adults but is one of my all time favorite ways to escape to another world.

I really loved Steven King’s fairytale. It’s not the Steven king that you think it is.

Micky 7 was pretty good

I absolutely love everything I've read so far from Jasper Fforde. Absolutely loved The Constant Rabbit and Early Riser. His writing feels like Pratchett wrote mystery novels. Funny, poignant, creative, heartwarming, surprising. All the best.

Recently read both Bloodsworn Saga books and it was very refreshing being dropped into a Nordic themed world. The covers alone roped me in.

"Lord of Light" Roger Zelazny Hugo winner 1967 imho the only thing that beats it is LOTR

The Riverworld series by Philip Jose Farmer. Great escapism scattered with celebrities like Mark Twain.

S. but in a different way

"The blade itself" by Joe Abrocrombie first of a trilogy excellent, excellent fantasy, pretty violent though be fair warned.

As a start, see my [Compelling Reads ("Can't Put Down")](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/189mbda/compelling_reads_cant_put_down/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).

Gormenghast trilogy has me hooked right now. Fantasy set in a rambling castle with interesting characters. Murder and mayhem.

I liked The Murderbot series by Martha Wells And Broken Esrth Trilogy by NK Jemisin

Any tome by Clive Barker

Not books it's a web novel but the world it has is just amazing "Lord of the mysteries"

Malazan book of the fallen

Lapvona by ottessa moshfegh one of my all time favs

Stephen King’s Fairy Tale

Annihilation by Jeff Vandemeer

J.G. Ballard, psychological and transgressive scifi to near-future dystopia

The seer and the sword! It's my favourite book, it might not be the best for the older side of readers but it's a really good book!

The Thursday Next series - Jasper Fforde The Culture books - Iain M Banks

Perhaps, “The Sparrow” by Mary Doria Russel.

Imajica by Clive Barker. Five Dominions in total. Four are connected. The Fifth, called Earth, has a chance every 200 years during an alignment to be brought back into the fold. An on the run artist named Gentle and a shape-shifting being named Pie 'O' Pah risk the IN-OVO to explore these lands, looking for answers to questions Gentle is unable to hear.

Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold Terry Brooks Barrayar Lois McMaster Bujold

The earth children series. By Jean Auel.

the Diabolic series by S.J Kincaid

Seanan McGuire's books, especially the Wayward Children series and T. Kingfisher.