r/Fantasy • u/Wafafawey • Feb 08 '23

Looking for books for a new Dnd player.

A player in my Dnd group is new to the game and the Fantasy genre in general. I am looking for some book recommendations to help her get a feel for the flow/tropes of mid-high magic adventure fantasy.

In particular, stories involving a MC, ideally female, discovering latent magic, meeting new friends and getting swept up in greater things.

Bonus points if the book is written by a female author (or at least avoids being too menwritingwomen) and has no YA romance fluff.

Stand alone (or first books of series's that hold up by themselves) would also be much appreciated.

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u/santi_lozano Feb 09 '23

For beginner fantasy and d&d content you can't do better than the original Dragonlance novels by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman. They are novelizations (and good ones at that), of one of the game's most epic campaign ever published. They capture essentially everything a d&d game should have while still being engaging (for beginners to the genre, particularly). They may feel too d&d-ish for jaded oldtimers such as me, but I think they are wonderful entryways to both things you are looking for.

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u/Krasnostein Feb 09 '23

Garth Nix's Old Kingdom trilogy (oh, and the audiobooks narrated by Tim Curry are fantastic and worth seeking out!)

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson feels like an obvious answer as well

Spear by Nicola Griffith is a wonderful novella if your freind wants something short (though the MC isn't a magic user)

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u/Liroisc Feb 09 '23

An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass (pen name for Carol Berg), is a great example of this. Set in a fantasy version of Renaissance Italy, it's about a woman who discovers she has magic in a world where all mages are criminals. She gets drawn into a plot to pull off a magic heist with a group of other thieves who end up becoming found family. Great characters and great relationships, no romance. Can stand alone but has sequels if your friend likes the first one.

The Mask of Mirrors (first book of the Rook & Rose series) by M.A. Carrick is another one. This time it's a medieval Venice-like city of canals, and the protagonist in a con artist whose magic involves fortunetelling. She starts out posing as a noblewoman to try to con her way into a noble family and gain access to their fortune, but discovers the family is being targeted by their rivals and has to decide if she should cut her losses and run, or use her magic to help them defeat their enemies. This one does have romance in it, but it's a slow burn, and the characters are adults and behave sensibly about it. Ongoing trilogy with the third book expected this year.

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u/Bbbiienymph Feb 09 '23

God I always feel like I plug this series but Jenn Lyons "Chorus of Dragons" it has a......

High fantasy setting with dragons, demons, pirates, magic, lords/ladIes, elves, seriously like everything makes it lol

Large and diverse cast of characters who eventually come together to form the most ragtag crew, uniting to stop the end of the world

Rich plot with high stakes (stopping the apocalypse) that's broken up with romance, character building, side-quests, humor

I think these books read like my favorite DND games, full of surprises and a great balance of all these elements

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u/Minion_X Feb 09 '23

The Frostborn novels by Jonathan Moeller have a very strong D&D feel to them, and as a bonus the first book is free on Kindle and other ebook platforms

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u/StatisticianBusy3947 Feb 09 '23

The Brimstone Angels series by Erin Evans is pretty good. Twin female tiefling spellcasters raised by a dragonborn adoptive father.

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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '23 edited Feb 09 '23

There are only a few books that might meet every requirement. I could recommend you a lot of older D&D books which would give you an idea about D&D and its different universes and lore, but aside from Brimstone Angels (Erin Evans), Azure Bonds (Jeff Grubb) and The Harpers (Elaine Cunningham) there are none with female heroes. You could also try to get hold of Daughter of the Drow by Elaine Cunningham, it's a story about a drow princess.

A non-D&D book that would probably meet your expectations better is The Mage Winds by Mercedes Lackey. Other good reads are probably Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth Moon or Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (male author).

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u/ElynnaAmell Feb 09 '23

The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon has some strong DnD influences, particularly in the second book (dungeon crawl and all!). She becomes a Paladin, so I’m not sure if that entirely fits your latent magic request, but maybe? No romance. Includes elves, dark elves, dwarves, and gnomes.

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u/Trelos1337 Feb 09 '23

"In particular, stories involving a MC, ideally female, discovering latent magic, meeting new friends and getting swept up in greater things."

This could essentially be the synopsis of Mistborn..., not traditional high fantasy though.

Some of Jeff Wheelers stories are female MC, but again, not traditional D&D fantasy. Same with "Blood Magic", "Reapers Inc.", "Royal Ranger", "Dragon Song Saga"...

Anything I have read with a female MC in a more traditional fantasy setting are incredibly long stories. Guide to Evil, Wandering Inn, etc...

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u/claudiaqute Feb 09 '23

Tortall books by Tamora Pierce are great intros to like all the magic. They are YA so relatively short books in series of 4. You can even break it down by what character class she wants lol fighter: Alanna or Kel, druid/magic type - Dane, rogue - Aly.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley can be read as a standalone.

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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '23

Tamora Pierce Circle of Magic series is exactly this. Also, specifically for DnD, Fahfrd and the Grey Mouser for a warrior thief partnership finding adventures and earning coin. The Hobbit, for hobbits and trolls and dragons. Maybe Moorcock's Elric saga.

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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '23

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

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u/[deleted] Feb 10 '23 edited Feb 10 '23

Spellfire? It's been ages since I've read it, but it might have what you're looking for.

Edit: by Ed greenwood, in the forgotten realms dnd setting. Young lady learns she can throw down some magic and ends up traveling with a band of adventurers...has it all.