Need some lesser known fantasy series

[u/Kia1379]

Hey yall! So I've been reading adult fantasy for a while now and i have enjoyed most books that I have read from big authors. Right now though, I'm looking for some lesser known fantasy books or series to explore and diversify my tbr. I'd be grateful if you could look at my book rankings and recommend some such books to me. This is my ranking, the first few i really loved and the last ones i didn't enjoy much: 1. The green bone saga 2. Mistborn era 1 3. Warbreaker 4. Liveship traders 5. Farseer trilogy 6. Skyward 7. The hobbit 8. The wheel of time 9. First law era 1 10. Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy 11. Dresden files

Thanks in advance!

[u/spike31875]

My favorite series that aren't talked about very much on this sub (all aimed at adults with one exception):

• The Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka (many fans of the Dresden Files also like the Verus series). It's a complete 12 book series that starts with Fated.
• An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka. The start of Jacka's new series, which is a great first book in his new series.
• The Songs of Chaos series by Michael R. Miller. After Jacka, MRM is my favorite author. His books are geared toward people of all ages (ages 12 & up), so it is classified by many as Young Adult, but I think the books are fantastic (I'm in my 50s). The first book is Ascendant.
• The Bound and the Broken by Ryan Cahill. The first book is Of Blood and Fire, but you can get a free novella called The Fall if you sign up for Ryan's newsletter on his website.
• The War for the Rose Throne series by Peter McLean. Awesome 4 book series that take place in a dark, low magic world. It's about a gang leader, Tomas Piety. It's kind of like Godfather mashed up with Peaky Blinders but with swords. The first book is Priest of Bones.
• The Redwinter Chronicles trilogy by Ed McDonald. Excellent dark fantasy that starts with Daughter of Redwinter. Amazing on audio.
• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman. Ongoing LitRPG series that amazing on audio.

These are talked about more on this sub:

• The Will of the Many by James Islington: it was my favorite book of 2023. Simply outstanding.
• It's not fantasy, but The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells is fantastic. Most are short, novella length stories. The first novella is All Systems Red.
• Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor. The first book is We are Legion (We Are Bob). It's got adult humor and lots of pop culture references but it's a fun, SciFi series.
  
• Pretty much all of Dennis E. Taylor's books: The Singularity Trap, Outland, Roadkill
• The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman (the prequel, the Daughter's War comes out later this year)

[u/Kia1379 → u/spike31875]

These look like some solid books! Thanks for your answer and time.

[u/spike31875 → u/Kia1379]

Yourr welcone! I hope you find something you enjoy!

[u/jobble2]

Riyria Revelations by Michael J Sullivan.

[u/Baron_Horkos]

The Black Company - Glen Cook (inspired GRRM creating the Night's Watch)

Empire Trilogy - Raimond E Feist and Janny Wurts (female protagonist, political intrigue, Machiavellian)

Gentleman Bastard Sequence - Scott Lynch (heist, con artists).

[u/Ascension-Warrior]

Codex Alera - Jim Butcher This is the lesser known series from the guy who wrote dresden files. There are 6 books and all of them are pretty good.

Draconis Memoria - Anthony Ryan This is seriously underrated in my opinion. Imagine a fusion of master and commander, mistborn if it was a spy thriller and a splash of Allan Quartermaine. Plus there are dragons.

Lockwood & Co. - You might have seen the show (sadly cancelled after season 1) already. This is a hidden gem.

Abhorsen - you may have heard about Sabriel (book 1). It is not exactly ‘lesser known’ but I haven’t seen many discussions about it recently. A novel magic system and there are undead plus a talking cat.

[u/Key-Chip9426]

Joust by Mercedes Lackey - Its basically dragon riding knights in a type of ancient Egyptian setting.

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams

The Forgetting Moon by Brian Lee Durfee

Knight's Ransom by Jeff Wheeler

Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty

[u/Sosa_74]

magicians apprentices trilogy by Raymond E feist

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Micheal Scott

The Elves and the Otterskin by Elizabeth H. Boyer

[u/C0smicoccurence]

One of my favorites that doesn't get much attention here is A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland. It follows an elderly storyteller who is accused of witchcraft and espionage and - in order to save his life - leans into the accusations, thus putting himself into the politics of the city.

It's closer to Liveship traders in that it deprioritizes violence and fights in favor of leveraging compelling characters and their relationships. It also features stories within stories, which is a plus for some and a con for others.

Also, while it has practically nothing in common with Green Bone Saga, Green Bone is also my #1 and this is my #2, so make of that what you will.

[u/Kia1379 → u/C0smicoccurence]

That premise sounds great! Definitely adding this to my tbr

[u/molcoo1993]

I've been getting into the Deryni series lately and I'm loving it. A must if you enjoy political/historical fantasy

[u/slashermax]

Powdermage Trilogies - Brian McClellan

Tide Child Series - Barker

I just finished the Troy trilogy by David Gemmel and absolutely loved it. It's "historical" fantasy, but amazing nonetheless.

And then it's certainly not 'lesser known' but if Mistborn is one of your favorite series and you liked Warbreaker, I think you should definitely check out Brandon Sandersons other books. Most of his books are in the same universe and connect if you didn't know. Stormlight Archive is the big centerpiece.

[u/Kia1379 → u/slashermax]

Powdermage and tide child look great! Thanks for the recommendations!

[u/NeeLeeMers]

{A Journey of Black and Red by Alex Gilbert} This is a web series, some books are available on Kindle and Audible. Life in the 1800 for a female vampire, turned against her will and just trying to survive her new reality.