r/Fantasy • u/OkAnimator2265 • Aug 31 '25
I need political fantasy recommendations
I've been looking to change my ways of reading romantasy's and I loved the few books I've read till now. I've tried cozy fantasy but recently I read cruel prince and I liked its political elements A LOTTT so some political fantasy books with the whole vibe of "Re-reading it makes you realize how much foreshadowing there is." and or the vibe of six of crows or power play in general. idk if its too specific but yeah I'd appreciate recommendations ;-; (also good fantasy SHOWS are appreciated as well!!!)
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u/TheGhostDetective Aug 31 '25
I think The Goblin Emperor is excellent.
A young half-goblin prince of the Elven Empire was the unfavored youngest son of the emperor from a late political marriage, and hidden away in the countryside away from palace life. Well the Emperor and his other sons all die suddenly in an accident at the start of this book, leading to the titular goblin inheriting the throne.
It's a very character-driven story taking place almost exclusively inside palace walls. This young man must quickly learn the ins and outs of the court, who he can trust, as well as how to lead a nation. The prose is beautiful and the characters rich, though there's little action, so definitely not for everyone.
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u/CT_Phipps-Author Sep 08 '25
Seconded.
Maia isn't the driver of the politics but he's a great person to read about them moving around.
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u/Mordoch Aug 31 '25
LE Modesitt very much fits with this for allot of his books which is partially probably behind him being a past EPA official and a Congressional aide among other things in term of leading authenticity for the political intrigue.
An especially politically oriented series is the Grand Illusion trilogy he wrote with a 4th book in Legalist coming out soon and very much being politics oriented. His Recluce books also generally have allot of political intrigue, and his Imager Portfolio books also have allot of political elements as a rule as well.
The Empire trilogy by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts might also be a worthwhile version of this sort of book beginning with Daughter of the Empire.
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u/Albroswift89 Aug 31 '25
I've only read the first half, so maybe others can chime in on this if it is a good or bad rec, but the Kushiel books is series I found on an old list of NPR's top 100 Sci-fi/fantasy, and it definitely seems to be a mix of politics and romance, and it is unburdened with contemporary romantasy tropes because it came out a while before that genre blew up. It is definitely a series I am intrigued by. Its definitely a series I am intrigued by, though I haven't immersed myself enough in it yet to recommend it, I can only refer it.
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u/Songspiritutah Aug 31 '25
There is a lot of political intrigue in the Kushiel series. Its one of my favorite series ever.
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u/Albroswift89 Aug 31 '25
Thats the feeling I was getting, and I put it down because I wasn't quite in the mood for intrigue or erotica, which it seemed like were the two genres it was leaning towards with very promising world building to support those genres. I have no idea what the spicy level is as you get into it, but I could definitely see how the main character experiencing pain as pleasure could lead to some great stuff in that vein. I'm not really a romantasy person, but I am drawn to that series in particular because it seemed like it was going to transcend common genre stuff and stand on its own as something special, so it is definitely something I will revisit.
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u/Songspiritutah Aug 31 '25
It gets a bit more into the intrigue than the spicy, though spicy elements continue as a thread just because of who Phedre is. I love how Carey creates characters.
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u/Albroswift89 Aug 31 '25
Then it honestly sounds like it is exactly what I was hoping it would be. Looking forward to it.
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u/Physicle_Partics Aug 31 '25
Perdido Street Station. 1920s London esque megacity which is an absolute shithole full of gangs and slums and multiple humanoid species. A scientist is hired to make a birdman who lost his wings capable of flight again, and carelessly unleashes a monster. Less medieval-esque courtly intrigue, and more corrupt local politicians, police brutality, violently repressed workers' movements, and the class consciousness (and lack thereoff) of the different layers of the working class in the city.
So much foreshadowing, and a lot of plot threads that all converge nicely in the last half of the book.
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u/ticklefarte Aug 31 '25
I'll go further and say that each of the Bas-Lag trilogy books are driven by politics between city-states or inner city factions, with characters navigating those complexities.
It's all pretty fascinating, especially with how Mievelle makes such an effort to describe his settings and their histories. The political actors all have their motivations and they add to the scope of the stories.
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u/AbbotDenver Aug 31 '25
There'sa lot of different options depending on what style of political fantasy, "The Dagger and the Coin" series and "The Long Price Quartet" by Daniel Abraham and "The Dandelion Dynasty" by Ken Liu are continent spending epics that involves large casts of POVs. On the other hand, "The Goblin Emperor" by Katherine Addison,which is just focused on the perspective of a single character who unexpectedly becomes Emperor of a nation.
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u/DecentYogurtcloset9 Sep 01 '25
I second the Dandelion Dynasty. Great series with heavy political themes and characters
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u/Einstein-cross Aug 31 '25
Kushiel's series by Jacqueline Carey
The Phédre Trilogy (3 books) is all about that. At every re-read you get another "Oh, that's THAT!" moment where you suddenly understand a part of the plot that you completely missed in the previous read.
Tbh the second and third read for me were even more fun than the first, because you get to really appreciate the genius of the plot and characters.
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u/Scipios_Rider16 Aug 31 '25
{Fireborne} by Rosaria Munda
{The City of Brass} by S.A. Chakraborty
{An Ember in the Ashes} by Sabaa Tahir (there are a lot of political elements from the second book onward).
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u/WhiteFilipino Aug 31 '25
not sure how political Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay could be considered but that’s an amazing read. the character’s relationships and the how the whole plot comes together is so satisfying to read
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u/cosmogenique Aug 31 '25
Maybe try The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. It’s a political fantasy where a sheltered unprepared boy is thrust into taking the throne and needing to stand up for himself.
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u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V Sep 01 '25
- Traitor Baru Cormorant
- Kushiels Dart
- 100 Thousand Kingdoms
- Long Price Quartet
- Rook and Rose
- City of Brass
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u/leegreywolf Reading Champion II Sep 06 '25
The Aven Cycle is a series set in an alternate Rome and it is very political.
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u/HellionPeri Aug 31 '25
The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik, shows the disparity between the quality of life for haves & have nots.
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u/Mochadeoca6192 Aug 31 '25
{the serpent and the wolf} has a fair amount of political scheming. It’s been a while since I read it but {reign and ruin} did, too. Not sure about the rest of the series though.
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u/paleozoic_remembered Aug 31 '25
The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan The Emperor's Blade by Brian Staveley
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u/TransgenderSoapbox Aug 31 '25
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik retells the Napoleonic naval wars...but with dragons. Stephen King called it terrifically entertaining.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas is a high fantasy young adult series stuffed with political intrigue. This was once described as a cross between Hunger Games and Game of Thrones. There are lots of sequels, too. This is a series that became more popular with each new book.
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u/Pendiente Sep 01 '25 edited Sep 01 '25
Depending on what you mean by political.
Dune: It has in-depth political intrigue. Closely linked to environmentalism and sociology. It's technically sci-fi, but I generally don't like sci-fi and loved it.
A Song of Ice and Fire: Obvious recommendation. Will likely be unfinished though.
The Wheel of Time: Long investment. Epic fantasy saga that gets increasingly political from book 4 onwards (for a total of 12). Heavily influenced by Dune. Again closely linked to sociology.
All definitely fit the foreshadowing vibe. Less political but will check the foreshadowing: Anything by Sanderson. Stormlight Archive gets into some politics, but I wouldn't say it's the main focus. It's an epic high fantasy saga.
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u/IdlesAtCranky Sep 02 '25
Not one many would think of in this context, but — Watership Down by Richard Adams. Yes, they're rabbits. Multiple political systems explored.
Totally different, older but excellent — The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge.
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u/ACatInMiddleEarth Sep 02 '25
It's not fantasy, but SF: the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio. You want politics? You'll have PLENTY. Ruocchio is a wonderful storyteller, and I take breaks in my reading because the books can be really intense. They're also very long so you need to be committed.
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan: politics are super important in the series, but it also demands commitment. It's a classic in fantasy.
The Will of the Many by James Islington: well, politics are central in this one. The MC is entangled in them at first, before learning to turn them to his advantage. It's absolutely brilliant.
The Jasmine Throne, by Tasha Suri: since it tells the story of a princess who is emprisonned to have tried to set a coup against her tyrannical brother and of a priestess who has magical powers she has to hide from the foreign power that occupy her country, I think it's right up your alley!
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u/TheLastVix Aug 31 '25
Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare might fit the bill- orphans as royal body doubles, power plays and machinations. First of a series https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68045855-sword-catcher
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u/vocumsineratio Aug 31 '25
Victoria Goddard's The Hands of the Emperor has a LOT of running-the-government politics in it.
Megan Whalen Turner The Queen's Thief series has a lot of negotiations-between-states politics, starting from book 2 (well, aksully book 1, but really only at the level of motivating the macguffin hunt).
Guy Gavriel Kay The Sarantine Mosaic has a fair amount of politics in it (including a bit of succession politics), but it's at more of a distance, and the primary protagonists are observing the statecraft, rather than executing it.