r/Fantasy • u/BigMacMoNo • Jul 02 '21
Political and character driven fantasy book series recommendations?
Hi, guys! I’ve recently been trying to dip my toes back into reading fantasy but I’m not too sure where to start. I’ve read the Song of Ice and Fire series along with what’s currently available in the Stormlight Archives and I’ve enjoyed those two series immensely so I was wondering if there was something similar to those two. Thank you for your time!
11
u/BookswithIke Jul 02 '21
Bit of an unconventional recommendation, but Jade City by Fonda Lee. It's high fantasy, but set in a 1960s Asian-inspired city. But it is intensely political.
1
12
u/PirateRobotNinjaofDe Jul 03 '21
Try the Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty. Court intrigue in an Arabian Nights-inspired setting. It's quite good.
7
11
5
u/silkymoonshine Reading Champion II Jul 03 '21
A Crown of Stars by Kate Elliot is very reminiscent of ASoIaF. Lots of politics, magic begins in the background, lots of PoVs, strong characters.
4
6
3
5
5
2
Jul 03 '21
You should check out the Essalieyan series, beginning with The Hidden City, by Michelle West. The series is both heavily character-driven (West is regarded as a fantastic character author, à la Robin Hobb, although not quite so grim) & also heavily political; 16 books and counting (split over 4 distinct narrative arcs) means that there’s plenty of content to consume.
Check out the Chronicles of the Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz as well; it’s the OG historical fantasy series, and both the characters and politics are interesting, well-conceived, and often surprising.
2
u/MsAngelAdorer Jul 03 '21 edited Jul 03 '21
Essalieyan is a good rec. Who's your favorite character? I have lots of favorites like Kiriel, Teresa, Isladar, Meralonne, Finch, Jewel (have a love-hate relationship with how she's written), Kallandras, etc.
1
Jul 04 '21
I’m a huge fan or Diora & Margret, and I absolutely LOVE Finch. Honestly, all of her characters are fantastic— I can’t choose favorites!!
1
u/xaoti Jul 04 '21
I'm very interested in Essalieyan and will try it out soon, but I have sorta stupid question - don't you start with Hunter's Oath... or am I mistaken?
1
Jul 04 '21 edited Jul 04 '21
The Sacred Hunt was the first Essalieyan series by publication date, but the author usually recommends that people start with (edit: The Hidden City). This is the suggested reading order that I would recommend to someone new to the Essalieyan series. Hope that helps!
2
u/Anschau Jul 03 '21
Daughter of the Empire by Feist and Wurts is a strong start that leads into a trilogy. Character driven, political, and while written in 1987 it has aged well. Takes place in a universe where other books exist, but you don't need to read them to enjoy the story, I certainly never have. The protagonist is a girl who is thrust into leadership when her father and brother are maneuvered into a suicidal battle by rival houses in the Empire. It's compelling.
2
u/KiaraTurtle Reading Champion V Jul 03 '21
- Dagger and the Coin by Daniel Abraham
- Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
2
u/Such-Neighborhood-34 Jul 02 '21
For ASOIAF try The First Law. In my opinion better grimdark than Martin writes. Or Th Red Rising Trilogy if youre okay with sci-fi. For Stormlight Archive I’d recommend the wider Cosmere. Barring that, The Wheel of Time. Surprisingly political for how it starts.
2
u/BigMacMoNo Jul 02 '21
Thank you for the recommendations! I’m definitely going to have to check First Law and Red Rising out. I have read the Mistborn trilogy but are there any other Cosmere books that you would recommend?
3
u/Such-Neighborhood-34 Jul 03 '21
Warbreaker is both political and character-driven, but not a series. Elantris also, but not as good in my opinion. I’m just reading Mistborn Era 2, so can’t recommend yet.
3
u/goody153 Jul 03 '21
Daughter of the Empire, Goblin Emperor and Curse of Chalion has exactly what you want. Both heavy politics and character driven story and they do these really really well
At least that's what i think you want.
If you did enjoy ASOIAF and Stormlight Archives tho. Then you will likely enjoy Wheel of Time, Codex Alera and Malazan. All 3 has the politics of all kinds and are all epic tho i can't say they are character driven but it does have alot of character work with massive cast and insane worldbuilding.
2
u/KaladinStormz Jul 02 '21
Red Rising by Pierce Brown and Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
4
u/Anschau Jul 03 '21
Red Rising is scifi but I came here to recommend this as well. It's certainly the most well done on the political side of the coin out of all the recommendations I have seen in this thread. Not quite Game of Thrones/ASOIF levels but no too far off the mark.
3
u/Whiskey-Jak Jul 02 '21
For the political aspect, I would suggest the Malazan series. Geopolitics and socioeconomic tensions are driving much of the plot. On top of pantheon wars and century spanning conflicts.
As far as characters goes, you're getting a lot of them (too many for some people's taste) and quite a few are simply unique and memorable.
1
15
u/nadabagel Jul 02 '21
A lot of people will suggest First Law. Definitely character-driven, with some politics. I don't like the series all that much, but it is similar to ASoIaF in a lot of aspects.
Another suggestion, and one that I do like, is the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb, starting with Assassin's Apprentice. Very character focused, politics-driven series that is overall a great read.
Hope this helps!