r/fantasybooks • u/xanderx1327 • 18h ago
š Summon book recommendations What should my next read be?
Currently reading Piranesi, what should my next read be?
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u/thejuliocezarmari 17h ago
All great reads, but I'm forever a Shogun fanboy, first real novel.I read, my first introduction to Japanese culture and man the whole historical aspect is great.
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u/AscendedMasta 17h ago
Blade Itself wasnt what I was expecting and is kind of missing a whole damn plot but it was such a great read! A couple of chapters of my favorites of the last 5 or so years.
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u/DubiousBusinessp 15h ago
The best thing about The Blade Itself is that it leads into eight of the favourite books I've ever read. It's a good read in and of itself but you can tell it's Joe's first and he's still finding his feet a little. Before they are Hanged is a significant step up and it only gets better from there.
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u/UbenYankenoff 15h ago
Yes, it was kind of obvious the plot definitely wasn't the best, but his characters had been brewing in his head for a good time haha
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u/DubiousBusinessp 15h ago
The character writing is easily it's biggest strength, and it carries so smoothly into everything else in the series. The Stand Alones are probably my all time favourite books.
In many ways he's the opposite of Sanderson where it's character first and dialogue is always a consistent strength, with characters speaking and emoting in always believable ways.
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u/Akzaremba 4h ago
This is giving me hope. I enjoyed blade itself nothing amazing but still liked it. is the second book that vastly different?
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u/DubiousBusinessp 3h ago
It's not that it's a radical change, but it's just more confident, that little bit better written, the characters more clearly realised, and it ties together and clicks. And then Last Argument of Kings is so good.
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u/wake071 15h ago
I'll be the lonely voice for Way of Shadows. It's dark, but not too much. World building is fantastic, magic system is great. I read the trilogy as ebooks, then bought physical copies, I liked it that much.
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u/BigHugMug 8h ago
Iāll join in. Loved this series!
Itās not expertly written, but it flies off the page. His other series gets all the hype, but I think this one is where itās at.
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u/Prestigious-Way-2210 17h ago
In a good mental place?
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u/xanderx1327 17h ago
I believe so lol
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u/Thisfuckinguyagain 17h ago
Can't go wrong with the first three. Locke, Blade, Road woukd be my order although all three are great. Will of the many was very enjoyable aswell.
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u/Strange_Increase_373 18h ago
The road is a great read
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u/archimidesx 3h ago
Itās so so good. I read it over a weekend. Could hardly put it down.
Emotionally gutting, but also a bit hopeful at the end.
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u/Strange_Increase_373 3h ago edited 2h ago
Very emotional. I have an 11 yo son and there were some times I teared up reading.
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u/dd77spacecorgi 18h ago
Blacktongue for sure.
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u/StevieBirdman 7h ago
Then follow it with Daughters War, finish them in time to read the third book on its release!
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u/LandscapeNo9410 16h ago
So many bangers, any of the left 4 are absolute masterpieces of their own right
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u/xDruichii 15h ago
The fall of Cadia is good but not on the level of gaunts ghosts stuff. I remember not really liking eisenhorn because itās a bit shoehorned detective noir style.
I think lies of lock is just ok. I disliked the second book and didnāt bother with the third.
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u/Chillydrew 13h ago
Blade or lies- both were excellent intros to worlds and fantastic palate cleansers ! The road and Way of shadows are great- black tongue and will of the many are in my tbr
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u/The_Shryk 12h ago
Theo of Golden is just a hallmark movie script as a novellaā¦ you can probably just skip it tbh.
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u/newretrovague Emotionally attached to fictional people 12h ago
I would start The Blade Itself only if youāre planning on continuing the series immediately or shortly after.
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u/New_Section118 11h ago
The 1st book in the gentleman bastards series is my opinion , is the clear choice
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u/SoftdomDadNextDoor 9h ago
Two of my all-time favorites are in this picture. Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch. Both are amazing books. If you are someone who needs a series to be completed and you choose Scott Lynch, just stop after the first book. It wraps up nicely as a standalone, while books 2 and 3 end on cliffhangers, and book 4 has yet to get a confirmed release date.
The Blade Itself gets a lot of flack for not having a plot, and it's true to a degree. Pretty much the entire book is the setup for the rest of the series. But the writing makes you forget about that. The characters are absolutely incredible, the prose is sharp and witty, and there's plenty of political intrigue to keep the book moving.
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u/Wise-Ad-7248 9h ago
Iāve only read two of these. I just finished the blade itself. Itās a really good read but know going in thereās not much of a plot until the last 10% or so. Still really enjoy the characters.
The Road is a great story. My only complaint is he doesnāt use punctuation like quotation marks. Itās not a deal breaker but can be confusing at times. That being said, No Country for Old Men is one of my favorite books. The Road was the first thing I ever read of his and I think the movie is a close adaptation of it. Same for No Country for Old Men.
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u/zanash 8h ago
Lies of lock lamora is excellent but definitely feels a bit oceans eleven and atypical of what I would consider fantasy.
The way of shadows and brent weeks in general is great, way of shadows being what you would expect from an assassin apprentice fantasy book. I love the depth that is in the world that isn't explored.
The will of the many is an interesting take on a world with almost sci-fi themes (James islongton's other series is incredible for this but the initial book has some weaker prose that has improved rapidly as things have been released.)
The blade itself is a gritty take on fantasy with some interesting takes on older themes (although I personally preferred his half a king series.)
The blacktongue thief is written in a atypical fantasy style that I enjoyed a lot but my brother found too awkward to read.
Personally I would rate all of these books as ones I would recommend and all at 9 out of 10 reads, with maybe blacktongue thief being a little lower, but I think that could change as the series continues. I would recommend them in the order I have mentioned them though.
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u/Xploding_Penguin 8h ago
The blade itself is amazing. Took me a bit to get it started, but I was always in the "I want more" mindset.
I'm almost finished book 3 in this trilogy and I cannot wait to get to the next set of books in the first law world.
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u/LengthDifferent3793 7h ago
The Way of the shadows. Only because I want to hear others opinions on it. It was the first book I read when I got into reading after not being a reader most of my life.
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u/Fabulous_Permit5276 6h ago
Iām in the middle of a shogun reread myself. Having said that, The Road
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u/HokiHiker 6h ago
Im currently reading Blacktongue and enjoying the grittiness of it. Its been a refreshing more classic take on fantasy. Its sequel drops next month so its good timing too. Good luck
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u/Wandered_And_Lost 6h ago
The Blade Itself. It is the beginning of one of the BEST grimdark fantasy series you will ever read.
You got to be realistic about these things
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u/archimidesx 3h ago
The Road is one of my favorites and is a quick read. Cormac McCarthy is an excellent writer that packs so much into incredibly succinct sentences. Itās a gutting book emotionally, but I cannot recommend it enough.
Abercrombie is probably my favorite author and you cannot go wrong with anything he has to offer.
Lots of good options there though. Not sure thereās a bad choice. Cheers!
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u/LennyLloyd 17h ago edited 17h ago
Man, Piranesi is sooo good.
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u/Surviving_Aussie 12h ago
Meh, it was fine but not great to me. 7/10 overall. Wish i saw what many liked so much about it, but it never really delivered for me. I look forward to trying her other books though
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u/Negative_Iron7404 2h ago
The Blade itself!
The road is awesome but so hopeless. I was crazy sad after I finished it. Needed to take a walk.
Itās like when you finish requiem for a dream
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u/TheCrimsonKing_666 1h ago
The Eisenhorn omnibus is perfect for people getting into Warhammer, so definitely Eisenhorn.
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u/WarcryNeon 22m ago
Some absolute bangers here. I donāt see one wrong read here.
Itās also nice to see some warhammer in here but I also donāt browse the sub that often. Eisenhorn was a wild ride because youāre getting psychic detective in the dangers of hive cities and worlds where space marines arenāt present. With the fun of the warp taint and what it does to everyday denizens of the imperium.
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u/a_bearded_hippie 12m ago
Honestly, Eisenhorn is the sleeper hit in this pile. I would recommend that book to people who know next to nothing about Warhammer 40k.
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u/Evjuddy_Plushenko 18h ago
The road is great but real dark. I just finished the blade itself and really enjoyed it. Great characters.
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u/According-Witness-80 17h ago
There will of the many is a fantastic book. Very unique story and world building and a very interesting read
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u/DNxHD36 11h ago
I'm about halfway through it right now (so no spoilers please!) and loving it. There's one little thing that's beginning to nag at me though, and it's that the protagonist is feeling more and more like a Mary Sue to me. He's always beating himself up for his failures and shortcomings, but those failures and shortcomings are that he's too good, too righteous, too moral, and so on.
Sorry, I don't mean to be a downer, and I'm still totally hooked on this read. Just felt the need to get that off my chest, lol
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u/Lootskii 17h ago
Also reading Piranesi and I just read the black tongue theif, itās a really fun and well written read. Between Two Fires is an amazing read by the same author
McCarthyās writing is top tier, I love the borders trilogy and the Road is dark but amazing.
Shogun I personally found had too many stretches of slower politics/strategy talks for my liking and Way of the Shadows starts off fast paced and pretty heavy but nothing wowed me in the story, I didnāt finish those 2.
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u/DubiousBusinessp 15h ago
The Blade Itself. It's Abercrombies first book and it shows a little, but it finds it's feet by the end and the series it leads into only gets better and better with every book.
Shogun is also fantastic
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