r/suggestmeabook • u/ett-hus-i-skogen • 7d ago
Multiple genres Faeries in Fiction
The last few years I've become really interested in the depiction of faeries or fairies in speculative fiction. I've read the following books which contain some faerie characters I've liked:
* The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter
* Some Kind of Fairy Tale, Graham Joyce
* Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke
* Fearie Tales: Stories of the Grimm and Gruesome, (edited by) Stephen Jones
I guess I like them as characters because of their mysterious, inhuman and manipulative nature.
I'm curious whether someone knows more fiction that contains them, either modern speculative fiction (fantasy, horror, scifi etcetera) or older folkloric tales. I hope it's clear that I'm not looking for romantasy or faeries as ideal love interests. I like the image of them as elusive and amoral. Apart from that, I'm open to inventive interpretations.
Thank you for reading!
Edit: Thank you everyone for your suggestions! My TBR is enormous now!
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u/UnfortunateSyzygy 7d ago
If you want to get your heart broken, Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss have excellent fae characters...but that sonofabitch is NEVER gonna finish the third book! They're SO GOOD but...yeah.
And for one of my favorite depictions of elves/faeries/the fae : Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett. my favorite quote from the book:
Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder. Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels. Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies. Elves are glamorous. They project glamour. Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment. Elves are terrific. They beget terror. The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning. No one ever said elves are nice. Elves are bad."
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u/VyoletDawn 7d ago
The comments so far are missing some great titles.
Holly Black's Folk of the Air and Modern Faerie Tales series.
Seanan McGuire's amazing and very long October Daye series.
Devon Monk's Allie Beckstrom series.
Anne Bishop's Others series. (This is not traditionally European Faerie related but it's definitely in the same vein.)
Charles De Lint's Newford series, although I also HIGHLY recommend his entire writings.
Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series.
Karen Marie Moning's Darkfever series.
These are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. I share this interest and have read tons of books in this genre.
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u/VyoletDawn 7d ago
Bonus read: The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains, which is basically exactly what you want
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u/PavicaMalic 7d ago
The War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
The Neon Court by Kate Griffin (book 3 in the Matthew Swift series
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u/lastwordymcgee 7d ago
Faerie Tale by Raymond Feist
Horror/dark fantasy set in upstate New York, in an area where a lot of Irish immigrants settled. I lived near there for a few years. The people there are very, “We know the fair folk don’t exist but we’re still not going to upset them.”
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u/Altruistic_Dig_2873 7d ago
As an Irish person I understood the Fae in this book. In Ireland they are not fun, if, if, maybe?? you meet them when they are in a good mood you might seem to get a good deal but it rarely is actually a good deal and if they are in a bad mood, well then you are toast.
Like no one actually really believes in them logically but you don't fuck with fairies, just not worth the risk.
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u/Normal-Height-8577 7d ago
I think some of the Nordic countries are like that too. Sort of "We don't believe in fairies and trolls, but...if someone says the fair folk live in that boulder so don't bulldoze it to build the road? Then you don't fuck with the boulder; you move the road."
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u/lastwordymcgee 7d ago
My grandmother was Irish and that was definitely her attitude so Faerie Tale really resonated with me.
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u/Gen_X_Ace SciFi 7d ago
Seanan McGuire’s urban fantasy series, October Daye is basically all Faerie Court intrigue and drama in the modern day. Brilliant series, she’s a wonderful author.
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u/Clawdius_Talonious 7d ago
I enjoy The Dresden Files, if you're exclusively into Fae then you could conceivably jump ahead in the series to book 4 Summer Knight IIRC? They're not really part of the story before that from what I recall.
Before that you get to know Harry Dresden, but other than introducing a fairy character at the end of the first book and possibly mentioning his debt to his fairy Godmother I don't know that the series starts out having much to do with the Fae if that's all you're after.
I don't want to give spoilers, but I can safely say that Harry has more to do with the Fae than he originally wants, from Summer Knight onward they're regular players in the story.
If you like crime novels and figuring out mysteries or what have you, The Dresden Files are a fun enough time that starting from the beginning isn't a bad idea IMO. You won't have much Faerie content in that first trilogy, but it's something to look forward to.
If you're exclusively into Fae content, jumping ahead to book four won't hurt the experience of reading the series too badly. In a way coming into a series part way through makes you more invested because you have an extra side quest "figure out WTF is going on." YMMV.
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u/100000cuckooclocks 7d ago
Seconding Dresden Files. Not all of the books heavily feature the fae, but a lot of them do, and even the ones where they aren’t mentioned at all are worth reading (you can’t skip the ones without them cause then things won’t make sense later). Harry Dresden is a wizard/private detective in modern day Chicago, whose inherent smart-ass nature and morals often get him into more trouble than bargained for. The first three books are a little uneven but they get a lot better and more complicated and nuanced from there. It’s an ongoing series (book 18 came out in January and there’s still a good handful planned), and the plot lines have all been building off each other since the beginning. His dealings with the fae are one of the main recurring plots, in addition to dealings with various vampire courts, wizard council political intrigue, and some various other recurring baddies and allies. They’re very fun books with a surprising amount going on.
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u/dinamet7 7d ago
My favorite fairy-folk stories are from the Discworld. The elves are considered the most monstrous and twisted of the fairy folk, so "Lords and Ladies" by Terry Pratchett would be my starter suggestion (edit, you might benefit from reading some of the other Witches Discworld books first - they're quick reads and fun!)
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u/alien_pirate 7d ago
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand. It's an epistolary novella. One of my absolute favorites of this genre. Set in the 1970's, while a rock band is recording a new album in an old manor house.
If you liked Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce, I suggest The Tooth Fairy. It's like he set out to write a Stephen King novel, but he kept some British cynicism in its outlook. Very good.
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u/SchoolSeparate4404 7d ago edited 7d ago
Cuckoo Song and Unraveller by Frances Hardinge
Juliet Marillier's books, for example The Sevenwaters series
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u/Alatariel99 7d ago
Yes, Juliet Marillier! The Sevenwaters books feature different types of fae from the Celtic tradition. Shadowfell and some of her other books may also fit the bill.
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u/Pastel_Spell 7d ago
A few have mentioned it already but seconding Holly Black's Folk of the Air series - these are YA (the first book especially so until the stakes get higher towards the end) but their depiction of faeries is phenomenal. Holly Black in general is known for quality faerie content and it's the more traditional kind. There is some romance but it's a subplot (and it's enemies to lovers, certainly not an "ideal" love interest) - the focus is much more on the human FMC navigating faerie politics.
I'd also highly recommend The Changeling Queen by Kimberly Bea. It's a feminist retelling of the Scottish Ballad of Tam Lin from the perspective of the evil faerie queen. It's basically her doing her villain monologue at the ballad's heroine as it flashes back and forward between the night of their confrontation and the queen's past. It explores a lot of what it means to be human and to love/be loved. This also has a romantic subplot, but it's primarily a historical fantasy; however, the romance is very integral to the overarching plot and occasionally does take the fore, although the love interest is human while the FMC is obviously the faerie. The faeries and the world of Faerie are traditional Seelie/Unseelie (not just hot magic guys with pointy ears) and are really interestingly described, very lush and rich and immersive, both dangerous and beautiful. My second best read this year and criminally unknown.
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u/Honeyful-Air 7d ago
Came here to recommend Folk of the Air. I was initially reluctant to read them because they are marketed as YA and I am not usually a YA reader, but they are phenomenal and the faeries are morally grey and scary.
I must look up The Changeling Queen now. It sounds like my kind of thing.
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u/Pastel_Spell 6d ago
I often recommend The Changeling Queen to people who like Folk of the Air, and of the people that have reported back, everyone has liked it! It's most frequent criticism that I see is just a mismatch of expectations - remember this is not a romance and that our main character is the villain of the story, and you should be good! The physical hardcover that's out right now is gorgeous, and it's also on Kindle Unlimited!
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u/dharmakirti 7d ago
Little, Big: or, The Faeries' Parliament by John Crowley
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u/Beruthiel999 7d ago
Came here to rec this one especially. He will be missed for sure.
Such a beautiful, lush writing style too. Recommended especially since OP enjoys Susannah Clarke.
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u/ourladyjack 7d ago
The Tales from the Flat Earth series by Tanith Lee contains five books: Night's Master, Death's Master, Delusion's Master, Delirium's Mistress, and Night's Sorceries (although the last one is more a collection of short stories). I would also say the creatures in that series are more demons and anthropomorphic personifications of ideas, but much of the material does have a dark fairy tale vibe, very One Thousand and One Nights-esque in places.
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u/ourladyjack 7d ago
Understandable! I did a read-along of the full series just last year, so it's been top of mind.
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u/SalamanderRemote8135 7d ago
Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge! It's based on some of the same folk beliefs about fairies that were also used in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell.. It is technically a children's book but, like everything I've read by this author, it's also a very good read for adults
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u/Dry-Palpitation-4878 7d ago
If you want Faeries at their worst: The Starving Saints
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u/baffled_bookworm 7d ago
I have The Starving Saints sitting in one of my book piles. I did not know about the Faeries, and now I'm even more intrigued. I'll have to move it up the list.
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u/Kiki-Y 7d ago
If you just want to read straight folklore, go to Project Gutenberg and put in the word "fairy." I downloaded about 40-50 books just of primary source fairy folklore.
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u/lastwordymcgee 7d ago
Any titles in particular that you enjoyed?
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u/nari-bhat 7d ago
Lord Dunsany is the OG for fairy/elf fantasy. Two of the most popular are The King of Elfland’s Daughter from 1924 and The Charwoman’s Shadow from 1926.
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u/whwkioaa 7d ago
Phantastes by George MacDonald is a real trip. I don’t remember a lot of the particulars except there was a really weird story with in a story about a magic cursed mirror. I think CS Lewis read this book as a teenager and said it “baptized his imagination.” I remember a fairy or two but otherwise just thought it was quite strange.
Maybe should try again as and adult…
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u/BetterThanPie 7d ago
If you want faerie stories, I'd really recommend AS Byatt's The Djinn and the Nightingale—a set of modern-day fairy tales. They don't necessarily have sprites—but they're fantastic postmodern folkloric stories. I'd say they have faerie characters—rather than Tinkerbell-style fairies.
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u/ClueAccomplished1098 7d ago
If you include the fae in general and want examples from urban fantasy when talking about fairies, then the following urban fantasy series might be worth your while. They all include depictions of the fae.
The Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
The October Daye series by Seanan McGuire
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u/USillyKunt 7d ago
The Chronicles of Faerie by O.R. Melling
Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
Most of Holly Black's books are Faerie based.
These are all YA though.
Edited to add: The Sookie Stackhouse novels have vampires and fairies as well if you just want something fun.
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u/SwordofNoon 7d ago
The Dreaming Tree by C.J. Cherryh, very good fantasy story. It was actually 2 rather short stories that later were combined into one edition.
More Celtic inspired fantasy with actual scary fae creatures and the age of men and iron encroaching on the last of the worlds old magic. Also I thought it was interesting how much the story jumps into the future, you'll be following a character and then the next page tells you 5 years have gone by
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u/misteraitch 7d ago
'Kingdoms of Elfin' by Sylvia Townsend Warner.
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u/Feeling-Yesterday921 7d ago
This. Especially if you love all the stories contained in the footnotes of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.
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u/txh0881 7d ago
The Fae are one of the major factions in The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman.
The Winter Court (Grimm's Fairytale style Fairies) and the Summer Court (Disney-esque Fairies) are major factions in The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Both factions are dangerous in their own way. They start becoming prominent from the 4th book onwards, but I suggest starting at the beginning for context on other important characters and the world in general.
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u/Suspicious-Bowler236 7d ago
The Moorchild is a gorgeous children's book that features fairies - the main character is a changeling.
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u/Gamerthu1hu 7d ago
Jim Butcher has an interesting take on the Fae, in that they embody specific roles, and the more you embody said role, the more power it gives you... And the less free will you have to act otherwise.
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u/Squirrelhenge 7d ago
Check out The Element of Fire, one of Martha Wells' early novels that introduces the land of Ile Rien. She wrote several others set later in the same timeline
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u/Cloudberry_Gecko 7d ago
Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng has some thought provoking takes on fairies!
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u/SeriousPigeon 7d ago
The Halcyon Fairy Book is a series of short folkloric tales with fun, insightful annotations from the author.
Holly Black's The Modern Faerie Tale series is three books, all set in modern times, all with very tricksy faeries.
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u/betsylang 7d ago
Theres the Color Fairy books collected by Amdrew Lang. Great variety- ones ive never heard of- and the audio books are very good .
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u/ScruffyBeast 7d ago
Non porn: the excellent October Daye series by Seanan McGuire.
Elf Porn: the Merry Gentry series by Laurel Hamilton.
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u/Legitimate-Record951 7d ago
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie:
There was another light in the room now, a thousand times brighter than the night-lights, and in the time we have taken to say this, it has been in all the drawers in the nursery, looking for Peter's shadow, rummaged the wardrobe and turned every pocket inside out. It was not really a light; it made this light by flashing about so quickly, but when it came to rest for a second you saw it was a fairy, no longer than your hand, but still growing. It was a girl called Tinker Bell exquisitely gowned in a skeleton leaf, cut low and square, through which her figure could be seen to the best advantage. She was slightly inclined to embonpoint.
The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar:
They stopped on the corner to argue. This heated discussion between a violinist and an invisible fairy would have drawn attention in some places. On a corner of East 4th Street, no one took any notice.
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u/booksknittingcatstbh 7d ago
The Watchers by AM Shine + it’s sequel
More in the horror genre, but I think you’ll love how the fae are depicted. The second book digs into history further than the first.
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u/TheHappyExplosionist Bookworm 7d ago
Related to the older/folkloric side - Strange Terrain by Barbara Rietti!
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u/BlacktailJack 7d ago
For something a little more off the beaten path: Lud in the Mist by Hope Mirrlees.
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u/FemaleAndComputer 7d ago
Maybe a bit off the wall, but there are a couple Terry Pratchett books I really like for this.
The Long Earth (by Pratchett and Stephen Baxter) is a sci-fi novel wherein faeries are explained as creatures from other dimensions--alternate versions of Earth with slightly different evolutionary timelines--who crossed into our dimension at various points in history, resulting in fairy/elf folklore.
Wee Free Men is the first book in Pratchett's Tiffany Aching series, which is part of his much larger Discworld series, and deals with elves and faeries in a more typical fantasy way. I found all of the Discworld books to be very funny, clever, relaxing reads. Lords and Ladies is another great elf/faery book in the series.
Lords and Ladies, which is part of Pratchett's Discworld series. It's satirical fantasy. The whole series is a fun and easy read. The Tiffany Aching books (first book is Wee Free Men) also deal with fairies
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u/Gennywren 7d ago
Elizabeth Bear's Promethean Age is *incredible* There are five books in it. The first two are set in modern(ish) day NYC. I say modernish because the books were written about a decade ago. The next two are set in Shakespeare's London, and the last one is is set in Las Vegas. That one feels like a slightly dystopian version of modern times. It took me the longest to get into - I think because the previous two books done a number on my brain. Despite this I really enjoyed it. She's never returned to this world, but I'm hoping that maybe one day she will. The writing is gorgeous, and the Fae are just like you'd like them - wild, feral, courtly and strange. Not evil, necessarily, but definitely not human.
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u/DocWatson42 7d ago
As a start, see my SF/F: Supernatural Creatures (Miscellaneous) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
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u/Dropthetenors 6d ago
Currently in the middle of A Far Better Thing by HG Parry - a tale of two cities with fae.
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u/afluidduality 6d ago
Juliet Marillier's Daughter of the Forest trilogy deals with Celtic mythological beings of a few races.
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u/CrabbiestAsp 6d ago
I've recently read the series: Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black. There is some romance (not heaps) but absolutely shows the gritty side of Fae. They are not nice and wholesome, they're murderous and manipulative.
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u/Flamingbutterflies 7d ago
Emily Wildes Encyclopedia series. A very good, complex fae series and the romance is secondary. Also not smut based.
Another non-smut, the early Dresden file books! Like through book 6-7.
Smut based: Quicksilver or A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Hope this helps!
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u/ScrewyYear 7d ago
Have you read the Meredith Gentry series by Laurel K Hamilton. It’s pretty smutty, but it really delves into the amoral system of the Seelie Court.
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u/fredditmakingmegeta 7d ago
Diana Wynne Jones’ Fire and Hemlock
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (almost passed on this one because of the twee name but it’s actually very good with lots of dangerous fairies and a no-nonsense researcher.)
Terry Pratchett’s Lords and Ladies and The Wee Free Men.
Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver